A month ago a prospective client had one last question for me.

“How do candidates pass on the first attempt?”

I didn’t know the answer. But when we looked into it we found the one key that unlocks CFA exam prep success.

We knew all the reasons that candidates fail exams and how we helped them over those challenges. But we had not isolated the factor that correlated with first-time success. Once asked, it seems like the only question that mattered.

We went on a search to identify the perfect study prep and mindset. We examined our data. We talked with clients and other candidates. We swapped stories of different paths to successful CFA exam taking. And we found a single answer.

And it’s an answer that we don’t see discussed much nor have we seen publicly available support systems to make this key factor happen.

Success on first attempts relates directly to the degree of rigor.

(Want to know how effective your current study approach is? Take a 2-minute survey and get your score.)

Rigor is different than the success factors most commonly listed.

It’s different than the number of hours spent studying — people who spend enough time studying fail the exam. It’s different than financial background — candidates with deep financial experience and expertise fail the exam. It’s different than a well-designed study plan — people with detailed plans that they implement with Olympian discipline fail the exam.

The sole factor common among all those who are one-and-done is rigor.

So what is rigor? Check out these official definitions:

1. severity or strictness

2. the quality of being extremely thorough, exhaustive, or accurate

3. demanding, difficult, or extreme conditions.

These items are the very description of CFA exam prep right?

(Want to know how effective your current study approach is? Take a 2-minute survey and get your score.)

How do you know if you’re prepping with rigor?

One way is to self-check. This takes brutal honesty about your approach to this “hardest exam in the world”. A first step in an honest gut check is to describe to yourself or a friend how you are going about your exam prep. Do your descriptions sound like the official definitions? Or are you more in the opposite of rigor. Are you lax? Careless? Looking for shortcuts instead of being “thorough, exhaustive, and accurate”?

So how can you ensure that you are undertaking the right amount of rigor so that you will pass? Evaluate your approach in the four key areas — study plan design, study plan implementation, your mindset, and your actions.

Benchmark Your Study Approach to Standards of Rigor:

Ask yourself these questions. Keep yourself on track with your study by measuring your rigor on a a regular schedule, maybe weekly. It’s the only way to pass these exams. (Download a checkup worksheet to track your rigor below.)

1. Study plan design:

   Does your study plan include deadlines for how many readings or pages by what date?

   Do you complete readings with 6 weeks before exam day for rigorous review?

2. Study plan implementation:

   Did you meet your deadlines this time period?

   If not, do you have a plan to catch up?

3. Candidate mindset: What is your mindset?

   Are you fully engaged with the material during study sessions?

   Is your mind clear when you study, and you don’t run anxiety messages, like “I’ll never have enough time to complete all this” or “Other people are so much smarter than I am”?

4. Candidate actions:

   Are you thorough, exhaustive and accurate in your approach?

   Do you avoid asking questions of others about cutting out study time or efforts: These questions mean you are shortcutting: “Can I pass with just watching videos and doing mocks?” or “I’ve heard of people just studying for a month and passing, how do I do that?”

And here comes the brutal honesty.

If you answer fewer than 5 ‘Yes’ to these questions, change course right away!

If you truly want to gain the CFA charter and not spend more than 3 years doing it, the only way out is through prep with rigor — dedicate focused time, read the material, and review, review, review in your final six weeks.

Good luck studying, on exam day, and every day!

Resources:

Coaching for rigor. Increase probability of passing. The Studious app can solve your self-study problems.

Want to know how effective your current study approach is? Take a 2-minute survey and get your score.