I’ll be a full time night grad student persuing my Masters in Finance this fall and i’m working full time. I’m also considering writing the CFA L1 this December. Can anyone who have either passed or failed L1 this past June give me their thoughts on whether or not it’s possible to pass the exam this December or should I wait until grad school is over?
I’ve never been to grad school but maybe if you take a light course load you can do L1. From what I hear, it wouldn’t be advisable for L2 and L3.
Yes it is possible. I am a masters student in finance and have passed level 1 and am waiting for my level 2 results. The masters in finance should help.
I’m in a full time MBA program and just passed level 1, as well as finished my first year of the program. I’ll be doing the same thing this year with level 2 (June) and the 2nd year of the program. I didn’t find it overly terrible to do…I started in say March and would put in about maybe 10-15 hours a week total to the CFA studying. The key for me was whenever school had finished (mid-April), I put in literally 8-10 hours every day (some weeks 6 days, some weeks 7) until exam day. I think for me though working a job on top of all this would have been impossible.
Sure you can. I would recommend taking Managerial accounting, Finance or Executive Economics while taking level 1. Portfolio management, derivative classes are also good addition. I heard some business schools offer CFA related courses, in my case I did not get to know about CFA program until my last class Portfolio management (Author:Zivi ) . Good luck
Yes, it is possible, but requires dedication. I work full time, intensive professional MBA(not cake type), and am sitting for test in December. You need to get to the point you feel guilty NOT studying for the CFA. At one point a few weeks ago before finals, I actually felt VERY guilty studying for my MBA over the CFA. That is the point I realized I might pass. Your CFA must be the priority because otherwise you probably wont pass… Its a HUGE decision, so don’t bother unless you buy in 100%.
Im doing it right now. I’m working on a dual degree MBA and MS in finance from Indiana university, which is a very serious school. Its doable, but it sucks. Beats the alternative of dragging it all out though. For me it makes level 1 a little easier because a large portion of the material has been covered already in my grad program.
Yes, it is very possible. I was getting my master of science in finance while I sat for LEvel I, and did my MBA while I sat for Level II and Level III… all the while working full time… my BF was is law school at the time, so I made the most of all the study time. I hope to to finally be done and pass L3 so that I never have to study again!!! If you are serious about it, you need to be dedicated. Focus hard, and you will accomplish it.
I worked full time 50 hr/weeks, and i took two 4th year university courses while studying for the June L1 exam. I passed the exam, but it was really tough, my grades in uni really suffered for those two courses. Ones was a C and the other a C+ (not very difficult courses either, but i did next to nothing and crammed before exams).
Anything is possible.
SMEKA23 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sure you can. I would recommend taking Managerial > accounting, Finance or Executive Economics while > taking level 1. Portfolio management, derivative > classes are also good addition. > > I heard some business schools offer CFA related > courses, in my case I did not get to know about > CFA program until my last class Portfolio > management (Author:Zivi ) . > > Good luck How would Managerial Accounting class help with CFA? Financial Accounting, of course, will cover most of the accounting you need for level I. As for possibility of taking CFA level I in Dec while going through classes and job, it is possible, but you will have to manage your time very well. I was in exactly same situation with level I in Dec 2007; I was doing part-time MBA, job, had a family with two small kids. While MBA courses gave a pretty good base, I still had to cut a lot of corners in my preparation by just using Schweser for everything and CFAI text only for Ethics. Also, if you are married, unless you have a very understanding spouse, things can get very scary. I had already taken Financial Accounting, Statistics, and Economics. I was also going through Coroporate Finance (its final was just two days after Level I exam). These courses helped me quite a bit with level I. By the way, the situation is very different for Level II for most of MBA folks as MBA does not give you the depth (even breadth) you need for it.
i just finished MBA at top 20 and did level I in june and passed. it can be done…i think i got lucky though, b/c i like to chase women and drink, and yet i passed…
Its possible for you to do it. Much of the 1st year curriculum overlaps with the Level 1 material. I had friends in grad school who completed 2 levels that way, but it sort of kills your social life…and that’s really why you go back to school FT!