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- Why the CFA Last Day of Registration is (Realistically) August 17
Why the CFA Last Day of Registration is (Realistically) August 17
The CFA exam has three registration deadline for candidates with varying commitments.
For the upcoming December 2016 exam, the deadlines are:
- Early-bird: Mar 16
- Regular: Aug 17
- Last: Sep 14
In reality, the September deadline doesn’t make sense.
You’d Pay Almost Double in September
Seriously, would you do that?
| Deadline | Cost | $ increase from early-bird price |
% increase from early-bird price |
|
| Early | Mar 16 | $650 | — | — |
| Regular | Aug 17 | $860 | $210 | 32% |
| Last | Sep 14 | $1,280 | $630 | 97% |
It is best to pay the early-bird price at $650 (which isn’t a small sum). It is also understandable that you needs a couple of months of hear about it, think about it before committing to the exam. To wait until August is fine.
But if you can’t decide by August and wait till September to do it, you pay $210 more, and is double the original cost.
You may as well wait for a few more months for the next exam, and pay at the early bird price.
3 Months of Studying Time is Seriously Not Enough
Let’s assume you need 300 hours to prepare for the CFA exam. If studying starts on March 16, you can spread it out across 37 weeks, meaning studying for 8 hours per week. Great plan.
If you start on Sep 14, however, we are talking about 26 hours per week. It’s more than a typical part-time job. Can you do that in addition to your full time work?
It’s Holiday Time
Everyone else is having fun in Halloween and getting prepared for Christmas. It’s not only stressful, but miserable trying to rush through the study materials.
Your Plan
It’s totally fine to think about this for a couple more weeks, but consider August 17 the absolute deadline. It will only do you well.
