Course Study Plan Guide

[Nicole Seaman]

What is the best way to study?

I have been "out of it" for over 10 years. Decided to throw my hat in the ring.

Shall I just study from the BT notes? Or compliment with Schweser?

Opinions! Ideas! Thoughts!

Cheers!

Posted by @Akash chopra on different post:

Hey
Make a study plan for yourself and before you create it, you need to find which time period is suitable for you. I don't study in the morning actually I can't the best time is the night for me .As you mention above that it is almost 10 yrs so start with 1 or 2 hours and then increase your study time. Don't force yourself from the first day
# Join some study group which you help you a lot. You will meet new people and their experience will help you a lot.
# Practice, Practice, and Practice
# Take mock exam
# Give some time to yourself( Award yourself)
# Go for morning walk and gym,

 

[varunurav]

I am planning to take FRM Part 2 exam in Nov 2016 almost 3 years after taking Part 1 and as I get started with my prep, I was looking for the GARP 15 week study plan for 2016. I want to use this as a reference to create my own plan. Used a similar strategy successfully in my Part 1 prep. Tried searching on the GARP website but somehow could not locate it.

Would request if anybody on the forum could help me locate this document.

 

[Dr. Jayanthi Sankaran]

Hi @varunurav,

Yes, their 15 week study plan is pretty good! I am also using it as a reference to create my own plan for FRM Part I in Nov 2016.

This is the following link for FRM 2016 Part II: https://my.garp.org/sfdcApp#!/study_topics/frm1//2015

Hope this works!

 

[Manjula]

Regular study important, revising what you studied the day earlier is utmost importance. Understand and learn. Do not cram up anything. For example why is R^2 always positive? it is becos of squaring. Do not study to Pass the exam. Study for yourself to gain indepth understanding. Afterall, a Bank or employer is relying on your ability of Risk Analysis, Management etc.

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Posted by @Delo in the May 2016 Part 2 Feedback thread:

Jotted down some thoughts........
First of all I am so relieved to pass with decent quartiles (Credit 1, Market 1, Op 2, Risk Mgmt 1, Current Issues 3).

Preparation time: 5 Months (average weekday run rate of 3 hours, weekend 6 hours per day)
The amount of material is OVERWHELMING. So start ASAP.

Material used

1. BT material
2. David’s Youtube Channel
3. BT Forum
4. Occasional reference to books. I had soft copy of several books – esp. Gregory, Malz, Hull Meisnner, Tuckman came in handy
5. Focused google search
6. Schweser Q bank – was decent for beginning / occasional reference
7. EduPristine videos – not exam/BT quality but good to cover high level understanding

Study Strategy- “Old fashioned hard work; Peak at the right time”

• Part 2 was one of the toughest exams I have given. Number of topics and amount of material to read, understand and retain is torturous. Unfortunately you cannot wing it. I had moderate background on finance. Part 1 was the most finance I have studied. So, I read the whole material cover to cover 4 times. BT Questions set at least 2 times.

• During the earlier stages of the preparation - Read all the BT material (did not attempt the questions). Kept AIMs on one side always. Read EACH WORD of the AIM, underline “describe” vs “calculate”. I could only grasp 40% or less. In earlier stages, easy material such as Edu pristine / Schweser books is helpful with some basic / foundational stuff. Do not get stuck, park the topics and keep moving ahead. Several times when you re-visit the topic, all falls in place beautifully, aha moment. I didn’t make a lot of notes in early stage prep. I attempted easy questions here – Schweser Q bank.

• After 1 or 2 read (at this point there was 2 months to go for exam) when you have reasonable understanding, start cracking BT questions, starting jotting notes/create mind maps. These notes are priceless, you will need them in last two weeks so badly. Even at this stage I only had 60-70% understanding of the subject. But repeat this cycle until last 2 weeks for exam. This stage was only and only BT for me, with occasional read from the book chapter. I did not revise any Part 1 notes.

Take off from work for at least 2 weeks before exam. This really helps. You have to peak at right time. Last 2 weeks also comprises of portions that you need to rote memorize. Yes, there are formulas (e.g. netting factor) that you need to memorize. I ended up revising using all the printouts and revisiting my notes again and again. One cool trick for quick revision is to “Play David’s videos at 1.5x speed ! J”. You would fall in love with David’s voice! Kidding, but really helped to quickly go through the content.

Participate in forum. Topic search in BT is EXTREMELY helpful. It is highly likely that the doubt you have would have been asked by someone else in past.

Physical Environment (this may differ from person to person, but I am just jotting down what worked for me)

• Print all docs – Though I started by reading soft copies, but then I almost ended printing all the BT notes / relevant chapters from book and stacked them section wise (5 stacks)
• KEEP PRINTOUT OF AIMS/Learning Objective list side BY Side ALWAYS ! Read the AIMs, carefully, go back and forth as you are reading the material
• Have some key formulas / bullet points in post-it or stuck up right-in-front-of your eyes.
• Having all the material accessible in physical form around my study table was very conducive study environment.

 

[hsitaolee]

Hi David,

I just passed part 1 in last month and am working on Part 2 now.

As a full time banker and new BT subscriber, what is the best way for me to prepare for the Part 2 exam?
How many hours should I commit every day until Nov 18'16?
Which area typically needs more time and effort? (I am CPA/Accounting background)

Thank you!
Steve

 

[ShaktiRathore]

Hi Steve,
Please visit the following thread if of any help there has been many queries on the same question on the forums: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/thre...dy-strategies-that-helped-me.8190/#post-33006
thanks

 

[Ifunanya]

Hello All,
I'm due to take the exam in May 2017, I have purchased the Advanced Level 1 notes from BT as I intend to start studying early as I have no Finance experience or knowledge.

I have downloaded the learning objectives from GARP for 2016. I have noticed that there are various books suggested by GARP. I am looking through the BT notes, for those who have purchased the notes from BT are the notes basically the original text from the textbooks suggested by GAPR amalgamated together, or are there more notes that have being created by BT without any texts from the GARP suggested textbooks. I just want to be 100% sure that I am reading the correct notes and following the best way in order to succeed in the exam.

those who purchased the BT notes were they sufficient or did you also by the GARP notes.

Any feedback well appreciated.

 

[brian.field]

Read the GARP readings and supplement them with the BT Notes, BT Videos, and BT Questions. If you had exposure to finance already, I would suggest the BT materials only, but you could benefit from the GARP readings as well. This is the approach I took....

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Hello @Ifunanya

The BT notes are a summary of the GARP readings, and we follow the learning objectives that are in the current GARP curriculum. We do not create a second set of notes without reference to the GARP readings. Please notice that I have moved your question to this forum thread that discusses different study plans. You will find different suggestions on creating a study plan here in this thread, as everyone studies differently depending on their education and background.

Nicole

 

[ATurtleNotATurd]

Hey all,

I passed CFA level I in July and will be taking FRM level I in November. I used Schweser for CFA and didn't know about Bionic so used Schweser for FRM too.

I finished the curriculum last month and have revised once as well. I want to practice now but my research has led me to believe that Schweser's practice exams aren't hard enough or truly representative of the FRM exam. I'm considering getting the Bionic materials too.

Can someone who knows both the Bionic and Schweser materials give me some tips about how best to make use of the materials in a limited time? I feel that I have grasped the Schweser notes quite well, are there any topics I should study with Bionic (maybe some topics Schweser are weak on) or should I just do the practice questions and the mock exams?

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Posted by @Meredius on another thread

I think everyone has their own process and what fits for them.

I would say that one MAJOR difference between studying for this or the CFA is that mastery of subject matter is a necessity. You can't plug-n-chug like it was possible to do in most undergraduate university courses for example.

Now coming from that; you can retain a lot more by actively participating in the process (i.e. take notes, ask yourself questions and respond, discuss on these forums, watch David's videos etc.)

Here's my process (and again, to each their own):

1) Read the GARP chapter material
2) Let is simmer for 24h in your brain or sleep on it
3) Re-read and make notes for yourself.
4) Watch David's video (if there is one)
5) Read David's study notes and compare to your notes, add items and tips.
6) Makes Flash cards for yourself
7) Do PRACTICE questions.
8) Repeat steps 1-7 for each reading
9) Re-do all PRACTICE QUESTIONS on the Part.
10) When you've done all parts, do PRACTICE EXAMS. Re-do PRACTICE QUESTIONS and go over material again to revise. Use these forums!

-> Be consistent with your studying. Don't put it off. Expect to lessen your social life for a little bit (you'll have more than enough money later on to pay rounds to your friends anyway ).
-> Use the spreadsheets. I honestly like these a lot because I can try to memorise a formula; but taking the time to do calculations, correct myself with the spreadsheet and change inputs is essential in my mind to really learn HOW to do it; because when you'll be on the job you'll be paid for results under unduly pressure most of the time.
-> Learn your calculator. Save valuable time on the exam.
-> Have fun. Because if you don't; you'll be miserable.

Happy studying!

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Posted by @BlackSwan on another thread

I started by reading through each GARP textbook. I planned my time by making sure I had atleast a month before the exam where I was finished with the GARP textbooks and had a month to review BT's study notes and practice questions. I would divide the 4 weeks before the exam as 1 week for each of the 4 sections. I would review a study note then follow up with the practice questions relating to that section. I had extra time (2-3 days) so i went through questions again. I passed Part I

With that being said, I would focus more on the BT material and give at the very least 2 months before the exam to review and do practice questions. I would suggest going through BT material first and then use the GARP readings as reference if there is a concept you don't quiet grasp. When you feel overwhelmed write out a timeline from now until the exam date. Give equal time for each of the four sections. And give atleast 2 weeks ( GARP reccommended 2 weeks but I suggest atleast of month) for review and heavy heavy heavy dose of practice questions. Good luck!

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Posted by @Alex_1 on another thread

The answers above are very helpful in my opinion. Some things I would add (from my experience, so highly subjective):

• Try to only do some light review on the day before exam, from the exams I have done so far in my life I think I've done better in those where I didn't exhaust myself on the day before the exam. Again I have to stress this is a personal experience
• If you know people who learn in study groups try learning with them (discussing topics, solving problems together) and see if this benefits you or not. I have enjoyed learning in study groups while being at the university but the efficiency and efficacity of this kind of learning is highly dependant on your learning style and on the "fit" with the other persons
• Set milestones in the learning process and try to document the progress, this is both motivational and helps point out how much you have already covered and how much is still open.
• Fun in learning cannot be stressed enough. The sheer quantity and difficult concepts (if your background is not finance or quantitative) are tough to tackle if you don't have at least a bit of fun with financial risk management. With fun comes also motivation which speeds up the process
• If you have access to the videos - use them! A lot! I can't count how many "Aha" moments I've had while watching the videos.
• At last one thing I have learned, is that I personally don't necessarily recommend to learn the topics and solve the practice questions in the exact order given by GARP (e.g. for Part 1 first Foundations of Risk Management, then Quantitative Analysis and so on). Yes, some of the concepts build up on each other but you have to realize that the questions in the actual exam are mixed up. Given that "connecting the dots" between the different topics and concepts is very helpful (and also important in the actual job requirements of a risk manager) I believe that mixing between the topics while learning for the exam is highly helpful. Then again this has to be tested, i.e. if it doesn't work for you, then that's it, but I think it's worth giving a try.

 

[Martin B]

I would like to share my experience and my study plan for Part I.

Resources: GARP books and the BT advanced package for Part I

Study period: May till November. I was studying for 1.5 or 2 hours workdays (Monday till Thursday),
4 to 6 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I was lucky to keep this frequency through the whole study period and I used it entirely! After some time I even got used to it and was able to integrate it into my daily routine. I set up a plan how much time do I want to spend with each book and to have 4 to 5 weeks before the exam only for revision, practice and mock exams. I took off two weeks before the exam and that was very helpful.

Study process: This is how I studied and went through all the readings.
1. Watch the BT video.
2. Read the GARP reading (with one eye on the Learning Objectives).
3. Go through the BT notes and solve the BT practice questions.
4. Write down your own notes. This step required a lot of time but was extremely helpful later!

Like this I went through all four books and when I finished I started all over again, but this time I replaced the GARP books with my notes. Looking into the books only for reference, more detail or filling mind gaps.

Practicing is very important. I solved almost every BT practice question at least two or three times. The forum was very helpful when something was unclear.

Like this I was able to pass the exam on first attempt.

 

[MG250]

Hi All,

I plan to start studying for FRM Part 2 (May 20th, 2017) next week and was curious if there was a certain order that people prefer to study the material. Some options I've considered:

1. Topic guide on GARP's site
2. Order of BT's study planner
3. Mix it up!

In addition, I put together a list of GARP's topic guide and highlighted what BT already has, what they don't, and what is listed as "coming soon" for easy reference:



Thanks,
Mike

 

[bake5472]

Nice post @MG250 - that's helpful.

X2: does anyone who has passed part 2 have tips for Mike and myself regarding his question??

 

[flawless21]

Hello, I am new to Bionic Turtle. I just signed up for the FRM exam and I plan to purchase a package shortly as I heard this was the best source for FRM preparation.

2 Questions:

1. I have a BS in Finance and an MBA in Finance - but there is still quite a bit (especially on quantitative side) that I do not know very well. Do you recommend that I read the GARP books inside out and then work on the BT study guides for each chapter? I am struggling in developing a study plan. Some folks do questions right away without any reading.

2. I just found out the online readings are not readily accessible via the GARP website. How can I obtain these readings? GARP can't surely think that I'm going to purchase all the materials...?

 

[ashytare]

Hi Guys,

I just joined Bionic Turtle
And it is very natural for me to start with a book, like we have in schweser
So can anyone give me poi tera on where to start.

Thanks

 

[ShaktiRathore]

Hi,
please see: https://forum.bionicturtle.com/thre...d-updated-materials-for-2015.8199/#post-33251
also see if you like,
https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/start-studying-for-2013.6582/#post-21719
https://forum.bionicturtle.com/threads/preparing-for-nov-frm-part-i.6054/#post-18921

thanks