Hey guys, I wondered a bit on how to approach the CFA exams since my freshman years( I’m really keen on material). I’m at my senior year now, studying for a B.A. in finance (minor of economics), and doing pretty good in it. anyways, I’m thinking of enlisting for exam 1, however the problem is I don’t know when to do so ?! You see I am left with * 7 month internship --starts on Feb 09 * One last semester, which only has 3 hours in it (i.e. one course).—starts on Sep 09 ends on Dec. ( so I have a nice 4 months doing practically nothing ) So my question is whether to take the exam during the internship (at June 09)?? and try to juggle in 50 to 60 hours of work with the CFA I material and have a shot at CFA II on Dec. (or god forbid in case I flunked the first one). I know most people here HAVE to manage between the stress of work and studying for the exams, however my performance at internship is evaluated and has a great deal to do with my final grade (our internships are evaluated by the employer and has a hefty effect on the GPA), plus if out-preformed my peers I’ll probably get an offer. Also from what I learned that the CFA exams is some sort of a journey, level 1 obviously is just the beginning, so will it be easy adjusting to a new job while studying for exams?? Any feedback (advice) will be much appreciated. Thanks !!!
CFA II not offered in December…
oh ! my bad, thank you joey for pointing it out. anyhow, let me rephrase my question which date should i apply for ( Jun or Dec ) given that CFA II is offered in June?
How about December 08? Plenty of time…
no December08 is no good for me, due to some family issues. thanks again Joey
Given that L1 is a somewhat known beast and your internship is a somewhat unknown (at least to me) interest in respect to time commitment it seems your best bet is to sign up for the June test and if need be commit to your internship at the cost of your study efforts and forego the june exam as a learning experience and take it again in December. Just some thoughts…
I just took it in June as an Undergrad in Econ. I only had to take one class for the nine weeks before the test and I think this was barely enough time (I had the first two books done before this). I was not a finance major so I think this will really help you. Now that I am working I would highly recommend you take it while still in school. Also the level two and three are only offered in June and I wouldn’t recommend you plan on passing level two 6 months after level one because you don’t know if you pass level 1 for two months anyway (so only give you 4 months of studying). Email me if you have any more questions. Laurencedfrank@aol.com