Is around 6 months enough to study and pass CFA Level I

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Lalit

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Hi,
I plan to start studying from the second week of Dec 2011 for June 2012 exams. Need your advice on whether the study time would be sufficient. I plan to study the schweser materials and refer the CFAI materials.
Please advice me on the study methodology i should follow?
Thanks,
Lalit
 
Someone can finish it within one week, so you have more than enough time.
 
dotassa Wrote:
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> Someone can finish it within one week, so you have
> more than enough time.
Nope.
And yes, OP, 6 months is plenty of time. Read Schweser and do CFAI EOC questions and you’ll be fine.
Last 2-3 weeks take as many mock exams as you can however.
 
It entirely depends upon your reading style, reading strategy and circumstances. I considered Level I as an experience and it took me 14 weeks to complete the syllabus and 3 weeks to revise and appear in the exams and I was able to pass the exam in June 2011 without finance background. It isn’t about luck I can quote hundreds of examples who passed like this! Level 1 is relatively less about understanding and more about retaining! Generally it is assumed that one can do Level I in 6 months but like I already mentioned a lot of variables govern your ability to pass, of course including time!
As far as the study methodology is concerned Shweser is fine, I used it and it helped me out a lot. Portion a part from GIPS in Ethics (The 7 standards), I’d recommend you to study from CFAI Text books and while you are giving the first reading make sure you make bullet points and structure your material in a way that it would be easier for you to revise it. Apart from Mocks, the least which you should do are the CFAI text books End of Chapter questions. They are proxy to the exam questions and will give you a reasonable idea of the exam. Stay focused, enjoy your quest and make your journey memorable. Good Luck
 
31 weeks is the general duration……27 weeks for the initial study period and at least 4 weeks for review.
18 X 1.5 weeks per Study Session. CFAI recommends 4 to 6 weeks for Review. I’m going with the 6 weeks. Started Studying in August.
 
don’t listen to Warren - he’s at the extreme with over-studying…
unless you work 70 hours a week, then yes 5 or 6 months is plenty of time IF you stay focused and be productive when you do study
best of luck
 
I bet 4 months is sufficient too.. If you are able to understand the concepts, stay focused you’ll do just fine.. So, don’t worry and go through the forum every now and then which will help you keep track of other test takers’ progress and stay motivated.
I cleared it in less than 4 months(taking a 10-day break in between) but worked about 3+ hours everyday and took 1 week off from office ..
Warren-
Don’t burn yourself out.
 
Guys, thanks a lot for your advice. It gives me tremendous confidence to listen to you all. Hope to stay focused. Best of luck to you all!
Thanks.
 
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