Education Blog
there are no secrets, Just information that you do not yet have
there are no secrets, Just information that you do not yet have
What do we do after high school? College. College can become very expensive, so it is important to consider your decision. However, college makes it easier to get a job and earn more money. So its like an investment. You spend money now, for it to come back later. 86% of college students say it was worth the investment, according to a Pew Poll. College prepares you for life, in many ways, including social life and independence. The job market in the US is becoming more competitive. A college education helps to beat this competitiveness. More than 60% of high school students enter college. About 35% of people aged 25 to 29 have a bachelors degree. Without going to college, you’re in a big disadvantage for the job market. Menteon can help you learn and give you confidence to enter college.
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About 200 years ago, people went to school in a small house with one classroom filled with people of many ages all in one classroom. As most things have since that time, it began to evolve from there. Soon they started creating multiple grades for students in different levels and ages. A generation ago, people were still learning with notebooks and pencils. In this last generation, people have started using the Internet. We use the Internet for various things, ranging from shopping to learning to data storage. We also use it for education now. Many colleges have started many online courses, as people can take the course from anywhere. It is now possible to get a degree without setting foot in a campus. Even children use the Internet. Students communicate, shop, and do homework and school things online. Why have people suddenly transferred to the Internet for education purposes? The Internet enables people far apart to communicate instantaneously and many more. It can store things in a neat and organized way. Also, the growing importance of email communication leads to more use of the Internet. Maybe in the near future we will switch to even better things, leaving the Internet behind.
Post by Menteoner Ashwath
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When a teacher gives a lecture, we take notes to study them later. The question is, how can you take notes so you can study them over the least amount of times. There are ways to make your note-taking more efficient. First of all, try to listen more than you write. 80% of your time should be spent listening, while 20% writing. Only note down the things you might forget. Your memory listening to things is better than you think. Your speed of writing is slower than the teacher’s speed of talking, so if you write too much, you will lose certain points. Always remember, never rush your brain and always think calmly about what the teacher says. Try to grasp all the concepts and main ideas immediately, and note down the details. Also, never forget to ask questions. Sometimes you just don’t understand things, which is perfectly fine. You just need to know to get help by asking questions. Last but not least, remember to study over your notes later before a test. Good luck!
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A teacher assigns an essay, due in 3 weeks. You don’t even read the requirements. You think, ‘I have 3 more weeks left, no need to think about it now.’ The next day you say the same thing, again and again until you realize you only have a day left. Then you read the requirements, and realize, it’s way longer and complicated than you had expected. And the topic is a very difficult topic. Then you realize you should’ve started earlier. This is the common teenage habit of procrastination, or putting things off to the last minute.
On the first day, thinking you’ll do it the next day is fine, as long as you don’t continue to think that way. You can give yourself occasional breaks like that, as long as you keep on task. If you split that essay into 21 days, you would be working much less than doing it all in 1 day. Then each day you do it, you won’t feel stressed and you can easily make up for what you missed the next day, giving yourself occasional breaks. You must remember not to get distracted, and stay on task and focused. Never feel stressed out or worried about your grade. This just slows your motivation. Keeping yourself motivated and rewarding yourself is very important. Just never forget, that you will do your best, and if your best is not as good as you wished, so be it.
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Tests. That word gives many people a headache. If you are one of those people, you need to learn to face it. Test taking and preparing for tests is very easy and maybe even fun if you do it the right way.
First of all, start preparing early. Don’t wait until the last minute. As soon as you know there is going to be a test, start forming study groups. Studying in groups is scientifically proven to be more effective than studying alone. You can talk with each other and help each other out. Also, when you are with a group, you feel less stressful. Never get stressed out; it just slows down your work pace.
While taking your test, if its multiple choice, always go with your first gut, and always guess if you don’t know the answer, unless there is a penalty for guessing. In that case, if you can eliminate 1 or 2 of the answers, then you should guess. Keep an eye on the clock and don’t spend too long on one problem. Always make sure you get through all the problems.
Good luck with your next test!
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CFA Level 1 Exam is a multiple choice test contain 240 multiple choice questions.
Half will be given in morning section and half in the afternoon session.
All topics are covered in both sessions
Question pattern would be similar to Stalla Seminars Practice Exams.
Read the exam rules on page 10-11 of the CFA Level I Study Guide provided by
AIMR.
General Instructions:
1. Ethics (15% of exam)
2. Quantitative Methods (12% of exam):
3. Economics (10% of the exam):
4. Financial Statement Analysis (20% of the exam):
5. Corporate Finance (10% of the exam):
6. Equity Investments (7% of the exam)
7. Global Markets and Instruments (2% of the exam)
8. Derivatives (5% of the exam)
9. Debt Investments (11% of the exam)
10. Alternative Investments (3% of the exam)
11. Portfolio Management (5% of exam)
Ethics (15% of exam)
This Section would require reviewing the basic requirements of each of the Standards of
Professional Conduct, focusing on the required conduct and compliance procedures for
each standard. Pay less attention to minute details such as the material on L1:19-28. Do
expect a few questions on the rules of procedure, especially the sections written in bold
italics on pages L1:45-46 and L1-49, as well as the requirements of the GIPS in bold
italics (L1:45-61). The Homework questions in Stalla Review for the CFA Exam
(including the three Practice Exams) should provide enough practice in the type of
questions that will appear on the exam.
Quantitative Methods (12% of exam)
1. This Section includes Time Value of Money, Descriptive Statistics, Probability,
and Statistical Analyses such as Hypothesis Testing, Regression and Correlation.
2. Know how to do all of the various types of problems covered in Time Value of
Money (L1: 63-103). Solve more Problem section in this method. Some problems
might be complicated involving one or more time sequences.
3. Descriptive Statistics (L1: 104-134) is likely to be covered completely on the
exam. However, do not worry about complex equations like skewness and
kurtosis. Most of the material in this section will be very basic. Bayesian analysisis the hardest part in this material. Fortunately, there is only likely to be one
question on it.
4. Always remember, if you find the material difficult, guess and move on. Do not
waste valuable time trying to perform calculations that you find
incomprehensible. If the principle of counting is covered, it is likely to be limited
to combinations and permutations.
5. The uniform and binomial distributions are not likely to be worth many points on
the exam. However, the normal curve will be emphasized. Study pages L2: 33-45
thoroughly. Also, sampling, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing will likely
be covered by several questions (L2: 50-68 and L3: 1-33).
6. Detailed mathematics may not be necessary, but know the meaning and
interpretation of terms such as level of significance, Type I and Type II error, pvalue, and so forth. Do not worry about detailed formulas on testing the difference
between two means (pooled variances, etc.). No one can be expected to remember
extremely complex formulas.
7. Regression and correlation analysis (L3: 34-64) will be the source of several
questions. Again, the meaning and interpretation of terms such as regression
coefficient, correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination, dependent and
independent variable, standard error of estimate, confidence interval, prediction
interval and significance testing are important. Do not worry too much about long,
complicated equations. Stick to the equations that are boxed, short, and important,
and you should be all right.
Economics (10% of the exam)
This section of the exam will consist of approximately 24 questions. They will divide up
into approximately 6 questions in each of the following categories:
1. In macroeconomics, cause and effect relationships are important, not explaining
theories or drawing graphs. Know the simple expenditure multiplier, but
otherwise ignore the details of Keynesian economics.
2. Virtually all of the Money and Banking section is important. You are probably
going to be required to perform calculations in this area. Monetarist theory is
important, including the equation of exchange and the quantity theory of money.
Understand the effects of monetary policy in the short run, and the long run both when it is anticipated and unanticipated. The adaptive expectations and rational
expectations models are important.
3. All of International Trade Theory is important (L6: 1-11). Expect some
questions on those pages. Foreign Currency (L6: 12-44) topics are likely to be
emphasized on the exam: Currency quotations and conversions, cross exchange
rate calculations, forward discount and premium calculations, triangular arbitrage,
purchasing power parity, balance of payments relationships, and covered interest
arbitrage are likely to be heavily emphasized.
Financial Statement Analysis (20% of the exam)
From the previous Examination pattern, this section of Level I exam has been the most
difficult portion of the test. There will be approximately 48 questions in this area, half in
the morning and half in the afternoon. Most of the questions will likely be concentrated in
a relatively few blocks:
1. Financial ratios (which will likely include the DuPont model that is discussed on
pages L12-48 of Stalla Review for the CFA Exam). There may be several
questions in this area. Most of the financial ratios are discussed on pages L7: 17-
38
2. Inventories (L8: 1-18)
3. Accounting for Fixed Assets (L8: 19-39)
4. Leases (L9: 1-8). Do not study the details on Leases from the point of view of
lessors (L9: 9-15).
5. Accounting for Equity Capital (L10: 1-8)
6. Computing Earnings per Share (L10: 9-16).
7. Cash Flow (L10: 20-31).
The other topics in Financial Statement Analysis will all be covered with 1-2 questions
each, but the “fire power” will be concentrated in the above 7 areas.
Corporate Finance (10% of the exam)
The Corporate Finance questions may be difficult.
1. Know how to determine the cost of the various components of capital (L11: 5-8)
and how to perform WACC calculations (L11: 14-17). In addition, the material on
ranking capital projects will likely be covered, including linear interpolation to
obtain payback and discounted payback periods (L11: 18-25).
2. You will likely have to perform a NPV calculation, but the IRR and MIIR calculations are very unlikely. Understand how to calculate operating cash flow
(L11: 29-32) for a project and how to make a capital budgeting decision based on
the NPV approach (L11-33).
3. Optimum capital structures including the MM model (L11: 44-55) will likely be
the source of several questions, as will signaling theory and the optimum dividend
policy (L11: 56-63).
Equity Investments (7% of the exam)
In this Section you should know how to perform basic dividend discount model
calculations, especially the constant growth dividend discount model (L12: 36).
The formula for internal growth rate (L12: 47) is also important, as is the DuPont model.
Expect about one or two questions on technical analysis (L12: 79-84). Most of the other
questions (especially questions covering pages L12: 59-78) mostly will be of a “trivial
pursuit” nature. If you read the Lesson 12 section and can do the examples, you should
not find this portion of the exam too difficult.
Global Markets and Instruments (2% of the exam)
Expect four or five global questions from the material covered on L12: 85-91 and L16:
32-34.
Derivatives (5% of the exam)
The important parts in this section are Futures and Options
1. There will only be a few questions on Futures. Most will be the trivial pursuit
variety, concerning definitions of terms (long/short, initial margin, variation
margin, maintenance margin, mark-to-market, the role of the clearinghouse,
methods of settlement, and so forth). However, know how to calculate how much
a contract price has to increase or decrease before a margin call will occur (L15-
10).
2. Most of the derivative questions will probably be related to Options. A few
questions might require knowledge of some definitions (call, put, in-the-money,
out-of-the-money, and so forth). Most questions, however, should center on
strategies that employ options. Therefore, the material covered on pages L15: 20-
31 is very important. If you do the Homework problems covered in the Stalla
Review for the CFA Exam and Practice Exams, you should have little problem
with the options questions on the exam itself. 3. There are only going to be a few questions on swaps. Most of them are expected
to be definitions of terms (tenor, settlement, notional amount, and so forth). You
may have to determine one cash flow for an interest rate swap as in the example
on page L15: 34-35.
Debt Investments (11% of the exam)
Most of the questions that come from this section are covered in material on pages L13:
44-65 and L14: 1-46 with only a few “trivial pursuit” type questions being based on
pages L13: 1-43. You should expect to have to calculate the value of a bond, certain bond
yields, the duration and convexity of a bond, spot rates and forward rates (particularly the
latter). If you can do these calculations and have read the rest of the material once, the
fixed income questions should not be too difficult.
Alternative Investments (3% of the exam)
Real Estate, Investment Companies, and Venture Capital should be a simple portion of
the exam. Expect one question on the material covered on L15: 44-46, probably on the
determinants of real estate value and three questions on valuating real estate
Expect only one or two questions on Investment Companies (trivial pursuit) and one or
two definitions in Venture Capital.
Portfolio Management (5% of exam)
Portfolio management can be broken down into Conventional Portfolio Management
(L16: 1-10) and Modern Portfolio Theory (L16: 11-30). The Global Portfolio 4 5
Management material will be included in the Global Markets and Instruments section of
the test.
1. For Conventional portfolio management topics: The section that contain
objectives and five constraints (L16: 2-5), the phases of an individual’s investment
life cycle (L16: 8-10) and how the two objectives and five constraints should be
applied to various types of portfolios (summarized in the table on L16-10) and
you should be all right.
2. The modern portfolio theory questions may involve calculations. Specifically,
know the formulas on L16: 11-12 and understand beta (L16: 18-21). Know the
CAPM, the CML model (L16-22) and the SML model (L16: 23-24).
3. However, you do not need to know the derivations of these models. The arbitrage
pricing model might have one or two questions related to it, but they are likely to
be on the material found on L16-31. Psyche Yourself for the Exam
Before taking the exam, read the Hints on Taking the CFA Exam section (L16: 35-42).
This contains a lot of useful hints in answering multiple choice questions. It also provides
you with other useful ideas about preparations to be made just prior to the test day. Read
these hints about 10 days before taking the exam itself and follow the advice on exam
day!
About a week before the exam, start getting yourself into a mental state in which passing
the exam is not such an all-encompassing goal as it seems today. This will relax you and
reduce the tendency to panic on exam day. A calm and relaxed attitude is the best mental
approach to taking the exam itself. So, about two weeks before the exam, keep saying to
yourself:
Good Luck!
One of the challenges I had was when I was preparing for my finals in December. My grades were border-line in many of my subjects, so I needed to do well on the finals to bring them up. However, I also had my tae-kwon-do testing that month for my next belt. I was very busy going to trainings for that by spending 2 hours 3 times a week to prepare for my belt test. I had barely any time to prepare for my finals, and I was stuck between my grades and my belt test.
The area in which I really struggled at school was in English. To help me improve my writing skills, I got books from the library as well as researched online as to how to write proper thesis statements and compose a well-organized essay. I used websites such as Bookrags and Enotes to help me master the essay-writing skills. With other subjects, I spent long days and nights studying for my finals, and I also took help from my parents and my peers. They helped me by quizzing me and helping me learn the material I did not know very well.
At tae kwon do, I had trouble doing well in sparring, or contact free-form fighting, since I was a bit intimidated by the other candidates trying out. To help me become better in sparring, I went to more classes and sparred more, so I could get rid of my fear of being hit. I persuaded my brain that I would not get hurt because of all the gear I was wearing, and soon, I lost my fear of sparring and became much better at it.
In the end, I did well on my English final and I improved my essay-writing skills. I also ended up passing my belt test and advancing onto my next belt, which was 1 belt away from my black belt!
By Menteoner Darshan
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Back in eighth grade, my worst subject was algebra two, with a nice teacher, but, he did not teach very well. Through having both a huge class, and no way of visualizing what he was teaching, I often fell behind in the class, earning a flat B especially having difficulty on word problems.
My problem was that I just could not comprehend word problems, visualizing what was happening, and writing it down. Word problems often comparing rates of time and work were especially difficult. In the end, I asked my dad to teach me how to do these problems better. At first, I did not expect much from him, but he taught me to visualize the problem, draw it out, and formulate each part of the question into a picture. Through drawing both pictures and tables to organize the information given in the problem into ways that I could easily comprehend, I learned how to do these types of problems.However, by the time I learned this, the semester was already almost finished, but I was able to bring my grade up to a B+.
Menteon Learning is out there to help kids like me. Using new innovative ideas and technology, they create products in order to help students visualize problems and subjects. With Menteon Learning I could have achieved so much more in algebra two. I encourage ever single student out there to make full use of Menteon as it provides you with something school often cannot.
by a Passionate Menteoner
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Moving on from school into college life is a different experience altogether. This is the weird phase that when you are in school you just want it to be over and when you are in college the flashbacks from school life always make you travel back into that past. Weird but yeah, this is human nature. College life is just like a never before experience for almost everybody. It gives you a “reset” button and you can be whoever and whatever you want. All it needs to be successful after college is proper management of time and resources.
Well you might have already heard enough about balancing your time and do a whole list of things from someone but believe me seriously its crap. Out of these three things you can just pick up any two
*Good Sleep
*High Grades
*A sound social life
While you have to set your goals high but at the same time you got to be down to earth. I mean according to my experience its very difficult to study other than exam time (yeah its true). There’s whole lot of other things out there to explore like sports, clubs, chapters, events, competitions, fests, theater etc. But yes some people do manage studies with all of these and shine academically and everywhere else too. Obviously they have made their sacrifices somewhere down the line. What I am trying to say here is that fun and everything else is really important in this precious time of your life but grades are given a priority everywhere. This is society and this is how it works. Believe me this time of your life is never going to come back .People miss their college life so much that I have seen people crying (literally) when they recount their times.
So one has to ensure that while having fun the grades are taken care. One of the best ways to achieve this which has worked for me and many other friends is by listening to the teachers carefully (that’s it!!). If you understand the concept there then even without practice you can solve a difficult question in the exam but mugging up everything before the exam may not help at all .Bragging about a class not getting over will only worsen your situation. You have just extended the class duration if you are counting every minute in your head. Whereas if you get involved in the lecture then before you know it the class is over BANG!! This is reality.
I hope that my experiences are beneficial for you……
by Menteoner Tarun
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