June '15 Level I Prep Update

LeChiffre

As I wrap up another set of q-bank questions, I think it is a good time to update the forum on my progress in preparing for the upcoming Level I exam this June. I will list study sessions covered, number of q-bank questions answered, and my scores on said questions. All questions are Schweser q-bank.

I have prepped for approximately 155 hours. That number is likely a bit conservative and the actual number may be closer to 175. It looks like I will have around 300 hours finished by test day. Please, share your thoughts, thanks.

Topic - # of ?'s - Score

Ethics - 50 - 72.0%

Quant - 135 - 83.0%

FRA - 140 - 73.6%

Corp Fin - 105 - 81.9%

Port Mgt - 80 - 77.5%

Equity Inv - 165 - 82.4%

Fixed Inc - 170 - 78.2%

Deriv - 45 - 89%

Alt Inv - 41 - 70.7%

TOTAL - 931 - 79.2%

Honestly, I feel pretty good about where I stand. If anything I feel like I have gotten relatively far in only ~150 hours of studying. I plan on hitting Ethics and FRA one more time by April 11, then I will have everything covered once and I will begin practice exams and reviewing areas that need better scores.

Anyone in a similar situation? Has anyone been in a similar situation? Input is appreciated.

Thanks,

John

knight90

Those scores look pretty good. Try to hit some more FRA since that is heavily weighted on the exam.

Also if you haven't already, I would do all of the end of chapter questions from the actual CFA Institute material instead of relying only on Schweser practice problems. They also have review questions for each section on the CFA Institute site.  The q-bank questions are usual easier than the actual exam questions. 

LeChiffre

@knight90, thanks. Another round of FRA before the second part of review is the plan. I have around two more weeks planned for FRA before test day. I'll be using CFAI questions along with q-bank in my next part of review.

christine

@LeChiffre pretty good considering the time left! Ethics and FRA may need a bit extra practice, but you're in good shape, I think. Well done!

LeChiffre

@christine, yeah Ethics was the first section I did and all questions are from one cumulative 50-question set. After another go the scores should be higher. And FRA, if all goes well, will get at least another two weeks of review. It's a grind of a section.

Bittersweet

I'm in my second reading now - finished ethics and quant and hopefully will be done with each book by mid april

Scoring 84-90 % in ethics and at least 80 % in quant in CFAI questions on their site

I suggest that you do them instead of qbank which,  I think is helpful only during the first reading

LeChiffre

@Bittersweet, my Ethics score is terrible because it was the first section I reviewed and it wasn't broken down by reading, just one 50-question cumulative test. And, let's be honest here, I hadn't learned how to read and answer CFAI-style questions. However, there does not seem to be a place on CFAI's website to see as detailed of a breakdown of LOSs and readings scoring.

I'll do the CFAI questions in the curriculum during my second review starting mid-April, along with 6 practice exams. I have a feeling Ethics and FRA will be getting a lot of attention in the coming weeks.

Bittersweet

About ethics...

I did those 40 questions at the end of curriculum and got ~90 % + getting at least 84 % on CFAI questions on their site

but when i tried doing ethics from the qbank i'm getting like low 70% 

wtf ?

LeChiffre

@Bittersweet, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Could be that it's been a little while since you've looked at Ethics. And I don't think Schweser q-bank is a pushover by any means, they make their questions tough to prep you for the actual exams.

Bittersweet

I've noticed that the more ethics questions I do in a row, the lower score I get

it all gets blurry

~ 20 ethics questions per day is max for me