CFA CFA Level 1 Reading time for CFA books

Reading time for CFA books

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    • Avatar of DR515DR515
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        Okay so I am taking the level 1 in June and have gotten through almost 65-70 percent of the reading so far and want to be completely done by mid to late April so that I can spend the second half of April and all of May doing practice problems and mock exams. My problem is it is taking me so long to get through all of the text. Any advice on how to structure the last month and a half of time before the exam?

      • Avatar of FinancialExamAcademyFinancialExamAcademy
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          Another way to speed up the process is if you write the LOS on individual flashcards before starting each reading, and then sift through the reading focusing on getting the answers to the questions prompted by the LOS and print them on the flipside with book-, reading-, LOS- and page number. This way you will focus your mind on figuring out which parts of the curriculum are really relevant, and which parts are “fluff” and “story telling”. This way you will also be building a helpful revision tool for later in the process.

        • Avatar of DR515DR515
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            Are you using any study guides or studying straight from the curriculum books?

            I’m studying straight from the CFA material (E-books) and using the end of chapter problems and all of the practice exams on the CFA site.

          • Avatar of policedogpolicedog
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              DR515 said:
              Thanks:) Do you find it helpful to stop and do the problems at the end of each reading (which I’ve been doing) or wait til you are done the whole book and go back and do them?

              I always start out trying to do problems as I go along, but find out they’re taking too much time (as you probably are) and in my case I start outright skipping them. Probably not recommended…

            • Avatar of policedogpolicedog
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                Give yourself a set time to get through a particular reading / section, and stick to it. If at the end of the pre-allocated time you’re still not done, tough, go on to the next section. That way you’ll quickly learn to prioritize and not get bogged down in detail too much.

                At the end you’d have finished on time, although probably not as thoroughly as you’d like.

              • Avatar of FinancialExamAcademyFinancialExamAcademy
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                  Are you using any study guides or studying straight from the curriculum books?

                • Avatar of DR515DR515
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                    Thanks:) Do you find it helpful to stop and do the problems at the end of each reading (which I’ve been doing) or wait til you are done the whole book and go back and do them?

                  • Avatar of FinancialExamAcademyFinancialExamAcademy
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                      Ok, so you have got 6 weeks left to get through the remaining third of the curriculum in order to keep May clear for revision.

                      I guess the obvious question is: Did you spend a lot more than 12 weeks on the two thirds of the curriculum that you have already completed?

                      If so, something clearly has to give. I would agree with policedog that mapping out a pretty detailed plan for the next 6 weeks detailing exactly which readings you are going to attempt each day is the way forward, then you will know instantly if you are lagging behind the target. It can be done, but it really depends on how much time you are able to allocate each week

                      Best of luck!

                    • Avatar of policedogpolicedog
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                        Also, not all topics take the same time to complete. AI and derivatives were a lot quicker than equity and FRA…

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