Is it entirely feasible to study 6 months for Level 1, take the exam, and then study 6 months for Level II and take the exam? And then finally, 1 year of studying for Level III…
Sure, but you know level II is only offered once per year right so you would have to do L1 in December, L2 in June, L3 the following June.
Yes, that was the idea. If I don’t get the CFA Scholarship through my local society, then I’d wait until this summer to register (money reasons) for LI (December '08) and then register for L2 (June '09) I guess it would be difficult, because you do not receive the results until 8 weeks later and if you begin studying for the next level, when you didn’t pass the last test, the new studying was all for not… In addition, if you wait until after the exam results and then start studying, you’re now down to 4+ months of study time…
Why don’t you first register for and than take Level I. After that, figure out your schedule.
I don’t think anyone needs 6 months to study for level 1, I don’t care how foreign this material is. I’d advise max 4 months. Then if you take it in December you won’t be burned out for level 2 in June. I studied for the level 2 exam with some others who had studied about 6 months for the December level 1 and aced it, however they were so fed up with studying and the CFA cirriculum that when we started studying for the June level 2 exam I was a lot more efficient because I spent 2 months on level 1. You don’t need to get a 90%. If you can’t pass level 1 studying for 4 months, then you probably can’t pass level 2 at all.
There’s been some discussion recently on the L2 board on this topic. So, if/when you take L1 in December, check it out then. No reason to worry yet.
L1 wasn’t my main concern, but more so, 6 months of studying for L2. I have been in the industry for 7+ years, have a 6, 63, and 7 licenses, BS in Business Mgmt, and recently graduated with an MBA in Finance/Accounting. I enjoy what I do, I enjoy this industry, and I don’t think L1 will be too difficult. However, I see what you mean as far as studying a full year or at least 9+ months for L2…
Don’t underestimate the difficulty of level 1. I have somewhat similar background to yours and went into this with confidence, only to now be praying for a pass on Jan. 23rd. It’s volume of the materials, time commitment required, and way materials tested that’s the challenge. This is an exam that could easily take multiple times to pass even for bright people with lots of background who study hard and are in the industry. I know tons of people who start, but do not complete all 3 parts. In other words, you gotta be humble going into this. Good luck.