Avoid Exam Day Horror Stories With These Last-Minute CFA Exam Tips

If your CFA Exam date is coming up fast, chances are you have a parade of CFA Exam horror stories haunting your dreams.

Here are last-minute CFA Exam tips to ensure you don’t live out your worst nightmare on Exam Day.

Obvious Last-Minute CFA Exam Tips

Bring A Valid Passport — One guy’s license supposedly expired the week prior and he wasn’t allowed to sit for the CFA Exam. Just so you know, The CFA Institute only accepts international passports. So don’t forget yours.

Know Where Your Testing Center Is — There are often multiple testing sites. Avoid last-minute CFA Exam headaches by checking (and then re-checking) that you have the correct address for your site. Plan out your travel so you get there in plenty of time before the exam.

Eat Smart — Don’t chance an emergency bathroom trip during the exam. Be sure to eat sensibly the night before and morning of the exam.

Don’t Forget The Essentials — Sharpened pencils. A jacket or sweater. Bottled water. A wristwatch (not your phone!). And, of course, your exam ticket.

Not-So-Obvious Last-Minute CFA Exam Tips

Bring TWO Identical Calculators — The CFA Institute is kind enough to let you bring two calculators, so by all means do it. The folks at 300hours.com recommend the Texas Instruments BA II Plus or Hewlett Packard 12C families of calculators. They would know.

Mark Your Bag –– You can’t bring a backpack into the exam room. There’s a good chance your bag (containing your last-minute CFA Exam study notes) will be piled outside with others. Just like getting your luggage at the airport, make sure you can find it quickly so you can cram between sessions.

Don’t Be A Distraction — Leg bouncing. Talking to yourself. Eating smelly food in the testing room. Noisy shoes. Under some circumstances, these might be harmless and even comical faux pas. Not during the CFA Exam! Protect the sanity of your fellow test-takers (and your own safety) by being quiet and courteous throughout the exam.

Bring Earplugs — To drown out all of the idiots who ignore the above rule.

Still Got Time to Cram? Make the Most Of It!

One of the most popular and effective ways to make the most of these last few days and hours is to practice and review with mock exams.

Our CFA Level 1 and  Level 2 Mock Exam Ebooks are the place to start.  Carefully written by content experts, these mocks resemble the actual CFA® exam in terms of style, structure and construction of questions, and will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and learn to manage your time on the exam. We also provide comprehensive solutions to all questions to help you learn from your mistakes.

And they’re only $95–not bad for a little peace of mind.

OK, best of luck on Exam Day!