@jim
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A lot of people want to do a “once over” and just read through the materials before really doing problems. Doesn’t work for me (i.e. is just time wasted because I don’t retain the info). I don’t tend to move on from a topic until I feel comfortable I have done enough practice problems to score in the 80% range. The risk, of course, is that you run out of time, but I tend to try to study at least 3 hours a day (on average). I usually start with mastering what I can in Schweser first, then take the CFA Mock, do a boot camp, then revise/read/scour/practice with CFAI books until the bitter end of May. The one thing I tend not to focus on are the online classes because I don’t have an attention span to listen to anyone talk for 3 hours straight. And it’s not active learning to me anyway (though you get some good tips once in a while). Nothing beats just doing tons of problems and being a total misanthrope for the months of March-May. Good luck to ramping up!
I am just finishing reading 13/study session 5. I feel really behind, but I honestly had no gas in my tank until about 3 weeks ago. I did Dec 2013 Level I then June 2014 Level II, and I think the lack of time between the two helped stay focused. Having that 6 months off between L2 and study for L3 spoiled me. It’s like training for a marathon from scratch after 6 months of not running. It’s been sloooow going to find the motivation/energy.
Level II PASS (Whew)
– Alternative Investments 18 * – –
– Corporate Finance 36 – – *
– Derivatives 36 – – *
– Economics 18 – – *
– Equity Investments 72 – – *
– Ethical & Professional Standards 36 – – *
– Financial Reporting & Analysis 72 – * –
– Fixed Income Investments 18 – – *
– Portfolio Management 36 * – –
– Quantitative Methods 18 – – *I’ve only finished two full Schweser Mocks. 66 on the first, 74 on the second. Going to revisit the EOCs inn CFAI books and try to remember all the stuff I’ve forgotten! It still terrifies me that so much of this is the luck of the draw with respect to your (hopefully) strong areas appearing on the exam.
I found Econ & Corp Fin the most challenging for Level I (at least they were the areas I didn’t score >70%). I have a background in stats, compliance and portfolio management, so quant, ethics and most of the investment tools were easier for me to back into the right answer. Econ and Corp fin were less familiar and had so many one-off type questions if I recall correctly. FRA just sucked to study for but I think I did well because I was terrified of it and studied like crazy for that part. Sad that quant is relatively underweighted in Level II!
morning: espresso, sliced apple and toasted English muffin followed by a cup of English breakfast tea. Afternoon: light lunch (sandwich). I don’t eat anything else while studying because I like to mimic test conditions (so gum only). I found for me personally that helped me have stamina in level 1.
Had a bad experience because (like most of you) I methodically planned my lunch (went to whole foods, had a sandwich prepped and in a cooler with some almonds and a club soda)–then went to my car between sessions, bit into it and realized my wrap was SPOILED. Like fermented. So I had to get through the second session of Level 1 with only about 15 almonds in my belly. Let’s just say I had a hard time sticking to my test-taking strategy by the end of that day!
