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DEAR CFA TEST-TAKERS: Here's The Best Advice I Can Give You

Sam Ro   

DEAR CFA TEST-TAKERS: Here's The Best Advice I Can Give You
Finance1 min read

NOTE: We've featured this post before previous CFA exams were administered. The feedback has been positive, so we're running it again for you December 7 test takers.
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I'm not going to give you any tips on how to memorize formulas. I'm not going to tell you how you what to eat during your lunch break.

I just have one word for you: coffee.

Maybe Red Bull or some other energy drink is your preferred source of caffeine. But whatever it is, drink it up!

Test-takers are often told that they have an average of 90 seconds to spend on each question (120 questions for each 3-hour section). At least that's what they told me when I took the cram courses.

As such, bathroom breaks are often considered wastes of time.

But that's a fatal error.

Drink coffee, Red Bull, or whatever, and give yourself 5 minutes for a bathroom break for each section.

It's better to be efficient for 5 hours and 50 minutes, then to be inefficient for 6 hours.


Sincerely,

Someone who sat through and passed all three exams


PS: And don't wear a diaper. Every CFA test-taker has heard someone joke about this, and some claim they know someone who's done it. But that's ridiculous.

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