Started already
I’ll be depressed by January if I start now.
Started studying but casually. Would like to avoid the sprint that was the Dec 2013 to June 2014 turnaround.
I started studying a few days after I got my level 2 results. It’s not intense studying but gives me something to do when I have an hour or two of free time.
It can’t hurt so I fiigure why wait?
I’m starting to study Behavior Finanace today. Because it’s my first attempt this time, I think I should have begun studying early.
a lot of the WC warn against starting early but do what feels best. Better to start too early than too late.
for levels 2 and 3 I started mid October, racking up around 50 hours before xmas, 2 weeks off, then starting properly in January with a week off in late Feb before the final push from March to exam day.
never burned out and the early reading stood me in good stead.
Ideally I would have started earlier, but I enrolled in FRM to take in Nov. Not the smartest move but I’m stuck with it now. Hopefully not going to burnout before I even get to touch L3.
I’ve never understood the concept of starting too early: how can it possibly be _ too _ early?
(If you say that the problem is that you’ll have forgotten everything you studied too early by exam time, I’ll submit that that’s not a problem with starting too early; it’s a problem with starting early _ and not reviewing adequately later _. It’s that second half that’s to blame, not the first half.)
Am almost done with 1st CFAI ethics book.
Spending just an hour or 2 a day on my subway commute from Brooknam into the city and back.
Very well said Magician. I almost always started (for whatever level) by september and read at my own pace.
to play devils advocate, the argument against starting this early is the inefficiency of reading material now that you will have to spend time re reading and refreshing next year. but i suppose that argument assumes that you would have the same level of understanding of a certain part of the material if you just read it once next year and if you read it now and refreshed later.
I think the argument against starting to study now is test fatigue…I think I like the idea of what gringo mentioned above – shoot for some number of hours prior to Christmas and then take a 2 week break and then hit it hard through June.
Maybe 50-75 pre holiday.
I plan to start reading the books this December. Studying too early isn’t for me since I dont have the ability to hold the info till June. Just like a sport, it’s not good to be overtrained or undertrained. You have to make sure you peak at the right moment. But that’s just me. To each their own I guess.
I don’t think it’s possible to study too much (however, it is possible to stress out too much). Just grab the books and start. The words “I passed the exam because I put off studying until I had to live/breathe/eat/sleep CFA 24/7 in the spring” have rarely been uttered.
I tried to leisurely begin studying for L2 in Nov. last year. It definitely didnt work out and I realized I cannot keep a sustained relaxed pace. I need to be full-tilt and completely immersed in the curriculum to stay on track. 4 months of diciplined studying got me through L1 and L2 on the first try so I think I have to stick with what works. That said, Ill probably pick up the studying sometime in Dec.
Family, work, life events and motivation will cause you to miss study time. Give yourself some margin for error and start early.
I started reading as soon as I received the printed curriculum mid-August (Volume 2).
My impression thus far is that even though the readings are indeed loooong, revising them is a rather easy task, since each chapter is based on a relativelly few concepts (that should be already familiar to active markets participants) and not cluttered with formulae to be memorized.
This bodes well with my plan to go once through the entire CFAI material (including blue boxes & EOC) while making notes and clarifying issues, then revise with just the Finquiz Notes & Qbank.
This is basically the same approach I used in the previous Levels, with the notable exception that I will be taking prior years’ Exams as well (for the first time…ever).
Good point. Problem I had in level-II was having enough review material later on to practice/hone in on specific areas… Come late May I was reviewing my moleskin notebook with my hand written notes, flashcards, practice problems, over and over and over again. Even with all this extra time to review I still felt like I needed more ways to practice to increase my confidence. I can’t imagine starting right now and having enough stuff to work through by June but maybe that’s just my study style?
I have started, albeit at random: just picked the readings I could focus on during my commute. Not sure such a relaxed approach will work as the material gets tougher.
I don’t know how you can be overtrained in studying. Familiarity breeds recognition and speed; do you think that there’s a point of negative marginal utility?