Taking the exam after 5 years absence...your input...thx

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N.VanCandidate

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Hello fellow CFA Candidates
I am coming back to write Level 3 after 5 years absence. I attempted level 3 back in June 2010 and failed with in band 10 and decided to take a year off and now it’s been 5 years…I am planning on starting my studies begining of February and looking for some advice :
  1. Should I do any reveiw of level 1 and level 2 materials?
  2. should i buy the paper cirriculum or online version? if online version is it good enough system to highlight etc..
  3. What study privdeer is suggest it? is Schweser still the best one? if yes which package is recommended?
  4. Lastly any other insight or suggestions on best plan of attack is welcomed and appreciate it
Thanks
NVC
 
Hey, I’m taking L3 after passing L2 in 2012, and here is what I found so far:
1. No need to review, start ASAP - material is very different from previous two levels and may take longer to go over.
2. I used online curriculum once for L1 and absolutely hated it. I don’t use other providers other than CFAI so since then I have been ordering printed curriculum. I don’t know if they improved the online version at all, but back in 2010 I found it hard to toggle between pages, and overall very inconvenient to use.
3. I don’t know about this, maybe someone else can pitch in.
4. Best plan of attack has been meticulously constructed and outlined by tremonious2 here: http://www.analystforum.com/forums/cfa-forums/cfa-level-iii-forum/91314226
Good luck!
 
Also, I think February may be a little late to start - I advise you to take a look at the material and try to estimate how much time you need to cover it. I started in February for L2, and it worked just fine. But for L3, I don’t think that would give me enough time. Basically, L3 has less formulae and more concepts. When you have a formula, you can derive any relationship from it - so the ten pages of material explaining these relationships can be condensed into remembering a single formula. L3 has a lot more concepts than formulae, and you also need to make considerations for the different exam format for AM. It may take you longer to learn how to answer essay questions.
 
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