I’m planning to take the CFA® Level 1 exam in either May or July of 2021. I got 26/60 on a mock exam. Therefore, I need to study hard to pass the test.
Most of the prep materials are so expensive and my time is limited. Therefore, I need advice on which prep material I should purchase. I’m considering SchweserPro QBank. I would appreciate any advice.
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I am preparing for CFA L1 on the same time line. I have heard the Kaplan Schweser Notes is the best. I’ve been studying for about 20 days now and I find the material to be concise and very palatable.
If you want someone to study with DM me.
How can I DM you?
You have plenty of time, especially in WFH environment where now more than ever your time can be truly your own. Kaplan Schweser prepped me very well. For context, I didn't start taking it seriously until about 2.5 months before the test, I was scoring mid 60% a week before the test, took the whole week off and crammed, and got as high as i think an 83% in my mock tests right before the real thing.
Took the real thing, felt really unsure of how I did at the time, and ended up in the 95-99% rankings in all the categories. CFA is a global test, with a lot of people taking it who are either not as smart or hardworking as you or are struggling with a language barrier or something. If you put the time in you will be absolutely fine.
If you have any finance background, like a major or any work experience, you're in a really good spot. The people at my firm who struggled were those that majored in anything not finance, since the accounting and corporate finance sections can be a bit hard to understand intuitively. Most people still ended up passing. That said, studying for the CFA helped me finally understand accounting for the first time which was a cool and unexpected byproduct. I did the test for a resume boost/experience talking point but i walked away actually understanding finance way better than what i learned with the degree i received from my target school program.
My biggest advice is to start doing practice questions sooner than you think. I think I crammed in about 1,000 in the two weeks leading up to the exam.
Avoid Bloomberg’s program (speaking from personal experience).
I’m set to take L1 in late February (potentially deferring to March bc of the coco). I’m using Kaplan Schweser and started really studying in July for the exam. I’m a finance and econ student so I’ve probably overdone it given L1 is mainly a review of what I’ve learned in college. However, the content has given me a deeper understanding of finance and accounting and challenged me to learn a few new things along the way. Kap Schwes is the right route to go—brief videos and the instructors keep it light where necessary. The learning ecosystem from CFAI provides 1000+ practice questions and a 1000+ definition/flash card bank as well so make sure to utilize that—free to all who register for the exam.
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