I’m a band 3 retaking the exam in 2017. Im pretty sure I would need to drill in the concepts using a question bank so which one should I buy? Schweser might help in reinforcing the concepts even though people say its not that great for level 3. Any other q-bank or schweser it is
I used the Premium package with Schweser. I found the Q bank good at the start to inforce reading. But the last 2-3mths before the exam, I never used it. The classes were great. I also used the video that would go over the AM 2012-2015 exams, which talks about the exam and mistake (and how to avoid making the mistakes).
Problem with L3 is that you don’t have many prep providers. Finquiz is good for the first 6 Study Sessions. Schweser is the most comprehensive with clearly worded questions. Wiley last year was a rehash of the erstwhile Analyst Success. Would be interesting to see if they come up with something new but they are generally behind schedule and hence I am not sure if you should really bank on them.
In my opinion, don’t waste the money. Blue box and EOC questions from the CFAI text are all you need to prepare for the PM exam. There’s no replacement for these because you learn the content and become familiar with the exact way in which exam questions will be phrased.
I used Schweser for level 3 and although I failed (band 10) I don’t feel like that it was due to the Schweser materials.
I thought that although the question bank isn’t great for the AM section of the exam it really helped with the PM section and I found that I could easily dip in and out of questions during my work day to get myself familiar with topics and areas that I was struggling with. Also the mock exams are some of the best from what I have heard.
That said I believe there is no replacement for the CFA materials for level 3 and that’s something I will give even greater attention when studying for 2017.
Just a contribution…
I NEVER purchased third party materials over the 3 Levels… I used CFAI Curriculum + Mocks; and that is it… I never spent an extra dollar beyond the CFA Exam Registration fee.
I believe CFAI Curriculum, Real exam AM questions & guidelines answers, and PM mocks are sufficient for a ‘Pass’.
I believe it’s all dependent on how you prepare for the exam. But what do I know?? many Afers favor third party materials…