CFA® level 1 and 2 during undergrad?

Is it possible to write your CFA® 
level 1 in December and level 2 in the following June?

Was recently asked this and had no good answer given the variability on what counts as "in final year of program". A few guys in my group did this but even they had no clue after we googled it.

I read somewhere that level 2 required you to have a degree in hand but does anyone know how and, more importantly, WHEN the CFA® 
would officially confirm this? Theoretically, you could get around this if the deadline to submit your proof of graduation is far enough past the date you receive it.

 

you can do it. but that means you would be constantly putting time into CFA. Is it really worth it ? What do you want to do ? Does it REALLY give you an advantage over other candidates ?

The CFA is only a formality nowadays and doesn't give you an edge as it used to do.

 
Best Response
djr:
is it me or have there been a lot of CFA related questions recently?

It's probably because the annual CFA exam is coming up in a few weeks.

Even if you were able to sit for Level II right after graduating, I wouldn't recommend it. You'll need 4 years of work experience until you can actually become a CFA charterholder anyways, so you might as well enjoy being a college senior with no responsibilities while you can, and put off worrying about levels 2 and 3 until later.

 

I really don't think this is possible. I passed L1 in December of my senior year and tried to take L2 in June, but you have to have completed a bachelors degree to even register for L2. I called and talked to people at CFA Institute, and they were pretty firm on this.

And you should really try to enjoy 2nd Semester of your senior year. You have the rest of your life to learn about finance. That will be the last six months of your life where you are surrounded by girls 18-22, have relatively few responsibilities, and lots of free time.

 
jqbuyside:
Level 2 sucks something worse than awful.

Take Level 1 in December, then enjoy your last semester in college, and then take Level 2 the following June after you have been working for a year.

Lv 3 is much much worse... unless you really love Portfolio Management, then you're in for a real treat...

I actually kind of liked Lv 2 (I absolutely hated it when I was studying for it - and stupidly I crammed for it), but at least some topics were an interesting read and varied.

 

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