Is it too late to start studying for the Level I exams?

Bucephalus

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Hello all,

I am new to the forum and have enjoyed reading your posts.

I am posting as I have two questions.

1) For various reasons, I find myself between jobs and do not expect to be back in employement before January 2007. I therefore have quite a bit of time on my hands.

Do you think it is feasible to learn the material required for the level I exam in time for the December exam?

I can probably devote 4 to 5 hours a day to study from now till then. Although I did a numerate science degree from a top school, my math is a bit rusty. I have no formal knowledge of finance etc although I have picked up basic concepts like NPV and so on over the years. I like to think I learn quickly.

2) What is the best material to learn from?

The CFA site seems to suggest learning from their official books but many people seem to learn from notes such as schwesers.

I appreciate that the best approach probably differs from person to person , but what are the advantages of each appraoch? What are the strenghts and weakenesses of the various notes available?

I find it a little difficult to call, as the marketing is cleverly intertwined with fact, even on the CFA website, making an objective decision tricky.

Many many thanks for your answers!

B.
 
With all that time on your hands you should definitely go for it.

Schweser is great; however, you may consider to purchase some additional materials. I believe that schweser is truly helpful when you have some business background.
 
Go for it mate. If you can allocate 4-5hrs each day you will have plenty of time. Your only issue I beleive would be to keep yourself motivated to enable you to maintain that level of study.

I agree with fktr, I have found Schweser to be an excellent study material to use.

Good luck
 
Totally do it if you have that much time to study. I starting to study this week and work 45 hours a week. Level I isn't that difficult. You can do it. Good luck.
 
Thansk for the answers. I think I am going to go for it!

Do you guys study exclusively from the Schweser notes? Or do you use the official CFA stuff too?
 
Back
Top