Financial Risk Manager certification exams are extremely challenging in nature. Having cleared both the parts of the FRM exam, I can say with confidence that this achievement required an extensive amount of preparation.
I wrote an article about writing both FRM Part 1 & 2 together, and how you must prepare for it. In this article, I will share my experience with the FRM Part 1 and Part 2 exams, as well as some important preparation and test-taking strategies that can help you pass the exam on your first attempt.
1) Use Excel wisely for your Study Plan
When it comes to creating a study plan, Excel might be one of the most effective tools. It will assist you in keeping track of your study progress, managing doubts, and analyzing your mock exam results. You don’t have to use fancy templates, just the simple ones would suffice. It will give you a sense of productivity and keep you motivated and organized as well.
2) Focus on the Concepts
Understanding the concepts is critical when studying for the FRM exam. Rote-learning is simply not an option. The key to this is to ask as many questions as you can, even if you think they’re silly. Here at The WallStreet School, the main focus is to help students understand the concepts in a deeper sense using examples from the real world situations. Your mentor and peers will always be there for you to resolve your doubts, so don’t hesitate to ask.
The subjects in FRM are interrelated and require you to recollect multiple concepts at once. Once you understand a topic, it gets simpler to recall the topics and occasionally it may help you connect with other topics as well.
3) Practice!Practice!Practice!
After you have finished understanding the topics, the following step is to practice different sorts of questions. It is more necessary to practice different types of questions than it is to practice a large quantity of questions. Quality outweighs quantity. Gather as many different types of questions as possible. My top suggestions would be:
- Schweser Question Bank
- Tests your understanding of concepts.
- Difficulty level: Easy
- Analyst Prep Question Bank
- Exam type questions
- Difficulty level: Moderate
- GARP Pre-Exam Practice Questions
- Exam type questions
- Difficulty level: Moderate to Hard
4) Learn from your peers
Teaching others is one of the best methods to learn anything. Engaging in study groups will benefit you in the long term. Actively participating in the group and studying with your peers will expand your knowledge and understanding of the subject matter which is important from exam point of view. The WallStreet School has one of the most active forums, where you not only get access to resolve your doubt from the coach himself but also some helpful students who would motivate you to ask questions. The WallStreet welcomes and fosters a like-minded community of students where you can make friends and learn from each other.
5) Find study technique suitable for you
Sitting for lengthy periods of time to study may be exhausting and ineffective. In the end, the idea is to study smartly rather than hard. Use methods like pomodoro technique, which involves doing concentrated work for a lengthy amount of time and then taking a brief rest (for example, 50/10 is the most widely used period, in which you work for 50 minutes and then take a 10-minute break).
This will allow you to trick your brain and rest for a few minutes before returning to your studies. Setting daily reasonable goals and achieving those helps me feel more productive and inspired for the next day. The key is to focus on one day at a time rather than being overwhelmed by large amounts of study material. Before you know it, you will be done with the syllabus soon.
6) Experience the exam before the real exam
It is crucial to give at least four mock exams before you sit for the real one. You have to give the test in a strict exam setting, preferably in the hours when you would actually give the exam on the D-day. Sit for four hours without food, water and cell phone devices. Getting accustomed to this kind of environment will prepare you for the actual exam.
After giving mock tests, make sure you check the answers strictly and be your own judge. You may also use Excel to calculate and analyze the individual scores as well. Mark the topic areas which caused you trouble and revisit them again. Don’t be disappointed if you didn’t score well as this is just preparing you for the real exam. The goal is to find your weak areas and work on them.
7) Approach the Exam smartly
Understanding how to approach the examination is equally important. You have four hours, or 240 minutes, to answer the questions. Rather than jumping straight into solutions, I recommend reviewing the paper in the first 5-8 minutes.
This will give you a sense of the questions ahead, and you can then prioritize the easier ones. My suggestion is to start out with numerical type questions because they are usually straightforward to answer. Try to complete the majority of the easier questions in the first 120 minutes, leaving the more challenging ones for the remaining time.
Remember that you will not know the answers to all of the questions on the exam; there will always be 5-10 questions that will be tough to answer. In that case, don’t panic; instead, make an educated guess by thoroughly reading the question, or use the elimination method to select your answer.
8) Self-care is self love and a key to successful exam
In the midst of the preparation, don’t forget to take care of yourself. You might experience exam blues a week before. So, in such instances, try to remain cool and concentrate on what you know rather than what you don’t.
Remember to get adequate sleep and avoid late-night studying, especially in the last several weeks. Consume homemade healthy food to avoid last minute health issues and avoid any emotional distraction during this period. Create a healthy routine such as meditating or light exercising which will help your brain become more active.
If you follow these tips, I am confident that it will help you for any challenge in the exam and life as well.
Best of luck to all the FRM aspirants!
