How helpful is QBank for Level II ?

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pandeyanop

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Hi guys,
I am about to get Schweser to start studying for the level II exam. Now I have a question about the Qbank, I have read on here that people felt like the Qbank wasn’t very helpful for level II like it was for level I. So, I was wondering if I can get a general opinion on where I should pay the extra money (almost $300) to get the package with Qbank or should I just get Schweser notes package and skip the Qbank? Thanks in advance for all the suggestions!
And btw, how is Elan guide compare to Schweser ? Is it worth the money, or should I just pay a little more and stick with Schweser?
 
Don’t spend the money on Qbank, you’re much better off doing the blue box and end of chapter questions.
Haven’t used Elan before but lots of people here like their stuff
 
I found Qbank very helpful. It is not intended to replicate the exam questions, but meant for you to retain concepts. The more you do, the more you retain. They are short and easy questions, but they help you understand the basics of more complex questions. It makes it a bit easier in the long run. At first i was skeptical, but after having studied for L2 (and passed), I now realize that I would have failed without it. Get the Qbank and answer about 20 questions every lunch break (during work) for about 4 months, and that will go a long long way… Good luck.
 
Very helpful! Would probably still use it for Level 3. Though I must admit, some of the questions in the Qbank are very poorly written, are sometimes ungrammatical, and can be interpreted in multiple ways. This is unlike the ones in Schweser’s mock exams, which are very similar to the exam itself, even more similar than CFAI’s own mocks. Qbank is a very helpful tool in memorizing and retaining concepts, but take it with a grain of salt.
 
Qbank was very helpful to me while I was going through the readings. I definitely abandoned Qbank after I completed reading all the chapters so I could focus on practice exams. You will get some Item Set questions in Qbank… but not many. Also, I only used the intermediate and advanced levels on Qbank. The ‘easy’ questions were way too easy.
 
i thought it was a waste of time and $$$, Elan PQ much better and all the Practice Tests as well.
 
Q-bank and videos are the reasons I passed.
Just don’t expect it to replace mocks.
 
Dont waste your $ and you do not need Qbank to pass the exam. Sure, it’s a nice tool to have but you should spend the majority of your time on item set questions like CFAI EOC/BB or Mocks. I did around 50-100 qbank questions and felt it was not adding enough value to my preparation for the time invested.
 
Passed Level II in June 2014, and here’s my thoughts on the QBank for Level II:
Pros of QBank for Level II
  • Good for review of reading sections
  • Quick “concept-check” to see if you’re understanding the materials
  • Cheap - ~$300
  • Tons of questions to reinforce learning
  • Good for review of multiple sections in a short time period, especially if you’re working a ton and don’t have 6 hours to commit to a mock each time you want to test yourself
Cons for QBank for Level II
  • Not representative of actual Level II exam questions
  • Questions are relatively simple/not complex
  • Questions are often much more brief than on the Level II exam
Recommendation
  • Buy the QBank, it’s well worth the small investment ~$300 and can be used to quickly reinforce concepts following the readings
  • Do not use the QBank by itself; you must complete the CFAI EOC questions, as well as Schweser EOC questions if you have time
  • There’s no substitute for mock exams, and QBank won’t replace these
Hope this helps!
 
For level 1= go to source.
For level 2= used it somewhat. The advanced questions that are in item set format helped. The other questions were far too easy and weren’t much help.
 
Qbank is a losing bet for level II, it’s just too easy. My perecption is that around 10 questions will be Qbank-like in the actual exam. You are better off re-doing EOC questions and other mock exams.
 
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