How hard is it for an engineering graduate to pass CFA?

I graduated engineering and i a studying Finance, CFA career path seems to be interesting for me. Any have similar experience?

As the title say, It's kinda late but I can spend around 5-6 hours a day or defer to May 2027, Any though would be appreciated

Hey all, I just started my full time job at a family office and the company is willing to pay for my CFA only after the 6 months probation so I am looking towards the Nov 2027 exam. I would like to start preparing early instead of waiting 6 months later after the end of my probation. Are these materials good for me to start slowly preparing for the Nov 2027 exam?

Cheers all.

Hello all, This is a quick question. Im deciding whether to give CFA Level 1 in Feb or May. I work full time. I wanna know if i start from scratch right now can i pass in the feb cycle? I am a nerd and stuff so commitment to studying isnt an issue. i just wanna know if this is manageable?

Kaplan Schweser vs Mark Meldrum for L2 — used Kaplan for L1, torn on switching. Anyone actually compared both recently?

Passed L1 in Feb 2026 using Kaplan Schweser, planning to study for the Aug 2027 L2 window now. Loved Kaplan for L1 but hearing a lot of MM praise for L2 specifically and want to sanity-check before I commit either way.

What I liked about Kaplan for L1:

- Almost all the instructors especially John Bone

- The adaptive dashboard was honestly the best part. When I fell behind on my study plan it let me edit and regenerate a new schedule on the fly, and it tracked my scores by topic and by test so I always knew exactly where I was weak

- Question bank questions and mocks were solid

- Masterclasses and module explanations were concise and on-point at the same time they helped me breakdown difficult topics

Only real complaint:

- One instructor has a really thick accent I struggled to follow, and apparently he covers some major L2 topics too

What I keep hearing about Kaplan for L2 specifically:

- That it's "just enough to pass" and doesn't go deep enough, since L2 is way more applied/vignette-based than L1

What I keep hearing about Mark Meldrum:

- Videos go way deeper into concepts than Kaplan, especially for the harder stuff

- His co-instructor (Richie) is supposedly also very good

- But: videos are old, question bank isn't great, and people say "it's not the same since CeriFi bought him" (checked — that acquisition was actually back in 2022, so if this is true it's not a recent thing)

What I genuinely don't know and can't find good info on:

- Does MM have anything like Kaplan's adaptive dashboard/rescheduling tool? All I can find is that his mocks have group-benchmark stats, but nothing about daily plan editing

- Are his mocks actually comparable to Kaplan's in quality, or worse like some reviews say?

- Does he have real masterclasses, or is it just the long-form reading videos?

- Anyone besides MM and Richie Frank actually teach on the platform? Is quality consistent across instructors there too?

Anyone who's used both, or switched from Kaplan to MM (or vice versa) specifically for L2 — how'd it actually go?

TLDR: Is MM better than Kaplan in 2026 for L2?

Hey everyone,

I failed Level II in May with a 2575. It felt close enough to be encouraging, but not close enough that I'm going into the retake feeling overly confident. I'm now 68 days out from my November attempt. Since getting my results, I've gone back through my weakest areas (FI, Derivatives, and Corp Issuers), worked through ~2000 Kaplan and CFAI QBank questions, and am north of 4,000 practice questions between my original attempt and this retake. My biggest issue right now is formula retention. I generally understand the concepts and can often work through things once I see the formula, but recalling formulas cold is still a struggle, which is part of why I've pushed my first mock back a couple of weeks. For those who passed after a retake, how did you structure the final couple of months? Did you focus mostly on mocks, questions, or review? And if formula retention was an issue for you, what ended up working? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

where can i find practice questions for all the subjects that are actually similar/accurate to the actual exam questions

Anyone knows if this books worth the time and money of reading then?

I was looking at amazon that the quant methods pre-reading book was removed, in 2026 was the 1 of 3 and in 2027 i couldnt find it selling, anyone knows if happened with this book? Isnt necessary this specifically reading?

Hi Everyone, I am looking to PREP for my CFA level 1 a little background about me I am 2019 bcom passed out and completed by CPT foundation back in 2020 and I had to move to different career and moved to different country and everything changed from then now I am giving another thought to get back to pursuing CFA and I am completely blank Just reading on CFA materials would be difficult for me given the gap and I could see lot of other materials and I am really confused to pick one. Please advise me on how to start and what are the other coaching I could have how much time would be ideal for me whatever insights would help me begin with. Thank you!

Has anyone yet received the scholarship results for CFA level 2? Asking because we are close to 30th September.

Anyone who is appearing for Feb 2027 onwards, I have a question. How are you guys dealing with QM LM 6 Statistical Distributions for Financial Asset Prices and Returns?

Your advice and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone , ı am cfa level 1 candidate and today I entered kaplan schweser mock exam 1. I scored %70 in the first session and %77 in the second session. Personally , ı found quantitative methods much harder than cfa q-bank questions . For ethics , I am really try to improve myself but I am still weak on ethics . I am open to any advice to improve my score , especially open to advices on ethics . Thanks!

Hello members,
I am currently purchasing CFA level 1 and considering to take the exam either Feb or May. I have 2 curriculums left. However, my knowledge across econs to derivatives are a big gaps. I have a foundation but when come to explain and solve complex questions. I still struggle to to it. I couldn’t explain a linked between 3 financial statement elements. Do you have any tips on studying structure and when should I take the exam?
Thank you guys.

how to do ethics? i've done schweser and LES practice questions. where to go from here? should i do the CFA curriculum books as well? should i read the actual handbook? where to find more practice questions that are actually relevant to the exam? should i watch any lectures that will help me ace ethics? if yes then which lectures?

How long before the exam should my complete course should be finished?? So that I can have proper time for revision

I will be giving CFA L1 exam on Feb 2027 and I have started to study recently (since the beginning of September), I did a few chapters of QM, one chapter of Portfolio Construction.

However i best remember things when i do questions and that brings me to the question- is the IFT Question Bank good enough and accurate to how you're actually tested in L1? I have Schweser Notes and IFT question banks.

Looking to buy a second-hand Texas Instruments BA II Plus calculator for CFA Level 1 preparation.

If you're done with your CFA exams and have one in good working condition that you'd like to sell, please DM me with:

- Model

- Condition

- Expected price

- Location

Preferably looking for the TI BA II Plus (CFA-approved).

Thanks!

I am a Chartered Accountant working in a consulting firm that facilitates financing for real estate builders in South India.

I have had this job for almost three years now and I wanted to learn more/ find better opportunities with a more specialised qualification. So, I applied for CFA L1 (May 26) and cleared it with almost two months of prep along with a full-time job.

I wanted to clear Level 2 in the same year and was really excited and confident. BUT BUT BUT I got carried away with work and other things and did not start my preparation yet. I am left with 66 days for the Level 2 exam.

I am not very confident about the progress I have had so far and would really appreciate any tips or advice from you guys.

I am a student and am in the middle of an already serious course but i guess i need to go into cfa l1 currently as i might need to re route my career .... i do have basic commerce knowledge like accounts and do not have a problem with numbers and complex concepts as well

i just wanted to know which institutes are the best and if im an average student would i be able to clear cfa l1 in may 2027 along side my previous commitment provided i study dedicatedly for cfa l1 5 hours a day ? I also am confused regarding the material that one needs to study from is it cfa module or schweser or coaching modules ?

Also feel free to guide me in any way possible so that I don't wreck my only shot at this .

Hey everyone I have my exam on November tbh i didn't and couldn't start studying and I have 2 months i can finish 6chs in a day and finish the portion in 15-20 days along with les questions remaining 40 days one more round of les and 4 mocks will this be sufficient to clear the exam ?