This one is also from an old repository dating back to when Quora was at its prime.

Passed level 1 June’16

To begin with, pay the level 1 fees as soon as possible. There are two benefits associated with this:

1. Obviously, you will have to pay lower fee as you are registering before first deadline.
2. It will get you committed towards the goal of clearing of CFA level 1 as now you have your money as stake.

Now comes the preparation part. There are multiple routes that a person can follow but somehow the one mentioned below worked for me:

Purchase the Schweser Notes for CFA Level 1 which will consist of set of 7 books, a QuickSheet, and a CD with the SchweserPro QBank. Five of these books will be study notes, while the other two books will contain full practice exams each.

Cumulatively these five books will have roughly 61 readings. That’s a total of around 12 reading to cover per book. You will need to read these readings end-to-end. Target 3 reading per weekend. That means giving around 6–8 hours every weekend to dedicated reading and understanding the concepts. Don’t worry about the questions at this point of time. 3 readings/ weekend will make you cover the cover the syllabus in 5 months which also takes into account 1–2 weekend sessions that you will miss. Now you need to practice applying what you have studied so far.

Install the Schweser question bank software on a PC and generate topic-wise question papers. Start with any of the 10 subjects and solve these papers. When you’re taking the test, mark questions where you’re completely blank or have some doubt over the solution. Nevertheless, make a guess and mark one of the options as your answer. Remember, there’s no negative marking on the CFA exams. Later, revise the related topic and go through the question again.

On the Level 1 exam, you will have 2 exams of 3 hours for 120 questions across all subjects. Do as many practice tests as possible for you for each of the 10 subjects. By now, you will know your areas of strength and weakness. Try to work on your weak areas by going through the relevant material again.

Now on any weekend before the exam day, get up early and attempt a full mock exam (attempt both morning and afternoon sessions) from one of the practice volumes. Try to get an estimate of how much time you need to complete the exam. Try to bring it down to 3 hours. Attempt more practice exams.

Few days before exam, try to go through the study notes for Ethics again. Ethics is tricky area and most of us tend to take it very lightly. It is very easy to get confused between the choices accompanying the question of this section. Spend few more hours going through the Code and Standards given by CFA institute. Enjoy the rest of the day. Go out for a run. Get some fresh air.

Exam day:

Wake up early. Spend an hour reading the QuickSheet. Get ready. Have your breakfast. Carry some fruits and biscuits for lunch. Get to the test center on time. Relax. Write the morning session. Avoid discussing the exam with others during the break. Eat your meal. Sit and relax for rest of the break. Go back and write the afternoon session. Walk out like a boss. Party like a rockstar. Wake up late the next day. Open Quora and ask “What is the best way to prepare for the CFA L2?”
Hopefully by this time, i would have cleared L2.