Is 4 months time to prepare for CFA lvl 1 exam?

CFA Level I
#1

I graduated with a bachelors honours degree in accounting and finance in June 2011. After that I was in full time employment till August and straight after I register for Dec 2012, lvl 1 exam. I recieved my books (schweser, curriculum etc) for the lvl 1 exam, all on the 6th of August and since then have studied 8-10 hours everyday. I have alot of spare time on my hands till October. However October I will be starting my masters degree in International financial analysis so I will have to attend lectures etc (but still will be able to study atleast 4-6 hours a day and also my masters degree is in the same path as CFA).

Since I was a student till last year, I am not doing so well financially, and spent all my savings from work on CFA lvl 1 exam prep stuff and registration. So I very badly want to pass first attempt. I am planning to cram 10 hours a day in the next 2 months and then from october study around 30 hours a week. Is that enough?

#2

I did it in 4 months but felt rushed towards the end. I had some sacrafice some depth in areas like Econ for breadth.

Just remember, quantity of hours doesn’t mean that you are learning. It’s important to have a quantity of quality study hours.

#3

I sure hope it is because I’m preparing in 4 months but without the number of hours you are putting in. I tend to work long hours (avg at least 12 per day), have a wife at home who doesn’t think it is fun if I’m working and studying nonstop and can’t function well on less than 7 hours of sleep. I study when I can. If I pass you’ll definitely pass!

#4

It is recommended to study 300h for level I. Other say 400h but you are talking about much more. You should definitely pass.

#5

Definitely enough time to study for the exam. Your background will give you some advantages over others taking them exam as many things in equity investments, market organization and such will be repeats of things you have already learned. Study smart, leave yourself at least 1 month before the exam to handle practice problems and Qbank problems. You should be fine if you do this reading the material twice through with Schweser, do at least 5 mock exams one being the CFA and do all EOC questions and supplement with Qbank if available and you will be solid.

#6

That’s more than enough to pass…just beware of one thing…studying that much in that time frame will take its toll…

But if you can manage that then you’re golden :slight_smile:

#7

4 months is enough if you have no life at all and spending at least 20 hours a week studying. Your undergrad wont help much since the topics are broad

#8

Hey a lot of us seem to be in the same boat. I’ve never been one for study groups nor do i even have a web cam at the moment. I’m kinda interested in maybe doing a google hang out with some other CFA level oners just to get maybe some form of discussions started weekly and or just learning the background of others doing the same thing. What do you guys think?

#9

20h per week doesn’t mean you have no life, you work at least 40h per week and you still have a life:)

#10
#11

well, i have been out of the classroom for about 11 yrs and wonder whether i could make it with 40 hrs a week from august 20, 2012 for the dec 2012 exam. besides i am a slow learner and have no finance or acounting background. would you advice i go slowly and take it in june 2013 or i could stil make it this year?

#12

68 (?) LOS, 113 days. You’ve got plenty of time, but you’ll have to aim for an LOS every day, only using 2 on the harder ones.