Failed Band 10 - need advice

NutsAM

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Hi, as the title indicates I failed Level 1 with Band 10..
What learning strategy would you recommend? I can’t see that going through the whole material again would make sense (because in my opinion I fully understand the material in general, maybe in some parts not in the smallest detail). Would you recommend just doing questions (like qbank). When should I start re-learning? I thought Mid March would be a good starting point, than I would have 2,5 months with two weeks off work right before the exam.
For December exam I just learned with Schweser, which in my opinion break my neck in the exam for Corp Fin (Schweser mocks ALWAYAS > 80%, Dec Exam <50% - these are the missing points to pass right?!) So I’m considering buying alternative materials, maybe Wiley/Elan.
Any recommendations?
 
i also had a band 10 and also only studied the schweser materials. i am going to get the official books ($150) and read up on them starting from corporate reporting since thats my weakest point.
 
Putting all your eggs in a single prep provider basket is risky… as you found out. The exam is created by CFA Institute. So, you must - at the very least - do the questions in the curriclum:
The practice questions at end of every reading must be done - at least the ones in mcq format.
I also recommend the non-mcq questions because they help build your concepts.
Go over the examples in the curriculum.
In the final month or two you should do the pratice problems and mock exams on the CFA Institute website.
I’m sure you’ll do better the next time.
Regards,
Arif Irfanullah, CFA
 
Thanks for your input!
Would you recommend the Wiley Question Bank? I’m searching for a good, affordable question bank.
And do you think, I can use the Dec 2014 materials? As far as I know there are only a few changes in comparison to 2015
 
Have you considered Analyst Notes? I’ve heard good reviews about their material and that they have harder questions than schweser. I am in the same boat as you with a band 10 fail. I am considering another qbank as well as I felt schweser’s material was very chug and plug.
 
I’ve never heard about Analyst Notes. But don’t know if I really need “harder” questions. I would prefer questions which are on the same level like the CFA questions. I don’t want to blame Schweser (put in just ~150hours), but in my opinion the question “style” was different from CFAI.
Wiley/Elan says their questions are comparable to the CFAI. So I’m considering to buy the Wiley question bank. 1600+ questions seems to be a lot, and that is exactly what I’m searching for. Who has made experiences with their qbank?
 
First of all, congrats to people who passed the exam. I took level 1 some years ago and here is what I got;
FRA, FIXED INCOME, EQUITY, DERV, ECO, QUANT above 70
CORP FIN, ETHICS, PORTFOLIO 51-70
ALT below 50
FAILED
 
andy231 wrote:
First of all, congrats to people who passed the exam. I took level 1 some years ago and here is what I got;
FRA, FIXED INCOME, EQUITY, DERV, ECO, QUANT above 70
CORP FIN, ETHICS, PORTFOLIO 51-70
ALT below 50
FAILED
That is very surprising to me. Must have been a tough year.
 
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