10 months--> too much or too little?

CFA Level I
#21

Check out http://www.analystforum.com/phorums/read.php?11,764600 Basically everything on this thread is spot on Maybe overconfident and going a little too fast at times. I put a lot of pressure on myself at work and with exams. CFA is just hard, CAIA was sooooooooo easy! Look man you can be an all-star in the office and bomb level 1. My advice is to study hard, do well on the practice tests and then relax on test day and just work through the test. That’s all I got

#22

10 months is probably too long, you will burn out. I passed LI this past december and started studying early July. The key is have aplan and stick to it. Your friends might hate you sometimes, but it the end you need to be diligent and put the exam ahead of your social life (especially as it gets closer). I will say that doing LI in December is tough, because if you want to take LII in June, you get about 4 months to study (assuming you wait to see if you passed). But worry about that when the time comes. For now, i would wait until June or so and then start reading and studying. I also recommend reading ethics first, then not studying it again till November or so. Good luck

#23

you need 2 months to pass level 1 with a business/finance background. 10 months even for someone without the proper background is overkill.

#24

I came from a liberal arts background (took some econ but that was it) and had very limited exposure it turned out to most of the other material. If this is you, then you need to give yourself plenty of time. Also, if you are not used to studying for tests like this, you will need to really get a good grip on what it takes to pass a test like this. You won’t be able to just cram for a few weeks and nail it. If you are a South Asian MBA candidate and are used to studying for big exams and have nothing better to do than sit in your home and study for three straight months, that will be sufficient. If you have a real job and responsibilities it will take time. Do you need 10 months? No way! But its nice to have.

#25

ChickenTikka Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > If you have a real job and responsibilities it > will take time. > > Do you need 10 months? No way! But its nice to > have. SPOT ON!!

#26

Thanks for the great responses.

#27

this scares me…

#28

waaay too much time for Level I if you have business undergrad background. 6 months is more than enough time IMO, for something with an accounting/finance/math/business/econ undergrad degree

#29

depends… what odds do you want for passing on the first go?

#30

if you dont have finance or commerce background, CFA with purely technical stuff like probability, stats, econ, derivatives, financial and portfolio analysis etc, will be bit difficult for you but not impossible. only IT background wont be much help. a lot of time will be required just to absorb the concepts first time, let alone retaining them or in other words you have to start from scratch and go 100%, which im sure you can do. my vote for you is to start as early as you can. dont take it lightly. persistence is the key. good luck.