Half a page into studying

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bahgill

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So I tried to start studying over the weekend. I read about half a page of behavorial finance out of the CFAI books and couldnt do anymore. Really concerned that I would spend 200-300 hours reading through the CFA books and not retain any of it by test day. Should I just wait for schweser notes before I start reading or is there some real value added by reading these CFAI books?
 
PERSONALLY, i would never start studying 10 months before the exam.
But i know people would argue otherwise.
I think it’s counter-intuitive, if you care to pass and want to maximize your studying time, why would you wait? i mean, if you are thinking about studying 10 months before exam, 1) you are just that diligent, or 2) you are not that confident and need as much time as possible, in both cases you would just start reading whatever you have, wouldn’t you??
As for retaining the information, i think you can still forget materials if you start reading in February, honestly, it all depends on how well you review the material.
NANA
 
You’re starting really early, so there is no way that you retain everything by test day by starting now.
However, it doesn’t hurt to skim and just look at blue boxes, figuring it out in your mind. You don’t even have to put it on paper. The more you do the BB’s and EOC’s, the better chance you have of passing. Go hardcore in December, but just skim for now.
 
I started studying around this time and only used CFAI. I didn’t use Schweser for L3, but did attend Creighton. I think if you take solid notes while you’re studying, you should be fine. Focus on the in text examples and blue (I guess black now?) boxes and EOC questions. I only read through the material once. My only concern on exam day was that the exam seemed too easy… and that I was probably missing something. I passed, so I guess the tricky hidden things I was worried about weren’t really an issue…
 
SafetyFirstRoy wrote:
I started studying around this time and only used CFAI. I didn’t use Schweser for L3, but did attend Creighton. I think if you take solid notes while you’re studying, you should be fine. Focus on the in text examples and blue (I guess black now?) boxes and EOC questions. I only read through the material once. My only concern on exam day was that the exam seemed too easy… and that I was probably missing something. I passed, so I guess the tricky hidden things I was worried about weren’t really an issue…
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How long did it take you to read through the entirity of CFAI and take notes? I feel like that would be well over 300 hours.
 
NANA Hachiko wrote:
PERSONALLY, i would never start studying 10 months before the exam.
But i know people would argue otherwise.
I think it’s counter-intuitive, if you care to pass and want to maximize your studying time, why would you wait? i mean, if you are thinking about studying 10 months before exam, 1) you are just that diligent, or 2) you are not that confident and need as much time as possible, in both cases you would just start reading whatever you have, wouldn’t you??
As for retaining the information, i think you can still forget materials if you start reading in February, honestly, it all depends on how well you review the material.
NANA
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Yea I dont WANT to start 10 months early, but I feel like I should. I told myself this last year for Level II as well, and of course that never happened. Now that ive finished the first two, Id like to just get it over with and put in the work but I hate wasting time and Im worried reading through these books now is just that, a waste.
 
Not really sure. While I started early, I wasn’t studying for many hours at a time. I probably got about an hour or so in a day. As I got closer to exam time, I ramped up my studying. I think I was finished with the material by end of Feb? It wasn’t exactly the 18 week schedule, but I took time off for holidays, etc.
 
If you’re studying now and will not go back and review the material you study now, you will forget it without question. But, if you plan on reviewing every 3/6/9 months and have a plan for keeping it fresh in your head, I don’t see how starting earlier is harmful. Ultimately, you have to know the stuff.
 
I really don’t understand the arguments against starting to study early.
“You’re never going to retain the information for 10 months.”
This might make sense if you planned to study now and then do nothing from January to May, but that’s absurd. If you start studying now, and continue through May, you have to benefit from the early study. True, you might not remember much of what you read today, but when you read it a second time in December/January you’ll benefit from having already seen it in August/September, and when you read it a third time in April/May you’ll benefit from having already read it twice instead of only once.
People don’t generally wait until three months before taking algebra to learn arithmetic; the same reasoning applies here.
 
Agree with S2000magician, 100%. I started as soon as I got the books in. That way you can get 2 readings of the material in at a nice pace.

Some say that’s over studying but less than half who sit, pass. Those who didn’t, have to read it again. Think about that…. >50% will have to sit, and read it again. There are those who can pass with 1 read but i knew I couldn’t.
Also, who knows what can happen in those months close to the test? If you have a big project or something, you’ll be way better off if you are on your second reading than the guy who is still trying to get through his first read.
 
bahgill wrote:
Yea I dont WANT to start 10 months early, but I feel like I should. I told myself this last year for Level II as well, and of course that never happened. Now that ive finished the first two, Id like to just get it over with and put in the work but I hate wasting time and Im worried reading through these books now is just that, a waste.
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I am not saying you shouldn’t study now, i am just saying i am not that diligent to study 10 months prior to the exam that’s all.
But if you worry about it, then you should start now and just get some knowledge in, and i am sure you will want to read the material more than once anyway!
 
S2000magician wrote:
Palantir wrote:October is the optimum time to start.
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How do you calculate that?
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Say you have a busy job, so you can only study 2hrs a day. 2*30 = 60 hrs/month, and x8 months = 480 hours, which is I think what you need to do to pass this exam. If you start in september, it’s less than a month after results, so no recovery, if you start later, you will have less time.
Long story short, start as early as possible, while giving yourself enough recovery. Starting in Oct gives you enough time to finish a read through by the end of the year, giving plenty of practice time.
 
Wait for the Schwes my man. The day it arrives start hittig it hard.
Enjoy the off time. Relax. Run.
Your brain needs time to fully empty out alot of the FRA and Quant crap to make room for all this new stuff.
 
I don’t plan on getting going until October or so. I started with L2 very early, actually right around this time of August, and had pretty massive burnout issues I was dealing with in the spring.
I got my hard copy books this week and have all my blank flashcards ready to go for when the time comes…
 
bahgill wrote:
So I tried to start studying over the weekend. I read about half a page of behavorial finance out of the CFAI books and couldnt do anymore. Really concerned that I would spend 200-300 hours reading through the CFA books and not retain any of it by test day. Should I just wait for schweser notes before I start reading or is there some real value added by reading these CFAI books?
Click to expand...
Greenman’s Jedi Wisdom - your first mistake is that you started with BH. Skip it and come back to it. It is important, and will show up on the test, but it’s pretty dry, and you can get bogged down in it pretty quick. Do the Individual and Institutional Portfolio Management stuff first.
And in three levels, I never onced studied from the CFAI material.
 
Anybody planning on using just the CFA textbooks? I only used CFA text for I and II. I am second guessing myself about just using the textbooks. Lot of these talks about the big picture stuffs …
 
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