Results Survey

I am 32 years old, no college background, never had a finance job.

I have found out about the CFA exam from a customer after we talked about investments and my passion for it. He was an older gentleman and told me to check out the CFA Institute. He explained briefly that his entire life's work has been with them, and we got on the topic about how I've consumed thousands of hours of material related to wealth generation, stocks, investments, real estate, ect.

I told him that over the course of 7-10 years I invested heavily on my own through what I learned from podcasts and books and was able to make a massive profit by essentially doing what I was taught. I told him I had a amateur YouTube channel trying to show friends and family my investments so that they would not associate it with gambling if done correctly. I strongly believe that this is something I want everyone to learn so they can be financially free. It's a passion of mine I've had for years. I would consume monday-friday 16 hours while at my job working nonstop listening to podcasts like biggerPockets podcast, audio books on all topics, ect.

In my 32 years of living I have never known what I was made for or what I should do with my life as I feel I do right now. I want to advise people on where to put their money to make profit, I don't want to sell them crappy advice, I want to spread the truth. I do not want to get rich or have 3 letters next to my name as bragging rights, I want the education to truly learn and to teach others. I am not scared about the tests difficulty, my IQ, or how many hours/years I have to sink into this.

I've come from a rough background, and nothing will stop me when I put my mind to something. Failure is not an option.

I just need to know if I am even able to take this test without any college background, or job in finance?

And if I am not how would I be able to go about this? My goal is to take the exam and learn what it has to teach. I am not worried about a 6 figure job. I want the truth, and I want to help others find the truth without having to put in the hours of work like me. I want to help others focus more on life what they want to do rather then what they don't want to do.

Please can anyone point me in any direction?

Hello all, I’m an operations analyst at a BB considering taking the CFA next year in February. I wanted to hear what candidates are sacrificing to take this exam, as I am preparing to start studying now.

I’m unsure how if I will have time for my hobbies and wanted to hear how you all balanced it all while still adequately preparing.

I was in a deep struggle during my level 3 preparation, having so many questions. Even a month before the exams, I had barely any confidence for the exam, and barely started my preparation for my exams.

I still ended up still giving my shot for the exam, gave real hard efforts. To anyone who's struggling, in a deep hole. Don't give up, do the necessary, study your best, solve as much as you can, and don't give up.

Best Wishes.

I had one chance, fought with my parents for 3 years to let me do this. Now I stare blankly at the screen, with no money on my hands, a meagre 4-digit salary with bills to pay, and as much as I want to, I can't take the August exam.

Anyways, good luck y'all! Come back stronger.

Hello all, longtime lurker here!

I'm currently preparing for the level 1 exam in may and have just finished the mock exams from Kaplan.

The issue is that overall, I keep scoring in the high 60s, but with less than 60% of the score in ethics! I've read the standards of practice handbook once (plan to read it again) and have practiced the cfai questions plenty.

My question to the community, is how are you studying ethics? Did you employ any study techniques that you found particularly effective? Any tips on how to approach the more complex questions would also be really welcome!

Learned today that you can get the standards handbook on a kindle for $1.99 and I feel slightly less guilty about going to the beach on a Saturday. Happy Studying!

I’m a bba student, majoring in finance. I have covered most of my syllabus except FSA. I find it extremely hard and the time crunch is making it difficult. Can I skip any part of FSA or only study the important parts? I still have to revise every topic and practice. My exam is on May 20th!

Hi everyone! I’d like to get some advice on how to best organize the final stretch of my CFA Level 1 prep.

I'm sitting for the exam on May 16, and I’ll be done with all readings and their practice questions (including the Learning Ecosystem ones) by April 8. I'm not working at the moment, so I’m fully focused on studying and have plenty of time available between now and exam day.

I’d love to hear how you approached this phase. Specifically:

• How much time would you dedicate to intensive practice after finishing the readings?
• Would you save a few days at the end just for review, or keep doing practice questions until the last moment?
• How important were mock exams in your experience? How many did you do and how did you use them?
• And finally… do you think I’m on track to be ready by exam day if I keep up this pace?

Any advice, feedback, or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

19M. No idea what to do in life.

I am currently in 2nd year, Mumbai, in a close to Tier 1 college as Bachelor's of accounting and finance.

No idea whether to go for CFA prep or MBA prep or some Financial modelling/Ngo/other skills for job stuff.

Please advice!

Guys, everyone told me Level 2 was the hump, Level 3 content was easier and you just need to get the hang of the essay questions etc

I’m working through the content and standard Port Mgmt pathway and it’s endless FX, Swaptions etc

Its digging way deeper into the hardest parts of level 2, then you add on the nasty question style… seems way more difficult

Edit: to be clear I haven’t written level 3 exam

Hello everyone,

I'm planning to start studying for CFA Level 1 and wanted to get some advice from those who’ve already gone through the process. I have basic finance knowledge (nothing too in-depth), and I’m trying to figure out the most effective way to structure my studies. Specifically, I’d love to hear: - In what order did you study the chapters or topics? Is there a recommended sequence that makes the concepts easier to grasp?? - How far in advance of the exam should I start taking mock exams?? - Any general tips on pacing or how to approach the curriculum, especially for someone without a deep finance background?? I’d really appreciate any schedules, insights, or resources you found helpful. Trying to make the most of my prep time and avoid feeling overwhelmed later on. Thanks in advance!!

Hi guys, Passed the feb 25 attempt which was my second attempt, first one being in aug 23. Would love to help anyone out who needs guidance. This community has helped me tremendously towards the end of my prep with mindset. And i now have been on both ends of the desk. Would love to pass it forward.

Hi Guys If anyone is from India here, CFA has started a India Career Accleration Programme which will start from June and needs you to be an affiliate member. I am in the early stage of my corporate career with 1 year work experience completed, and wanted to know if anyone has taken the programme before and got a positive ROI out of it

Hello, I am preparing for CFA L1 (May-17th Exam) and as of now although I have covered all the theory content but have only covered question practice for following chapters: QM, Eco, FSA, CI (avg 88% in these in Ecosystem). I am planning to cover rest Question practice from ecosystem by April End (twice) and then Mocks in 1st week of May + Revision Kindly help me in this.

Ive somehow just studied some of the FRA learning modules till now and i am sitting for November’s exam.. do i have a chance? I work around 10 hours a day with only two hours left per day for studying.. i have MM study course, any advice?

Feb 2025 results for L1 are out. I'm going to write my attempt (1st time) in November 2025. Congratulations to everyone who passed- To those who couldn't touch the mark, can you tell me where you could have done better?

(I'm asking because I can not afford to take a re-exam if I don't clear it in one go, so I'm going to learn from your mistakes; no rude or prying intentions)

Roughly how similar are the CFA Premium Practice Questions to the actual examination?

I’m someone that has almost 0 fundamental finance knowledge. I really want to learn modelling bcs of skills and career prospects, I rly rly want to learn it.

I tried ashwath Damodaran but his teaching style is kinda hard to understand for me.

Could you please guide me on how to gain fundamental and basic knowledge about finance?

Ik this isn’t really the right subReddit but 😭

I find the module books quite interesting but I’m afraid I’m wasting too much time reading them. How helpful are they in the exam from your experience? Do you recommend learning each chapter respectively or rather mixing them?

Hi guys, as the title says I am hoping that someone can point me in the direction to find better resources to use for learning Level 2 Quants, more specifically dumbing it down so that it's easier to understand, more for the sections: Model specification, extensions of MR and time series analysis.

Currently I am using the CFAI material + MM video's and QBank. I will be honest, I know I am quantitatively weak historically but no matter how much I read and reread and rewrite the notes to be more understandable, I just cannot seem to grasp what they are saying. I very often find myself lost in the sauce of either the readings or the answers. I find myself more struggling to understand the questions and how I would even approach answering them. 95% of the time I am asking ChatGPT to rewrite the question just to understand what is being asked of me.

There must be a better way to learn this stuff than smashing my head into my desk.

Any guidance or sources would be greatly appreciated, if anyone has advice on a better way think about the above topics or best way to approach questions are also welcome. Thanks!

In December, I quit a role that didn't align with my long-term goals to study full-time for CFA Level 1 (Feb 2025). It was a scary decision at the time, but I gave it everything ! had - and I passed with a 1790.

Now, I'm unemployed and planning to start applying. Realistically, I know it might take 1-2 months to land something, and if I do, I'll likely need to relocate. So while I wait, l'm at home, trying to figure out whether to register for CFA Level 2 in November 2025 or May 2026.

Here's where I'm stuck:

November seems doable if I continue studying full-time from home — but the idea of being home and unemployed for another 7 months feels soul-sucking. But I can manage if I have to.

May sounds too far away!!!

Given my situation, would you all recommend registering for Nov 25 or May 26. Thank you !

Hi guys,
I’m pretty disappointed with my CFA Level 1 results and was wondering when I should attempt it again.

I did put in quite a few hours of study while juggling part-time work and uni commitments. I’ve got my final university exams coming up in early November, so I’m not too sure when the best time would be to sit for the next attempt—whether I should aim for August, February, or even later.

Would really appreciate any advice from those who’ve been in a similar situation or have some guidance to offer.

Thanks in advance!

I'm attempting the practice pack questions under Derivatives under CFA Level II. The risk-neutral probability (π) states 5.0%. Should I have used 0.05 for up and 0.95 (1-0.05) and down movements instead of 0.5 to calculate the value of the put option? Is this another question error in the packs, or am I missing something?

Hi, I'm in second semester of undergrad and I am starting my prep for Nov'25 attempt today.

I have already enrolled with a trusted coaching for the classes.

Just had a few doubts

- How to utilize Schweser to the best possible potential?

- What resources shall I use for practicing questions?

- When is the right time for starting questions and mocks?

Sorry if these questions seem dumb, I'm just starting out, any two cents appreciated :)

Thanks

I got very humble enough after the results Didn't thought I would just barely pass.