I PASSED AND HERE'S MY STUDY ADVICE!

Materials: Curriculum. Second choice is Schweser
Practice and practice again and again all EOC and Examples in Curriculum. That’s all!
 
Passed, and scored 70%+ on all topics.
1. Find study buddies. It is always better to share the pain (and sometimes the joys!) of studying for the CFA exam with your friends. Studying with other people, taking practice exams with them, and checking and discussing the answers afterwards proved really effective for us. My study group had a 100% passing rate for L2, and passed levels 1 and 2 on our first attempts.
2. Know the material. This is like the no-duh advice, but I (even S2000magician!) couldn’t emphasize this enough. There is no other way to pass than knowing the material. I personally used Schweser notes, while referencing to the curriculum whenever I felt like Schweser was inadequate. To each his/her own! Use whatever you find most effective for you.
3. Make your own notes while studying the material. This way, whenever you have to find something, you can just look over your notes. You will not have to go back to the voluminous books just to find a single definition or formula. I also find that making my own notes aids in memorizing.
4. Know your LOS. LOS-based studying is much more efficient than just reading the entire CFAI curriculum, not knowing which ones are going to be tested. This is why I like using Schweser more than CFAI texts. If a certain formula or factoid is not in the LOS, do not bother with it. If the LOS says explain and not calculate, that means you do not need to solve for anything. There is a very small chance that non-LOS-based facts will be tested, but it’s always better to allocate most of your time studying for things that will certainly be tested.
5. Answer EOCs and blue boxes. I personally did not do this. I did a few questions for corfin and ethics, and just one question for fixed income. And guess what, that single question for fixed income actually came out in the actual exam! Had I not seen that question, I would probably have gotten 50-70% in fixed income. I would probably do this in level 3.
6. Practice, practice, practice! I personally finished the Schweser Qbank, answered seven of their mocks (i.e., 14 AM and PM sessions combined), and answered all the exercises and two mocks in the CFAI website. While answering mocks, you will be familiarized with the chunks of topics that are usually tested on the actual exam. This will also help you with timing, which is very very important.
 
cgy5478 wrote:
Please share what made you successful in beating this beast.
All categories >70% except for AI 50%~70%.
1. START EARLY - If you are a normal 9-5 like me, start early. I start in Nov and even if you just flip through the pages, you will be a step ahead than most ppl by the end of Dec.
2. MAKE A STUDY PLAN - A good study plan helps you allocate your time more efficiently (subjects with heavier weights need more time) and allows you to gauge your progress along the way. (>300 hrs is a must if you really want to pass and 400+ hrs is highly recommended)
3. BE DISCIPLINED - Stick with your plan, do not fall behind as you will never be able to catch up. Send your wife to travel the world the walmart, your kids to grandpa’s, and your dog to the neighbor. Do whatever you need to keep up with your plan.
4. BUY A GUIDE - If you are a slow reader like me, spend some $ on a guide (I used Elan’s) as it helps putting everything you need to know in a nicer format.
5. LOS - Print a list of all LOS, and check off the boxes as you completely master it. (great compliment to the study guide). If you master this list, YOU WILL PASS.
6. EOC Questions - Before moving on to the next LOS, do all CFAI EOC questions and understand your mistakes. (I did all EOC 3 times).
7. MOCKS - Allocate 6 weeks before the exam to do at least 6 full mocks. Understand all answers and get famaliar with the format. I can say that practice problems and mocks contribute more than half to my pass.
8. FORMULAS - You will probably know 70% of the formulas by heart after all the questions and mocks. Spend a few hours every week in May to write out every formulas (try to understand and apply formulas to actual problems as I find it the easiest way to memorize them)
9. REVIEW FREQUENTLY - First time through the material, I felt I didnt learn anything and was completely lost. But I felt more and more confident as I review the mateiral for the second and third time.
10. REMEMBER TO BREATH - If 46% of the ppl passed, you just have to know more than the person sitting next to you to pass. Relax, it’s not as difficult as it seems.
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Really, really solid avice.
 
Solve questions.

I didnt do that much, not end of the reading questions in Schweser or CFAI, neither did I do a single mock. I faced the heat during the exam and had to solve a lot of questions using fundamental concepts and ab-initio derivations which could have easily been done using a formula had i spent time memorizing them or practicing questions.

I am lucky to have passed.
 
However, apparently “I learnt the material very well”
fordprefect wrote:
Solve questions.

I didnt do that much, not end of the reading questions in Schweser or CFAI, neither did I do a single mock. I faced the heat during the exam and had to solve a lot of questions using fundamental concepts and ab-initio derivations which could have easily been done using a formula had i spent time memorizing them or practicing questions.

I am lucky to have passed.
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One more tip, possibly the most important one.
WORSHIP S2000MAGICIAN.
 
cgy5478 wrote:
10. REMEMBER TO BREATH - If 46% of the ppl passed, you just have to know more than the person sitting next to you to pass. Relax, it’s not as difficult as it seems.
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I feel this is the key!!!!! On an average 40-50% will pass and key is to make sure you are in that group.
 
Btw, dont waste your time on Qbank. Most of the questions are short and easy. 3000 questions will easily cost you 50+ hrs that you couldve spent on CFAI EOC/BB or mocks instead. The oppotunity cost is much higher than the benefit.
 
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