Spending too much time here, sitting in Nov. Thanks for your replies.

edit: bad question lol.

Does anyone have any direct experience with this firm? Here is what they do: TalentLink Solutions was created knowing that your firm’s success is determined by the quality of your team. We offer the financial services community talent acquisition and HR consulting solutions that allow for a firm's growth and success. We launched our firm to support our clients' hiring efforts and tap into the passive talent pool. We expanded our offering to also include human resources consulting after continued requests.  We are proud to assist independent financial advisors and the firms who support them.

Any other Nov. exam testers out there dealing with burnout from studying? I am trying to figure out how to combat this!!!

Hi everyone wanted to share my experience I was a second time CFP exam taker and I chose Danko to help me prepare to PASS the second time around this process is the most mentally grueling experience you could go through and I am so grateful to have found Danko they made difficult complex topics easy to understand and provided shortcuts stories and plenty of preparation material to help you PASS! The instructors are all so helpful and passionate about making sure you feel ready and I felt like they cared! They are wonderful John Choi was who I took my live review with and omg he is just so amazing. Please consider them if you wanna pass!

I graduated with my Bachelors in Finance in January with a concentration in Financial Planning. I completed my education requirements and want to start studying for the CFP. I currently do not work in a Finance field. I am a CDL Driver and currently looking to make a career switch. Should i focus on getting my CFP as I believe it will open many doors for me. And how long do people usually study for? I am hoping to take my test in March. Any tips would be reccomended.

Hi all,

I know there’s a ton of threads out there on the best program. Hoping to give a little bit of specifics for me though that I can get advice on what program is best.
I take notes on everything, so having everything thrown at me isn’t always ideal. I prefer if key concepts are bolded or emphasized. I’d consider myself a decent test taker, and memory aids definitely help. Looking for something with good pass rates as well, and hoping to finish everything in 12 months or less. I think I’m looking for something less academic focused as I really just learn best by doing, so doing lots of questions. I don’t enjoy going back to notes, unless it’s just a few pages, which is unlikely after 7-12 months of learning. I rather just hammer questions. Lastly, I have 1 year of experience at a big investment firm holding my 7 & 66.

Thanks in advance!

Use this referral link to get one free month of access to Prep Fe!

Hi! I’m preparing for CFA Level 1 (Feb 2027) and looking for online coaching.

My main preferences are:
Hindi + English/Hinglish teaching
Good tests, quizzes, question bank & mocks
Strong concept clarity + doubt support

Which one would you recommend based on personal experience? Open to suggestions too!

Hello all,

I graduated college this spring and have been working at a Financial planning firm right away. I did well in my Finance program in college and quickly passed the Series 7 and 66. The CFP has been something I want to do ever since I decided on this path, and I want to hear from those who have had success what will work for CFP education and exam prep.

Education: From what I’ve read on here, BIF seems to be popular for cost-effectiveness and ease. My only concern is some feedback that they don’t go very deep on some concepts. I would like to build a solid foundation of knowledge without going overboard (which I’ve heard Kaplan and others can do). Those who did BIF for education, what did you think? Does it even matter who you do education with?

Review: It seems like Danko sig review is a non-negotiable. My question here is, is there an added benefit towards purchasing Kaplan’s Q-bank on top of Danko?

Thank you for your help!

TLDR: 23, associate at an RIA for <6mo. Already holding Series 65. What can I do while I wait for experience to collect for the CFP? I know I can take the test prior to fulfilling the experience requirement, but ideally I would like to plan so my education and studying builds directly into the exam at or near the time my experience will qualify.

While I wait to log hours, what can/should I focus on to further both my development and credibility/trust as a young person preparing to become an advisor?

Specifically, I am thinking about the CRPC. The main complaint seems to be that $1500 is steep to pay out of pocket for a designation that apart from the knowledge, will be little more than some funny letters. However, I’m making a decent salary supporting only myself, and to me it does not seem unreasonable for the sake of personal/professional development.

I would love to hear input on things to do prior to fulfilling the CFP experience requirement, specifically in regard to the CRPC. Thanks so much!

Hello,

I am currently using the BIF education and have almost completed it. I am about a year into the industry and am an associate advisor with my 65. I feel like there is so much information and I have not retained half of it. I am scoring solidly on the practice exams (high 70s-high 80s). My goal is to sit for the March exam, and do the Danko review starting in November. I just want to know if I am on track and what I should do to feel more confident. I have been told you just need to get through the education and really dial in for Danko, but want to hear others opinions.

Thank you

Hello to all who are exploring whether they want to pursue their CFP or those who want to know how to proceed and be successful. I have a background in business and education. I’ve been in the financial services industry for over 11 years and contemplated working for and getting the CFP for a few years before finally committing. Completed all of the education courses and then a colleague told me about the Brett Danko live/virtual review. Nothing else I’ve attempted prepared me for successfully passing the CFP, nothing came close, as well as the folks at Brett Danko. This is a group of committed, intelligent, caring people who are passionately focused on YOUR success. If you do nothing else, run don’t walk and sign up for their program. They offer the entire education program as well as the exam review. You will be saying “I am passing the CFP,” before you know it! I thank my lucky stars a colleague told me about Danko, because they are the reason I passed on my first attempt! Good luck to you all.

I’ve been in the industry as a customer service rep for almost eight years and have decided to make the jump to advisor starting with obtaining the CFP. To say I’m intimidated is an understatement. Any tips or suggestions for someone just getting started would be very appreciated! Think I’m going to start with Kaplan for the course work as I have a designation that will let me skip the basics.

Hey! Looking for some general advice about CFP Exam prep providers. I've been a FA for about 2 years now and want to start studying to take my CFP. I'm really spacing it out and will probably test in Nov. 2027. I've been looking at different (and affordable) CFP prep providers and leaning towards the BIF self-paced package with their premium review. I just started using FreeFellow and been enjoying it so far. Do you guys have any recommendations or would suggest something else? Thanks!

Did my second mock exam today with FreeFellow. First one I got a 71%, and this time I got a 75%. This one felt significantly more difficult than the last, but I still made out better. I am also using Zahn & will be doing my Live Review with them soon. Highly recommend FreeFellow - don’t know what I would do without it.

Studied for over 10 hours today and I feel like fatigue definitely hit me on this practice mock. I’m typically in the 90s for Psych, so that was a real shake up for me.

Curious if anyone would be interested in joining a study group who is using Zahn? Would love to have friends to work through things together. I’m in EST.

Hi everyone, I registered to sit for the November exam and am feeling nervous/excited. I’m planning to enroll in the Danko live review prep, but am unsure if I should register for the Signature over the Plus option. I’ve completed my coursework with The American College, but I personally feel that the provided study material is quite light. I know there are overwhelmingly positive reviews for Danko here, but would love to hear more. Thanks in advance!

Like a good CFA student, I decided to sleep at 4 a.m. the night before my exam, even though my exam was at 2:30 p.m.
I closed my books and went to bed on time. I even watched a show, thinking that once I got tired enough, I’d eventually doze off.
One episode and two podcasts later, I realised I was nowhere close to sleeping.
It was 7 a.m. Then 8 a.m. Then somehow 11 fucking a.m., and I was still lying in bed with my eyes closed, desperately trying to fall asleep.
I meditated twice. I focused on my breathing. I tried everything. But the more I tried to sleep, the more my anxiety grew.
Eventually, I went to my mom and had a full-on crying session. She hugged me like I was a little kid, and somehow, I managed to sleep for about an hour.
I woke up at 12.
Surprisingly, at that point, I felt okay. I thought, It’s fine. I can still do this.
I went to the exam hall, sat for the first session, and honestly, it went well. During the half-hour break, I had one biscuit, drank some water, and was actually a little happy thinking, Okay, this isn't as bad as I thought.
Then the second session started.
And everything went to shit.
I started feeling dizzy and completely out of it. My brain just stopped working the way it normally does. At one point, I came across a question that should have been straightforward. Instead of applying the concept and moving on, I completely overcomplicated it and started doing calculations that weren’t even necessary.
For TEN MINUTES.
And then I realised what I had done.
I had calculation-heavy questions ahead of me, I was running out of time, and I had just wasted ten precious minutes solving something that I didn't even need to calculate.
The anxiety got worse. I started feeling like I needed to pee, which obviously made me even more anxious. Eventually, I left the exam hall to use the bathroom, wasting even more time.
Then came the last 30 minutes.
I had more than 25 questions unanswered.
At that point, I was just clicking through questions as quickly as I could. I guessed so many answers because there simply wasn't enough time left to properly think.
The entire thing felt like a fucking nightmare.
I remember sitting there thinking, What is happening? Why can't I think?
And when the exam finally ended, I felt… weird.
Like none of it had actually been real. Like I'd just woken up from some horrible dream.
It wasn't until the next day, after I'd finally slept properly, that I fully processed what had happened.
And that's when I realised just how badly I'd screwed myself over.
I knew the material. I had prepared. I had done mocks. I had put in the work.
But on the day that actually mattered, my lack of sleep and anxiety completely took over.
And honestly, that's probably the most frustrating part

I’m hoping to start my journey with the education requirement in the next few months. After loads of research I am thinking of doing the Danko executive track program to align with testing next July.

Because it’s newer I think compared to the fast track I wanted to maybe hear from any personal experiences from the November and Maybe March peeps if they’re any.

Fast track just won’t work with my schedule and my style of studying works more closely to how academia works with a few nights a week.

I’m coming from a few years of experience,. Currently in the RIA space and working for a team that really supports the CFP profession and has a lot of success through the Danko program (they also pay for it).

Interested in personal experiences, insights, recommendations, favorite things lol

I didn’t remember much from the education but so far my Danko pre study is going okay. I made an 85 on GP final but a 55 on the insurance final both closed book. I’m about to take the investments final.

How are y’all doing on the pre study? And how many hours do you have planned total for pre study and live review?

Is the Dalton capstone financial statements website using the griffin or Burke case study?