According to GARP, candidates spend on average about 240 hours studying for each part of the FRM exam, or 4 to 6 months at 10 to 15 hours a week. Good preparation follows three stages: learn the syllabus topic by topic, practise on questions, then take several full mock exams in real conditions.
Building a study plan
The time you need depends mostly on your background: a quantitative profile (finance, mathematics, engineering) may manage with 150 to 200 hours per part, while a less technical profile should plan for 300 hours or more. Count back from your exam date:
- about 70% of the time to study the syllabus, starting with the heaviest topics (30% of Part I each for Financial Markets and Products and Valuation and Risk Models);
- about 30% of the time, the last 4 to 6 weeks, for revision and mock exams;
- half a day a week to review topics already covered, so you do not forget them before exam day.
Set weekly goals by chapter rather than by hours, and keep two weeks in reserve for the unexpected.
Study resources
The reference is GARP’s official syllabus (the learning objectives of each chapter): exam questions are based on these objectives. Around this core:
- GARP’s official books or summary notes from prep providers;
- an up-to-date formula sheet, reviewed regularly (VaR, duration and convexity, forward and option pricing, expected credit loss…);
- an approved calculator (TI BA II Plus or HP 12c), used from the start of your studies so you are fast on exam day;
- question banks by chapter, then full mock exams.
Why take mock exams
Knowing the material is not enough: the exam is also about managing 4 hours of concentration and calculating quickly. A mock exam in real conditions lets you:
- measure your level across the whole syllabus, not just the last chapter you studied;
- set your pace (about 2 minutes 24 seconds per question in Part I, 3 minutes in Part II);
- spot, through your score by topic, which areas to work on first;
- understand your mistakes through the explanations, which is often more useful than rereading the material.
Start full mock exams 4 to 6 weeks before the exam and take at least three or four. After each attempt, spend as much time on the review as on the exam itself. Regularly scoring above 70% on mock exams gives you a good safety margin.
Managing your time on exam day
On exam day, a few simple rules earn you points:
- do a first pass answering the questions you can handle quickly, and flag the others to come back to;
- do not spend more than 4 to 5 minutes on a question: they all carry the same weight;
- answer every question, even with a guess: there is no negative marking;
- keep 15 to 20 minutes at the end to return to flagged questions.
These habits are built in mock exams: they are your chance to test your strategy before exam day.