How many hours of study should be enough for level 3. is it 300 hours like Level 1? BTW, I had to study more than 600 hours instead in level 1.
What you guys (who passed L3 or appeared) think about this?
600 hours for level 1?
I put in maybe 130 lazy hours into level 1
400+ hours level II
~350 for level III
You should try for 1k
I think it’s not about how many hours that are required to pass, it depends on each individual’s situation (i.e. work, family etc). Rather, it’s important to effectively utiltize the limited resources to maximize the results. I spent less than 150 hours to study level 2 given the unexpected work turnmoil prior to the exam. I paid for a review class in late March and developed a plan that would allow me to practice as many questions as possible. I still passed. I’m still waiting for my level 3 results, but i know a lot of ppl passing with less than 300 study hours. If your job allows you the luxury to study 600 hours, over prepared is always better than under-prepared right?
300 hrs or so for me for L3…of course, don’t know if I passed or not…
- Quality over quantity 2. Know thyself 3. Be an analyst and do some due diligence
300 min, aim for 400.
Damage control in AM and kill in PM then you will be just fine.
i think i put in 400 hours for level 3.
i studied 600 for level 2. studied for around 8 months so it was about 20 hours a week.
I took 2 months of study and it was my first time taking it. I feel pretty good but i haven’t obsessed enough about error code to give you a definitive answer just yet.
Haha - awesome! That said, all preparers should over practice the AM section. Full stop.
I started on January for five months… Only saturdays off - I plugged in for 360 hours just before my review time which was 6 weeks before test - I believe i plugged another 300 hours = More than 600 hours if you would say for Reading, Practicing, doing Mocks, Watching Videos,…etc
Couldn’t agree more. I for one underestimated the AM and it may have cost me a pass…
I knew the material inside and out, but the time constraint killed me. Needless to say, my opinion is that the time constraint on the AM section is what really makes it so difficult.
Totally. Cannot stress practicing writing essay responses.
As far as number of study hours necessary to pass. I have to say, although OK as a benchmark, people on the boards have historically focused WAY to much on this question (CFAI vs. Schweser or are videos the best way to learn? are close ties or seconds). Look, everyone’s different, and if you don’t know how you learn by now you have serious issues. If you don’t know how to Google or search the boards by now, are you really sure you’re ready to be an analyst? C’mon people! If you redirect that sort of crap time toward the books, you’ll be well on your way to a pass.
To reiterate. Besides emphasizing AM session prep (which should be blatantly obvious since it’s a completely new format compared to the other levels), if you focus on the three tenants below you should be good.
- Quality over quantity 2. Know thyself 3. Be an analyst and do some due diligence
Only other add is to complete as many FULL, TIMED practice exams as humanly possible.
Godspeed.
Maybe we should start a thread debating the best way to memorize 2+2?
i agree with the time constarint being one of the big factors in level 3 am section.
I have always been the one to finish exams first or second in class all thoughout my academic career (whether I aced it or bombed it) and it was no different for levels 1 and 2. I finished each sections of the 1 and 2 exams with an hour to go. But level 3 AM was a different story. I finished that thing with only few minutes to go.
I’m not a proponent of targeting a certain number of hours. My biggest suggestion would just be leveraging the AM mock exams the CFA provides you so you get a feel for the layout and the time constraints.
We had a thread here a little while back, consensus seemed to be about 200 - 250 into the last couple of weeks. I was sitting on 245 hours into the last week but stopped timing then (so figure 6 full days of 4 - 5 hours = just under 300)
I think at least 2,000 hours are required.
analysts should probably also not be overly emotional - kind of like 4 separate posts in this thread all showcasing your frustration with someone asking this question 
2000 hours of GMAT for me. study while pooping, morning before work, walking to subway, in the subway, in the elevator, after work in the office, subway, elevator, then at home. Surely I will be able to score in the 700s right?
Touche, fair point.