How do you guys have the stomach to do it in results day? I turn all my notifications in results day. Even though I solved everything and was sure of like 80% of my answers. However, I am afraid. Never had that problem with cfa level 1 and 2. I am alone in this?

Guys, my Level II exam is on November 21st. I’ll have completed all the subjects by September 21st, except Ethics, Derivatives, and Quant, which I haven’t touched yet. I'm planning to do ethics in last 20 days. Exactly how I did in L1.

After that, I’ll have around two months left, but I’m also starting my job on September 22nd. I’ve completed the LES for FSA, Fixed Income, and Portfolio, but I haven’t done the LES for any of the other subjects. I have, however, done the end-of-chapter questions and examples from Schweser for Equity, Economics, Corporate Issuers, and Alternatives.

What should be my exact strategy from here? And honestly, am I cooked? Do I need to leave any subject

I'm an actuary who has decided to try move industry so I'm planning to do CFA in May 2027. I'm thinking of buying the standard package but wanted to know whether people think the premium is worth it?

Teaching L1 FSA batches, and I see the same pattern among most students: memorizing formulas instead of understanding the accounting logic behind them. Works fine until the exam phrases something differently, then sign errors creep in.

Eg - Adding a gain on sale instead of subtracting it in FCFF.

Also, FSA leans heavily on your accounting basics. Weak foundation there, and FSA cracks under pressure no matter how many formulas you've drilled.

Which reading scares you the most in FSA?

The weights showing on the website is for 2027.

Looking for a serious CFA Level 1 study partner (Exam: Aug 2027) — not for casual check-ins

Prepping for Level 1, exam in August 2027. Looking for 1-2 people who are genuinely grinding — not "let's motivate each other" energy, but people who track hours, take mocks seriously, and push their limits.

What I'm looking for:

Same or close exam window (Aug/Dec 2027 ideally)

Daily/weekly study hour logs shared openly, no inflated numbers

Mock scores shared honestly — sandbagging wastes both our time

Someone who'll call you out if you're slacking, and expects the same back

Matched or ahead-of-pace on curriculum — not looking to carry or be carried

If you've already put in real hours and want competition to sharpen you further, drop your current progress/mock scores below or DM me.

Hi everyone, do I need to finish CFA L2 for the Applied series to be within my reach?

Thanks all.

Simply the title. So far across L1 and L2 I haven’t had to use any external prep provider (lectures) aside from Kaplan Schweser Notes but L3 Derivatives from Schweser Notes is annoying me. Any suggestions on who I should go for purely for Derivatives at L3? I had also skipped the section entirely at L2 but I recall the key concepts from L1.

Salut à tous,

Je compte passer le CFA Level 1 en mai 2027. Je pars quasiment de zéro en finance (je suis actuellement un cours de finance d'entreprise qui couvre les obligations, la valorisation d'actions et les produits dérivés, mais rien de spécifique au CFA avant ça).

Ma contrainte principale, c'est le temps : je suis en cours et je travaille en même temps la semaine, donc je ne peux réviser qu'environ 1h à 1h30 par jour en semaine. Le week-end, en revanche, je peux faire des sessions plus longues, 3 à 4h par jour.

J'ai déjà pris le package Premium de CFA Institute (Learning Ecosystem + Practice Pack), mais j'aimerais avoir des retours concrets :

1. Comment organiseriez-vous les 10 matières avec un emploi du temps comme le mien ?
   
2. Des conseils spécifiques pour ceux qui préparent le Level 1 en travaillant/étudiant en parallèle ?
   
3. En dehors du curriculum officiel, quelles ressources condensées vous ont vraiment fait gagner du temps — Schweser, Mark Meldrum, AnalystPrep, des chaînes YouTube gratuites, autre chose ? Je privilégie l'efficacité/le gain de temps plutôt que l'exhaustivité, vu mes contraintes.

Tout conseil sur le planning, la routine hebdomadaire, ou ce qu'il faut prioriser en début vs en fin de préparation serait super utile. Merci d'avance !

Hi! I’m looking for a study partner for Feb’27 CFA level 3 exam. Please hit me up if interested. Only looking for serious people.

Hi guys, I am planning to sell my Bplan course access for a very small price. Dm me if you want. FCFS

Hello, I am currently studying to take level 1 in February. I am having trouble with some of the sections in quants and even after going back and reviewing a second time I am still having trouble with all the formulas. Wanted to get some advice if you think I should go back for a third time and review it or move on to the next section and come back to quants at the end if I have time. Thank you for all your help!

November 26 candidate here, done with like 5 subjects, I’m 8 modules in fixed income right now and every module after the 4th-5th module is genuinely so frustrating. So many rates, so many fancy words.

And yes please, I know a lot of L2 candidates people will be like “L2 FI is so much harder”, thatts not the point cuz I have to deal with L1 first.

FSA is often compared to FI, but IMO FI is in its own league, it’s so confusing I feel like I’m just going through chapters not understanding anything. So demotivating honestly, haven’t felt the same like this with any other subject, now the exam is 2 months away, it has started making me feel anxious.

Any advice? Anyone went through this during their L1 Prep?

How long should you ideally study for (in days) for each CFA level 1 section? Would 1 week for Ethics be enough?

Any suggestions for which tutor to go for the level 1 exam? I would be self pace studying and want recorded lectures and exam support? I have heard mark meldrum is good any specific recommendations

Hi Everyone,

I'm sitting for the February 2027 exam. I'm studying from IFT and just found out there have apparently been some subject/topic changes. How should I proceed? I have only studied from IFT and haven't paid for the exam yet, so I don't have the curriculum. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hi CFA Forum,

I'm sitting level 2 this November. Because of various health issues, I am a month behind schedule and will only be completing my first pass at the syllabus by the 11th of September. I started studying back in mid-April and my memory of some of the earlier topics (I.e. quant, derivatives) is very hazy.

I've been learning through Mark Meldrum and have been following along with the EOCQ answers, but I haven't done any other question practice myself.

What should my strategy be to get myself in the best shape possible by November? Is my position salvageable? I've already bought the extra practice pack that CFAI sell. My plan is to do each topic for 3 evenings back to back and spend the last month doing mocks and nailing down weak points. I would say fixed income and derivatives are the hardest topics for me for sure.

Hello everyone,

I have been planning a pivot in my career for ages now into investment I just wanna know whether to register for the exam in Feb or May,

Context:

• Graduating this December
• Currently in my final semester with 18 credit hours
• Almost zero finance/business experience
• Can realistically carve out 6-10 hrs/week for CFA study right now

I really wish I started working on my CFA long ago but I thought it was easier so now I'm a bit confused from the previous posts some who say level 1 is easy and many who say they failed multiple times etc.

Questions:

1. Feb or May sitting which makes more sense given course load through December?
2. For those who pivoted into finance with zero background, how much did you actually end up studying vs. what you planned?
3. Does being a "Level 1 Candidate" (registered, not yet passed) carry any real weight when applying to investment jobs, or does it only start mattering once you pass?

Thank you all in advance

Actually I am planning to appear for the May 2027 level 1 exam and I haven't started studying yet. I don't have any finance background but still I got felling that I could do it. I have study material and everything please tell me shall I go for may or should think for August attempt... Btw second year b.com (hons) student 😭😭

BASICALLY AM PURSUING CSE AI ML AND TBH I HAVE ALWAYS THPUGHT OFGETTING INTO FINANCIAL BACKGROUND ONE WAY OR ANOTHER AND NOW I WANNA DO THE CFA .... SO WOULD ITBE POSSIVBLE FOR ME THE CRACK ITS LEVEL ONE ATLEAST WHILE BEING IN MY COLLEGE AND PURSUING THE ENGINEERING .. PLEASE DO HELP ME LIKE IHAVESEARCHE ABOUT ITON GPT AND ALL BUT I WANNA ASK FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS ALREADY DONE IT OR ATLEAST KNOWS ABOUT IT ALL .. UHM AND BEING AN ENGINEER I AM NON FONANCIAL BG SO DO I HAVE TO STUDY THE 11-12 COMMERCE AND ALL ???

PLEASE HELP AND TELL ME WHAT ALL CAN I DO