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Hong KongEight weeks: the compressed plan, and its honest odds
Eight weeks at twenty-five hours gives about 200 hours - below the usual range. It is defensible for a resit candidate with specific gaps and rarely for anyone else, and deferring is usually the better decision.
Start with the honest bit: eight weeks is below the range for most candidates, and the plan below is a way of making the best of a decision that has already been taken.
When it is defensible
- A resit candidate with a diagnostic showing two or three weak domains.
- Someone with several years of broad planning experience whose coursework finished within the last year.
- Someone who genuinely has twenty-five hours a week available, which is more than it sounds.
- A candidate facing a hard external deadline - a job requirement, an employer condition.
Outside those, deferring to the next window costs a deferral fee and four months. Failing costs USD 825 or more and the same four months, plus one of a finite number of attempts.
The shape
| Weeks | Focus | Hours per week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cold mock, then the two weakest domains | 25 |
| 2 to 4 | Question-led pass through all domains, weighted | 25 |
| 5 to 7 | Full mocks weekly with full review, plus repair | 28 |
| 8 | Light review and taper | 6 |
Question-led, not reading-led
There is no time for a reading pass. Attempt questions on a topic, review every miss to the principle, and read only the sections the misses expose.
It is uncomfortable, because you will get a great deal wrong early. It is also the most efficient way to locate gaps quickly, which is the whole constraint here.
Even in eight weeks. They are the only measurement of readiness and the only stamina practice available. Cutting them to save time is cutting the thing that tells you whether the rest worked.
What you will not have
Depth in the domains you do not already know. Comfort with the material. Multiple passes over anything.
A candidate coming out of an eight-week plan generally knows the high-weight material adequately and has genuine gaps in the small domains - which at 8 and 7 per cent for professional conduct and psychology is fifteen per cent of the paper.
The week-five decision
Take a full mock at the end of week four. If it is well below target, the honest options are to defer or to accept a low probability.
Deferring at week five still leaves time to change the window in most cases. Deferring at week seven usually does not, which is why the checkpoint belongs where it does.
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Common questions
Can you prepare for the CFP exam in eight weeks?
At twenty-five hours a week it gives about 200 hours, below the usual range. It is defensible for a resit candidate with specific gaps and rarely for anyone else.
How should an eight-week plan work?
Question-led rather than reading-led - attempt questions, review every miss to the principle, and read only the sections the misses expose. There is no time for a reading pass.
How many mocks in eight weeks?
Three at minimum. They are the only measurement of readiness and the only stamina practice, so cutting them removes the thing that tells you whether the rest worked.
What will you be missing?
Depth in unfamiliar domains and any second pass. Candidates typically finish knowing the high-weight material adequately with genuine gaps in professional conduct and psychology - fifteen per cent between them.
When should you decide to defer?
At the end of week four, from a full mock. Deferring at week five usually still allows a window change; deferring at week seven usually does not.