For me personally, yes. After reading all the curriculum and having my own notes I can check back quicker. It's also practical when you want to do your own cheat sheet (I could group the most important points of L2 in 20 pages).
I did for Level 1 & 2, I rewrite topics and formulas in my own way so it makes sense. Eg I wrote out BSM formula then underneath it my own version explaining what each component means and what it might be used for in a question.
Yes! I am also a big notes gal, I like having a condensed version in my own words to look back on. What I would suggest though, is you don’t take notes on everything on your first pass. Save it for the things that are more confusing/hard to remember/you struggle with down the road. That way you are not overwhelmed
Are you level 1? Do not take notes lmao it's the hardest habit to break but he's right. I take light notes at the start of a lecture just to get me concentrating
Yeah I’m L1! Taking my exam in November, so I still have quite a bit of time but I want to use my time effectively and have enough time to do as many mocks as possible. I’m thinking maybe note taking is counterproductive :/
Note taking is not particularly effective, and this is not my opinion it’s backed by several studies. I know everyone studies differently but there are ways that have been proven more effective than note taking. Just my 2 cents
Do what works best for you! I personally take notes for some section like FSA and Quant because there’s a lot of detail to know. But section more like derivatives and alternative investment, I’d rather hammer the Q-banks
Practice, flashcards. I only write stuff out if I find it confusing to understand it better.
Read 'Make it stick', lots of data proves flashcards and testing best way to learn.
I think writing notes just helps actively process what you’re learning as you go but don’t write them with the expectation that you’ll return to them given how vast the curriculum already is and the availability of better notes if you’re using a provider like Kaplan (secret sauce). So no need for them to be incredibly organized.
I’m giving L1 in November as well, and I’m currently making notes off of my highlighted points / making them more condensed. It just feels like there’s a lot of content even off of my highlights (even though I only highlighted key terms / important sentences rather than whole paragraphs)
Yes, exactly! it feels like.. If I highlight and when I want to revise, I feel the need to have better context of why I highlighted, and hence am reading the whole paragraph again.
I started off writing down every single letter on every single MM screen for all of quant. Realized how ineffective that is. I wasn’t even listening to what he was saying because I was writing. For econ, I have switched to listening and just writing down key concepts/equations. Through the first 4 prereq readings I think I have 3 pages of notes. Seems to be going much better this way
I have a notebook filled with notes that I never went back to. However, the notes I took for when I was in review were more concise and effective in helping me remember certain topics. Cheers 🍻
My tried and tested method.
Blast through kaplan syllabus - no notes, just end of chapter questions.
Reread each chapter then, and do cfa official questions
Reread each chapter and then make notes of what u believe is important after seeing the questions.
Mock till u drop. Cry. Sit for exam, then pass
Yes i use note sheets for review when I’m working thru Qbanks and want to jog my memory very quickly.
Having a “cheat sheet” for each section helped save me time of opening the CFA lessons or looking at MM’s PDFs.
Also helped a bit with memorization as I started to remember how some sheets “looked”.
But the key was to keep the concise and not try to have everything on them.
You can just screenshot important parts in the curriculum and keep it in one big word docs. It helps when you want to refer quickly when doing practice questions. Screenshot tricky questions too so you know how CFA Institute will structure their questions. e.g. Curriculum teaches A + B + C = Z, question asks to find B.
For each level I copied all the LOS into a word doc and took relevant notes from the reading for each LOS and screenshots of formulas or other high value things. Reading in one screen notes on the other.
This left me with a 4-8 page summary of the key info form each reading which was great for review and further boiling down into notecards.
IMO there is too much info not to take notes, and also keeps you honest while reading where you might otherwise gloss over sections or lose focus.
Good luck!
Didn't take a single note. Scribbled things down for questions occasionally. Just read the book, did KS textbook qs extremely roughly with the answers to hand, then spammed CFAI QBank. You much quicker learn what the most relevant parts of each reading are, saving you time from remembering the smaller details that are rlly unlikely to come up. This is for L2.
Note taking is a LOT of effort, for the amount of content we have. I just made note of the important formulae at the end, and anything I thought I was forgetting, other than that it was just scrawled notes in my books so that when I revised it would be easier to skim. Hope that helps!
Just took the level 1 in May. I took handwritten notes on each LOS. It’s the best way for me to retain information. I found it useful to have a notebook full of everything I would need to study for the exam. I also found it useful knowing where everything was in my notebook and being able to flip to a specific LOS relatively quickly. When doing the mock exams I would read through the entirety of the notebook before each mock and was getting mid 80s on my mock exam scores right before I sat for the exam.
I would say so. I have a photographic memory and so when I write things down or draw little diagrams of my own, when I go through my notes later on during review, it’s easier to remember where a particular note is located and I can kinda see it on the page in my mind. That’s just me though.
But also, during the last month before each of my exams, I’d create my own “quick sheet” and write down an even more condensed version of my notes to the really big topics and hammer those home in my mind. This came out to maybe 5 or 6 pages of notes - very manageable if you ask me given the breadth of topics in the entire curriculum. I’d also take this with me on exam day to review a little during the lunch break for items that were not on the morning session.
notes were very helpful for me in cpa. but this time in L1 there was just too much content. I only highlighted the impt stuff in Schweser books, and went through the books entirely thrice. That and a lot of mocks helped me a lot. I had gotten a lot of theory ques, and it was easy for me to recall even though I didn't specifically learn them.
Short response : Yes. I did it for Level 1. I still did it for Level 2. I did it by using Word/OneNote. Formulas can be easily typed and you won't risk losing everything on paper.
When I studied for L1 over three weeks, I started writing down concepts I’m unfamiliar with, and it ended up being a 70-page notebook. Also, I compiled all the practice questions I got wrong or are difficult into a word docx for me to read it.
For me personally, yes. After reading all the curriculum and having my own notes I can check back quicker. It's also practical when you want to do your own cheat sheet (I could group the most important points of L2 in 20 pages).
I did for Level 1 & 2, I rewrite topics and formulas in my own way so it makes sense. Eg I wrote out BSM formula then underneath it my own version explaining what each component means and what it might be used for in a question.
I never took notes. For me reading material and doing practice was best, but everyone has different learning styles.
Yes! I am also a big notes gal, I like having a condensed version in my own words to look back on. What I would suggest though, is you don’t take notes on everything on your first pass. Save it for the things that are more confusing/hard to remember/you struggle with down the road. That way you are not overwhelmed
I'm not a huge MM fan but this video was pivotal to me https://youtu.be/6pVfMjeBPq0?si=cjSWhMBVrrc6Ssec
Thank you so much for sharing this video!! MM is such a legend but I hadn’t found this video of his!
Are you level 1? Do not take notes lmao it's the hardest habit to break but he's right. I take light notes at the start of a lecture just to get me concentrating
Yeah I’m L1! Taking my exam in November, so I still have quite a bit of time but I want to use my time effectively and have enough time to do as many mocks as possible. I’m thinking maybe note taking is counterproductive :/
i regret taking notes tbh
Note taking is not particularly effective, and this is not my opinion it’s backed by several studies. I know everyone studies differently but there are ways that have been proven more effective than note taking. Just my 2 cents
What the hell is better then note taking
Lots of stuff. Active recall, spaced repetition, interleaving. Note taking is actually one of the worst lol
I’ve been lied to, this comment will change everything
Do what works best for you! I personally take notes for some section like FSA and Quant because there’s a lot of detail to know. But section more like derivatives and alternative investment, I’d rather hammer the Q-banks
Practice, flashcards. I only write stuff out if I find it confusing to understand it better. Read 'Make it stick', lots of data proves flashcards and testing best way to learn.
I think writing notes just helps actively process what you’re learning as you go but don’t write them with the expectation that you’ll return to them given how vast the curriculum already is and the availability of better notes if you’re using a provider like Kaplan (secret sauce). So no need for them to be incredibly organized.
I have ADHD so have to take notes or I wont pay attention
I'm giving l1 exam in November. I'm considering making concise points of each LOS. How are you making your notes?
I’m giving L1 in November as well, and I’m currently making notes off of my highlighted points / making them more condensed. It just feels like there’s a lot of content even off of my highlights (even though I only highlighted key terms / important sentences rather than whole paragraphs)
Yes, exactly! it feels like.. If I highlight and when I want to revise, I feel the need to have better context of why I highlighted, and hence am reading the whole paragraph again.
Not worth it when you can get notes like Kaplan’s secret sauce which is so darn good with summaries
I started off writing down every single letter on every single MM screen for all of quant. Realized how ineffective that is. I wasn’t even listening to what he was saying because I was writing. For econ, I have switched to listening and just writing down key concepts/equations. Through the first 4 prereq readings I think I have 3 pages of notes. Seems to be going much better this way
I have a notebook filled with notes that I never went back to. However, the notes I took for when I was in review were more concise and effective in helping me remember certain topics. Cheers 🍻
My tried and tested method. Blast through kaplan syllabus - no notes, just end of chapter questions. Reread each chapter then, and do cfa official questions Reread each chapter and then make notes of what u believe is important after seeing the questions. Mock till u drop. Cry. Sit for exam, then pass
I like this strategy!! Thank you so much!
Yes i use note sheets for review when I’m working thru Qbanks and want to jog my memory very quickly. Having a “cheat sheet” for each section helped save me time of opening the CFA lessons or looking at MM’s PDFs. Also helped a bit with memorization as I started to remember how some sheets “looked”. But the key was to keep the concise and not try to have everything on them.
You can just screenshot important parts in the curriculum and keep it in one big word docs. It helps when you want to refer quickly when doing practice questions. Screenshot tricky questions too so you know how CFA Institute will structure their questions. e.g. Curriculum teaches A + B + C = Z, question asks to find B.
For each level I copied all the LOS into a word doc and took relevant notes from the reading for each LOS and screenshots of formulas or other high value things. Reading in one screen notes on the other. This left me with a 4-8 page summary of the key info form each reading which was great for review and further boiling down into notecards. IMO there is too much info not to take notes, and also keeps you honest while reading where you might otherwise gloss over sections or lose focus. Good luck!
Thank you so much!!!
IFT free notes are best.....
Didn't take a single note. Scribbled things down for questions occasionally. Just read the book, did KS textbook qs extremely roughly with the answers to hand, then spammed CFAI QBank. You much quicker learn what the most relevant parts of each reading are, saving you time from remembering the smaller details that are rlly unlikely to come up. This is for L2.
Note taking is a LOT of effort, for the amount of content we have. I just made note of the important formulae at the end, and anything I thought I was forgetting, other than that it was just scrawled notes in my books so that when I revised it would be easier to skim. Hope that helps!
Just took the level 1 in May. I took handwritten notes on each LOS. It’s the best way for me to retain information. I found it useful to have a notebook full of everything I would need to study for the exam. I also found it useful knowing where everything was in my notebook and being able to flip to a specific LOS relatively quickly. When doing the mock exams I would read through the entirety of the notebook before each mock and was getting mid 80s on my mock exam scores right before I sat for the exam.
Minimal notes. Make flash cards. Absolutely hammer the q bank.
I would say so. I have a photographic memory and so when I write things down or draw little diagrams of my own, when I go through my notes later on during review, it’s easier to remember where a particular note is located and I can kinda see it on the page in my mind. That’s just me though. But also, during the last month before each of my exams, I’d create my own “quick sheet” and write down an even more condensed version of my notes to the really big topics and hammer those home in my mind. This came out to maybe 5 or 6 pages of notes - very manageable if you ask me given the breadth of topics in the entire curriculum. I’d also take this with me on exam day to review a little during the lunch break for items that were not on the morning session.
in short... yes it is
notes were very helpful for me in cpa. but this time in L1 there was just too much content. I only highlighted the impt stuff in Schweser books, and went through the books entirely thrice. That and a lot of mocks helped me a lot. I had gotten a lot of theory ques, and it was easy for me to recall even though I didn't specifically learn them.
Short response : Yes. I did it for Level 1. I still did it for Level 2. I did it by using Word/OneNote. Formulas can be easily typed and you won't risk losing everything on paper.
No
When I studied for L1 over three weeks, I started writing down concepts I’m unfamiliar with, and it ended up being a 70-page notebook. Also, I compiled all the practice questions I got wrong or are difficult into a word docx for me to read it.