PistolPt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 300 hours is not enough. I suggest 301-303. I > knew a couple guys who studied 296-298 and barely > failed. > I would recommend 302.97 hours. That should > guarantee a pass. > > Seriously, I love these arbitrary numbers people > throw out. People can pass with 200 hours and fail > with 500 hours. It doesn’t freggin matter. > > If only matters what works for YOU. Pistol Pete with the beautiful behind the back zinger pass.
I spent about 600 hrs but actually studied like 400. Passed on edge. Quality matters. builders Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > i would budget 600
This is always a vague and subjective question. There’s no magic number of hours needed to pass; i.e., if you study for 300 or more, you’ll definitely pass whereas if you study less, you won’t. It depends on your education, work experience, ability to comprehend and retain information, as well how much time your schedule allows you to study. If it only takes you 200 hours to understand everything, then great. If it takes you 400 hours, then that’s fine, too, as long as you feel comfortable with the material. I understand that everyone wants enough info to be able to formulate a study plan, but eventually you just need to start studying and figure things out on your own.
It isn’t about the absolute number of hours.
The most common mistake candidates make is not using their time efficiently.
The CFA Level I exam has tons of material, so if you go into each topic trying to memorize every detail, you’ll feel overwhelmed and lose your focus. It’s critical that you focus on the essentials in order to learn what you need to know to pass the exam.
Learn efficiently and then practice on plenty of questions.
Make sure you have the right study material (i.e. a good provider). Help from a good source is necessary for those unable or unwilling to commit 300 hours. I’ve found that high-quality study time maximizes the chances of passing.
Definitely want to echo what others have said about quality of time spent studying. That matters much more than number of hours studied.
Educational experience/background also matters greatly. I took L1 during my penultimate year of UG, in the midst of taking lots of classes relevant to the CFA. Additionally, I have/was taking advanced finance classes that were cross-listed with our MBA/MF programs that most others didn’t bother taking because they required more effort.
With all that being said I studied 120 hrs directly for the CFA (not including time spent in my classes in which the material overlapped) and passed very comfortably.
Focus on what you’re scoring on practice questions/mock exams rather than a specific number of hours studied though.
300 hours is enough to pass the CFA level 1 if you graduated in Finance imo. The content is basically what you learn as an undergrad student plus Ethics. However, you have to study efficiently and use all of the resources available because you’re “competing” against other Finance graduates. The hard part is really to stay motivated all the way through, so make yourself a study plan and stick to it!