BT material and AIMS

[sherin]

Hi David
I plan to give the FRM Level1 in Nov 2010.

However i want to start early (now itself )since i am a mother of a baby and i work full time as well.

I was also evaluating joining BT for my preparation..Can i join right now though i will be giving the exam in nov 2010 only?

My queries

1. Will the AIMS be the same for entire year ..ie for May and Nov 2010 both?

2. As part of the BT prep notes , will you also be providing the list of AIMS 2010.? [Since i cannot register for nov 2010 now i cannot access the AIMs 2010 till June 2010.But i want to use the AIMS 2010 as my guide for my prep now itself ].

3. Do u advise buying all the core readings for a given section ? Isnt it possible that there would be overlap between them for a given section say VAR.? given the fact the whole core readings + GARP fee+ your fee = really very expensive.

4. I read one of your posts where u have listed the important books Hull/Tuckman/Jorion/Gujarati for an early start?
Wouldnt it be more expensive to later on buy the other core readings individually ?

5. As part of BT prep program would you have a detailed study plan week wise like the sample you have on your site? I beleive it will be of great help for people to maintain their pace of prepn .

Sorry for this long list of queries. But your response will help me immensely in making a quick decision and plan for FRM .


Tks once again
sherin

 

[Suzanne Evans]

Sherin,

1. Will the AIMS be the same for entire year ..ie for May and Nov 2010 both?

As of right now we only have the AIMs for Level 1. Yes, the AIMs will be the same for both May and November.

2. As part of the BT prep notes , will you also be providing the list of AIMS 2010.? [Since i cannot register for nov 2010 now i cannot access the AIMs 2010 till June 2010.But i want to use the AIMS 2010 as my guide for my prep now itself ].

I am not sure if we are allowed to share the AIMs. We are contacting GARP in reference to that and will get back with you. Our course is designed around the AIMs, so you will definitely learn about them.

3. Do u advise buying all the core readings for a given section ? Isnt it possible that there would be overlap between them for a given section say VAR.? given the fact the whole core readings + GARP fee+ your fee = really very expensive.

Many customers utilize only BT resources. However, the correct answer to this really varies by individual. The primary factor is your comfort level with the quantitative methods.

Please see this recent forum thread: http://forum.bionicturtle.com/viewthread/1067/

And perhaps this recent blog post will be helpful:
http://www.bionicturtle.com/learn/article/i_like_to_take_three_passes_through_new_material_frm/

4. I read one of your posts where u have listed the important books Hull/Tuckman/Jorion/Gujarati for an early start?
Wouldnt it be more expensive to later on buy the other core readings individually ?

I am going to have to leave this question for David.

5. As part of BT prep program would you have a detailed study plan week wise like the sample you have on your site? I beleive it will be of great help for people to maintain their pace of prepn .

We are still in the process of putting together a detailed schedule. However, we have already began to prepare content for the 2010 exam and will begin to publish on February 1st.

 

[sherin]

Hi
thanks a ton for your prompt and detailed reply.
Further clarification/query regarding point 5.

5.As part of BT prep program would you have a detailed study plan week wise like the sample you have on your site? I beleive it will be of great help for people to maintain their pace of prepn .

We are still in the process of putting together a detailed schedule. However, we have already began to prepare content for the 2010 exam and will begin to publish on February 1st.

what i was asking for is a study plan incorporating weekly plan(time table) viz for each topic this many hrs for core readings / this many for BTnotes/This many for BT video tutorial/this many for practice questions etc There is a similar one for FRM 2008 on your website .....when will u be preparing one for FRM L1 ? it will be of great help to a lot of candidates to plan and devote thier time judicisously


6. Wanted to know if i join BT now and were to take the exam in nov 2010,

1. would your notes/tutorials get revised again after the May 2010 exam?
2. considering i m starting early your materails/practice questions will all be released by may 2010....how would i ensure that i dont get bogged down by the speed and humungous contents coming in for me?
3. Will there be early bird webinars this time?when will they start. ?



tks again
sherin

 

[Suzanne Evans]

Sherin,

1) As of this time, we do not have a study plan/time table published. I personally think that everyone is different and a lot of our customer will utilize all sources, yet find that some work for them better than others. In reference to how much time you should put into studies, please see this link:

http://www.bionicturtle.com/frequently-asked-questions/#_is_200_hours_enough_to_prepare_for_the_exam

2) Since the AIMS are going to be the same for both the May and April exam, I do not see why any content would change. However, we may have time to add some additional sources and information for you to use.

3) In reference to getting bogged down, I would refer back to the link above. I would just give yourself time to look over the different content we have available and choose what works best for you. If you sign up now, I would go ahead and review the 2009 content to give you a jump start!

4) Unfortunately, with Level 1 and Level 2 both being in May this year, we will not have time for early bird webinars.

Thanks,
Suzanne

 

[sherin]

hi Suzanne
thanks for your reply.

I am still awaiting your response on whether list of AIMS 2010 are part of your prep material.


Some more queries

1. I understand that if i were to join BT prep course, there are these screencasts/video tutorials. Are they live or can i download them and go thru later at my own pace?
2. The link to the 2008 Early bird episodes are all empty. So i m not able to view them. Can you please check?

3. How relevant is the 5th edition of the FRM handbook and more importantly the practice questions CD ? I have read threads here where the 4th edition was construed as being not so relevant and errors in the sample questions and answers? I mean is it really worth to buy the handbook for the sample practice questions?

4. The BT sample questions as part of the prep course - Are they actual exam questions from the earlier years ?

Awaiting your response

tks
sherin

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi Sherin,

1. The core tutorials are prerecorded and fully downloadable; i.e., they are designed to be reviewed at your own pace. We do have (additional) live webinars but they will also downloadable (.wmv format), unless you have a Mac; at this point, we are trying to ascertain whether the webinar format (gotowebinar) can guarantee Mac and it looks like it won't...

2. I'll check the free side re: 2008 EB webinars (due to glitch, #2 was not recorded. But 1, 3, 4 and 5 should be okay)

3. Re the handbook: Suzanne is entering the questions @ http://forum.bionicturtle.com/viewforum/41/
...and over coming months, I will be annotating and correcting the mistaken ones (as most of them have been vetted here in the forum, so that's mostly a logistical task for us)
...the FRM handbook Q&A is decidedly imperfect (e.g., high error rate) and the relevance varies. They Q&A are not irrelevant b/c they are actual questions
...Re the handbook generally, I don't have blanket guidance. The 5th is essentially the same as the 4th (so what i said last year is: no need to upgrade from 4th to 5th, no need whatsover). However, because Jorion authored the text (not the Q&A), the handbook is (IMO) a strong introduction to the FRM. I almost think it is more useful the less experience you have; if you have more experience, I'd probably head straight for his book (VaR 3rd Edition). Here is my summary view of the handbook:
Is the handbook necessary? No.
Does it give complete coverage for the exam? Absolutely not. Handbook does not give 1:1 correspondence
Do many candidates find the handbook helpful? Definitely, some/many do find the handbook helpful (my impression is that less experienced candidates are more favorably disposed due to its strong introductory nature).

4. I write all of BT questions. In many cases, I use a sample/practice question as a "starter" to add several, more in-depth training-type questions. So, my questions are original and philosophically I try to write tougher questions than you'll see on the exam (I think it's fair to say my questions are tough. But in the last two years, we've generally gotten good feedback for our difficult practice questions).

Hope that helps, David

 

[sherin]

hi david
tks for your reply

had further queries.

1. Re the handbook: Suzanne is entering the questions @ http://forum.bionicturtle.com/viewforum/41/
The questionst that are being posted by Suzanne here are they from the 5 th ed Handbook CD of questions?

2. I was checking with u on the 2008 early birds not the 2009... the 2009 are there but not the 2008 ones......Cant seem to find them at the link.......

Also appreciate ur response on my earlier queries

3. As part of the BT prep notes , will you also be providing the list of AIMS 2010.? [Since i cannot register for nov 2010 now i cannot access the AIMs 2010 till June 2010.But i want to use the AIMS 2010 as my guide for my prep now itself ].


4. I read one of your posts where u have listed the important books Hull/Tuckman/Jorion/Gujarati for an early start?
Wouldnt it be more expensive to later on buy the other core readings individually ?



Last but not the least so far i found ur webinars and posts etc really amazing!

Appreciate your efforts ! And of course the prompt responses to all the queries.


Sherin

 

[David Harper CFA FRM]

Hi Sherin,

1. No, they are the questions embedded in the text (We have found the CD-ROM questions to be highly flawed; error rate > 30% plus some % that are no longer relevant)

2. 2008 EB are on the member page. But warning: this was older video technology, so it requires download and copy of folder (with files) to local. Not totally convenient....

3. Yes

4. Not sure what you mean? Buying the books then the core readings would be expensive...many people just ask "what books are most critical" and those are the "big 4" L1 texts ... I would not necessarily think you'd want to pay twice for those readings...

Thanks for liking the webinars and posts, really appreciate it!

David

 

[gauravroongta]

hi

just wanted to know wether the premium web casts of bionic turtle are the same as those posted on the website for free?

gaurav

India

 

[Suzanne Evans]

Gaurav,

The tutorials on the free side are only samples. They only include a small portion of the full version. In order to receive the full version, you would need to be a premium member.

Thanks,
Suzanne