So, I spent $1640 to register for the CFA L1 Feb 2025 exam. This is before my graduation date, so I reckon passing the L1 before graduation is a plus point and looks good on my resume? Either way that's not what I care about. Over the last 2 years and in my being around several CFA charter holders, I was instilled the 'value' of the CFA. I've looked into the L1 course material, pretty basic stuff, it's a mile wide but an inch deep. The only thing I needed to learn outside my knowledge in foundational finance is how to plug numbers into a fancy calculator (excel is better).
I liked the course material, a lot of things I knew but a lot of things I didn't know. I would say the curriculum has done a good job in contextualizing the knowledge I had and gained, which I think is pretty powerful as I am not a Finance major and most of my Finance knowledge is something I learned myself and of course, some of it to be attributed to my 'mentors' in this forum, your conversations have been gold dust to me.
I'm curious if anyone on the forum is a charterholder or is working towards one. What are your thoughts on the program? I've had conversations with a lot of industry professionals, some speak very highly of it while some say it's an outright scam. They seem to be raising prices every year which for a 'non-profit' is very suspect, and the exams seem to be made deliberately tough so that a lot of folks have to fail and then take it again which flows right into the CFA society's topline. Others have told me I'd much rather spend my time studying for the GMAT and get placed into a good MBA program, which I don't think is possible because as an Asian, I am apparently 'white-adjacent' so this along with the legacy applicants and the experienced ones diminish my chances of getting into a good program.
I plan on doing the MBA after I've gained at least 5 years of experience in the industry, so it's a long way from here. But in the meantime I would like to know the members thoughts and opinions on the program and any helpful tips and insights that will be of use when I sit for the L1. I know that the CFA doesn't make you a better investor, I thankfully have this forum for that, but it does seem to open a lot of doors.