How I Passed CFA Level I Exam in under 2 Months

A random image found on Google

If you are planning on becoming a CFA Charterholder, you might’ve already come across some forums and guides, which tell you all the terrifying stories of how tough the exams really are. Do not necessarily trust them, because the exams are even harder. Even if anyone tells you exams are not “that hard”, chances are that they might know less than Jon Snow himself. However, with some very straightforward steps and rules, it’s absolutely possible to obtain the desired result.

‘If you did this in under 2 months, can you imagine what you are capable of doing in the course of your lifetime?’ — said my mom to me blissfully when she found out that I passed CFA Level I exam.

Needless to say, even if I didn’t ‘do this in under 2 months’, I’d still be a super human. For my mother. Therefore, yes, I liked her compliment and there is some truth in it, but you can do it as well. While I will not give you any insider information and, truth be told, even if I did it wouldn’t be of any help, I will try to point out some general basics you need to be in shape for exam. Shall we begin?

Before I hit the point, let me tell you my background. I registered for June 2017 Level I CFA Exam on March 14, 2017. The very deadline. However, I only started studying for it in the beginning of April. Therefore, I had at most 2 months, including the days which were impossible to study on. And here you too, should beware, that gross 30 days in a month will always yield to fewer net days, which you can actually use to study. Simple rule of thumb is that lower the waste days, the better.

Speaking of my work experience, I worked at Citibank in Warsaw at the AML department. I graduated from very average private university in Warsaw with BA in Economics. The only exposure I had to the CFA curriculum covered topics were my courses at the university. You guessed it right, they were also average, as my university was. Therefore, it didn’t make my CFA journey easier at all. All I want to say is that my background at the time of starting the prep was almost 0, very close to it. In the course of the study, I had an extremely flexible schedule, as instead of working full time I was hustling on different projects whenever I wanted. I could always find at least 2–3 hours each day to prep for CFA exam. I used Bloomberg Prep and I read all 5 books — Schweser Notes — in the last 2 days. Regarding mock exams, I completed 4 Bloomberg Prep mocks and 2 official CFA mock exams.

Before you jump into it, you have to decide, whether you truly want to dedicate yourself to finance. It’s not easy and it is time consuming. There are sacrifices to be made. Moreover, you will need to manage your time very wisely, tweak your stress and sleep. Most people say you need 300 hours in average to ace the exam. I disagree. First of all, it’s all individual. Secondly, it depends a lot how fast you process and learn, what prep material you use and for how long you are able to retain newly acquired information. They say you won’t pass if you don’t get enough sleep. That’s also not true. At least not for me. However, enough sleep makes you happier.

With all the aforementioned details and pretty impressive result of passing the exam in under 2 months, I still think I poorly allocated my resources and used time inefficiently. I could have done it in a way that would leave me a bit less stressed out. That’s why, I will list several hints of what I believe you should do and not do in order to successfully replicate my result.

1. Even if you don’t get enough sleep, you will still be learning. Sometimes, I used to study till 5 AM and wake up at 2 or 3 PM. This is plain wrong. Always try to go to bed by 2 AM at most and wake up at 8, 9 or 10. This may not make your learning experience easier, but it will make it more streamlined and your life will be more colorful.
2. I gave up sports. Before undertaking the CFA, I used to workout and run. After I started prepping for CFA, I gave up on everything. I would only go for a walk or rarely run. I mistakenly thought that the time I saved would be more valuable for study. However, I was dead wrong. The marginal usefulness of every next hour is plummeting sharply. It’s better to learn smart for only 3 hours than to study for 6 hours in a row. Moreover, I found out that physical activity made my brain work better and improved my critical thinking abilities, especially in the short term.
3. What I said in 2017, probably when I was hungry when writing this post: I also found out that food played a crucial role. I can’t guarantee that we are all built in the same way, however, never study when you are hungry. It’s the lesson I learned and it’s the one I will never forget.
   Update in 2020: I learned, that intermittent fasting is a like a drug, which opens up your brain capabilities almost to the max. Studying and working while being hungry has yielded me far better productivity.
4. While it’s true that you will need to cut down on time with friends and fun, it’s not necessary to completely give up on those. It is very important to switch from studying to doing something else time after time. You may read, watch films, do sports, have fun with friends or do something that you find entertaining and chilling. It is important to have some free time from CFA. I didn’t, but if I had, I’m sure my life and CFA experience would be way more gleeful. I wouldn’t lose much from dedicating one hour less to the grind. But, make sure such time is scheduled, not done impromptu.
5. DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU FIND ON THE INTERNET. That is the most important point. I’m not exaggerating. It is. While the CFA is even tougher than the way they describe it on forums, it is ABSOLUTELY possible, attainable, achievable. It just takes dedicating yourself to it, the right mindset, correctly allocated priorities and most importantly, a strong DESIRE, as Napoleon Hill would suggest.
6. I used Bloomberg Prep which I bought for around $600 a package. I liked the marketing, because they promised money back guarantee in case I didn’t pass it. Frankly speaking, I’m not 100% sure whether I would like to recommend it or not. In the last couple days, I also managed to read all the books from Kaplan Schweser — the Notes. As for the exercises, I only did those provided by Bloomberg. I didn’t even look at the curriculum exercises. Plus, I also watched Irfanullah videos about some complicated concepts, such as p-values, hypotheses, some fixed-income topics, etc. I greatly recommend those videos. Also, you can stick with Schweser Notes. I don’t think that Bloomberg Prep is necessary. Plus, you can spend some time reading decent CFA-centered forums, but don’t waste too much time. Again, everything is individual.
7. I’m adding this 7th point in 2020: Leave ethics till the very end. Dedicate yourself to Fixed Income, Equity, FRA, Quant. Do all the exercises from Curriculum, and use Schweser Notes for study. Or Mark Meldrum’s videos.

These are quite general points. However, I tried my best to give you the most up to the point ideas and advice, the ones you genuinely need for acing the exam. Nothing more. And please note, these are my ideas. Do not hold me responsible for your failure if that’s the outcome. Even if you do, I will not feel responsible. In general, never blame anyone for your failure even if they are to blame. Life lesson. That said, I still strongly believe that these tips will come in handy to everyone who wants to pass the exams.

In case I can be of any help, I would gladly answer to your CFA-related questions time-permitting.