My Opinion on How To Study for CFA, Series 7, etc.

[CareerChangeCA]

Greenman72 wrote:
TLDR version:
CareerChangeCA isn’t a punk wannabe who’s never taken a test. He’s a lawyer. That changes my opinion of him.
Studying for CFA exams is quite a bit more involved than studying for a Chemistry Final. You have to change your study habits when you start CFA.
You still have to answer practice questions/mock exams if you want to pass CFA. If you don’t, you will not pass–period. And the only reason to take the test is to pass it.
Comparing LSAT with CFA is dumb. LSAT gives you a grade which determines your fate in life. CFA gives you P or F, and nobody knows or cares what you scored, as long as you get a P.
Flashcards and videos work for some, but not for others. If it’s stupid but it works, it’s not really that stupid.

There is a lot of value in the discourse provided here. Here is the synthesis provided from this thread that I hope everyone approves of…
#1: Hard work pays off.
#2: Knowing how you learn effectively is very important.
#3: Understanding the material is of primary importance: however you reinforce that material is up to you: mock exams, practice questions, supplementary material, pure rote, consistent condensed notetaking, videos, etc.
#4: Plenty of smart people will disagree on the specific methodology: emphasizing the need for one to be an individual and just a teensy-bit self-reliant
I’m also going to add a #5 to this - every person has their own pecularities when it comes to studying and methodology. The next day my proclivities became crystal clear: I’m a bit of a ‘knowledge snob” sometimes and that might not work well with some people. The GOOD thing about a thread like this is perhaps the intradependent methods of one person might interdependently co-exist or synthesize well with another person and thus work for YOU. Yes, I’m speaking to some random person.
Cheers.