Recently, approval rates have been much lower than that. Some people take the test several times before they are successful. If you don't pass the CFA exam on your first or second attempt, you may feel embarrassed, confused, and defeated. Technically speaking, once you fail the CFA Level 1 exam, you'll have to retake it (unless you want to leave the CFA program)).
To take your next level 1 exam, you must meet the rule of 6 months between exams. This means that at least 6 months must elapse between the exam you failed and the new exam period. Of course, you can retake the CFA exam at a later date, say one year from now. Our advice is that, unless you are 100% sure that you have made a mistake, never change your answer. The CFA Institute estimates that more than 300 hours are needed to properly prepare for each level of the CFA exam.
It is often difficult to achieve a balance between work, social life and studies. And of course, the discipline needed to maintain studies is one of the main reasons why employers value the CFA letter so highly. If you start your studies six months before the exam to complete those 300 hours, you need to study approximately 15 hours a week. The danger is that, as time goes on and the initial enthusiasm for studying begins to wane, the number of hours studied per week begins to decrease.
When you consider social life, family life and the pressures of a demanding job, it's easy to see why candidates struggle to maintain this commitment. Some students will run out of time and will not be able to complete the exam. This is usually due to a lack of an exam strategy or because they feel panicked during the exam and don't apply their exam strategy. If time was a problem for you during the exam, try to divide it into blocks of 10 questions and give yourself a 15-minute time limit for that section.
CFA exams are notorious for being difficult to pass. Unfortunately, failing CFA exams is quite common, but it's certainly not discussed enough. Many candidates will have seen at least some of the Level I subjects, but having previous knowledge of the Level II curriculum is much rarer. When I failed CFA Level 2 many years ago (just below the minimum passing score), I remember the overwhelming devastation and anger after spending more than 350 hours studying for it.
Last but not least, if you didn't pass the CFA Level 1 exam, you definitely need to improve your learning process and have a good curriculum to get started. Exam Success has a variety of CFA Level I, II, and II preparation options to help you pass your passing grade in record time and with fewer headaches. This means that the average time to study for the Level I CFA will vary dramatically depending on the candidate's previous knowledge and experience. CFA Institute Prep providers are prohibited from including official CFA Institute mock questions or any other question other than the end-of-reading question in their products and services.
