With just over seven weeks until the CFA Level 1 exam date, now is a good time to solidify your study schedule. Time flies (my crow’s feet can attest), and preparation is the best way to reduce your anxiety on exam day.
CFA Level 1 Exam Date: Get Clear on Your “When” and “Where”
This year the CFA Level 1 exam date is on Saturday December 1, 2018. Keep in mind that this past June the CFA Level 1 exam date was a little later than typical (late June vs. early June). That time shift is not the case for the upcoming CFA Level 1 exam in December. Confirm for yourself on the CFA Institute’s website. While you might have less time to study, on the plus-side you will be able to attend your holiday work party with a little less on your mind!
There are a few other dates you should also keep in mind. For starters, the CFA Level 1 exam admission tickets will be available in November, and if you’re unsure about where you’ll take the exam, November 27th is the absolute last day to submit a test center change request. If you are in the U.S., just to be safe, make sure that you have everything good-to-go by Thanksgiving. For international CFA candidates, I would recommend having your exam center confirmed by mid-November.
Lastly, for anyone with a religious alternate date request, or with disability accommodations, be sure to double check your alternate location and time.
What Are Some Topics to Highlight as the CFA Level 1 Exam Date Approaches?
The Financial Reporting and Analysis (FR&A) section is by far the most important. Start reviewing the FR&A section as early as possible!
If you aren’t scoring over 80% on your FR&A practice questions, you need to study more. The FR&A topic is the largest of any on the CFA Level 1 exam. Furthermore, this section builds on itself as you move along to CFA Level 2. In all my years as a CFA tutor, I have not seen anyone poorly equipped for this section do well on the CFA Level 1 exam.
If you aren’t sure of the best resource that you should focus on, turn your attention to the QBank. As mentioned in a prior post, I highly recommend Schweser’s QBank. If you don’t have time to finish reading all of the content before the CFA Level 1 exam date, focus on practice questions. The questions can be quite focused and cover a lot! The QBank enables you to drill-down into specific topics in the text. Furthermore, it will cover the most important topics within a chapter.
In addition to the FR&A section, there are a few others that deserve your attention. If you only have seven weeks left, and you haven’t cracked a book then try practice questions from these sections (in this order): FR&A, Quant, Ethics, Corporate Finance, Equities, Economics, Fixed Income, and Portfolio Management. Such an approach should give you a fighting chance.
Take Some Time Off
If you have the luxury of having some unused vacation time: take it. This is not the time to fly to Tahiti. On the contrary, ideally if you can take the whole week off before the CFA Level 1 exam date to study, then do it. I know that most people don’t have that flexibility. If you have an understanding supervisor, then try to take off at least two days before the exam. You want to leave yourself as much time as you can the days before to get in as much studying as possible. There is a good chance you retain some of the recent material you study.
That said, on the Friday night before the exam, I recommend that you stop studying around 8pm. Double check to make sure that you have the exam date and test center right. Then, get yourself a good night’s sleep (don’t pull an all-nighter!)
Overall, with seven weeks to go there is still enough time to pass the exam. If you are really disciplined about your study schedule (and what you study), you could definitely pass. In fact, I’ve seen some do it in less time. To cut your study time down even further, consider an online CFA tutor or in-person.
You’re so close! The light at the end of the tunnel is in full view! Keep going!