Gap Year Between Levels II and III

CFA Level III
#1

Hi All,

I recently passed level II (passed both levels on first try) and am considering if I will sign up for level III next June. I am dedicated to completing the program, but I am also pursuing a masters degree (quantitative economics) and alternate between masters classes and CFA studying. It may be the case that the masters makes me eligible for promotion while the CFA does not and if so I would accelerate the masters and push level III to June 2018.

So for those who have taken level III, does this seem feasible? I took sixteen months between levels I and II (Dec '14 and June '16) and felt fine. It also seems to me as if level III is a bit unique in the composition of the material (huge jump in portfolio), so reconciliation of previous content may not be key. Of course, please let me know if people have experienced otherwise.

Thanks a lot!

#2

Do what’s best for you

#3

I am also considering to delay taking the level III exam until 2018, however, just thinking about waiting for one more year and by that time, most of the knowledge gained from level I and II would fade away, I decide to take it next year. That is my decision, it is up to you to make yours.

#4

I took 10 years off between level 2 and 3. Don’t ask why. But doesn’t matter at all in terms of studying.

#5

L3 doesn’t tap too extensively on prior knowledge. Whatever you decide, just make sure to conplete the program before deciding to have kids.

#6

If you felt fine with 16 mo between I and II, Id think 24mo isnt going to be a big deal. LIII pulls back from the nitty gritty details you saw for the second level. A lot of the material is new application of old concepts but theyll go back through it again.

#7

get the degree and concentrate on networking

cfa and level 3 will always be waiting

#8

great thanks!

#9

Just wanted to bump this now that all the post-score talk has died down and see if any of the new Charterholders have additional opinions

#10

Too long of a break. You would benefit from starting at L1 again.

#11

there is very minimal overlap in the sense of needing to memorize equations from level 2 and what not. i took a 4 year gap and just passed l3 on first attempt. i dont remember a single time in studying where i was upset for not remembering a l2 concept. i think level 1 - 2 is important to take back to back for the fixed income stuff, but a break before 3 is fine.

#12

Level3 is almost a clean new slate coming from Level2. Topics & coverage is very different from Level2 (unlike Level 2 which can be seen in lots of places as extension of Level1). You will still need knowledge of some basic concept, duration,RM etc (nothing very extensive though) which you can pick up quickly any time.

#13

I did level 1 (Dec 08), level 2 (Jun 09) and level 3 (Jul 16), all 3/3. Agree that there is barely any connection between L2 and L3 in terms of studying and having few years gap is not a big deal from curriculum point of view. However, the more delay you do, the more you get mired in your personal and work life, and it becomes difficult to focus on studies…

I was aiming to nail it all in 18 months, but then thought to delay L3 by 1 year due to some conflicting but manageable priorities. that 1 year became another and then another … till now.

just my 2 cents on it.