05/08/2026
Three hundred hours of study can sound like a lot—until you have to fit it into your schedule.
Rob Langrick, CFA, Chief Product Advocate, advises spreading those hours across a six-month CFA Program study plan.
His recommendations:
• Spend the first two-thirds of your study period working through the curriculum from start to finish—twice. As you study each topic, complete the in-line questions while the material is still fresh.
• Reserve the final two weeks for intensive exam practice. Focus primarily on mock exams, limiting yourself to one mock per day and reviewing your performance immediately afterwards.
• Resist the urge to start the curriculum all over again. Instead, revisit your flashcards and notes, then use your mock exam results to identify and strengthen weaker areas.
• Stay consistent by studying five or six days each week, with longer study sessions on weekends whenever possible.
• Study in focused intervals. If your concentration starts to slip, try using 25-minute study blocks followed by short breaks.
• If your employer offers study leave, make the most of it. A week off can add around 80 extra hours of focused preparation. Taking a week’s annual leave can also give you another valuable 80 hours to study.
How are you structuring your CFA preparation? Do you think 300 hours is enough?
