CFA CFA Level 1 Are you are sitting for the L1 this December? If so, when are you going to begin studying?

Are you are sitting for the L1 this December? If so, when are you going to begin studying?

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      I am curious to see when everyone plans on launching their studies for the Level 1 this December. I am going to start next week with 5-7 hours or studying and then will slowly ramp up to get adjusted to this work-life-study juggle.

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      Hey @hairyfairy, i think you’ve gotten it wrong about @imdnextbuffet. He’s a level 2 candidate if i’m not wrong.

      true that. Level 2 in JUNE 14. Learning mandarin in meantime, catching up novels 😀

      FRM part 1 Nov 13.

    • Zee Tan
      Keymaster
        • CFA Charterholder
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        Scared! is the word! Am an ameteur student, dont have superpower brains.
        Am more of the types who studies 100% gets 70% unlike others viceversa. @Zee

        Is there ever a ‘professional student’? 🙂

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        @mcricky, @gary, @tonypetrunin – it’s awesome to see so many determined people here, already starting preparation for December! But it is a challenge with work, and I’m sure it’ll pay dividends later in terms of greater flexibility of study plan. 🙂

      • Zee Tan
        Keymaster
          • CFA Charterholder
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          woohoo welcome @dannimac! looking forward to seeing you around more often!

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          What your situation like @sakitime? Normally a study schedule is ‘tailor-made’ to fit around your work/life commitments. Perhaps this post I wrote could be of help to work out your study schedule? An app isn’t completely necessary.

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          @marc thank you for the warm wishes and kind words. Honestly, the biggest challenge has been adjusting to the early wake up. I have found that if I am not in bed my 9pm I will be slow to learn come 4:30 am the following morning.

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          This is my first post here and am in for L1 in Dec too 🙂 .

          Been reading through(Solving…some of it..) by an average of 1.5 hours per day for a month now. Don’t know how effective its going to be.

        • microeconomist
          Participant
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            Hi All, I am preparing for December and have just finished DTLs & DTAs along with IS,BS & CFS basics. I majored in econ, I love econ, econ and I are besties (don’t tell my wife, j/k she already knows). Accounting, not quite so friendly. My advice is to start NOW! Only perfect practice makes perfect. Semper Paratus.

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            Hi all, I started last month and hope to finish Econ this week (done ethics and quants so far). My initial plan was to 1. watch schweser videos 2. read cfai material 3. eoc cfai….as it took too much time too read all the CFA material I recently switched to 1. watch the videos 2. read schweser notes and 3, do the EOC’s of schweser and CFAI straight after the readings. But since FRA is a huge chunk of the exam should I use CFA book on this or should procede with Schweser?

          • microeconomist
            Participant
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              @bendujamin I am currently on FRA; your 1,2,3 approach is similar to mine. It is (1) video & outline (2) EOC & test bank questions (4) use FRA book to find reasoning behind wrong answers (5) rote memorization procedures (6) additional questions. Also, I fall asleep at night to the sweet sound of FRA audiobooks I-) I will be thoroughly programmed come test day.

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              oh and @hairyfairy another thing that worked for me when I was getting too discouraged was to step back and organize my notes. Spent a couple of hours and work out a study schedule and break it down to small steps that I could achieve. My natural break points were topics/chapters. I think another thing that gets to candidate at the last leg of the race is the sheer volume.
              Hwaiting!

            • hairyfairy
              Participant
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                @diya @sidmenon thanks for the encouragement. I’m just hitting a low today – it’s Monday 🙁

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                Hi @TonyPetrunin, even m dec2013 level 1 candidate, already started with corporate finance and portfolio management. Though study plan is not fixed, just juggling between work and study.

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                @marc- Great insights! I will definitely take your suggestions to heart.

                On the TimePrep app, is it really worth $50?

              • Marc
                Participant
                  • CFA Charterholder
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                  @TonyPetrunin

                  I guess the best way to answer your question is, it depends on how much help you think you need to get and stay organized.

                  Putting that issue aside for the moment, the app itself is great. While I’ve never used it properly (in “game day conditions”) because they don’t make it for Level 3 (yet), the developers did give me access to the Level 1 version to play around with. Frankly, it’s probably the most useful CFA app, or study aid apps generally, that I’ve come across. It asks you a few questions at the outset to get your requirements and preferences and then creates a schedule based on these. Interestingly, it asks how many pages you can read on average per hour and tells you that the average candidate can get through 9. I’m assuming that they have researched this. If you miss a study session (they use the word “fail”, which I suggested was a bad idea, but they said that they’ve tested this on candidates), it can be easily rescheduled and the rest of your schedule adjusts accordingly.

                  It is also perfectly synced with the curriculum, so your assignment isn’t “5:30 – 7:15: Read 32 pages”, but rather something like “8am to 11am Economics: Monetary and Fiscal Policy; Read pages 371 – 398.” And, let’s say you block off a 6-hour period on a Saturday (which I know you don’t plan to do, but it’s just an example), it will actually break up your assignments based on how many sections or questions it expects you to get through in that time. So, you don’t end up with a huge block of time with the words “Study for CFA”, you get 4 or 5 specific assignments, which I find much more helpful.

                  Having said all that, since it’s only April and you’ve already started organizing, that suggests that you might not need too much help in the organization department. And, as I said, I have only played around with it rather than using it as my study guide.

                  Let me know if you I can give you any more insight on this.

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                  @imdnextbuffett right there with you pal. I may not be the most intelligent but I will out-work the best of em’ 😉 Being very adaptive and flexible works too

                  something to think about… 😛
                  “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” ― Charles Darwin

                • Zee Tan
                  Keymaster
                    • CFA Charterholder
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                    I’ll look you up to write a review post @tonypetrunin! 🙂

                  • singhanand98
                    Participant
                      • CFA Level 2
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                      @microeconomist Started straight off with DTLs & DTAs :O

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                      I still need to finish unit 2 of the IMC (exam July 2nd) – then crack on with L1. I’ve skimmed through most of it, and looks pretty straight forward, but my god there is alot!

                      I recognise a good 40-50% of the topics though from either work, uni or the IMC. Personally I think 4.5-5 months would be optimally efficient study period.

                      I’ve been chatting to alot of people at work who did L1 last year and they said 4 months should be enough :0

                    • Snippy
                      Participant
                        • CFA Level 2
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                        Hey @hairyfairy, i think you’ve gotten it wrong about @imdnextbuffet. He’s a level 2 candidate if i’m not wrong.

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                        @Gary Sounds like you are off to a great start!

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                        Scared! is the word! Am an ameteur student, dont have superpower brains.
                        Am more of the types who studies 100% gets 70% unlike others viceversa. @Zee

                      • Marc
                        Participant
                          • CFA Charterholder
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                          @TonyPetrunin

                          I’m really happy to hear that. I was a bit worried because, like I said, I haven’t properly worked with it. But I was really impressed with what I saw, so I’m glad to hear that you’re finding it helpful (and hopefully worth the $50).

                          By the way, I’m convinced that you have what it takes to get through Level 1 (and beyond, but one step at a time). So much of the CFA exam process is about setting a plan, keeping at it and believing in yourself during the tough times – and there will be some of those, but that’s when it’s helpful to have a forum like this.

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                          Me! Eep! I am going to start studying as soon as I get my hands on the material, I;m registering this week

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                          Hi Guys! I just registered for December Level I yesterday and will start studying for it in the next 2 – 3 weeks 🙂

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                          @Sophie I found that very helpful. I agree with @Tonypetrunin that the hardest part has been adjusting my sleep schedule. Weekends are definitely the heavier study periods, but it all helps. Thanks for the advice!

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                          Couldn’t agree more, it took me 3 weeks to find my routine and I am still making adjustments here and there.

                        • microeconomist
                          Participant
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                            @Lilas @singhanand98 My process on where to begin is a bit unconventional, but effective for me. I took the subject I’m weakest in (accounting) and showed the topic list to a seasoned CPA. He told me which topic would be the most difficult for someone with no accounting background -deferred tax (along with CFS creation). Starting with the most difficult thing forces me to devise an efficient & effective process/routine/habit *-:) . Also, conquering the most difficult thing is always a huge confidence booster! Remember my sig :-bd

                            It seems directed comments are beyond my capacity today lol

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                            @mathewjf2- I second @djwestwood on that. Sure, you will certainly recognize some things from uni but you certainly won’t have them “mastered” until you look into them and understand the concepts, application, and unique exceptions for each formula. In short, don’t rely on your uni experience to carry you here. I found that the material that overlaps with my day-to-day work is far easier to comprehend as it is more familiar to me. The stuff from uni, on the other hand, is common to me but to say I fully captured everything from the period of line would be a lie 😉

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                            Cheers everyone! Just signed up on this forum and like most of you, I’ll be sitting for L1 this coming December. I plan to start studying the second week of July, as I’ll be on vacation the first week, and need to finish up a course that goes till the end of June. I have some familiarity with a good chunk of the material, so for me the challenge will be figuring out how to take what I know and learn the remainder of the material in an efficient way, and how to become ready to perform well enough during the actual exam.

                          • Zee Tan
                            Keymaster
                              • CFA Charterholder
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                              You can always come here for help @FranckMengue!

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                              @hairyfairy don’t say that! You still have approximately six weeks to sort through all the material and post questions here.
                              @ToryPetrunin starting early will always work in your favour but on the flip side it gives you more time to forget. When I was studying for level I I wasn’t working and had ample amount of time to start early but I eventually condensed all my studying in about six weeks before the exam.

                              I had read some of the material before (at odd intervals) but unfortunately I had no recollection of what I learned. My suggestion is to revise what you learned 3-4 weeks ago regularly to avoid forgetting too much.

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                              Hi @Tonypetrunin I too am taking CFA Level 1 in December.

                              I started my study last night as i am waiting on my Books from CFA, I am using the CFA online Portal. yesterday i watched some video recordings of their introduction course which covered each of the sections briefly and gave a good introduction to the calculator.

                              My Plan is like yours I’m aiming for about an hour each night and a couple of hours one day of the weekend.

                              The 7City portal resets in June (as an early sign up they are giving me access to current portal) so will up my study then to about 2 hours a night. In my head an hour to an hour and a half reading and watching videos then 45 minutes of practice questions.

                              I’m allowing plenty of time to get practice questions done.Haven’t decided which topic to start with so may just follow the CFA reading order

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                              @hairyfairy I agree with @Diya on this one! You still have enough time to work on your trouble areas. Its all about what you put into it right? Best of luck!

                              @divya- how did you go above reviewing? Did you simply scan your notes and take a few refresher questions?

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                              @TonyPetrunin – effective reading/find questions on topics I know I am having problems in. Since you are writing the exam in dec 2013 I will cut my explanation short as I will be featuring this on my blog very soon…

                            • Zee Tan
                              Keymaster
                                • CFA Charterholder
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                                @imdnextbuffet why didn’t you take June 13?

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                                @marc just downloaded the timeprep trial app and love it already. It is great!

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                                Any advice for me frds? I plan to start studying seriously from the 1st of June, there are so many different materials, don`t know from which one to start. It`s so confusing. Does anyone have a useful study schedule or would anyone like to start with me in parallel in order to have strict deadlines? Many thanks in advance for your answers

                              • Cain_in_TX
                                Participant
                                  • CFA Level 1
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                                  Not looking at this December. June 2014 if I decide I am going to do this.

                                • singhanand98
                                  Participant
                                    • CFA Level 2
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                                    You could proceed with Schweser if time is short @bendujamin. It’s equally effective.

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                                    Hey @TonyPetrunin, how’s it going? Hope all is well!

                                    From memory I recall there’s a couple more (shy 🙂 ) Level Dec 1 here too in the same boat: @Gary, @bamoran89, @codebreaker?

                                  • hairyfairy
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                                      :(( :(( :(( :(( — how I feel now when I think about studies @diya…

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                                      @hairyfairy when I was studying for level I. I thought up of giving up and just writing it again in June but then I imagined having to study the same material again for another 6 months and that sent chills down my spine. I started studying again.

                                    • Marc
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                                        • CFA Charterholder
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                                        @TonyPetrunin

                                        I can empathize with your situation. I wrote 1 and 2 while I was doing my MBA, so my “job” was basically to study finance and accounting. Preparing for L3 while managing a job, wife and kids is a different beast.

                                        One thing I will say that hasn’t been mentioned is, be sure to take some time to scan the curriculum and plan your studies accordingly. What I mean by this is that it doesn’t make much sense to just start at page 1 of book 1 and read through to the end of book 6. There is actually quite a bit of overlap between different readings and you can save time and study better if you take a bit of time now to identify the areas a the curriculum that overlap.

                                        Also, there is a handy app called TimePrep (only available for iOS) that is really useful for study planning. You may want to look into it.

                                        Best of luck.

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                                        Scared! is the word! Am an ameteur student, dont have superpower brains.
                                        Am more of the types who studies 100% gets 70% unlike others viceversa. @Zee

                                        Is there ever a ‘professional student’? 🙂

                                        What i meant was I am not smart ass/intelligent types. I’m more of a the types “who has to slog his ass off, but at the end the results are not always in own favor”, unlike others.

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                                        @imdnextbuffet, not all of us are born smart. But I’m like you too, I try to compensate with lots of hard work. :-bd

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                                        @dannimac Welcome to the forum i too am sitting the exam in december.
                                        I got my materials pretty quick once i registered so you can begin the fun very soon. If you go to the 7city website you can trial their portal it has a virtual classroom session on quantitative method if you want to get started sooner

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                                        @tonypetrunin just got my book for level 1 in Dec and getting organized. Are you still using the excel template you found online or did you switch over to the ios app? I’m an andriod user, so its not an option for me. @marc any other suggestions?

                                      • singhanand98
                                        Participant
                                          • CFA Level 2
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                                          Hey guys nice to see u’all gearing up for the December battle. I am taking it in December too.
                                          I have already started last month and had the preliminary overview of the first three books (Ethics Quants Eco FRA). I am using Schweser videos and books.
                                          This month I have a exam, so I have temporarily quit CFA studies for this month. I will restart from June.
                                          Happy learning all. 🙂

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                                          @sakitime currently I am using the TimePrep app trial in unison with an excel spreadsheet/calendar. At the end of my trial period I will decide which one works best for me. I will let you know which one works best for me thereafter.

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                                          Hi guys, nice topic, with interesting comments.
                                          Yes, @tonypetrunin to answer your question, I believe a early start will do good, it’s a lot to learn(especially if your background is not in finance).
                                          I started reading on the same day as I received reading material (yesterday).
                                          I don’t have any particular plan as to what to read first, but I’m going with CFA volume numbering.

                                          Hope is going well for you all.

                                        • Zee Tan
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                                            • CFA Charterholder
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                                            @jon welcome – that’s a good start for the Dec exams 🙂

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                                            Welcome @niranjan! That’s a good, early start.

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                                            No problem @sakitime! Glad you got that sorted out.

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                                            @matthewjf2 I’d suggest giving yourself a little bit longer so you can factor in some slippage in your study plan as you can never account for all the unforeseen circumstances that could occur.

                                            I also recognised a fair bit from uni and work too, however found that being interested in economics apparently doesn’t guarantee you remember much of it…

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                                            We’re here for you @edulima @Vanessatuner555 if you have any questions 🙂

                                          • hairyfairy
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                                              I know @imdnextbuffet and a few others are sitting for Dec Level 1. And I’m guessing if I keep scoring crappy scores for my practice exams I might very well be joining the Dec folk as well! 🙁

                                            • Snippy
                                              Participant
                                                • CFA Level 2
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                                                And also like @Diya said, don’t worry, you have 5 weeks more to reinforce all the concepts through practice exams! 🙂

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                                                Yeap, I was just gonna say, it’s the last 4-5 weeks that you actually consolidated and really know your stuff through practice questions and revision drills. So yes, @Tonypetrunin it’s a super early start! I started only in June a few years ago…

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                                                @sophie I agree, I may be jumping the gun here but I plan on ramping up my study time to 10 hours per work week (I mainly study in the mornings 4:30-7:30am depending on the day). I also have a three hour class on Monday nights beginning in August. I am hoping that between those two regiments I will be ready for the exam without having to sacrifice too much of my weekends. One caveat here- I know that I will certainly study over the weekend if need be, especially once I come down to the final months. Regardless, I hope to avoid that as much as possible. Happy wife, happy life 😉

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                                                @marc- First off, you.are.the.man for pursuing and completing your MBA, L1and L2 while juggling a family. Hats off to you really. HUGE accomplishment.

                                                I definitely could use all the organization help I can get. I found a great excel doc that I have been using to tell me whether or not I am on track or not. Would love to share it with you and compare it to the application. Let me know if you are open to it.

                                                Regardless, I am sure the application is far more user-friendly. I did get a chance to look at the screen shots and it seemed very polished. I really like that it has the ability to be paired with Schweser’s notes. Still debating… I am doing the business case on whether or not to pull the trigger. If they priced it at $20 I would be all over it. $50 for an app is crazy. What can I say? I am Jewish, by birth, after all 😉

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                                                Well said @Tonypetrunin!

                                              • vincentt
                                                Participant
                                                  • CFA Level 3
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                                                  @microeconomist i don’t think deferred tax is really that bad, once you are able to differentiate between taxman’s figure and tax accounting’s figure it should be quite straightforward.

                                                  Generally, I feel that trying to grasp the concept of account (especially for someone with no accounting background like myself) is rather difficult (e.g. A = L + E, when L goes up A must go up as well to balance out, rather confusing at that time.).

                                                  Anyway, my point is that you should focus on FRA as a whole since DTA/DTL is only a very tiny part of the whole FRA topic.

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                                                  I asked the same question recently, the suggestions were to start ASAP because it is better to start early than late. That way we have extra time to prepare. And what you plan to do is exactly what I’m talking about.
                                                  Best of Luck!

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                                                  Gettin in now hope working alone (no choice) will pay out and I’ll find enough time to complete the curriculum and practice sufficienciently

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