Some FRM Part 2 Study Strategies

1. Start early
Everyone says this. Everyone knows this. But not many people actually follow it.

The earlier you start, the better you feel. FRM Part 2 exam is typically very qualitative. FRM Part
1 generally tends to be heavily quantitative. (However, some people posted that the FRM Part 1
November 2014 exam was not very quantitative. Maybe GARP is incorporating feedback from
previous test-takers or trying new question types.) Regardless, there are so many topics in FRM
Part 2 where it is almost impossible to ask quantitative questions. So it would be safe to assume
that there will be a qualitative component in the exam.

Having said that, a lot of questions, in my opinion, had content directly from the FRM books
(the core readings). Knowing this, I felt that reading the actual books will make me feel
confident. The material is a lot to handle, if you go the hard route: the original books. Starting
early gives you enough time to study for the exam.

2. Read the books and use notes/practice questions for review and
practice
As mentioned earlier, I read the core readings from the FRM books. Overkill? Maybe. But not
reading them was a risk I did not want to take. Notes do their best to "explain" the concepts. BT
does this job very well. However, for a qualitative exam, there are bound to be some questions,
the answers to which are "direct quotations" from the original books. Notes provide a good
summary. Of course, if notes tried to include all the material in detail, they would be longer
than the original books and their whole point would be lost.

I read the books and then the notes. Practicing questions is also important. GARP questions
tend to be complex and "thought-provoking". Although the likelihood of the same practice
question appearing on the actual exam is low, practicing these questions encourages you to
"think" and "apply" all the material you read in the books and notes. Additionally, if you struggle
with the practice questions, you know that you need to read the material on that topic again.

I did not use Schweser practice questions, but have heard that they aren't really "challenging" or
"thought-provoking". BT does a good job with their practice questions, I felt.

Also, we all know that there will be some quantitative problems on the exam. Will you feel
confident to read just the theory and solve the problems directly in the exam? I would guess
"no". So you need to practice them somewhere! That's where third-party provider practice
questions are useful.

Speaking about books, don't be scared of the original books. The readings selected by GARP are
(generally) good quality readings; they explain the concepts well, have tables, graphs, diagrams
and examples, which help in understanding the material.

Does this mean that it is necessary to read the original books? Are BT notes sufficient? Is just
Schweser sufficient?
The answer is: it really depends. I know that doesn't say a lot, but it depends on what sort of
questions are asked in the exam, how much of the material do you understand well etc. There
are people who passed using only the original readings while others who failed with it. There are
people who passed using only BT/Schweser notes and people who failed with just that. There are
people who studied books and notes but still failed. And there are very very few (geniuses) who
hardly studied anything but still passed.

3. Prepare your own notes

This is a habit I had since I was a kid and I found it helpful for the FRM exam as well.

When studying, I would highlight important points, number points (for example, when the
material lists advantages of one VaR method over another, you could bullet/number each point,
thereby structuring the material and aiding memorization), and write examples I knew or would
add my own reasoning/explanation for understanding the concept on the book itself. My books
were filled with all my markings. I also would jot down key points in my notepad.

When reviewing the material, it helped tremendously to have my own notes, in terms of saving
time.

When commuting to work (public transportation), I found it helpful to review my notes. I would
study till late night and next morning, while going to work, I would review my own notes. It was
easier to review from a notepad, rather than carrying the heavy books on my commute and
flipping through pages while standing in a moving train.

After watching the entire BT videos, sometimes, I would download BT videos on my phone and
watch it at 2x speed (to save time) during review, when commuting to work. Any faster than 2x
speed and you cannot properly hear what @David Harper CFA FRM CIPM is trying to say

4. Plan to finish the material at least a month before the exam

Plan, at least. You may realize that there are less than four weeks remaining and you still haven't
completed the material. That happened with me. But at least planning to finish the material
helped me conserve more time at the end.

I had prepared a schedule for myself to study the material. I worked backwards.
For example, if the test is on November 15, I need to finish all material by October 15. I will take
20 days for the Current Issues section. So, by September 25, I should finish the section before
that... You get the point. Working backwards helped me realize that I do not have much leeway
in my schedule and that helped me to not take too much time-off from studying. It made me
realize that I need to study regularly or else I am in trouble.

5. Study regularly
Of course, we all have social obligations and need to relax and enjoy ourselves. But don't forget
to study regularly. If you work full-time and have a demanding job (like I do), it might seem
difficult to study after work on weekdays; but try to find time to incorporate some studying in
your daily routine. This may not be possible if you have family obligations (kids, cooking for
family, etc.) but try your best. Studying only on weekends may not give you enough time to
complete all the material.
I would take Fridays off from studying, just to enjoy with friends. Oh, and Sunday nights too
(thanks to good Sunday night television and had to recharge myself for the coming week). Other
than that, I would try to study everyday, with extra studying on weekends.

To make something a "habit", it is said that you need to perform that activity regularly. Studying
everyday made it easier for me to not think of it as a huge pain. Yes, it is hard to study when your
friends are out enjoying. So, "no", I did not enjoy studying, but I knew it would help me in
passing the exam.

6. Study all the material

As David has mentioned in other posts, there is definitely a disproportionate ratio of AIMs to
questions. There are a lot more topics that can be tested.

Even with that, sometimes, you will find that some readings are heavily tested, whereas some
others are not tested at all. This is bound to happen. The exam may have a snippet of
information and then ask 2-3 questions on that information. They could all be from the same
reading. What if you had skipped that reading, which now has multiple questions asked?

With just 80 questions on the exam and more than 80 readings, some readings might never get
tested. If you skip certain readings and those end up being heavily tested, you may actually end
up not knowing the answers to those questions due to lack of knowledge of those topics. Not a
wise strategy, in my opinion.

So, study all the material.

7. Prepare your own "quicksheet"/"formula sheet"

Although you may have read the entire material well, in the last few days leading to the exam,
you most likely will not have time to read the entire material again. You will need a quick-read
guide.

BT publishes its own formula sheet, while Schweser has its Quick Sheet, but I feel preparing
your own quicksheet in your own handwriting is useful.

I preferred going into enough detail (not just listing of formulas and main categories, but also
brief explanation of each). I tried to keep them to maximum 8 pages for each section. I did not
want to have a thick set of 100+ pages to read in the last few days, nor did I want just 6 pages for
the entire material, since that seemed very superficial. I wrote in small font to make it feel like a
"cheat sheet" and not too much detail. This strategy had helped me a lot in college and I found it
helpful for both FRM exams. It was extremely helpful for review.

Many people may feel this is a waste of time and overkill, and that may be true in their case; for
me, it was helpful.

8. Try to get time-off from work before the exam

I understand that this may be difficult for a lot of working candidates.

For me, I did not want to stress about working on some presentation/spreadsheets/client-
related projects/system failures etc. the couple days before the exam and potentially staying till
late working on those issues and not getting enough time to review the material in the last few
days before the exam. A week off before the exam is helpful, if you can get it. More than that is
extra helpful.

You won't be able to study 16-18 hours every day in those last few weeks, but try as much as you
can.

Some people feel you should not study the last few days before the exam, or else you will get
more confused and stressed. I feel, if you have studied properly, there will be no confusion; just
useful last week review. Sure, you may not want to venture into totally new material, but
reviewing what you know already is useful.

9. Feel free to mix it up

Many people study the material book-by-book. I had friends who did this.

But that was boring for me. Reading everything about just Market Risk for weeks can indeed
takes its toll.

Mix it up, if you feel like. Go in whichever order you feel like. Obviously, some readings are
related and you would want to study them in sequence, but most of the material does not
demand this.

Even GARP's official recommended Reading Plan in their "FRM Examination Preparation
Handbook" does not go book-by-book.

I must admit, this made it difficult to easily answer "how much material have you covered and
how much is left?" For those who study book-wise, they can easily say, for example, "Finished
with 2.5 books and xx remaining."