Running out of time, as my work responsibilities have increased dramatically this year, I thought I’d have a lot more time on my hands. I’m only up to FRA (book 2) schweser. Honestly, I think I set myself too much of a hurdle trying to do the exam study in six months…a pity CFA don’t provide refunds.
Out of interest, I am seriously considering skipping the entire book 5 - alternative investments and portfolio management (combined weight:10-20%). Has anyone tried to skip a section and passed the exam?
I already think I’m going to be a re-sitter due to my work load. But, if I have any chance at passing, skipping a section and concentrating on other parts could be my only shot. I
I have never skipped a full section. I may have skipped a few sub-sub-sections where I had trouble grasping the concepts. But thats it. Lets take the scenario where u skip AI & PM completely and on the exam day, u r the unluckiest person of the world and see that both AI & PM have the highest possible weightage (i.e. total of 20%). This means that u have to achieve 87.5% in the remaining 80% exam in order to reach 70% of overall exam to pass. Unless u are one of those elite candidates, i don’t see it as feasible.
Btw u r not alone having work responsibilities increased dramatically. Some even have to deal with additional family events. Thats why some candidates take sensible decision to start 6+ months earlier in anticipation of these events. An analyst should, as a matter of fact, be pro-active in anticipating future events. Sorry to sound harsh.
Okay, are you working 14 hours a day? you need 6 hours of sleep. These leave 4 hours per day during the week the study, which is plenty. If you are working more than that then yeah, I’d say you might not be in too good of shape but even with 3 hours a day NOT including weekends, you still have 321 hours of study time (which you really should be spending 5-6 hours a day on Saturday/Sunday). That being said, I think it is possible and if you sit down and really start to think it all through and think you won’t be ready, you can always find the sickest person you know a week before the exam, spend lots of time around them without washing your hands, have them cough in your face, etc. Go to the doctor, get a note, then submit it to CFAI within 10 days after the exam.
This MPS discussion is futile. Missing it by margin will cause immense pain,an easy approach is to keep at it to the point you start scoring 80-90 % consistently in mocks. Only 1% will clear the exam by sheer luck, rest will be filtered. I had 5 sections 70+ last year yet failed, and the reason is I underestimated the beauty of the exam.
100 days should be good even if you start now, just that you need to study more than others.
I actually skipped book 5 and FI for level 2 and passed with a larger margin than when I passed level 1. Not that I’d recommend anyone do this. If you do, make flashcards for all the formulas in the quick sheet and cram the secret sauce.
I switched jobs during CFA studying and was not able to read Derivatives, Alternatives, or Portfolio Management. I failed 7th band and am retaking this year. I personally don’t recommend it.