FAQ Before Exam FRM Part II Study Notes

[onil100]

Hi All,

I've started to prepare for Dec-2021 FRM Part II and wonder about using the BT's Study Notes though have some concerns and hence would be really grateful if you could help sort these out:
1. In sample Study Notes I see a very different structure to what I see compared to GARP curriculum (I was looking at Credit Risk part). I.e. instead of having a study note related to a single chapter one-by-one I see references to the books used in GARP curriculum and related chapters. Is that the case in paid Study Notes as well and if so, what is your recommended strategy if I were to use Study Notes predominantly and GARP curriculum just as a fill-out when needed?
2. I've used Study Notes in 2019/20 when GARP has drastically changed it's curriculum. In effect, lots of Study Notes were unavailable/not updated for quite a time and some of them were rather just a copy-paste fragments from the GARP curri. The notes turned out to be helpful any way and I understood that this was mostly due to this drastic change from GARP side yet I would like to know if similar change has been done for part II exam recently or are notes tested and in place for quite a time now?
.3 This one is related to GARP curri only - there are no EOC practice questions for Part II (at least first 7 chapters of CR) and the only thing I could find for practice were questions in their online study app. Is that really all they offer for practice (+ mocks)?

Many thanks in advance

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Hi All,

I've started to prepare for Dec-2021 FRM Part II and wonder about using the BT's Study Notes though have some concerns and hence would be really grateful if you could help sort these out:
1. In sample Study Notes I see a very different structure to what I see compared to GARP curriculum (I was looking at Credit Risk part). I.e. instead of having a study note related to a single chapter one-by-one I see references to the books used in GARP curriculum and related chapters. Is that the case in paid Study Notes as well and if so, what is your recommended strategy if I were to use Study Notes predominantly and GARP curriculum just as a fill-out when needed?
2. I've used Study Notes in 2019/20 when GARP has drastically changed it's curriculum. In effect, lots of Study Notes were unavailable/not updated for quite a time and some of them were rather just a copy-paste fragments from the GARP curri. The notes turned out to be helpful any way and I understood that this was mostly due to this drastic change from GARP side yet I would like to know if similar change has been done for part II exam recently or are notes tested and in place for quite a time now?
.3 This one is related to GARP curri only - there are no EOC practice questions for Part II (at least first 7 chapters of CR) and the only thing I could find for practice were questions in their online study app. Is that really all they offer for practice (+ mocks)?

Many thanks in advance

Hello @onil100 GARP has not changed the structure of the Part 2 curriculum as they did for Part 1, so it is not organized by single chapters. The Part 2 curriculum still consists of individual authors and chapters. Our study planner for Part 2 follows the exact organization of the curriculum. The sample study planner is exactly the same as the paid study planner. The only difference is that when you click on the study planner, you will see samples instead of the paid materials if you have not purchased a Part 2 study package. Our study notes are updated for 2021.

In 2020 when GARP changed the entire structure of the Part 1 curriculum, we had to rewrite all of our study notes, which took a great deal of time. Since we have to take the time to prepare and write the materials (they were not copy/paste from GARP materials), we update throughout the year, not all at once, so at times, there were gaps in the study planner.

 

[onil100]

Hey Nicole,

Sorry, the study planner for instance, jumps from ch 2 directly into ch 5 (screen from it below) whilst curriculum goes 1 by 1


Does that mean I should read the first reading, then look for a reading covering chapter 3 and then chapter 4? That seems inefficient given than chapter 3 i bundled with chapters 6, 7,11 making it a lot of jumping.

Also, do you know the answer to the third question i.e. regarding EOC questions?

Many thanks

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Hey Nicole,

Sorry, the study planner for instance, jumps from ch 2 directly into ch 5 (screen from it below) whilst curriculum goes 1 by 1
View attachment 3415

Does that mean I should read the first reading, then look for a reading covering chapter 3 and then chapter 4? That seems inefficient given than chapter 3 i bundled with chapters 6, 7,11 making it a lot of jumping.

Also, do you know the answer to the third question i.e. regarding EOC questions?

Many thanks

Hello @onil100 I encourage you to look at the GARP study guide/learning objectives for Part 2 in order to familiarize yourself with the layout. Please keep in mind that our study planner follows the GARP curriculum, not the GARP books. The Part 2 curriculum is organized by authors, not chapters. Looking at your screenshot above, for example, GARP has assigned only chapters 1 & 2 for Golin. The author assigned after Golin is Schroeck, which GARP has assigned only chapter 5 from that book. The chapters are not skipping. They are the individual authors and their corresponding chapters that have been assigned by GARP for Part 2.

Regarding the third question, I am not aware of EOC questions that GARP offers for Part 2. To my knowledge, they offer their practice exams. Other members may be able to answer that question with more information, as they have access to the materials that GARP provides. I am happy to answer other questions regarding our FRM program.

 

[kunalsharma]

Hi @Nicole Seaman, I stumbled upon this thread while browsing to address similar concern as @onil100
I have gone through your comments.

So if we follow the same sequence (organized by authors, instead of chapters) there will not be any conceptual gaps and we would be able to logically follow the curriculum. The authors listed earlier in the curriculum build the fundamentals for the study material covered by the later authors, irrespective of the chapter number sequence.
Can you confirm if this understanding is correct.

Alternatively, advise what would be the best sequencing strategy to study to allow us to logically follow the curriculum.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Nicole Seaman]

Hi @Nicole Seaman, I stumbled upon this thread while browsing to address similar concern as @onil100
I have gone through your comments.

So if we follow the same sequence (organized by authors, instead of chapters) there will not be any conceptual gaps and we would be able to logically follow the curriculum. The authors listed earlier in the curriculum build the fundamentals for the study material covered by the later authors, irrespective of the chapter number sequence.
Can you confirm if this understanding is correct.

Alternatively, advise what would be the best sequencing strategy to study to allow us to logically follow the curriculum.

Thanks in advance.

Hello @kunalsharma Our study planner is organized exactly as the GARP study guide/learning objectives. GARP will only be testing the chapters that they've assigned, which means that they won't be testing concepts outside of those chapters that are listed in the learning objectives.