Can a finance undergrad pass CFA® 1 while in school?

I'm a Junior/Senior undergrad at non-target and I'm hoping to take the CFA® level 1 this June (I haven't enrolled yet.) I've factored that I can dedicate around 300 hours to study. 150 hours over winter break ( 3 1/2 weeks x 40 hours per week + some weekend study) and then 1 week during spring break (another 40 hours) and then between May and June before my summer internship (another 150 hours.)

Does this sound at all possible, or just a pipe dream? I am not the smartest person out there, but I do work really hard.

Any insight or advice is welcome. Thank you.

 
Best Response

My understanding is that you can write your CFA level 1 exam in the final year of your undergrad (it actually says that on their site), although I am really curious to see how they go about verifying that. Also, depending on your major in school, you likely wont need to study as much because most of the CFA lvl 1 content is covered/taught in your undergrad econ/stats/finance courses which should be relatively fresh in your head (assuming you are a business student). I would say that the reason it has such a low passing rates relative to classes in school is because most of the candidates writing the exam are working concurrently (either in finance or not) and may not be able to study as much as they hope. In addition, there are a decent chunk of candidates who write the CFA coming from non-finance backgrounds which has an impact on the passing rates (engineers, liberal arts, science etc). That being said, once you are in your final year of undergrad, enroll in the June or December exam and it shouldn't be that hard seeing as you would still be in "school mode", assuming you are a finance student. If you are a liberal arts student however, then yes, you are going to need a rigorous study plan - 300 hours as you have planned above should suffice for June.

Goodluck!!

 

Yes, and it might work out well if OP is gunning for a BA in Business Admin. A lot of the coursework in undergrad is somewhat repetitive with Level I if OP is an accounting or finance major. Also, not that one cannot sign up for Level II until after he/she has actually graduated. Not going to make a difference for OP since he's planning for next June anyway.

 

Yes, you’ll definitely be able to do it.

If you have a basic finance/acc/business/econ background, it really isn’t difficult at all, tbh.

(Not trying to diss anyone who might not have passed), but I honestly don’t know anyone in my major (business) who wasn’t able to pass level 1.

Give it a try, you’ll find it’s a lot, lot less challenging than the pass rate suggests. (I mean for starters, there are only three choices for each question...)

 

Are you eligible? My understanding was that you needed 4 years of relevant job experience, some of which could be waived with coursework, but after junior year, that wouldn't hit 3 years regardless.

Make Idaho a Semi-Target Again 2016 Not an alumnus of Idaho
 

It won't hurt. However you need to balance your time wisely and decide if you will get more out of 200 hours of studying or 200 hours of networking.

What year are you? If you can get a relevant internship....even if with a small part time position in your town...it will probably go further for banking than CFA work will. If you are looking more into financial analysis roles (Corp. Treasury, Equity Research, etc) things begin to shift more in favor of the CFA.

 

You've got the job offer, your firm will pay for you to do CFA (if it is even a half-respectable place). Why would you pay to do this off your own bat? The only reason to is because you think the rest of your resume is too weak to stand out from the crowd to get you an interview.

Worse, if you fail at level 1 for any reason, it may cause your future employer to reconsider whether they want to take you on.

You aren't pooled in research - you will be a junior analyst/associate for one specific team - so you're not trying to differentiate yourself from the other first years. You are trying to impress the hell out of your team head so he thinks its worth keeping you on for the second year onwards.

 

Unfortunately the analysts at my firm are pooled together so we are judged against each other just like everyone else. I already registered for level one this December so no crying over spilt milk. A few of my buddies gave me all their old schweser materials so that saved a good chunk of change. All the material aside from ethics are topics that I have gone into great detail during school because of my majors (finance and Math with an econ minor) so I should have an easier time as this is just one big review. Only positive is two of my friends are also taking the level one in December so studying should be easier as we already have planned out sessions.

 
bearing:
Unfortunately the analysts at my firm are pooled together so we are judged against each other just like everyone else. I already registered for level one this December so no crying over spilt milk. A few of my buddies gave me all their old schweser materials so that saved a good chunk of change. All the material aside from ethics are topics that I have gone into great detail during school because of my majors (finance and Math with an econ minor) so I should have an easier time as this is just one big review. Only positive is two of my friends are also taking the level one in December so studying should be easier as we already have planned out sessions.

If you already had planned to do it, why did you bother asking us then?

 

That's what i did, they don't really check, as long as you register relevant info and pay the registration fee.

"I respect your courage for coming this far alone! However, you are still going to die!"
 

I would do it. It's beneficial to get Level 1 out of the way. Many people at my CFA society say that they wish they started while in college. Once you start working BB hours you won't be able to put in 300 hours anymore.

 

Get it out of the way ASAP and while you still remember how to study.

"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."
 

If you have the money, go for it. It'll give you some extra time to study between now and then as well. Just make sure you enjoy your last semesters of relative freedom.

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for freedom of thought which they seldom use.
 

I took level 1 the year i graduated from college and started studying during my last semester. By starting that early, I passed all exams a year before hitting the experience amount, even though I failed level 2 the first time. Getting it out of the way makes progress towards the CFA charter and eventually GMAT and MBA that much easier (if you are going that route of course.)

 

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"For I am a sinner in the hands of an angry God. Bloody Mary full of vodka, blessed are you among cocktails. Pray for me now and at the hour of my death, which I hope is soon. Amen."

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