Using CFA course material... thinking about Schweser

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timdemoss

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I’m sure there is a lot on this forum about using Schweser… Here are the facts: I do not have a background in finance. I started studying for Level 1 around Aug 1st. I’ve made it through Volume 1 (Ethics and Quantitative Measures) and am just now starting Economics, which is a nice change of pace. the last 30% of QM were rushed because I was/am behind schedule and will likely have to spend some extra review time in QM.
My question is; Given that the exam is 101 days from now, would it be advisable to start using the Schweser material, and have the CFAI material for reference? Or should I just keep on with the CFAI material? I was thinking about getting the videos from Schweser, as I think it’s about 40 hours, and could probably tack that on to my studies with the CFAI books.
Thoughts?
 
Lots of debate back and forth on the topic, but I also have no background in finance and passed all three levels using only Schweser. The material is shorter and more focused on the test.
 
What is your background?
I was in a similar positiion during L1.
I just buckled down and crushed through the CFAI with no questions until 1 week before exam.
Unfortunately I am not able to give insight on third-party providers for CFA, but I do beleive it is doable with CFAI text alone. It just depends on your willingness to do so.
 
For L2, I didn’t have time to read the CFAI word for word so I tried using Schweser and was not satisfied so threw my Schweser in the trash. Went back to CFAI and decided to skim instead of read. Worked out well and passed L2 easily.
So, you may want to go through all the books quickly skimming and highlighting (doing all ECOs of course). Then go back through them all again and read only your highlights doing EOCs again of course. Take a couple mocks and you should be good to go. This method works for a short time frame.
 
Definitely recommend go Schweser or another test prep route. It is completely sufficient and organized to make studying easier.
 
For L1, I would say the videos + notes at the minimum.
If you have time, you can do EOC and blue box from curriculum.
But most important thing would be practice - qbank, mocks.
It is ok to not read a few readings, but you better make sure you know how to solve problems. The test itself for L1 should cover most important topics from important readings. Doing questions will give you an idea what is tested often and how they test it.
 
You still have sufficient time to proceed with official curriculum. If you don’t have background in finance you will have hard time reading Schweser curriculum because it is condensed to large extent, whereas in official curriculum difficult concepts are explained better (in more details). I would suggest to you that you proceed with official curriculum and you still have time to switch to Schweser for certian volumes. In case you are not certain will you make it on time, try TimePrep for study planning - it helps a lot.
 
Do the CFAI curriculum. The end of chapter questions and blue box questions within chapters are a MUST DO.
Go through the Schweser notes as a review after you’ve finished the curriculum.
 
Thanks for all your inputs. I tested schweser by going through economics and using CFAI book for further explanation. Doing both schweser and CFAI EOC questions. Consistently do about 15% better on schweser, which makes sense. (Although scores are not good, ranging from 45-65% on avg.) I think I will read CFAI going forward and then use schweser LOS summaries as an immediate review. Complete all EOC questions and then use primarily schweser (and CFAI if further explanation is needed) during review the last 2-3 weeks.
 
bs010101 wrote:I also have no background in finance and passed all three levels using only Schweser. The material is shorter and more focused on the test.
Click to expand...
I agree with this fully. (But I also have a lot of finance/accounting college coursework.)
 
DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH CFAI CURRICULUM. It is unnecessarily wordy and includes too many examples and details that aren’t helpful for the exam. You won’t know what material is useful or not since you haven’t taken the exam obviously. It will make you waste time and give you greater anxiety as you try to tackle those books.
Go the test prep route. Schweser notes + practice exams are all you need. They’re organized well and do a great job of explaining concepts as efficiently as possible. Our brains do a better job at memorizing/processing neatly structured and shorter content anyways.
 
I’m currently preparing for the Level 1 exam and do have an academic background in finance, plus I’m 80% of the way through the ACA accounting qualification so in terms of background, I think I could hardly ask for anything better.
I went through the Schweser notes once and am just working through the CFAI EOC’s for now which don’t seem too bad. Will then do the Schweser q bank and mocks later and possilby do the CFAI EOC’s a second or even third time as well.
Sounds like that’ll be enough?
 
I have been using the CFAI material to study but it’s taking me too long to get through the content. I was thinking about getting the Schweser notes as well but they’re pretty expensive! I saw a post on another blog yesterday saying that there’s a website, learnsignal.com, doing video content for the level 1 exam. I’ve found their video’s to be really useful so I’m going to use them along with the CFAI material. Definately worth checking out, hope it helps!
 
If you go on eBay to purchase used Notes, especially those from 1 year ago, it will probably cost you ~$100. Not much has changed in one year, and I believe you can look up any specific changes in the curriculum on the CFA website.
You can further cut your costs by purchasing PDF file versions only for Schweser. Some people do not like studying off PDF files, but if you’re okay looking at monitors for long stretches then you’ll save a few bucks. All in all, if you’ve spent several hundred registering for the exam, you shouldn’t have any doubts about dishing out another 100 or so for the Notes.
 
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