CFA Study Materials
CFA Study Materials: Preparing for The CFA Exam
If you have the CFA study materials for ages and still have not touched them, you should start right now! If you have not heard the news yet, the passing rate for CFA level 1 exam is incredibly low, that is well below 50%. If you are not from the United States or Europe, the passing rate is even much lower. Do not be afraid as here, I will provide you with some simple tips to pass your CFA with flying colors.
It is vital that you need to study at your own speed. Do not make the mistake of rushing through everything in a limited time period. If you attending any CFA tuition classes, tell yourself not to get caught into the study pace of your classmates. It is better if you pace yourself and study the CFA study materials provided at your own pace and free from any sort of distractions.
Make full use of free tools. There are indeed many free sample questions, guides and various other resources in the Internet that will help you prepare better for the exam. You should do all of these after only you have completed the main CFA study materials. Many also give a free preview of their products, so do make sure you make full use of these as it will cost you nothing initially. Do look into some of their offers to see if they are suitable for you or not.
Always do the practice exam papers. This is definitely the best way to get accustomed to the sort of questions in the real CFA Exam paper. Remember to practice, practice and practice all the time! There is no use reading all the CFA study materials without doing practice exams. You should do it while you have any spare time such as while waiting for dinner time or during a long lunch break. I will also suggest that you do some questions before your bed time. This will keep your mind working part time while you are sleeping as your mind tend to remember the last thing that happened last night more clearly.
Do the questions until you are very familiar with the style of the questions that you can easily know what they are asking by just reading the first sentence. If you have more time, I recommend that you set yourself with a full length test which means completing a 6 hours test! (3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening just like the actual exam). And do time yourself. Believe me this will absolutely ensure that you will less stressful when it comes to the real thing.
Read Journals and Magazines after Completing Your CFA Study Materials
Keep yourself updated with any CFA news or information. You can do this by reading financial journals, magazines and newspaper such as Business Week, Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal. Not only it will help you in the exam, it will certainly improve your financial knowledge which will definitely be very handy when you get a CFA job such as investment analyst. However, read them after only going through the recommended CFA study materials.
Have plenty of rest even during your study period. And when the exam is approaching, do adjust your time so that you can sleep earlier. Believe me; it is much better than burning the midnight oil just to cram all the CFA study materials and information into your brain. So do ensure you are well rested. When it comes to the night before the exam, do ensure that you feel rested and relaxed. You are going to need all your stamina to complete the two parts of the long exam. Remember, your brain will function much better with a good night of sleep.
Go to the exam hall early. Ensure you are at least 2 hours earlier. You do not want to take any risk when it comes to the actual day. After all, you had already put in so much effort and time to devouring all the study materials. There is certainly nothing worse than facing mishaps such as waking up late, not able to get your breakfast or got caught in the traffic! In addition, do ensure that you do not bring any restricted items such as the CFA study materials, papers, to the hall as you might be penalized and not allowed to take the exam!
And finally, always set a positive mindset. Tell yourself you can do it! Do your best to complete the CFA study materials and forget about the rest!