Rethinking my Study Strategy for 2011 Level 2 Exam

There are many training providers in the market selling seminars, study notes and sample questions to prepare you for the CFA exam. I didn't want to spend additional thousands of dollar so I brushed off the idea of using study notes from these training providers, and concentrated just reading the CFAI curriculum.

Lots to Cover - An Underestimation

There are lots of material to cover, and the materials are lengthy and detailed. The biggest challenge is to cover the entire curriculum at least once.

Based on my previous study experience in school (which is quite a while back), I planned to read through all 6 volumes of books, and revise the materials and attempt questions at the end of each session in the last 1 month before the exam. I would then do the mock exam questions provided by CFAI during the last week before the exam.

It is a big mistake. I grossly underestimated the amount of time required to read the materials. There are also lots of concepts and formula. I was thinking to myself - must I remember all these formula for the exam? I searched through the CFA Institute website and this is what I found:

Are Level I candidates expected to memorize all the formulas presented in the study materials?
Candidates are expected to be able to perform the actions specified in the learning outcome statements (LOS). If a formula is required, then it should be committed to memory.

I read the LOS and realize that the LOS includes almost everything in the curriculum. This means that you need to remember almost all the formula! What a daunting task!

By the time I got to the last month before the exam, I still haven't covered the last book - Alternate Investments. I decided to skip this and proceed to revise and attempt the questions. To my horror, while I was attempting the questions on QUANT, I couldn't remember a single concept or formula of what I read earlier! This is definitely not good news.

I decided to create my own notes of the formula and key concepts and definitions as I find it more effective to read through the notes and memorize rather than scan through the book. It took me a full month of daily painstaking preparation. When I attempted the mock exams at the last week, I scored very poorly. It was tough. The more I attempted the questions, the more demoralized I became. How am I going to pass?

Not Enough Practice

I realize that practicing questions help me to remember the concepts and formula. I didn't buy the additional mock exam papers which cost about USD100 from CFA to save money, which on hindsight is a mistake.

This time round, I am going to get the additional mock exam papers. I am also surfing the internet to download free questions.