CFA Level III Study Tips
If you’re studying for the CFA Level III exam, we’ve decided to share our key tips and strategies for preparation and test-taking. We’ve refined our own method by drawing from nearly every existing approach underpinned by live experience on the exam day.
Our key advice:
Study time. Allocate at least one month before the exam exclusively for mock exams - full-length tests under timed conditions. We would recommend taking 5-7 full mock exams before the actual exam date, with the first one being a measurement tool that will help you identify your weakest areas. Then you need to focus on those. Reach out to know which providers to choose for the best mocks - it’s a quest to find quality CFA Level III mocks.
Study providers. Unlike Levels I and II, Level III requires multiple providers - but not all of them, of course. You just need to be very careful with what to buy and what to avoid at all costs. And it might be the case that you won’t even need to buy anything at all.
Topics to focus on. This is not just about topic weightings; it’s about your strengths and weaknesses. Focus on the latter. There is a special technique for how to work with your weak topics. One approach is to combine your weakest topics in one exam and solve them in batches (3-5) under timed conditions.
Constructed response (essay) questions. Some call this section an essay, but it’s definitely not. Structure your responses in a concise manner. Many people favor bullet points. We would say it depends on your way of thinking. So logically linked short sentences in any format would work.
Time management. There is more than one strategy to follow regarding the sequence in which to take questions. First, you can start by taking all the questions in order. Second, take only the multiple-choice questions first, then CR. And finally, CR first and MC at the end. The right approach for you depends on your personality and traits. If you’re struggling with time management, we’d suggest trying the last one as a base case. Reach out if you need help identifying the right approach for you.
We hope these insights will help you succeed on your journey to becoming a CFA charterholder.
Wishing you all the best in this endeavour.
Per aspera ad astra – through perseverance, success will be yours.