I'm about 14 weeks out from my CFP exam and trying to figure out if I'm on pace. I've been doing 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, for the past 6 weeks, putting me around 60 hours so far. Everything I've read suggests 250 to 300 hours total is typical, so I feel like I'm building toward that, but some people say they needed 400+ and others passed with 200. Hard to calibrate.
My background is in accounting so the tax planning and estate sections feel more natural than investment management. The retirement planning domain is somewhere in between — I know the mechanics but some of the behavioral and client-centered questions are less intuitive coming from a numbers-first background. The exam is supposedly 170 questions across 2 sessions and you need roughly 68-70% to pass based on recent cohort data.
I've been using Kaplan as my primary review course plus doing about 20 practice questions a night. My mock exam scores are running in the 71-74% range right now. I'm not sure if that's where I should be at 14 weeks out or if I need to be higher by now.
Did anyone else find that their practice scores were a decent predictor of the actual exam? I've heard the real exam has more case-study style questions and that the written style is harder than most practice materials suggest.
The case-study questions are definitely harder than standalone questions in most review courses. Kaplan is good but make sure you're doing full timed mock exams, not just question banks. The stamina factor across 2 sessions is real and people underestimate it.
Passed on my second attempt after failing the first by 4 points. Biggest change second time was doing 30-40 practice questions every single day instead of reading-focused study. Active recall made a bigger difference than adding more total hours.
Tax and estate being your strong suits is a good position — those domains are heavily weighted. Investment management and retirement planning together probably account for close to 40% though, so don't let them drift. I'd tip your daily time toward those two for the next 6 weeks.
I put in about 280 hours total and passed with what I estimate was low-to-mid 70s. Mock scores in the 71-74% range at 14 weeks out sounds healthy — most people improve 3-5 points from that baseline to exam day if they keep grinding practice questions consistently.
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