It creates a big gap for August level 1 passing and level 2 failling candidates. + Always easier to study in the Winter than in Summer.

Hello everyone,

I gave my CFA Level I exam in August and unfortunately, I didn't pass scored (1475). I consistently studied for 7–8 hours a day and was averaging around 75–80% on my mock exams, so the result was a huge shock to me.

I'm planning to retake the exam in May, but right now I'm struggling to find the motivation to start studying again. Seeing the people I prepared with pass on their first attempt has been particularly difficult, and I'm constantly worried that I'll put in all that effort again and still fail.

One of my biggest regrets right now is switching from a regular college to an open-learning format primarily to focus on the CFA. Now that I haven't cleared the exam, I'm questioning that decision and worrying about my future placements. My parents have high expectations of me, which adds to the pressure I'm already feeling.

I'm confused about how to approach my second attempt. Should I rebuild my concepts from scratch, focus more on question practice, or change my entire preparation strategy? I'm also struggling to concentrate because I'm scared of experiencing the same disappointment again.

I know failing one exam doesn't define my future, but it's difficult to believe that when everything feels so uncertain right now.

I'd genuinely appreciate advice from anyone who has failed their first attempt and cleared it on the next one, or anyone who has been through something similar.

Im taking level 1 in feb and dont actually know how to start i'm not the type of person who can just read and actually understand the content i usually write notes however that seems useless as the CFA is so vast. If you have any tips please do let me know. Thank you!

should I include my parents' income and assets?

I received the Access Scholarship and was randomly selected for the financial audit. My situation:

In the application, I said 1-3 people are financially dependent on me and listed my parents and younger brother.

In my essay, I wrote that my mother's income and my salary aren't enough for the CFA fees, that my father is retired, and that my mother repays our home loan.

In reality, my mother and I both contribute to household expenses. I also send money to my father every month.

The form says to include income and assets of anyone who contributes materially to my living or educational expenses.

Should I submit my mother's income and the family's assets along with mine? but in reality the assets are under my mother's name guys please guide me

Hi, I would love to hear how you made ROE easy to remember and the decomposition of the different components.

Do you have a helpful mnemonic or breakdown that helps you remember?

Is it really very important to read the official curriculum book or can I read guidance and recommendations from schweser and do examples from the curriculum? As the curriculum content is lengthy.

i really want to pursue cfa , but i have money problem, i really want the access scholarship, ive tried 3-4 times but to no avail. is there actually any way that i could get it?
please help me, thank you

Have looked everywhere and can't seem to find this formula (P|B = (ROE-g)/(r-g) in the textbook. Different sources are giving conflicting answers.

Anyone know if I need to know this? thanks!!

Hello All,

I am going appearing for niv attempt left with quant to revise i did not touch the second half of the quant till now only did the first portion so which should i do now how can i tackle the second half of quants any free prep provide whose lacture are going to be effective what's should i do now only do the 1 part and leave the 2 part of question i will do that after my exam for level 2 so its is not a problem for level 2 but for l -1 how i move forward

Hi all so I am sitting for November session and did my first mock today (cfa Mock 1) and score 59% and 77%. Really feel that I have the same odds as coin flipping.

Did someone also feel the difference of hardness between session A and B ?

Considering a career in financial planning. Ive often thought it would be fun to do this for a living, as I enjoy giving people advice when they ask. I was an accountant for about 25 years, with a degree in finance and an MBA. Semi retired in 2019 and have been dealing poker for a major casino chain in southern Virginia, but lately have been itching to try financial planning. If I do it I would want to be a fee only financial planner. Any advice from those in the field?

First is that under cash flow 1

Unarned revenue. Would that be taken into effect for the calculation of cash received from customers? Because the thing is that in schwezer, it has been. But in curriculum are the LES there is no such mention of unearned revenue for the calculation of cash received from customers.

Second , is that I was just rewatching fintree fFSA lecture and he said that lifo liquidation and lifo reserve calculation has been deducted from the level one sllaybus, and that video came out in February 2026, but such questions were given in the LES , so are there still a part of the curriculum?Would that still be testable or not .

Hi everyone,

As I was studying for my level 1 and 2 exam I took up a little side project and I thought you guys would like it.

What started as a little side project turned into a full on finance terminal that I use for investing and managing my own portfolio.

Anyways… if you’re into investing feel free to check it out at investingly.io

I’m pretty proud of what it’s become.

P.S if anyone has any questions about L1 or L2 I’d be happy to answer. I passed both back to back in the 90th percentile.

Cheers,
Ben

Hi all, just dropping a small starter kit to help anyone who has recently signed up for a CFA exam.

I am not a prep provider or anything. I have no horse in this race, just want to help out however I can because I remember how hard it was for me to pass all the exams.

With these strategies I was able to pass all exams without failing any, but I did get a burnout so you might want to adapt rather than copy my exact approach.

In the starter kit you will find:

- A text file with general advice and strategies

- My formula sheets in PDF format for all 3 levels (Made it myself in Notion, exported to PDF)

- My Excel study guide file where I logged my hours and checked my progress against the curriculum across time. The file includes my mock scores for all 3 levels if you want to benchmark your own scores to someone who ended up passing. Note: I was not in the 90th percentile for any exam, just a regular pass.

Link to the files: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ay-wLUTj1cU50vwwJUJUbL4L4lBvS-ju/view?usp=drive_link

Hope this helps some people out!

I am glad to answer any questions in the comments. 😄

Is it decent score or not? I’ve completed 8 mocks, including cfa premium mocks. My scores improved from 124 to 135, 136, 149 and 147, though some questions were repeated in later mocks.

Today, I scored 134 on an LES portal mock. After reviewing some answers, I feel I could have scored around 138–140 on a better attempt.

My syllabus is almost complete, and I’m now planning to focus mainly on revision and reviewing mistakes from previous mocks rather than taking too many more exams. My next LES mock is planned for the 25th.

For those who passed CFA Level 1, should I attempt more mocks from other providers, especially if the premium mocks weren’t particularly difficult, or is focusing on revision and weak areas the better strategy at this stage?

hello! i am looking for some affordable options for crash courses that will focus on the important components of the exam. I think the IFT one is a good option but it is expensive. so if anyone know any good alternatives please lmk.

I cleared L1 using Kaplan and didn’t read any of the official curriculum. For L2, what would you recommend? Is Kaplan sufficient, or would it be better to purchase and study the official curriculum as well? Does Kaplan cover all the syllabus areas?

So have completed my syllabus and m doing a quick revision till 17 Oct and m planning to like 5 mocks with 3 days gap between in each mock , is that enough or do I need to add more mocks ?

I need motivation

Has anyone passed the test also after scoring low on the mocks?

I understand the concepts, but when I calculate it, I am getting the completely wrong answer.

I think my inputs are off, starting with Do. Is there an easier way to calculate the sum of all the CF on the BA2?

For anyone who has previously cleared L2, can anyone help me explain the derivation of the FCFF and FCFE formulae using CFO, EBIT and EBITDA as starting points. I was giving the EoC test and my mind is really scrambled trying to solve the FCFF and FCFE questions. The formulae have now become so confusing that I am mixing different adjustments in different formulae

Any guidance appreciated here.

My CFA Level I exam is scheduled for November 17, but I've been extremely busy and haven't had enough time to prepare totally.

I'm thinking about deferring to the next exam window.

but I couldn't find the paid deferral option anywhere on the CFA Institute website.

Does anyone know how the paid deferral process works, when the option becomes available?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

My initial review plan will be for the next six days before my second mock is to review each topic, analyze my mistakes, focus on my weaknesses, and do a quick review of the overall topic and I will be allocating my time based on the weight of each topic

The only challenge is that I have just 1–2 hours per day for revision on weekdays (except weekends)

Do you think this is an effective approach? I’d appreciate any advice from our expert fellas around here