The CFA Institute practice questions represent a new resource from which candidates can study. Wiley and Schweser used to be the two go-to options. Now there’s another.
I would say that the CFA Institute’s questions just jumped to the front of the line in terms of priority.
Let’s talk.
What Now?
For the CFA Level 1, the CFA Institute practice questions recently introduced are quite new. In the past, the CFAI used to offer students a handful of questions from each topic. Now, however, they have thousands of questions. You can track your score by section, and thus you can get a sense of where you need the most work. Better yet, you’re getting questions from an important source (more on that below)!
As a CFA tutor, I believe these practice questions are hugely advantageous for anyone studying for the exam. Not only do they appear to cover most topics quite thoroughly, but they weight the number of questions from each section somewhat proportionately to their expected weights on the exam.
Why You Should Start with the CFA Institute Practice Questions
Historically, at Professional Exam Tutoring we’ve recommended Schweser’s QBank. This offering by Kaplan is one of the most comprehensive and complete in the industry. The company has thousands of questions, and has been doing this for decades. I’ve come across many students over the years that used nothing more than the QBank to study – and passed!
Nevertheless, all of that goes out the window when the CFA Institute provides thousands of questions themselves.
A quick rule of thumb when it comes to prioritizing practice questions when studying for any exam: Study the questions provided by the person or entity in charge of the exam content first (and thoroughly!).
The CFA Institute practice questions should be a top priority for anyone taking the CFA Level 1. With such a large database of questions provided, it may be hard enough to get through all of their questions – but I would still try!
Where Should I Begin?
Whether you use Wiley, Kaplan/Schweser (same company), or the CFA Institute’s questions I highly recommend that you start with FR&A. Next, tackle the Quantitative section, followed by Fixed Income, Equities, Corporate Finance, and Economics. Importantly, almost equally as important as FR&A is the Ethics section.
While I don’t recommend you exclusively dedicate weeks or days at a time to this section, I advise that you sprinkle practice questions throughout your weeks on a regular basis. For instance, attempt 5-10 Ethics questions per day (maybe on your lunch hour) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This will ensure that this section is always fresh on your mind, and will solidify the various scenarios presented in these questions into long term memory.
Overall, once you’re done reading the text, you should start with the CFA Institute’s practice questions. If you’ve already bought Schweser’s QBank, or Wiley‘s questions just use them as supplements. You can never have too many.
Good luck with it! We’re here if you need us!