CFA CFA Level 1 Curriculum and Sequence

Curriculum and Sequence

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    • Avatar of FarooqFarooq
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        Hi, sorry but I dont get to understand somethings yet. Is it a better idea to study in the sequence of the curriculum or kaplan or can you do any one topic area first and then another? Also, I know there are alot of discussions on whether curriculum is better or third party notes, but if someone wants to do a mix and match, which topic areas should be done from curriculum and which ones form kaplan (i have kaplan notes)

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        I’m not following curriculum sequence.

        I haven’t made the planned it yet, bit I guess I will shuffle between topic areas.

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        @Farooq‌ considering what you have mentioned so far in this post, you could consider following the approach mentioned below:
        1. start with one reading of ethics and gips (curriculum preferably) – no need to attempt to memorize anything here, just draw your notes from this if and where necessary…you will have to refer to notes fairly frequently…

        2. since you do not wish to study the same type of topics at once, you need to take quant and economics together for studying…you could go two chapters from quant and 3 topics from economics until you finish both the books…economics has a lot of theory involved and will tire you out…switching it regularly with quant (problem solving) should help…also they dont share any topics which could cause dependencies/difficulties…do not forget to make notes here too, they will definitely help you out later…kaplan is enough for both quant and eco, you may refer to curriculum where you face difficulties…

        3. once economics is completed, you can move to fra…the primary issues with fra are understanding the 3 statements, differences between gaap and ifrs, and understanding the working of all the elements in the statements…for me, this was the hardest topic and i really did not like kaplan’s explanation/presentation for this…sadly, i did not refer curriculum on this due to lack of time, but i suggest you try that out…unless you come from accounting/finance background, i think you should do this topic solo, with complete dedication…notes are CRITICAL for this topic…

        4. just browse through your quant notes now, then head over to equity…i feel you can do this and the last topic by themself, they are quite interesting in my opinion…by the time you are done with equity, you should be thorough with quant (loads of it used in this book)…making notes here is again quite important…i found kaplan sufficient here, follow the same strategy and refer to curriculum in case of difficulties…

        5. the last book, again very interesting, but some find difficult due to the wide variety explained in detail…i suggest going through curriculum for this (i didn’t, somehow i was comfortable here too)…lots of calculations and formulas, make a note of these….

        needless to say, your notes will be very beneficial…i’d say keep referring to them when you complete every book…end your studies with a fresh review of ethics…and move on to practice tests

        good luck and happy studying!

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        @Farooq‌ Having read the Economics book, I’d say it really isn’t that bad. As long as you can make the differential between the different readings and topics, then I find that the majority of the economics theory seems to follow a path quite similar to a decision tree to end up at end results based on the material and facts presented to you. Of course there is some math and formulas in there, but nowhere near as heavy as quant!

      • Avatar of FarooqFarooq
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          by the way.. I have started making notes, but I am not sure here as well. As u have emphasized too much on notes.. do u mean shorter version of everything or notes of important things or just a summary..

        • Avatar of FarooqFarooq
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            @Maverick thats what my view is about economics. I have studied economics as two courses. Micro is something I am much comfy with. Although I dont remember Macro as those courses I passed by majorly studying micro only :p Numeric section of economics is easy.. No doubt about that. 

            @Pranav perfect, i should use your tip on theory. With Notes my prob is that I like making notes while studying. For some reason its very difficult for me to get my will to makes notes after reading something fully. 

          • Avatar of FarooqFarooq
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              True cause following the sequence will mean you would get tired out of some topics and will want to do something you like more. Also, is it a good idea to concentrate on one topic area at a time or two or three. Like instead of doing ethics in a given time and then Quant, is it better to have a day for ethics then quant and keep on doing till both are done. 

            • Avatar of FarooqFarooq
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                @Pranav Thanks alot of such detailed response. That is very helpful. Everyone is scaring me from Economics though.. lol hopefully I can do it. Theory is my main weak point. 

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                @Farooq‌ you could do it while studying too, though the number of revisions to your notes would increase…

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                @Farooq‌ if you are worried about theory being your weak link, i’d say returning to the notes after every book will most certainly help…with economics, once you understand the core of the material it is not difficult to build up from there…of course, it does require a bit of memorization but that’s limited too…

                the thing about notes is, you make them as you find them comfortable…say you go through a chapter once and are done with it…now flip back to the start and browse through it again, identify the points that you are likely to forget, the formulas, critical details that are essential further ahead in the chapter and so on, details that you believe you must read at the end of every book in order to reinforce them…this is what your notes should comprise of…in addition, you may add your own notes to them, maybe how you can remember a formula, or highlight in your notes topics that you would like to go back to later…and so on…i hope that’s clear…
                also, note that making notes is an ongoing process…your first draft of notes will be substantially elaborate compared to the condensed notes you would have a month or two prior to your exam date…hope this helps
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