Study plan for level 2

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Aliandr

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Hi there!
December 2013 I passed level 1 and even tried to pass level 2 in June, however, to be honest, I know that my 4-month preparation was not enough to pass. One of the reason of it was I still don’t understand how I should work on it to be ready for the exam.
From other posts and my experience I decided to use CFAI material and practice with qbank (yes, it is very simple comparing to real exam, but it’s good to work on concepts)
I create the following schedule to read the material. Then I think to repeat all the material till May,1. And all May I want to dedicate to mocks.
Could you please criticize my plan? Should I take a week off before the exam. I would be very much appreciated for idea and hints for improving.
book
# of pages
begin
end
1
711
01.10.2014
31.10.2014
2
430
01.11.2014
20.11.2014
3
289
21.11.2014
04.12.2014
4
588
05.12.2014
19.01.2015
5
593
20.01.2015
14.02.2015
6
536
15.02.2015
10.03.2015
 
I suggest you wait for the results first, which is just 3 weeks away anyway. You don’t want to waste your time studying material you already know.
Could you give us a more detailed plan (i.e., per topic, not per book?). Also, include time for qbank and mocks.
Personally, here was my schedule for Jun 2014 exam. I think this order is optimal. I studied tools first (Q, Ec, FRA, CF), and then asset classes (Eq, FI, AI, Der), put everything into perspective with PM, and ended with Eth, mainly because I want to retain as much Eth material as possible. You tend to forget a lot if you start with this topic first.
1 week - Quants
2 weeks - Economics
4 weeks - FRA
3 weeks - Corp fin
4 weeks - Equity
3 weeks - Fixed income
3 weeks - Alts
3 weeks - Derivative
1 weeks - Portfolio
1 weeks - Ethics
Very helpful to write your own summaries/notes while studying. Easier to read your notes than to go back to voluminous material over and over again.
Then, after reading all topics, 1-1.5 weeks per topic answering Qbank and EOCs.
Then, answered mocks and until the exam.
Probably helpful to take a week off from work to just focus on mocks before exam. Take as many mocks as possible during last week to get into that exam-taking mindset.
 
My 2 cents of advice is as follows. I followed the approach in both Level I and Level II. i do not know about the results yet but feel that the approach was right. I give a first pass for all the material in 4-5 months. this may depend on individual capacity to grab the material.
Also I make sure that 1.5-2 months are left when I am done with my first pass. First pass also includes the practise questions from each chapter. (I study from scheweser)
Then I do a second pass of the material giving more time to the chapters that I am not confident yet. Side by side I prepare my notes this time to help me revise everyting in final days. this is very very helpful. Also it helps you to retain material in your memory as you write down the important concepts/formulas. Also this time as i revise second time, I do EOC questions from CFAI books.It takes me around 1 month
At last I start with mocks and quicky reread the material which i again find it dificult to answer in my mocks. This time they are mainly some formulas and some concepts. I refer to my had prepard notes to refer to forgotten formulae and in case i have missed to write down that, i open the corresponding LOS from the book and note that as well.
By the time you do 2-3 mocks, you realize that you now know everything and now it is just the matter on the D-day.
All the best for your preparation.
 
I will throw in my 2 cents as a 2014 Level II retaker. I failed band 9 in 2013 and revised my study plan for my second attempt based on the below.
I know it’s too far away now, but before you begin studying I would recommend you break down your schedule into more detail (i.e. what material you will cover each week), which will allow you to see more easily and quickly if you are falling behind.
You also want to make sure you schedule time each week to review material you have already reviewed to ensure it is not forgotten. I personally set aside 1 day/week for this purpose.
I would recommend planning on finishing all the material 1.5 months prior to the exam because A) more often than not we run behind schedule so it’s better to allow yourself some buffer room and B) if after taking your first mock you realize you are not quite where you expected to be you will have more time to address any weak areas without feeling as stressed due to lack of time.
Good luck!
 
Thank you all for your replies! I’m very much appreciated.
Yesterday I got my results for lvl 2 - band 2!!!! It worse than I could ever imagine. I’m absolutely upset, I wanted to believe that everithing was better. Luckly, I got huge support from husband and he said that I should devote more time and effort this time. I could spend about 5 hours each day, but plaese take into account that English is not my native language and it takes me some time to check words in dictionary.
Aertsommelier, I like you idea. I think I will start October, 1 (I can’t earlier due to CAIA exam). I have review your plan with CFAI materials - it’s very intensive, but i like it. Due to some plans I think I could finish until April, 5 and then start mocks. Is 2 months of mocks enough for prep?
Gurjot, finally, how mch time do you spend on preparation with such approach? Now, do you think it’s 100% effective? Will you change something?
Alakinfitz, thank you for very valuable advice about 1 day review per week! How did you do it? Was it on weekend or it was related to finish some part of Study Session? How did it look like?
 
I updated my schedule according to my vacations and trips: I can start with mocks only in Mid-May. Is it tooo late?
 
Aliandr,
don’t be upset too much about the results. When I read that you had only four months of preparation while using only CFAI material, I already knew that your chances were minimal especially taking into consideration the fact that english is not your first language. In my opinion, in order to pass a L2 exam in those circumstances, you literally have to quit your job and stay at home to process and memorize all that huge amount of information they ask you to know on exam day. Let it just serve you as an awakening experience. General consensus on this forum is that L2 exam is a beast and probably even more difficult than L3 one.
I’ll PM you and give a couple of tips on this subject later.
 
One suggestion, instead of spending 100% of your time in May working through Mock Exams, use this time to also tighten up the areas you don’t understand very well. A mock exam is just a simulation of the real thing. Like in sports, you have to practice the fundamentals in order to hone your game.
 
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