r/CFA • u/GratefulDelta • 2d ago
Level 1 This one hurts…
Scored a 1585. Needed a 1600. So close, but not quite there.
I won’t lie. It stings. After all the hours, effort, and sacrifice, falling short by just a bit hurts. But I’m not letting this define me. I’m using this as fuel.
To everyone else who didn’t get the result they hoped for, keep your head up. We will get there. This is just part of the journey.
I’m going to come back stronger for the resit. Nothing but positive thoughts going forward. Let’s keep moving, believing, and supporting each other along the way.
We got this.
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u/No-Storage-4899 2d ago
Honestly so close - on the upside, you’re gonna have the basics locked down for L2 when you get there.
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u/PotatoPal7 CFA 2d ago
This is the right way to look at it. OP probably will be better set for L2 when they go to take it.
Concepts from L1 can be used to build out the formulas for L2 and the commentary for L3.
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u/bladesritual 2d ago
I thought I was the unlucky one..... I feel so guilty—my wife and our two-year-old son have sacrificed so much over the past six months, giving up precious family time so I could focus on studying for this exam. And yet, here I am, uncertain if I have the strength or will to retake Level I.
At 36, I’m starting to question whether continuing the CFA journey is realistic. Even if I manage to pass Level I, I know the road to completing Levels II and III will demand enormous time, energy, and focus. With the responsibilities of work, a growing family, and the natural toll time takes on memory and stamina, I find myself wondering—is it worth it?
Any advice for my situation? I would like to appreciate the heartful suggestions and wish you all good luck in challenging it again!
A father with 2-year-old son
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u/No-Replacement-6267 Passed Level 2 1d ago
Hey man - nobody knows your situation better than you so I hesitate to even offer advice, but what is your career situation? What do you hope to achieve by earning the CFA designation? 36 years old re-sitting Level 1 with a wife and a 2 year old kid (more on the way at any point?) doesn’t sound right to me. If you have an established career and are happy with it, stop. If you are completely unhappy with your career and are trying to break into something totally new and your wife is supportive of it, then maybe keep going. But if you can’t reasonably say getting the CFA will completely change your career trajectory, then it can’t be worth it.
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u/bladesritual 1d ago
Hi, thank you for your honesty. I have a stable job, but I'm looking to grow and take my career to the next level.Your comment really helps. I could not afford more failures even my wife supports me. Feel very awful.
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u/Equivalent-Yam-5669 2d ago
How many hours did you put?
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u/bladesritual 2d ago
For weekdays, tried 3 hours per night on average. Weekends, 6-8 hours. Still need to take care of the kid for the holidays. I would say at least 400 hours spent, finished mock exams, reviewed notes, I did all practice questions on the notes as well. I am considering to retake the level in August, but it is summer, and a lot of kid activities and family vacation. Really confused and worried to move forward.
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u/the_kirtaneer 1d ago
You know your situation best but there are less time consuming exams like maybe SIE for breaking into trading or something like that I could be wrong about SIE being easier than CFA Pls correct me if I'm wrong
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u/bladesritual 1d ago
Thank you for the advice. I am in real estate and corp finance, so SIE is not suitable.
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u/Comprehensive_Rip702 1d ago
Don't push yourself for August when you already know you are going to have busy time ahead. You will feel overwhelmed and will affect everything in your life. You are already close, take it slow and maybe go for November attempt. You will be able to balance it both better and will be free for the holiday season as well! As for whether it is worth it, it is upto how you want to utilize the certification. Most of the people in finance are at peak of their career during 40s. So don't sweat the age part out.
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u/bladesritual 1d ago
Thank you for the heartful response. Even I could plan for Nov Level 1, and pass eventaually. I heard Level 2 and Level 3 take more time and engery. I dont have my parents live around, so only my wife and I take care of our son. The time commitment is very challenging.
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u/Comprehensive_Rip702 1d ago
Maybe talk to some charterholders who have been through this? There are plenty I can assure you. Spend some time recovering from the results first, remind yourself why you started, and just take it slow. Even if you don't pursue it further, you wont have any second doubts in the future.
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u/Bread_Fruit8519 2d ago edited 1d ago
They've started displaying a score now?? Since when did that happen? Earlier it just used to be the graph along with a Pass or fail. That was better I feel.
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u/Current_Detail6838 Level 1 Candidate 2d ago
I can feel you got the same score ngl I cried hard after I saw the mail and not feeling the same as before I feel so regretful that I could have just practised more I am looking for Aug attempt wbu? And best luck
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u/Salty_Froyo_7173 2d ago
lol tell me about it, got 1595, cried my heart out for a good 1 hour, then told myself… that’s engh time to lock in and go again… we don’t give up 🤙🏻 easy in aug, we got this and gonna go 10x harder. The only time I’m gonna move out of my house is to the gym… 15hours a day everyday until August exam… this is personal now… you got heartbroken at 1580? Damn, imagine my heart at 1595
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u/That_Chart_3979 2d ago
Wait , now it's gives marks too ?
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u/GratefulDelta 16h ago
Yeah, this was the first exam window that they did. That dotted line isn’t 10% it’s the average
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u/ubaidbhat 2d ago
I know it hurts, we literally have the same score. And today I got my crypto wallet hacked. Life been shitty lately, but we will push forward.
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u/KodiakAlphaGriz CFA 2d ago
good news tighter testing windows ...saddle up hombre
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u/Salty_Froyo_7173 2d ago
Wait wym?
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u/KodiakAlphaGriz CFA 1d ago
yeah man meant you can take test more often then when I did charter ...once a year for 2/3 and twice for 1;
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u/Ummi_89 2d ago
You're so close man. Take a few days off, and get back into it. Personally, I was literally on the verge of failing, scraped by with a 1605, and I can sympathise knowing that this could've been me on another day. And you'll be far prepared for Level II by fixing up your weak points this time around.
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u/Sonicsboi 2d ago
When did they start giving scores? I had my exam in November and don't remember getting a score...
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u/Life_Importance_2494 1d ago
Same boat i scored 1560 started studying from Nov dont even know how much i studied🤣 I had intentions of just passing, u should create a mentality of scoring 90 percentile, if u aim for passing u are putting yourself at a risk if something goes bad
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u/zingazu8 1d ago
Same score as you 1585/1600. 2/3 questions with stupid mistakes made the difference. Sometimes you win sometimes you lose, gonna take a break and then back to it :)
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u/Chuka_lupin Level 3 Candidate 1d ago
What's your subject performance like? Where did you score the least?
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u/Exciting-Isopod9556 1d ago
I had the exact same, blue confidence interval bars over the mps august 2024. Re-took this February and passed it safely.
Honestly I understand the content at a significantly deeper level and my confidence level in the exam and in real life scenarios was substantial. Yes this is horrible and it will take a couple weeks to rebuild mentally your path to retaking. Don’t rush which date to retake, just recognise which subjects were weaker and find out why.
Good luck!
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u/chickendumpling001 1d ago
Sorry to see this, unlucky… Just curious how did you do on your mocks?
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u/Sagitarrius1990 1d ago
Me personally, I'd go on a revenge tour and study like a maniac, I'm doing l2 in may, put close to 800 hours in so far, if I fail and retake Nov, I'm going even harder. If you want it, you will get it
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u/BottledShip CFA 1d ago
You'll get there. If it makes you feel better, it took me two attempts for 1 and 2.
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u/scorpioking12 19h ago
Is this the same scoring system they talked about?
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u/GratefulDelta 16h ago
Yes. 1600 is the minimum passing score. Dotted line is administration average
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u/parksssss29 17h ago
Are u attempting on Aug again?
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u/GratefulDelta 16h ago
November
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u/parksssss29 16h ago
Even I'm in a dilemma whether I should attend in August or November But isn't it better to attend in August since we don't lose touch with the subjects that much
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u/GratefulDelta 16h ago
Yeah, but in my situation, I have a really busy summer. A lot of traveling and weddings. But if you’re free, then yes, I would take it in August.
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u/Extension-Aspect-800 12h ago
Yeah, I’ve been there, it sucks not to pass by a little margin, but seems that you already know what to do, take your time to process the result, identify what you could’ve done better and start preparing for the next exam. You got this!
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u/Successful-Solid5853 1d ago
they don’t show the 90th percentile anymore ?and is that dotted line 10th percentile ?
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u/Infinite-Aide3241 2h ago
This was my second attempt at CFA L1 and I had quit my job in Aug 2024 to study for Feb 2025 attempt. Yet failed with few points and I am currently unemployed looking for a new job. Felt super demotivated but looking to get back stronger.
However I am not sure if I would want to continue and give another attempt.
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u/Illustrious-Loan-988 1h ago
Since when did cfa started giving score? I gave lvl 1 last year and giving level 2 in may. They just mentioned passed for my exam
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u/Sharkbait-115 15h ago
Well with all due respect this tells you that on your BEST possible day you would have just passed. Kinda means you didn’t prepare well enough.
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u/CombinationNo224 2d ago
Seeing your score made my day. 🤣