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Help in assessing which study provider to use for CFA exam

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    • finneyb
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      I’m exploring using the Analyst Success study notes vs. the Kaplan notes and was wondering if anyone on the forum has an opinion either way. Analyst success just finished their first year with their program so I’d be interested to hear if anyone used their product. Thanks.

    • Zee Tan
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      RaviVooda said:
      @sophie, for level-3 this time I have relied exlcusively on CFAI material except for the practice tests. I felt the material was way far better than Schweser. Especially for level-3 I think we should use CFAI material.

      @RaviVooda‌ would be interested in getting your detailed opinion on this! We’ve heard lots of improvement in the CFAI material and a first-hand account would be really great. Would you be interested in a guest post? 

    • urbanlegend179
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      So I signed up for Level 1 coming up this December.

      I have 3 months.

      Problem is, I have no background in finance whatsoever. Zero.

      According to my schedule, I can afford to put in 450 hours. Is this enough? Am I wasting my time?

      Also, given my non-finance background and limited time (3 months), do I go with the CFA books or do I use Schweser only?

    • Sophie Macon
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      @urbanlegend179‌ , yes it’s enough. We normally say 6 months but that assumes a full time job. 450 hours is enough, and you should start studying now!

      I’d suggest going for a third party provider like Schweser (a few more listed in Offers page), they will help you focus on concepts you need to learn in 3 months. The CFA curriculum may be too detailed and you may not have enough time to cover it for December

    • RaviVooda
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      Kaplan is anytime better

    • hairyfairy
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      Elan for L1, Schweser for L2. They were both not bad. I’d give an edge to Elan in general as they are cheaper and still pretty good, but their availability for L2 and L3 aren’t as good as Schweser.

    • MM12
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      @Sophie‌ I used the CFA curriculum exclusively the first time I did level 1 and failed. I honestly believe the books were quite good and had nothing to do with me failing – I just entered a really busy period at work and simply didn’t have enough time to study. The second time for level 1 I used mostly Schweser and passed, but felt that the CFAI books were better (I did level 1 in June and December in that order, so the topics covered were exactly the same). I can’t comment on level 2 and 3 as I used mostly Schweser and rarely looked at the CFAI books.

    • TimBCanada
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      Good experience with Kaplan for 2 years. Believe they are the most widely used. Haven’t used Analyst Success so can’t comment

    • RaviVooda
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      @sophie, for level-3 this time I have relied exlcusively on CFAI material except for the practice tests. I felt the material was way far better than Schweser. Especially for level-3 I think we should use CFAI material.

    • RaviVooda
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      @zee, no problem. 🙂 Let me know what details you need.

    • MM12
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      I have only used Schweser notes (Kaplan) and I’m quite happy with them so far.

    • Sophie Macon
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      Anyone use CFA curriculum exclusively? Heard that the books are much better nowadays than 5 years ago when I did the CFA levels, thoughts?

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