When Should I Finish My Initial Read of the Material?

The following is a guide that recommends how long you should prepare, based on your prior knowledge of the material. These recommendations assume that you will study for approximately 16 hours per week, that you will read at an average pace, retain at an average level, and that you will complete the practice problems at the end of each chapter. Take note that I am writing this review from the perspective of someone who prepared with the Schweser study materials. If you are preparing with the CFA Institute's materials this article doesn't apply to you because the CFA Institute's materials take longer to read than the Schweser materials.

The date on which you finish your first read of all the material will be a result of when you start, how much you study per week, how fast you read, and how much you already know.

When to start:

1. If you have no prior knowledge of the material and you don't have a technical background (Engineering, quantitative sciences), allow yourself 6 months of studying
   
2. If you have minimal knowledge of the material. I.e., you took micro or macro economics and statistics in college or you use them lightly at work, but you don't have a finance or accounting background. Allow yourself 5 and 1/2 months.
3. You have a solid knowledge of the material. I.e., you have seen statistics, economics, and either accounting or finance in school or at work. Allow yourself 5 months.
4. You have a vast knowledge of the material. I.e., you are an undergraduate student who has taken or is taking economics, statistics, corporate finance, and accounting; You've thoroughly studied for and already taken level 1 and you are taking it again; You have an MBA in finance or an MS in Finance. Allow yourself 4 months and 1 week.

When should one finish his or her initial read of all of the material to allow for ample review:

1. Candidates in group 1 should finish, at the latest, 2 months before the exam. In various places you will read that you should allow yourself at least 1 month of review before the exam, but this is not enough time if you are completely new to the material.
2. Candidates in group 2 should finish at the latest 1 month and three weeks before the exam.
3. Candidates in group 3 should finish at the latest 1 month and two weeks before the exam.
4. Candidates in group 4 should finish at the latest 1 month and one week before the exam.

The first thing one should do after his or her initial read of the material is take at least three, three hour practice exams, grade the exams, and analyize his or her weaknesses. This is key because it will allow you to formulate an effective gameplan for review. While studying the material I recommend you highlight or mark important concepts and formulas, as well as material that you don't understand. Also, after completing practice problems, mark in the book which problems you got wrong (I marked each with a "W"), and also mark which problems you had a hard time with (I marked each with an "H"). That way when you begin reviewing you will know which problems to review. Also, after reading each chapter I rated the chapter on a scale of 1 to 5; five meaning I fully understand the concepts and will remember the material and one meaning I desperately need to review the chapter. This rating system will help you when constructing your review strategy.

Mini reviews before the main review:
After finishing each book, I would go back and reread the chapters (or parts of chapters) I marked as a "one" (remember that "one" indicates an extreme need for review). You may have the urge not to do this because after finishing an entire book you become eager to move onto the next. Fight this urge and conduct mini reviews after finishing each book. Your mini reviews may take a long time, sometimes 3 or more days, however, they will greatly help drive the concepts into your head.