Editor’s note: This is a personal story shared as an anecdote. You should definitely NOT look to this example for your own CFA preparation approach (unless desperate)!
Hi, I’m Scott, and a few years ago, I passed my CFA Level 1 with just 2 weeks worth of studying.
I started two Saturdays away from the actual test having done no more than a cursory glance at my books beforehand. And somehow, incredibly, I managed to pass.
Zee wrote to me one day asking if I’d like to share my story with 300Hours readers on how to pass CFA Level 1 in 2 weeks. Over the course of the Christmas holidays, I wrote my experience down.
So, here is my story.
I believe a significant factor that allowed me to pull this off was my background, both in work and education.
I read Economics at Oxford and did pretty well – that helped me save time in some of the basics of CFA Level 1.
I was also a management consultant for investment banks and wealth managers. Consultant projects range from several weeks to several months, and having 3 years experience at the time, I had a wide range of knowledge and expertise across several financial sectors.
Without a relevant background in work and education, I don’t think this would have been possible for me.
I didn’t choose to attempt to take CFA Level 1 with only two weeks worth of prep – I basically had no other choice.
My biggest mistake was to underestimate how little time and drive I would have for the exams. I always did well in exams in the past and thought that this would be just like the others. Although the exam itself was probably not too different in difficulty, balancing it with work was the problem.
I was rammed with a high-pressure project about 3 months before the exam, working 80-100 hour weeks. This meant that I didn’t have any time to do anything else, never mind think about studying for the CFA exams.
As the exams approached, I had two choices – either forgo the exam and waste the money I paid for the signup fees and materials, or try and pass with by the skin of my teeth.
Two weeks before exam day, I chose to push for it and see what happens.
I took a full 10 working days off to study for the CFA Level 1. That was already a very painful sacrifice, but nothing compared to what I had to endure in the following two weeks.
Throughout the entire two weeks, I dedicated all of my time to studying.
And what did I get done?
I’d say there were 3 important things that I got right, given my situation:
Starting with exam papers allowed me to roughly understand what areas I would need more studying in and what areas I could go light on.
By the end of the two weeks, I managed about 4 papers under proper exam conditions, and speed-read about 6 more – reading the question and immediately going through the model answers.
Practice exams really helped tune my studying – I would recommend it regardless of whether you’re time constrained or not.
I totally do NOT recommend this to current CFA Level 1 candidates.
But apart from doing the practice questions in the exams, I skipped these 3 topics:
I think I prioritized right in terms of topics to study for Level 1, but since I don’t know otherwise, I can’t really say. Of course, binning topics is something I’d only recommend if you had no other choice and had to prioritize.
I particularly regret not giving myself a good grounding in Derivatives – CFA Level 2 only got worse and I had to go back to Level 1 and cover a lot of ground.
This was based on advice from a colleague.
As Ethics is tailor-made to the CFA curriculum, it was the one topic that I had no previous knowledge or experience about.
By leaving it to the last few days approaching the exam, I already had a good idea of what to read up on based on the questions I’ve seen in the practice exams I’ve attempted so far.
And since Ethics is also a lot of memorization, it made sense to read up on it closer to the exam.
Have you got any questions to ask about Scott’s experience? Comment below!
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Wow, I'm just a 3rd student in university and balancing among tasks is relatively hard. Your time management is very good but how can you concentrate 100% on both cfa modules and tasks from your work? I just wanna know cuz managing time is task of challenge for me. Thanks in advance
Hi Dereknoir, you'll get better at it with more practice. Looking back at my university days, I'm much more efficient now at my work with deadlines, definitely less procrastination and somehow you'll just upgrade your skills as you go into the world of work.
Setting aside study time everyday, even after work can be challenging if it's a 12 hour job. However, if you have more reasonable hours and are home by 7pm, it is possible to squeeze in 1-2 hours of study daily, with more on the weekend. Consistency is key, build it up as a routine. Days will be dull and the same during CFA study season but hopefully worthwhile in the end!