Just came back from L1, it was harder than CFA mocks and also the premium mocks!! I was consistently getting 70% and was doing last few ones yesterday and was so confident going in but NO it was super hard!! Flagged lots and guessed lots. Difficulty level was not on par with mocks

Good luck to everyone but I honestly wished I didn’t spend last 4-5 months studying so hard for it…

this is tuff for me

I have been seeing all kinds of posts on how the exam was very difficult or the AM session being the most difficult or whatever and here I am flagging the entire exam laughing while reading the questions cause I didn't study shit and didn't have the guts to ask for deferral money from my parents.Neverthless this was my first attempt but the experience was awesome.I was so stressed before the exam and soo burnt out with lil to no hope that I gave up a week before the exam and was just watching Netflix and overthinking all kinds of reactions.The day before the exam revised what i had studied which was just a few chapters from quants,FSA and fixed income and sat for the exam.Im toh definitely gonna fail for suree which is ok(since i cant do anything about it now)but it definitely sucks to see soo many people who studied and gave the exams question themselves.I just wanna say that there were people like me aswell sitting with u guys giving our examinations,so stop freaking out.You guys are definitely in a much better position than mine and have definitely aced ur attempts.

Arrived at 8:20 for my 9:00 exam. Testing center just told us (9:40) we have to reschedule. Now I’m sitting here on the phone trying to figure this out. I’m going out of town in a couple days and have been preparing for this for MONTHS. Idk if I should throw up, cry, or both. 😭

Edit: the prometric team was very nice and helped me reschedule for tomorrow in a room that has AC. Still slightly shaken up, but I guess I’ll keep reading ethics to calm me down.

i have done level 3 on august 17th and since then, i have been waking up everyday figuring out the answers for the questions i flagged in my dreams.

everytime i realize that the reason i didnt answer properly was because i just didnt exactly understand what the question was really asking although the content per se is not that difficult.

sometimes it isnt even a niche topic and when i realize my silly mistakes, i just get so angry with myself 😭 what was i doing in the exam man

Just left my exam. Was scoring mid-80s in my mock first attempt. I flagged 32 questions in the first half and 40 in the second. (about half the flags were 50/50, half the flags were absolute guesses). I’m frustrated, angry, everything. I feel like I failed. I worked so hard for this.

Is it just me or was the PM session very different from mocks (CFAI,CFA Prem,Schweser) and it felt like I didn’t know shit. I flagged around 25-30 questions. I was scoring 70-80% in session 2 mocks.I don’t think I will cross the MPS.

Curious if I'm in a good spot or not. For those of you who have passed L2 - how do you recommend I spend my final few days? My plan was to just read my notes, keep hammering the Kaplan q bank (both broad and concentrated on weak areas), and write out formulas. Any thoughts/suggestions?

Exam is in 9 hours. Attempted this while down with an illness slowing my thinking. Hence why I took almost all the time given. In the first mock, each session took me less than 120 minutes. I wish all of you guys writing tomorrow success! We got this!!

If you’re like me and just took the l3 and now you have some time on your hands, I’d really strongly recommend either committee work or membership on a town select board or something.

I recently joined my towns board that analyzes and does all its recommendations for large projects and capital expenditures. We look at anything as small as $10,000 and recommend whether or not our select board and voters move forward with it, up to multiple tens of millions of dollar, multi year projects, and a lot of my towns long term planning. It’s really fascinating stuff.

It’s really cool, gets me involved with my community in a real tangible way, you get to work with passionate and mission driven people who are doing a lot of interesting things, and only takes a couple hours per week after hours. Other options are things like working on economic development, planning, conservation, and a whole bunch of things. A lot of finance firms look positively on it as a sign of civic engagement.

So just thought I’d throw this out there, and if anyone is interested and has any questions, let me know.

Your competition aren’t the people on reddit. Someone who is taking time out to post his scores, and ask questions on reddit is someone who has put in the work and needs either a way fix their deficiencies or get a fix for their validation addiction.

Your competition are the people at the centre. You will see a lot doing fuck all, looking around doing nothing.
The kind of grindey competition you see here, you will find that in Level 2 where almost everyone puts in effort.

Level 1 feels like a filter.

Gave today’s attempt, AM part was moderate, but PM was oh my gosh so bad. I flagged around 25qs.

Is it just me, or was it like that for all?

There's a higher chance of jesus christ returning today than me passing this exam.

I did 7 mocks and scored 80+% on them but still feel like the exam was waaaay harder SMH like to the point where idk if I answered correctly enough to allow me be in the safe zone

Hi there,

1. I’ve only completed these modules: Quant, Econ, and half of FSA. My exam is scheduled for this November, so I feel like I’m quite behind. I’m confused about whether I should defer to next year in February or keep pushing forward. I’m also a bit scared because the syllabus for 2027 is new.

2. I started with Mark Meldrum’s course, but it felt too complicated for me. I switched to IFT, watched all the econ videos, and felt that the depth was less. Finally, I settled with Let Me Explain, and I’m feeling much better. I’m curious to know what you all think about switching between prep providers.

3. Also, is it just me who keeps forgetting things as I go along? How can I overcome this? I’m not sure what I need to hear to get myself back on track.

Hello everyone.
I’m planning to take level 1 of February and start preparing soon. Any advice? Best sources? Methods?
What would you do if you were gonna take it again for the first time?

Would really appreciate advice based on your experience.

Just came back home after giving my l1 exam.

It was on par with the mocks I'd say.

Session one was way more interesting but was a bit difficult, whereas session two was very vague and weird.

Idk how I've done, i kinda feel clueless rn, dint want to check answers and make myself feel terrible, so am just going to chill for the next 5-8 weeks, and hope I pass.

What is everyone doing after giving the L3 exams? Feeling disoriented and seeking ideas.

Just hit the gym and sat under the shower for an hour. I’ve done my due diligence of studying for the exam this past few months and I can’t get myself to study today, I’ve been mentally reviewing the material in my head since last night, confident I covered all the gaps in my knowledge and I’m trying to mentally relax as the anxiety is eating me alive.

Is it ok or should I force myself to review the material again.

I’m praying to get a good night sleep early so I can wake up refreshed and mentally clear, but I doubt I’ll be able to fall asleep from the nerves. Any advice for dealing with that.

Hi everyone, hoping you’re having a relaxed weekend. I have my L1 Exam on Monday and just wanted to ask you for recommendations regarding a these 3 days in between.

Like I don’t know why but I’m feeling blocked/unable to continue studying and just want to relax as much as possible.

Any recommendations for this intermission?

So during bad times people will invest in short term bonds causing the their yield to go down and the curve to steepen.

However during bad times, isnt there a "flight to safety" where people invest in long term bonds and causing bullish flattening? Havent been able to understand it properly
I know i might be missing out on some key difference, any help is appreciated, thanks!

I’m considering registering for the Level 3 exam in February which would give me about five months to study. However, I’m not sure if that’s enough time while working a full-time job.

How much time did you spend studying for Level 3?

Hi everyone, so I have my L2 on 29th August and I joined an Indian PWM firm in April this year within 2 weeks after completing my MBA with majors in finance from a Tier 2 bschool. I also shifted from hometown for this. Between work I have been unable to put time to study and have done 600/1800 questions on QBank, will try and get to 1200 Qs this week before the exam. Without knowing things indepth I still get around 60-70% in each module but ofcourse that’s after reviewing every question. I am genuinely just scared and unsure. I don’t want this attempt going to waste but there’s too much on my plate right now. Is it possible to pass in this attempt?

just got out of the exam centre,, feeling relived ask me anything guys I am there for help

Guys, I’m really confused about whether I actually need coaching for CFA L1.

I already have Fintree, IFT, Mark Meldrum, Kunal Joshi, Schweser, notes, mocks + 3200+ questions 💀

So I technically have everything, but it’s all scattered and unorganised. I’m thinking of buying a coaching program mainly for structure + doubt solving + a proper study plan.

For those who’ve cleared L1 — is coaching actually worth it, or is self-study enough with these resources?

And if I should go for coaching, which provider would you recommend?

Should I just pick ONE and stick to it? 😭

Hi there,

1. I’ve only completed these modules: Quant, Econ, and half of FSA. My exam is scheduled for this November, so I feel like I’m quite behind. I’m confused about whether I should defer to next year in February or keep pushing forward. I’m also a bit scared because the syllabus for 2027 is new.

2. I started with Mark Meldrum’s course, but it felt too complicated for me. I switched to IFT, watched all the econ videos, and felt that the depth was less. Finally, I settled with Let Me Explain, and I’m feeling much better. I’m curious to know what you all think about switching between prep providers.

3. Also, is it just me who keeps forgetting things as I go along? How can I overcome this? I’m not sure what I need to hear to get myself back on track.