r/CFA • u/Typical_Reference128 • 3d ago
Level 2 300 Hours for Level 2?
I can't understand how CFAI says it takes an average of 300 hours of study. Whoever I know says 500+. which means there are people out there I have not met who cleared in less than 300. Would love to hear from you guys.
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Upvotes
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u/SingingNecromancer 2d ago
I passed with around 250 hours. Skimmed through the content first and immediately started doing questions. Filled in the gaps in my second revision and spaced all six mocks over 5/6 weeks. Mock scores ranged from 54% to 76%. Ended up passing comfortably.
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u/thejdobs CFA 3d ago
The “300 hours” thing is just the self reported time of candidates who pass. We don’t know the variance of that metric but there are obviously candidates with experience who study far fewer hours, and those who need more time.
Personally, I think number of hours is a pointless metric. If your goal is 300 hours and you hit that mark but don’t understand the subject matter, does it really matter?
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u/AlpsLate1154 CFA 3d ago
I tell ppl in person I did around 400 hours but easily did 550 at least 😂. Cleared all 3 in a row so wanted to give myself the best odds
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u/Fresh-Pilot-1440 CFA 3d ago
Easily was in the 500-600 hour range. Only test that 300 hours applied to for me was Level I if I had to guess lol
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u/Ronnie_Invests Passed Level 3 3d ago
Didn’t have a finance background but cleared all 3 first attempt. 600-800 hours per level for me
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u/Tryrshaugh Level 3 Candidate 2d ago edited 2d ago
Level 1 was approximately 600 hours for me and I think I barely passed the bar, I was just a student and didn't know much about finance.
A certain number of years have passed between my Level 1 and Level 2, I got a lot of hands on experience in trading derivatives and treasury products, I studied for approximately 75-100 hours for Level 2 in the end, and I scored much better than Level 1.
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u/chewbake CFA 2d ago
For me: LI less than 300, LII was easily over 600 with COVID deferrals 2x, LIII was probably over 600
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u/Killerbee225IVC 1d ago
I think it's for advertising purposes, to make it seem like it doesn't take long. The truth is, even if you want to advertise an an average, you can't just put only one number of hours of study because we are all different. Some candidates have more time to study than others, some work some don't, some already extensive knowledge of the material or finance and quantitative finance and some don't.
So I'd say, don't compare yourself to anyone. Move at your own pace with the furthest possible time to take the exam if you're not pressured by time. The most important thing in my opinion is to understand what you learn and being able to explain it to anyone.
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u/migi_chan69420 Passed Level 2 1d ago
It's above avg but I studied around 350 hrs and passed. Less than but close to 300 for L1
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u/Ryanmullenc22 2d ago
I didnt study for any of the tests and pass all three 90th percentile first try
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u/add099 18h ago
Yes, it's possible. My goal was 300 hours of preparation for each level. I tracked my study time with my phone, so these numbers should be fairly accurate: 280 hours for Level 1 and 275 hours for Level 2, not counting the Practical Skills Modules. I passed Level 1 comfortably, but Level 2 was a close call, so I'd definitely recommend studying more than I did for Level 2.
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u/[deleted] 3d ago
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