Hey guys, I’m sitting level one in June & am currently deciding how many days I should take off work in the week prior to the exam. I’ve seen people say they take a couple of days off & others say a couple of weeks. I have a reasonable background with relation to level one material & am fairly comfortable with everything. I’m really interested to know how many days off work people have taken prior to exams (mainly level one) and whether you thought you could have done with more or less time off. At the moment I going to take 3 days prior to the exam off work, I’m debating making it 2. I’m trying to conserve my days off as I’m an Aussie living in NYC & am planning to visit home for the first time in a couple of years after the exam, so I need as much time off as possible in my back pocket for the trip.
If you are fairly comfortable, than 2-3 days should be totally enoughe. When I saw the title, I thought this was another thread about taking a month off…
It really depends on how prepared you are for the exam. I took the week off before and just did full practice exams mon-thurs and a light review friday.
The more exams you get through, the more comfortable you feel.
I could have done with less time off if i started studying sooner. Starting late led to a scramble at the end.
Full week off before the test. It’s only 4 days of vacation time since the Monday before is Memorial day.
1 week off.
#prettystandard
omg… such a long leave, thats double what op is looking for, can you imagine the kind of wealth loss by taking an extra 2 days leave and that to for CFA test…
Wealth loss? Huh? Most people get paid vacation leave.
What’s the wealth loss of having to register to re-take the exam? Explicit and opportunity costs combined?
If you have the time and want to use it on vacationing instead, go for it. None of us have any clue how well prepared you are. Personally I’d prefer the entire week though. Like Ramos said, with Memorial day thrown in there, it’s 4 days of vacation but with the weekend and holiday tacked on before it you have 7 full days off to unplug from work and ramp up for the exam.
red bull is my energy
I always took the whole week before the exam off.
if I could go back, I would do the exact same thing. I felt like hammering away at the test bank and practice questions really made the stuff sink in.
Also took the week before off for each. Probably increased my chances of passing by 30%, especially L2/3.
If you spend more time studying now, then 2-3 days should be fine. I also had to save as many days as possible to go back home, so I didn’t have the luxury of taking any day off before the exam. What I’d say though, which is mentioned above, is that you don’t want to risk re-taking the test by trying to save a few more days. Unless you can pull of 70% on mocks and other tests in mid May, I’d suggest taking 4 days off so that you have a full week of dedicated preparation.
I had a baby on the Wednesday night before the Level I exam, which worked for me. Helped clear my mind for the test.
I didn’t take any time off for Level II but had free reign to study as much as I wanted during my workday, so if your job will let you focus on test prep those last few days maybe you can get away with not using vacation days but still being able to cram in studying all day.
At first, my female brain read your comment as written by a female and I was super impressed… gave birth on a Wednesday, took L1 on Saturday. Then I remembered that you’re probably a guy like 98% of everyone else on this board.
Anyways… I took a week off two weeks before the exam. Did all my mocks then and then worked the week of the actual test. For me, and my family, it helped to be in the normal weekly routine and I was far less anxious because I was busy at work and at home with the usual kid/family activities. I read my final review notes, did flashcards but that’s about all I did in that final week before the test. Mentally I felt much more rested and focused going into test day.
I plan to do the same this time around.
Thanks for all the input! I’ve ended up with taking the 2 days off before the exam. I’ll be finished with the curriculum this Saurday & into my 1st mock on Sunday.