2014 is nearly over. How was it for you?
I had a look back at 300 Hours and the CFA program throughout 2014, and can only conclude that it was a blast. It was great getting our readers through the CFA exams, where you guys went on to achieve the best result we’ve seen in years. We’ve brought 300 Hours further, and we have big plans going forward to make it even more awesome for our readers.
Here’s 2014 from a CFA and 300 Hours perspective, month-by-month. Have a great end of the year, and we’ll see you all again in 2015!
A great start to 2014. Pass rates for the December 2013 exams were 43%, the highest pass rate since June 2009, and the second highest pass rate since June 2003. Our full coverage on the results, analysis tools and historical pass rates can be found here: Dec CFA Level I 2013 Results Roundup – The Highest Pass Rate Since June 2009
The second registration deadline for the June CFA exams is usually in February.
Many readers at this point are indecisive potential candidates thinking about whether they should register and go for the June exams, and in February we encouraged our readers to decisively register before the second deadline is up, to both save a ton of money and ensure better preparedness. You can learn why here: Why You Should Always, Always Register for the CFA Exams by the Second Registration Deadline
Preparing for the CFA exam takes time. And time in March and April 2014 was what the June candidates used to prepare for their awesome performance later in June. After going through the syllabus, we recommended to our readers to start hitting practice exams hard. Some of the articles we published:
The final month before the June exams is always a manic one. Our concentration were on 3 main tasks – continuing to guide our readers through our posts (some of which you can see below), keeping our Offers page up-to-date for candidates looking for practice exams, and answering queries and issues about any part of the CFA exam in our Forum.
Some of the articles we published:
CFA-day: a day of wonder, and non-stop panic. 118,683 candidates attended (not counting the no-shows) in over 180 cities all across the world. Although the majority of candidates have a real risk of mucking it all up on logistics or silly oversights, we kept our readers sharp through a few easy reads, such as:
All the hard work paid off – with a whopping pass rate of 46% and 42% for CFA Level I and II respectively, 2014’s June candidates categorically reversed the declining trend of pass rates. For now. The full report on results day is here: The CFA Level I & II June 2014 Results Roundup
The Level III candidates continue the trend set by the Level I and II candidates a month earlier by improving on last year’s pass rates. With a pass rate of 54%, 14,532 new charterholders join the ranks: about 10% of the total yearly candidate intake across all 3 levels. Congratulations (again)!! All details are here: The Results Are Out: All About the 2014 CFA Level III Results
September was the final month to register for the December 2014 exams. Many potential candidates were wondering if there was still time to register and start studying. To help them out, we responded in simple, infographic fashion: Do You Realistically Still Have Time to Start Studying for the CFA Exam? Here’s How to Check
One of the big ways we help our readers is through our annually-updated 300 Hours Exam Insights. This one-of-a-kind guide helps candidates in an unusual way – examples include providing advice on what topics to concentrate on, what performance levels to achieve, when is the best time to start studying, how to approach Level III essay questions.
The advice is unique as it is 100% statistically backed from thousands of candidates’ experiences. After 3 months of maniacal analysis, we were really glad to be able to finally release it: CFA Exam Insights: Our Secret Weapon to Help You Pass Your CFA Exams, at Only $19
For December candidates, November was prime study month. Between the Forum, where we answered candidate questions and hosted free CFA practice questions, featuring offers on CFA materials, we also published a few useful guides:
The December exam day is not as large an affair as June, with about 40% of the June attendance in over 60 cities all across the world. But it’s equally as big a deal to each candidate obviously – candidates passing in December have a chance to complete their CFA program in just 18 months if they take the June Level II exams the following year. Some of the articles we published to help our readers:
Author: Zee Tan
300Hours founder
