Preparing for the CFA Exams
Thorough preparation is a key factor in your success on the CFA Examinations. Exam experts say it takes a minimum of 250 to 300 hours—the equivalent of 10 to 12 hours a week for six months—for a typical candidate to become fully prepared to pass.
Considering that only 40 percent of Level I and 48 percent of Level II candidates passed their exams in June 2006, you must know where to focus your study and ensure that you have the support you need to study rigorously and to succeed on the exams.
Take it from the experts.
Drawing on years of experience in helping candidates master the CFA Exam curriculum and hone their test-taking skills, Stalla has developed a set of recommendations for how best to prepare for success on the exam.
Develop a study plan.
Start your quest for the CFA charter by developing a detailed study plan. Because you must master a great deal of material in a relatively short amount of time, organizing your time and effort is critical to success. Often the unexpected disrupts original intentions, so periodically review your study plan and make revisions to your plan when appropriate. The scope of the exam and the sheer volume of material can seem overwhelming, but following a sound study plan from the start and making reasonable adjustments as you progress will help mitigate much of the stress.
Structure your preparation.
The most successful learning system is a structured weekly study regimen that integrates theory, practice, application, and review. In addition to ongoing weekly reading and “homework” practice, you should incorporate
periodic progress testing into your preparation strategy so you don’t forget topics learned early in the study program before the exam date.
Take notes.
In addition to relying on an integrated review program, many candidates find highlighting passages, taking notes, or making note cards effective exam prep techniques. Whatever method you choose, a cumulative review of the Learning Outcome Statements (LOS) covered each week plus cumulative progressive practice examinations are recommended to keep the subjects studied in weeks past fresh in your mind.
Finish early.
Plan on completing your readings and practice several weeks before your exam date. Then develop a final review strategy that enables you to assess your progress to date, drill on practice examination questions, review your notes, and bring everything you’ve learned together. A thorough review of ethical and professional standards should be completed in the final week before the exam. (Note: CFA Institute considers ethics and professional standards an essential part of the program. Candidates with "borderline" exam scores will not be given the benefit of the doubt if they fall to pass this section of the exam).
Minimize your anxiety.
You don’t need a perfect score. No candidate scoring above 70 percent on the CFA Exam has ever failed. Therefore, you can afford to miss as many as 72 questions and still be well within the passing score! Successful candidates can, for example get about 85 percent of the basic questions correct and about 69 percent of the somewhat difficult questions correct. This means that you should be able to get as few as 25 percent of the very difficult questions correct and still succeed. Somewhat lower percentages might be successful, but there is no reason to take such chances.
Do not try to "game" the test.
The examiners are fully aware that many candidates try to guess what will be on the exam based on previous exams or the relative importance of the subjects within each primary topical area in the curriculum, and then study only those areas. Do not make this mistake!
Although the percentage of the exam questions that will relate to each primary topic may be fixed by CFA Institute, the exact subjects within each of these primary topics (and their associated Learning Outcome Statements) that will be tested are selected using a stratified random sampling process. The constrained random selection process within the primary topics means that less important subjects within each primary topic have a significant chance (maybe 25 percent) of being on the exam. In addition, topics that have been heavily emphasized in past exams may be completely ignored on the current exam, while subjects that have not been covered on previous exams may be heavily emphasized.
While effort is made to cover important subjects thoroughly, there is also an effort to make the tests different from year to year so that candidates cannot successfully "game" the exam. Learning Outcome Statements that have been emphasized in past years might not be emphasized this year. There are a sufficient number of readings and sub-topics covered in the CFA Institute Study Guides to ensure that many will be covered on the exam, but others will not. However, there is no way to determine in advance what sub-topics will be covered and which ones will be ignored in any given year.
Candidates are advised, therefore, to be thoroughly prepared in all subjects assigned in the study program. Going over past exam questions, to the extent they are available, is recommended for practice in problem-solving, but not as a means of determining the probability that a particular type of question will appear on a given year's examination.
Remember “40/50/10.”
- Stalla estimates that approximately 40 percent of the questions are based on fundamental concepts. If these breakdowns applied to the exam, 40 percent of the exam would be made up of relatively straightforward questions. They should be readily answered by candidates who understand the most basic principles and can do the most basic calculations contained in the assigned readings.
- Stalla estimates that approximately 50 percent of the questions are moderately difficult. Therefore, Stalla estimates that about half of the questions would be more challenging, requiring the candidate to display an in-depth understanding of subjects found in the assigned readings, an ability to solve more complicated problems that may involve the interaction of two or more concepts, and to demonstrate that the assigned readings have been read carefully with close attention paid to details.
- Stalla estimates that approximately 10 percent of the questions are very difficult. They require you to be perceptive enough to make proper inferences from basic principles found in the assigned readings, to exhibit good analytical skills by solving problems that may not have been directly encountered in the readings (but which are solvable by using the principles contained in the readings in the right way), and to be good at obscure trivia. For the most part, there is no attempt to put "trick" questions on the exam.
Final preparation before exam day.
The CFA Exam puts a lot of pressure on candidates. This pressure is positive when it provides an incentive to study and prepare well. It can, however, become a negative force on exam day if it leads to anxiety and/or panic that adversely affects test-taking efficiency. Therefore, starting one or two weeks before the date of the exam, make a conscious effort to relieve the psychological pressure of the exam itself. In particular, try to reduce the feeling that passing this exam is akin to a "life and death" situation.
One thing candidates can do to relieve anxiety is to visit the exam site one or two weeks before the exam date. Make sure you know how long it takes to get to the site, where parking is available and the exact location of the exam room. If you can, go into the exam room and get comfortable with the surroundings. Make sure to also check Stalla’s website a few weeks before the exam for free final preparation tips and strategies that will be helpful to you as exam day approaches.
Maximize your efforts. Minimize your risks.
Put yourself on the path to success from the start by taking time up front to analyze all your exam preparation choices.
Stalla, the leading provider of CFA Exam prep programs, has carefully integrated our program components so you can maximize the benefits from the time you spend studying and reviewing and minimize your risk of failure on exam day. The Stalla approach to exam preparation features:
- Dynamic lectures and expert instruction
- Complete, relevant curriculum
- Flexible course formats— self-study CD, live classroom, or online
- Integrated study tools, such as Stalla’s popular Study Guides and Lecture Notes
- Exclusive PassMaster™ homework software
Explore this website thoroughly. It’s devoted to helping you take maximum advantage of all the resources Stalla has to offer.
