CFA EXAM NIGHTMARE: One of the big test-taking sites is located across the street from Disneyland
Many young Wall Streeters have spent months cramming for the famously difficult test.
To put the exam's difficulty in perspective, fewer than 20% of candidates pass all three levels of the CFA program on the first try. It also takes five to six solid months of studying to prepare.
If that doesn't sound like a nightmare, then consider all of the horror stories we've heard.
One CFA charter-holder warned us that a bunch of test-takers in California will encounter some serious Disneyland traffic each year.
The Southern California test site is located at the Anaheim Convention Center, right across the street from Disneyland. (Ugh!)
"The exam start time overlapped with [the] opening day and time of some big event at Disneyland," one CFA charterholder recalled when he took level I.
"The line to get into the parking lot went down the street and around the corner. People started giving up on the line and parking illegally to avoid being late. The tow truck probably had a field day," he added.
Basically, everyone's car was crammed in the parking lot.
Google Maps/ Business Insider illustration"I saw a girl reverse her car into another test taker's car during the lunch break. A guy was sitting in his car studying when she smashed it," the CFA charterholder said.
What's more is there's some congestion in the exam room, especially when people are trying to leave for the day.
"The center has so many people and only two exits that when they announce 'you are free to go' thousands of test takers full-sprint for the exits to avoid being stuck in a 2+ hour parking lot line. It's absolute chaos, like Walmart on Black Friday."
The charterholder we spoke to got it down to a fine art though.
"[I] remember learning from my mistakes, by level 3 I was arriving at 6:30am for the 9am start, and upon being released at 5pm I legitimately full-sprinted out of there, shamelessly shoving and weaving my way through less-experienced test takers in the doorways."
Fortunately, he's passed all three levels and doesn't have to deal with this mess ever again.
"I can't believe they keep going back to the one other place that actually has non-test taker traffic at 7am on a Saturday morning."
If you have a CFA horror story you'd like to share, feel free to send an email to jlaroche@businessinsider.com. We can keep you anonymous if you wish.