what makes a person fail his/her CFA level 1 exam?

Hi,

Just wondering what makes a person fail his or her exam. obviously, if you dont study you will not pass CFA level 1.

but is that the only reason. because currently i’m persuing finance undergrad,and im planing to take CFA level 1 next june (2015).To be frank, im not smart, my cgpa is only 2.5 over 4.

im asking this to know what is reason for a person to fail CFA level 1 exam. because i read online, most of the candidate who sat for CFA level 1 exam has working experince in the industry , but yet they still failed. so what makes a person fail his or her Lvel 1 exam?

Second question is, Is it advisable for me to take CFA level 1 exam although im just an average student(not the brightess) should i take it while im still in school, because currenly im in final year of university.

thanks :slight_smile:

  1. Bring up your gpa

  2. land an internship

  3. graduate

  4. Network

  5. get a full time job

  6. reevaluate 5 years after you’ve been working if you need to PURSUE (not persue) the CFA program.

Quite true.

Actually i would add - evaluate your potential in the industry before you graduate!

You have to look at 2 things: if you truly enjoy working in the industry that you are willing to sacriface a lot OR are you naturally really good in finance that you believe you can make money from it.

by naturally good at it i mean some people just live and breathe finance, and they’ve been trading since they open their first bank account and they do all kinds of analyses on their own and read up on every article. i mean, in these cases, i don’t think GPA is the most important thing, you just need to graduate.

Too many students THINK they can make a lot of money in the industry without common sense, industry knowledge or natural talent. You don’t need to be the brightest and most hardworking, but you need to know if it’s a fit for you. I’d say after the internship is a good time to evaluate your situation.

Could not have said it any better myself.

Overconfidence about passing and not putting in at least 200 hours (bare minimum) or the recommended 300 hours (for first timers.)

Not cramming enough in the last month and esp the last week even after putting in the 200 minimum hours.

Not sleeping well the night before.

Too much reading, not enough practicing

Didn’t do CFAI EOC problems

Bad diahrrea

Panic attack in the exam room.

Calculator broke and no backup

Dog ate Scheweser notes the week before

Got into a car accident o the way to the exam

Got mugged and hospitalized right before the exam

Or got into a traffic jam heading to the (new, stupid, near the airport) Toronto testing center and were too cowardly to abandon your car on the highway and sprint to the testing center.

Why wait that long? I think passing level 1 doesn’t require that much committment and worth doing for a recent grad or current student.

L1 is mostly a rehash of undergrad. Study hard and you’ll be fine.

I disagree with point 6. L1 material is largely a rehash of undergrad econ, finance and statistics, so I say leverage off of that while it’s still fresh in mind.

^I’m gonna disagree with Higgs.

Yes, you won’t have to study much for L1 if you have a finance undergrad. And yes, it would be easier to do Level 1 while it’s still fresh on the mind. But then, you’ll be doing Level 2 five years later, and it’s likely that you’ll have forgotten all your L1 stuff. So you’ll have to study twice as hard, or you’ll have to study L1 again.

If you take L1 now, then you realize in five year that you DON’T want to continue the charter, then you’ve wasted time and money on L1.

I think if you’re gonna do it, go all out and get them over with as quick as possible.

Yep, do it as young as possible. Things will only get more complicated as you get older. More work responsibilities, possible children, nothing will get easier.

Point 4. Any advice on how to network without seeming like “you always want something”? Please share some personal networking experience, how you got your current or first “finance” (CFA-related) job, etc.

The only thing u have going for u is honesty.

You won’t succedd in networking if you’re not willing to accept the fact that you will be rejected at times. Getting out of your comfort zone is worth it.

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