CFA Level 1 before final year of graduation?
Can I take the CFA Level 1 before the final year of graduation?
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Yes
Yes, do this even at the detriment of your grades if you are a non-target. Speaking as someone who passed level 1 in the December of my senior year, on interviews employers will be much more interested in this than if you were able to get your GPA to go from a 3.5 to a 3.62 or whatever. I was able to interview and get offers from jobs where I was below the GPA cut-off.
Can help. I did it which I think helped me get my first grad role in finance working in fixed income funds management
If you can bear to do it, you'll be really glad you did. It wasn't like I stopped partying or anything while I was studying, though I did study quite a bit in classes that I didn't have to take as seriously.
Yes, you are allowed to take it in your final year of study. I graduate in December '14 and took it in June of '14 and was probably the best decision I've ever made. I was doing a full-time credit research co-op at the time, so I would stay from 5-9 pm in the office after-hours and study each night. Forget some of the egos on WSO, none of the exams are easy and you won't pass by studying for a couple weeks. Even if you're a finance major, you will still have to have the work ethic to put in a couple hundred hours of studying if you really want to pass.
I'm at a non-target with a GPA of ~3.2 and was able to land an equity research gig that had a minimum GPA requirement of 3.5. Having "Passed CFA Level I Exam" on my resume certainly helped get me the interview by showing: 1.) I have a passion/interest in finance roles and have done enough research to know the CFA designation is critical in analyst roles 2.) I have the work ethic and discipline to put in a couple hundred hours of studying and 3.) I'm smart enough to pass an exam where 60%+ people fail.
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