CFA

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It's an American exam, so don't approach like a British exam

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Do a lot of example questions; they're not easy and they're designed to trip you up

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You have less time than you think - spend all 6 months on it and revise whenever you can

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It says it takes 300 hours to go through the material. Don't believe that. You can go through the material easily in 300 hours, but mastering it takes another level of skill

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Where possible get Kaplan's Schweser study package. Should you buy another package, do not get it if you don't get any exam practice questions

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Don't aim for a 70% pass; aim to get 100% where possible

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There's a lot of dense text, and you don't need all of the information. Unfortunately, you would only master the material through exam questions.

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They ask for applicants to have a degree in order to enrol on the program. Make no mistake, this is harder than a master's degree in finance scoring full distinctions (70%) - CFA's pass mark alone is 70%. If you're not bringing your A game, you are underestimating the level of difficulty or overestimating your ability.