I saw a similar topic on the level 1 forums and figured this would give good guidance for the people thats preparing for level 2 1. What is your education background? Econ undergrad 2. Is this your first time taking level 2? If not, what try is it passed L1/L2 first time 3. How many hours did you study, and how long before the exam did you start to study? started end of April. Put in ~125hrs. 4. What did you use to study? (ie. curriculum, qbank, stallas) Schweser only + end of chap questions. I did very few qbank questions…probably 5% at most. The only ones worth doing (if at all) is the item set questions. Took 3 practice exams (2 CFAI, 1 schweser) 5. Is there anything you would like to have done differently to prepare? No 6. Any other comments or advice. A big difference for L1 v L2 in my opinion is the usefulness of practice exams (schweser or mock). For L1, I think doing as many exams as possible is crucial, and as you take more and more it becomes a very good proxy for the actual exam. For L2, given the item set format, exams will be pretty different from each other, making it hard to rely on. I think the biggest key is to go back and read the more important sections a second time, and maybe even a third time. I think this allows you to retain the material in a more comprehensive way versus reading 1x and then doing questions to retain. You’d be surprised about all the details you pick up/retain on a second reading. I would differentiate b/w difficult v important…time series is tough…but really not worth a second read b/c it won’t be tested in scale. FSA/Equities…absolutely read more than once. And def keep your own formula sheet as you go along…everyone complains about the accruals q’s on FSA this year, when really it was a lot of plug-and-chug. You could go through 10 practice exams and never get an FSA question on that topic and think that you’ve mastered the study session. However, if you make it a point to read through challenging sections a couple of times and track the pertinent ‘must-memorize’ stuff…you’re less likely to experience the ‘they asked really obscure questions’ phenomenon. I think passing on schweser is 100% doable and given the breadth of material I wouldn’t touch CFAI…I think it’s way too inefficient. You could read schweser 2x in the time it takes to read CFAI once.
i have to agree, you need to take what you see on the forum with a grain of salt. i noticed a number of inaccurate posts leading up the exam, and folks that tried to shortcut their test prep could easily have become confused or misled. CFAI cirriculum is the only way to go - read it cover to cover, do the end of chapter problems, and allow at least 4 weeks prior to the test for review and practice/mock exams. i started studying mid february after having passed L1 in December 08 - 20 hrs/week was probably the average. the topics you can grasp, dominate them - those that you can’t, move on. but make sure you’re familiar with everything. finance undergrad.
- What is your education background? undergrad degrees in finance, accounting, economics 2. Is this your first time taking level 2? If not, what try is it 1 try 3. How many hours did you study, and how long before the exam did you start to study? 400+ 4. What did you use to study? (ie. curriculum, qbank, stallas) Schweser, EOC questions, Qbank, secret sauce, schweser and cfai practice exams 5. Is there anything you would like to have done differently to prepare? My preparation for lvl2 would not have required as many hours if each study session was more efficient and focused. 6. Any other comments or advice. This test is obviously passable, but be prepared for questions over minor details. Leave no stone unturned.