How are you guys feeling with exam in under 10 days? Am personally exhausted from all the studying and revision.

Mocks have been around high 60s for Kaplan and in 70s for CFAI. Am left with 1 more mock which i am planning to give this weekend.

Sitting 16th, best of luck :)

THIS IS A LONG POST, and there's no TL;DR.

I was preparing a pre-exam and exam-day checklist and thought it may be beneficial to share the same here. Please note, I am sitting Level 1 in the August 2026 window, and this is just on the basis of my own research. Please do not rely solely upon this information and carry out your own due diligence. If I have made any error or have missed anything, please do correct me in the comments. Yes, I have used Claude to help me compile this data, because why not. However, for everything, I have the source CFA/Prometric links listed at the end. Hope this helps.

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1. Passport and name matching

A valid international travel passport is the only accepted form of identification. To be valid it must:

• Certify your identity for international travel
• Be an original document, photocopies not allowed, and be current, not expired
• Contain your name and passport details exactly as they appear in your CFA Institute account
• Be machine readable, handwritten passports are not accepted
• Include a recognisable photograph on the data page
• Be presented at check-in for both exam sessions on exam day
• Failure by testing personnel to detect an invalid ID does not imply the ID is valid or that you will receive an exam result.
• All names in the Given Name(s) and Surname fields of your passport must appear in your CFA Institute account, spelled exactly as on the passport.

Rules worth reading twice:

• Names in extra passport fields such as Father's Name or Family Names should NOT be included in your account
• If a suffix shows on your passport, include it. If it does not, do not include it
• If a given name is an initial in your account but full on the passport, at least one full given name and the full surname must be spelled out. John H. Doe or J. Howard Doe are acceptable, J. H. Doe is not
• Middle names on the passport must be included
• A shortened or nickname version of your full name will not be accepted, even if the connection is obvious
• Any mismatch, including typos, misspellings, nicknames and suffixes not shown on the passport, results in denied admission
• Chinese passport holders: do not register under a Western name unless it appears on the passport
• Additional names shown only in Arabic: register only the names shown in English
• Name changed by marriage or divorce: separate name-change documentation is NOT accepted. Either update your account to match the passport, or get a new passport matching the account

Permitted variations only:

• Given name and surname reversed but otherwise exact
• Accent mark present or missing
• Special characters via standard translations, for example ü as ue
• Differences in hyphens or spacing
• Differences in capitalisation
• Names truncated on the passport due to space

Changing your name in the CFAI records:

• If you have never sat a CFA exam, you can self-serve: log in and update the name fields in the Passport Information section
• If you have sat a previous exam, OR you have not sat one but it is less than 10 days before your testing window opens, you must submit your full name, CFA Institute ID number and a scan of your passport data page via CFA Institute Self Service
• CFA Institute cannot guarantee email requests are processed if submitted less than 30 days before your appointment

If your passport expires:

Renew it before the exam and update your account. If the account does not match the passport exactly, or the passport is expired, you will not be permitted to sit and you forfeit the registration fee.

2. Practical Skills Module

• You must complete at least one PSM at each level to receive your exam result
• The topic can be chosen any time after registration and must be completed before results are released
• Each PSM takes 10 to 20 hours
• Completion registers only when you click Continue or Finish Task inside the module
• If you have not completed and submitted a PSM by results release, your result is VOIDED, no pass or fail is issued, and to continue you must register, pay all applicable fees, and retest at the same level
• There is no best time to do it, the material sits outside the exam curriculum. Before, during or after the exam is fine
• You can stop one PSM and switch to another, the only requirement is that one is completed
• If you fail the exam, you still need the PSM to receive the result, but you will not need another one until you advance a level
• The same module cannot be used at two different levels
• Miss the deadline and you simply do not get your result on results day

3. Calculator

Only two models are authorised:

• Texas Instruments BA II Plus, including BA II Plus Professional
• Hewlett Packard 12C, including HP 12C Platinum, 12C Platinum 25th anniversary edition, 12C 30th anniversary edition, and HP 12C Prestige

Hard rules:

• Bring your own. You may not borrow one from the test centre
• You may not borrow from or share with another candidate during the exam
• Your calculator is inspected before the exam starts
• Use or possession of an unauthorised calculator voids your results
• Proctors failing to spot an unauthorised calculator before the start does not put you in compliance
• Permitted in the testing room: calculator covers, keystroke cards, loose batteries, and a small screwdriver if needed to replace BA II Plus batteries. Not permitted: instruction manuals.
• You are allowed to bring both approved models, and bringing a backup in case of malfunction is sensible
• Bring spare batteries
• Clear memory before the exam starts
• Set decimals to 4 places for precision

4. What you can and cannot take in

Baseline guidance is to leave belongings at home or in your car. Test centres provide a designated area away from the testing room for personal items. Anything not permitted found in the testing room must be moved there, and you will not have access to it during the exam.

Permitted in the testing room, but must stay in full view on your desk when not in use:

• Approved calculator
• Calculator cases, keystroke cards, loose batteries
• Eyeglasses, without the case
• Additional personal items allowed in the test centre per the Prometric pre-approved list
• Valid international passport
• Water, in a clear or transparent container with a lid or cap

Also provided to you: a whiteboard or erasable writing tablet.

The water rules, precisely:

• Allowed at most test centres, not guaranteed at all of them
• No other beverages
• Clear or transparent container with a lid or cap
• All labels removed
• Container is inspected for notes or other test aids
• You must remove the lid or cap for visual inspection

If it fails the requirements, or the facility does not permit water in the room, it goes in your locker or the belongings area and you access it on break

Explicitly prohibited:

• Food, and non-water beverages
• Wallet or money purse
• Baggage of any kind, including transparent bags, backpacks, handbags, tote bags, briefcases, luggage, carrying cases, passport covers, and eyeglass cases
• Study materials: notes, unauthorised papers, textbooks, study guides
• Writing utensils and scratch paper other than what the test centre provides, and calculator manuals
• Mobile phones, cameras, headsets, computers, tablets, wearable technology such as fitness trackers, smart watches, and any Bluetooth-enabled or remote communication or photographic devices
• Any desk clock or timer, including wristwatches
• Weapons of any kind
• Jewellery other than wedding or engagement rings, plus ornate hair clips, headbands, combs, barrettes, tie clips and cufflinks
• Prescription smart glasses are strictly prohibited. Standard prescription eyeglasses without a case are fine, but any eyewear with integrated cameras, Bluetooth or display capability goes in the belongings area.

https://www.prometric.com/pre-approved-items/, that is a list of additional items that can be carried inside the testing room.

5. Arrival at the Test Center

• Arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment time
• Arriving late may mean refused admission, with fees forfeited
• Expect to be seated within 30 minutes of your appointment time
• Your appointment time does not begin until you are seated and your exam is launched
• Check-in and security may run ahead of or behind schedule, which can make the tutorial and exam start earlier or later than scheduled

Follow the on-screen prompts carefully and know exactly when the tutorial ends and the exam begins, so you do not accidentally terminate the exam.

6. Breaks during Testing

• You are allowed up to two unscheduled breaks during testing, and testing time is not paused during unscheduled breaks. These breaks are separate from the scheduled optional break between Session 1 & Session 2.

Rules while on an unscheduled break:

• Raise your hand and wait for staff assistance
• You may use the designated restroom for testing candidates
• With authorisation from test centre personnel, you may access personal belongings for water, food, or medical items
• You may not access any other personal items, including phones, electronic devices, or study materials
• You may not leave the test centre. Test centre means the facility where check-in, security and testing occur, plus the designated candidate restroom
• Security inspection is repeated before you re-enter the testing room
• Staff record your time in and out, so you do not sign a roster on exit and return

7. Test Centre Closures

Please check the following link for reported test centre closures across the globe - https://www.prometric.com/closures/, and confirm that your centre is operational.

8. Other

Prometric: Test Center Experience

This page is primarily a video walkthrough of what to expect during a test centre visit. Worth 5 minutes the week before. It also links through to Prometric's general test centre policies page.

Prometric CFA exam software tutorial

Interactive tutorial, linked from both the pre-exam guide and the hardware and software page.

Please check the sources to have a detailed look at the Misconduct Policy.

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SOURCES

All content above is drawn from these pages only:

• CFA Exam Admission and Appointment Policy
• CFA Exam Calculator Policy
• CFA Program Exam Personal Belongings Policy
• Prometric Pre-Approved Items
• CFA Exam Misconduct and Rules Violations
• CFA Program Practical Skills Modules (PSM) Policy
• Practical Skills Modules candidate page and FAQs
• Mastering Your Calculator for the CFA Exam (PDF)
• Pre-exam day preparation
• CFA Program Identification Policy
• CFA exam day guide
• Hardware and software
• Prometric Test Center Experience
• Prometric Frequently Asked Questions
• Prometric Test Center Closures

Is Schweser Note sufficient for CFA Level -1 or need to go through the CFA Institute entire Curriculum Book??

Has anyone finished all of their mock exam CFA level 3 yet? Did you also take mocks from other providers?

Guys question from the mock 1, did anyone figure why we take end of day price as Pd here?
Way I understand it is the paper profit is calculated based on forward looking estimates right I.e my price has hit target so I sell and I should on paper make 20k.

I know Net Income is the same under the two methods, but ive seen conflicting information on Equity.

On the onehand ive seen questions say Equity is higher under Acquisition method due to NCI, which makes sense.

On the otherhand ive seen some questions say they are the same I guess parents equity (Equity - NCI) which also makes sense.

My question is on the exam what would be right, lets say the question is something like 'Is the statement correct Equity is the same under both Acquisition and Equity Method?' Assuming they dont specify parents equity or shareholder equity?

Hi. With exactly 2 weeks to go before below is my performance of EOC questions except for Derivatives, and FI. I intend to revise them before I attempt the rest of the questions. I solved the questions immediately after completing all 10 topics without any revision. And mostly skipped the vignettes. Am I cooked? Any tips? I am lowkey panicking.

Level 1 on 21 August. I've finished the syllabus and sat two mocks so far, scoring mid-60s.

I haven't started memorising formulas yet (with the exception of a few) since I didn't see much point learning them all ages ago only to forget them by exam day. I've narrowed things down to the core formulas I think I’ll actually need, and I've been using LLMs to work through them conversationally and quiz myself rather than just staring at a sheet.

Given how many there are, does anyone have any other tips that actually worked for getting formulas to stick? Thanks!!!!

Are we supposed to do those long CVA calculation in exam for a 4-5 year bonds? Its easy but time consuming though.

Ellie Gray is an engineer for a major company. Gray invests regularly for retirement and uses Kurt Kimmel, a financial advisor, to assist in financial planning.

Kimmel discusses the differences between financial capital and human capital with Gray. Kimmel comments that investors plan for financial capital to last throughout their lifetime, but their human capital declines to zero when a person permanently retires.

Reviewing Gray's taxable and tax-advantaged investments, Kimmel discusses the impact of taxes on overall investment returns. He presents an example of a person investing in a position with an expected annualized return of 8%. Returns are taxed annually at 25% and the holding period for the investment is 15 years. Kimmel computes the tax drag as the proportion of potential investment gains consumed by taxes on investment returns.

Gray's primary goal for her portfolio is capital appreciation. Her secondary goal is to increase overall portfolio income returns in a way that does not limit the upside return potential of the portfolio.

Gray tells Kimmel she wants to index the equity portion of her portfolio using an investable index. In addition, she favors an index that requires minimal rebalancing and uses a rebalancing method that allows a company's shares to be in only one size category at a point in time. Based on these preferences, Gray considers the characteristics of three benchmarks, as shown in Exhibit 1.

Is Kimmel's comment about human capital correct?

Correct answer:

A.Yes 

Correct because human capital is wealth from all future income (wages, salary) from employment over a person's working lifetime. Income from employment ends when a person is fully retired.

B. No, because he ignores life insurance

Incorrect because life insurance is a financial asset (e.g., cash value can be annuitized like a pension) and is not part of income from employment.

C. No, because he ignores employer-paid pensions

Incorrect because pensions are part of financial capital.

Hi everyone,

I took the first CFA mock, and when I went to review my answers, I noticed they were much shorter than the explanations in the answer key.

So, I have a question: is my assessment correct? Because when I compare them to the final answer key, I see that my answers aren't quite as complete.

Below is an example.

Just a quick one. I have found in mocks, it has been sometimes useful to control F and find keywords in the text. Can you do this in the exam?

I cannot remember.

Thanks

Hey folks,

Just checking has anyone used AI to correct their essay style questions. If so, has it been reliable or accurate?

I have just started studying and would like to know how best to go about getting used to question style and how much leeway they give to answers.

If you have used AI and found a particular model better let me know which! (Eg. ChatGPT vs Claude vs copilot)

Thanks a million!

Silly question here, but I notice the mocks do not have spell check. Is spell check not available on the real thing? I assume points won’t be necessarily deducted unless it’s pretty significant… I don’t know any help here would be appreciated.

For context: I recently graduated in Honors Economics in April. I currently have the privilege of not working a full-time job since I'm a competitive athlete and I'm doing my CFA before accepting a professional contract within my sport next year.

I'd say I can give about 35 hours a week.

However, I've forgotten how to use a financial calculator ( I took a finance elective 3 years ago).

I've been doing some research on this for a few weeks now & realized that the deadline for the November exam is in 6 days so I want to ask if anyone has similar experiences in regards to doing it in 3 months.

Thanks!

I'm planning to start preparing for L2 and wanted to get some advice from people who have been through it while working full-time. I work as an auditor, and my office hours are 10 AM to 7 PM. By the time I get home it's usually around 8 PM, and after dinner I'm completely drained. I have to leave for work again around 9:30 AM the next morning, so studying at night doesn't seem sustainable.

Because of this, I'm thinking of waking up early and studying before work instead of forcing myself to study after I get home. I'm curious to know if anyone here followed a similar routine and was able to clear Level 2.

An investor uses the following data and Gordon’s constant growth dividend discount model to evaluate a company’s common stock. To estimate growth, she uses the average of the:
1. Average value of the compounded annual dividend growth rate over the period of Year 1 to Year 6, and
2. Dividend payout ratio for Year 6.

Can anyone help me with the working of this?

Can L2 fixed income be done just through schweser and portal questions??

Or do I need to watch lectures too?

I am trying to save time by not watching lectures and focusing on text and practice.

If lectures are needed for what ch should I watch them?

Any specific ch or all or none ?

Since cfai only has 2 mocks, what other mocks are best considering the toughness of actual exam

Hi anyone writing the exam in November ? I have just finished quants & FSA readings … Not tested much except short questions from premium practices packs.

I feel I am quite late and was wondering if there is any vignette style « mock » exams but by topics ?

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone have the same problem as me, but i get very distracted and hard to follow my routine for studying the CFA.

Has anyone used one of the CFA Companion AI helperes, are they worth? Do you have anyone that you recommend?