Hey everyone,
Hope study’s are going well the final 2.5 months is here…anybody plan on using Schweser’s secret sauce review book? I’ve never used it for any other levels and don’t feel like I absolutely need it, but anyone think it’s beneficial to have?
I used the Secret Sauce for both Level I and Level II and had a positive experience using it (haven’t had to retake any levels yet). Total hours spent reading through it was probably pretty low, but I felt it helped me in that home stretch to distill the key subjects and keep them fresh. Whereas one Schweser book might contain 2 or 3 topic areas, the Secret Sauce might devote just 10-15 pages to each topic area, just covering the high level points and formulas. So I would probably make 2 or 3 passes through the Secret Sauce during the final month or so during my commute, or just to mix it up and take a break from practice problems or mocks.
I switched away from Schweser for Level III based on feedback from this forum and others, and have been using IFT. They have a product similar in concept, except it’s in video form. It’s at a similar price point as Secret Sauce and worth looking into. If you’re interested, I would suggest watching some of his other video samples on the website or YouTube to see if you like his teaching style. I’m not recommending one product over the other, but just mentioning another option to look at, especially if you might prefer video format. I was slow to come around on video-based learning the first two levels but have been using primarily videos for Level III.
I’m not a note taker, but if you’ve made diligent notes, you may not need the Secret Sauce. Also, there’s nothing really enlightening in it. They’re really just taking the important points, and boiling it down. They eliminate a lot of the content from the books with the assumption that you’ve learned the logic of concepts by now, and can always refer back to the actual books if you need an extended refresher. Although I still found it useful.
Thanks for the info! I bought the secret sauce and agree with your points it’ll be an easier easy just to keep the material fresh in my head and then can just refer back to the main text if I need to brush up on some spots.