CFA Exam Day (Part 3)

Part 3
Keep in mind, my marks are out end of July.

Steps to take for future

– Read all the Schweser study materials; go through it twice for sure, they are clear and concise; if you do not understand them, go through it again. If you still dont get it, go to the CFAI curriculum, find which study session it is and read from there. Dont get me wrong, CFAI books are very detailed and if you can go through those books twice, you are a rock star! but in the real world, people who have a family, work full time, and is always running around have no time for that.

– Please note you own these notes/books, so go ahead and use the highlighter, sticky notes, pen or pencil to make notes on the side. I have no idea why people dont make use of that.

– Make notes for readings you are not strong in and ASK QUESTIONS for what you don’t get. Schweser provides discussion forums and I always like reading those because they are helpful, if you are paying for it, then use it.

– Go through all the Schweser videos if time permits – they were helpful but I would not say they are a must, more like ‘nice to have.’

– Complete all the End of Chapter questions from CFAI books – IMPORTANT. And if time, go through the examples in the CFAI books, they are very helpful.

– Do Qbanks, only the intermediate/advanced level – this will improve your speed and tell what your strength and weaknesses are.

– Complete the CFAI Mock exams.

– Lastly, complete the Schweser Mock exams.

Did I follow this routine in June 2012? Somewhat… not really, but its my true opinion that if I had then I would have aced it for sure and I would have felt good after the exam. Anyways, if God forbids I fail (cross my fingers that Ii dont)  I will follow this schedule for December 2012.  

Good Luck to all the candidates!!!

CFA Exam Day (Part 2)

Part 2
Things to remember for the EXAM DAY

– Arrive early in order to beat the rush.

– Don’t question anyone about the materials or even about the exam questions; try to get your mind off the exam and talk about something else.

– Do not take Tylenol/Advil 500, take the pill with less mg – I did, and I didn’t feel too good in the PM exam.

– Sleep on time, and keep the schedule same for the week so you are awake on the exam day.

– Bring a sweater and wear socks, since it gets cold in there (they usually blast the AC).

– Bring HB pencil, eraser, calculator and a pen, rest they take it away so leave them in the car.

– Bring less stuff because everything goes in another hall so it’s not really safe there.

– Don’t bring any notes because it’s no point, either you know it or you don’t.

– Bring food, i.e. fruits, sandwich, water since it’s so expensive there (true…)

– If possible, drive in so everything can be left in the car and it’s safe.

Part 3 coming up…

CFA Exam Day (Part 1)

I know it’s been three weeks since the exam day and I should have provided an update but we were told not to share questions and information about the exam and since I am a candidate, it definitely applies to me. But then I thought to myself at least I could share my experience of how I felt and what I could do to prepare myself in the future. I definitely owed to you guys for being such a loyal reader.

Exam Day

I slept (June 1st) at 9pm and got up at 5:30 AM, took shower and arrived at the location by 7:30 am, my coach (hubby) had some breakfast stuff ready then gave me a quiz but I was too nervous to do it so I looked through the answers quickly. It was June but it was cold, thank god I brought a sweater with me because I ended up wearing the whole time (even the exam room was cold).

For breakfast I ate a bagel with butter and venti earl grey tea. For lunch, I had two small egg salad sandwich plus fruit, which filled me up. At the end, I realized, it’s not as hard people make it seem, if you know the stuff, you can definitely ace it, go through all the stuff and you should be fine. Its not like they are out to get you, the questions seemed fair.

Stay tuned for Part 2…

CFA Update – 3 days left…

I hope you are all practicing questions and hopefully are getting fast at it. We are to complete 120 questions in 3 hours, thats about 1.5 minute per question. We have 3 days left so give your full best, no partying, no dinner with someone, maybe chat on the phone with your friend and vent, but AVOID hours of FACEBOOKing. When you are done studying try to relax, watch a show and relax your mind for the next day. You have to work hard and give your best and not regret after but if God forbid you fail, no worries, write in December.

As mentioned before, do go through Mock exams available on the CFA website, i hear they are very important (will probably give more feedback when I write the actual exam). Anyways, eat fruits and veggies to boost your energy rather than coffee or tea, just drink caffeine like you usually do on a normal day, don’t over-do it.

Have a great day!!!

CFA Update – 6 days to go

Well hello there everyone who are writing one of the CFA exams, there are six days left, aahhhhhhhhhhhh… I am scared, I keep telling myself to take deep breaths because if I dont relax, I dont understand what I am studying. So few things I would like to share:

1. Eat WELL! Do not eat junk, do not drink too much caffeine, try to eat healthy i.e., fruit and vegetables with proteins.

2. Try to study between 7am to 5pm because that will the time when you will be writing the exam known as the PEAK TIME for the candidates. Do not take a nap during that time, and try to get up early!

3. PRACTICE PRACTICE and PRACTICE QUESTIONS! (Maybe even time yourself)

Will provide update as to how I am doing. Good luck!

Long weekend NOT for me

I had done a dinner (for the guests from France) and it went fabulous, the food I catered was tasty and I had gotten gifts for the guests and they loved it. Thank God, something well over the long weekend, and then I jinxed it and Saturday was a downfall lol.

I had a wedding on Saturday and I must say the decor was just gorgeous and the bride looked beautiful, i would love to share pictures with you all — but need to stay anonymous. It was an Aladdin sort of theme but way more gorgeous. The wedding was great, but my hair was a mess. I found a gurl on facebook who works from home and does hairstyles and updos and I made an appointment for my hair. She did not know how to do hair, jeez, my hair looked like something had exploded, I dont even want to recall the bad experience, it was too hurtful.

After a dramatic weekend, I started studying. I have stopped reviewing and now working on questions, the end of chapter questions and then my goal is to work on the CFA Mock exam. I will keep you posted but there is only 2 weeks away, so give it your best. Hope you all had a productive and or great weekend. Ciao!

Studying over the weekend

Toronton’ian weather has not been so great for the past two weeks, its been cold and yucky (i.e., rainy), so you pretty much cant do lot outside. I love taking walks after dinner time but haven’t had the chance to do in the past week. On the other hand, its great since i can study at home and not envy people who are enjoying the great weather ha. You must be wondering, i haven’t written for a while now, its because i have been busy studying. I believed i needed help, so i decided to join the classes so all the materials in my brain could be refreshed. It did help, i got more done there than at home.

Now, I will end studying April 30th and start practicing exams/tests. If you are not finished reading, just start practicing questions, and especially the ones provided from the CFA institute since they are highly talked of. This way there will be no surprises on the exam. 

Anyways, write to you soon.

CFA Update – 50 days left…

What will I do now? I have to write the exam no matter what, so I began reading other CFA posts to see how other candiates process of learning was going and I came across “The Cone of Learning” which really helped me to plan my PLAN B.

What is my PLAN B? If you are still reading, don’t worry, everybody goes through this stage at some point or another, so let’s focus on what to do next rather than thinking about the past. Say to yourself, its just an exam…

Please find Edgar Dale’s “The Cone of learning” below which assured me that 50% of what we ‘see and hear’ is what we tend to remember (after two weeks or more – i believe) and ta-da gave me an idea of trying out another technique to study for the exam. So I stopped reading and started going over the Videos for the readings I have not touched. It’s definitely a different kind of experience but I like it – of course, its not a Drop Dead Diva episode where your undivided attention is at the TV but it is way faster than reading+ understanding the books. Whenever i do not understand, i repeat the lecture so it sinks in my brain.

Problem: It will cover the big topics and will run through the sub topics quickly but it will give me an overview, and the words will pop up when I will be going through the quizzes and exams.

Short-term Plan: Finish all the videos or try to go over as many videos as possible in the month of April; and practice quizzes and exams in the month of May. Note: This is purely based on my opinions.

The Cone of Learning by Edgar Dale

Good Luck!!!

CFA Update – 51 days left…

Yes it’s correct, there are 51 days left for the exam because 52^nd day is the EXAM. Are you nervous? Are you feeling overwhelmed? and tired? Yes, yes and yes for me. I am nervous about how will I do in the exam? Will I go over all the materials before the exam? How will I do a 6 hr exam, since I have no patience? Ahhhh, take a deep breath in and out, it helps. First thing is first, stop stressing out, think of ways to decrease and diminish your stress i.e. walks for me and yoga once a week.

What do I do? I keep telling myself if I fail (God forbid) I will re-write in December 2012. When I look at it that way, I feel a bit better. So calm yourself because if you are not, you will fail no matter what. You need to build the confidence and overcome the nervousness. When all else stays calm, you will give your best in the exam – btw this last sentence is by me.

How much is completed? I have finished the last two books of the Schweser materials (out of five books), Scared?

What is my PLAN B? If you want to find out, stay tuned for my tomorrow’s post.

CFA – 80 days to go…

CFA registration reminder ***

1. Tomorrow (March 15^th) is the last day to register for the CFA Level 1 Exam June 2012 and the cost is as follows (US$):

                                                               i.      Ebook only – $1470

                                                             ii.      Print only – $1530

                                                            iii.      Both Ebook and Print – $1560

2.   Mock exams are now available at the CFA website which one can see if registered. A lot of people (who successfully completed CFA L1) have asked me to complete the exams on the website at least twice which means they are VERY IMPORTANT to go through. There are four PDF’s available, one morning and one afternoon session exam, plus their answers. So please go through them before the exam.

3.   I will be providing an update as to how much I have completed this upcoming weekend and if I reached the goal for March 1^st?

Bye for now…