Need Advice on Study Plan

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RoccoLee

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I have completed the CFAI materials and Schweser Notes once and also watched the video classes twice.
Now I have started to do the part of multiple choice questions in mocks. But I found I could just scored about 60% to 70%. Do I need to reread the CFAI materials or Schweser Notes again? But it really takes time! I just wonder if it is a better idea to directly hit the mocks now.
I think I won’t start to do the essay parts until I finish the MC in mocks in May. Is it enough to practise the essay for just a month?
Anyone has some suggestions?
Many thanks!
 
I would get familiar and practice with the older morning mock exams ASAP. That’s where candidates commonly get tripped up. Also, given how much time you have I’d recommend notecards as well.
As you do problems write down which ones were hard / you got wrong and revisit just those every so often
 
daharmattan1 wrote:
I would get familiar and practice with the older morning mock exams ASAP. That’s where candidates commonly get tripped up. Also, given how much time you have I’d recommend notecards as well.
As you do problems write down which ones were hard / you got wrong and revisit just those every so often
Click to expand...
Actually I have done a notecards by myself, but I am still so nervous when I found I could only scored around 60% in mocks. :(
Will it be a good idea to get familiar with the MC before to go for the essay parts? Or just mix them together like the real exam?
 
I don’t want to underplay how difficult this exam is as I’ve failled it a few times now but if you’re scoring 60% on mocks in late February you’re in good shape. Definitely focus on the AM though. I’ve had band 10 and band 9 finishes and on both rounds I left more ~10-15% of the morning exam unanswered due to running out of time. You really have to be strategic on the AM and the best way to do that it to start breaking out the AM mocks. I think you’ll do fine though given where you’re at. I would make sure to continue to go over review notes though since you finished so soon. You’ll no doubt remember the big picture items through mocks and q banks but you never know what minutiae may show up on the test and just getting 1-2 of those right can mean the difference between a pass or a fail.
 
Hi FrankNoPez
Please can you give us more advice around test taking strategies, and preparation. What was your score like in the PM sections?
Clearly you do not advise targetting the PM section as a differentiator. I suppose the productivity of your time is better focussing on the AM.
Any advice would be appreciated. The margins are so thin, clearly.
 
RoccoLee wrote:
daharmattan1 wrote:
I would get familiar and practice with the older morning mock exams ASAP. That’s where candidates commonly get tripped up. Also, given how much time you have I’d recommend notecards as well.
As you do problems write down which ones were hard / you got wrong and revisit just those every so often
Click to expand...
Actually I have done a notecards by myself, but I am still so nervous when I found I could only scored around 60% in mocks. :(
Will it be a good idea to get familiar with the MC before to go for the essay parts? Or just mix them together like the real exam?
Click to expand...
60% in February is on pace to get +70% on exam day! You will need to drill down on your problem errors and start memorizing formulas and concepts.
What else can be done here?
 
iamMichael wrote:
RoccoLee wrote:
daharmattan1 wrote:
I would get familiar and practice with the older morning mock exams ASAP. That’s where candidates commonly get tripped up. Also, given how much time you have I’d recommend notecards as well.
As you do problems write down which ones were hard / you got wrong and revisit just those every so often
Click to expand...
Actually I have done a notecards by myself, but I am still so nervous when I found I could only scored around 60% in mocks. :(
Will it be a good idea to get familiar with the MC before to go for the essay parts? Or just mix them together like the real exam?
Click to expand...
60% in February is on pace to get +70% on exam day! You will need to drill down on your problem errors and start memorizing formulas and concepts.
What else can be done here?
Click to expand...
But I just found that I could not familiarly apply the concepts and formulas on some questions. And now I keep doing 60 MC questions after heavry workload in office. So I am thinking about whether to slow down a bit.
The thing I am most afraid of is the AM questions. No idea about how to practise for it.
 
So why are you going to wait until May to start? Do some AM mocks now. Seems like the only way to practice for the AM questions is to do some.
 
I was in the same situation,
I read the books twice! But, when I did the questions, I didn’t know what I was doing.
So I went back to learn the concept and memorize the formula.
If I saw the same question or smiliar question, I would be able to answer it!
Now the exam is 60 MC and 180 points in the morning. If I do 600 MC questions and and 10 practice exams, I am sure I covered almost 80% of the universe of questions out there.
No way, I can fail this time.
I have failed 8 times for level 3.
 
iamMichael wrote:
I was in the same situation,
I read the books twice! But, when I did the questions, I didn’t know what I was doing.
So I went back to learn the concept and memorize the formula.
If I saw the same question or smiliar question, I would be able to answer it!
Now the exam is 60 MC and 180 points in the morning. If I do 600 MC questions and and 10 practice exams, I am sure I covered almost 80% of the universe of questions out there.
No way, I can fail this time.
I have failed 8 times for level 3.
Click to expand...
What do you think is the most difficult part for passing the level 3 exam?
Many people say it would be the time management for AM questions, isn’t it?
 
Guys, just for clarity sake, when you say you read / covered the CFAI or Schwesser books, do you mean with or w/o the BB and EOCs?
Thanks!
 
RoccoLee wrote:
iamMichael wrote:
I was in the same situation,
I read the books twice! But, when I did the questions, I didn’t know what I was doing.
So I went back to learn the concept and memorize the formula.
If I saw the same question or smiliar question, I would be able to answer it!
Now the exam is 60 MC and 180 points in the morning. If I do 600 MC questions and and 10 practice exams, I am sure I covered almost 80% of the universe of questions out there.
No way, I can fail this time.
I have failed 8 times for level 3.
Click to expand...
What do you think is the most difficult part for passing the level 3 exam?
Many people say it would be the time management for AM questions, isn’t it?
Click to expand...
Time won’t be an issue if you know the material! If you are sitting there blanking and guessing, it will burn up time.
 
60% in the PM mocks is great for now.
Think you have the luxury of deciding how to proceed.
 
Start writing. Practice answering all EOC/BB in bullet points then move on to past AM and practice damage control (know when to skip a question).
 
If you truly know the material, start focusing on the AM right away. The PM will take care of itself while you’re remediating your AM study.
 
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