Methodology

All aggregates on CFAReview.org are calculated transparently:

• Average rating is the mean of all individual reviews for a provider and CFA level
• Star distribution shows the count of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5-star reviews
• All calculations include only PUBLISHED reviews

When a provider receives fewer than 5 reviews for a specific CFA level and curriculum year, we label the aggregate as "Insufficient data". This ensures that ratings are meaningful and not influenced by a small number of reviews.

Reviews are organized into "slices" based on:

• Provider
• CFA Level (Level I, II, or III)
• Curriculum Year
• Product Type (optional filter)

When filtering by product type, all reviews that include that product type are included in the aggregate.

Reviews are subject to moderation before they appear publicly. We use automated checks to catch obvious spam and duplicate submissions, and we may approve, reject, or request follow-up on reviews that need a manual look. That extra step helps keep the review base more trustworthy, even if it means new submissions do not appear instantly.

CFAReview.org is completely independent and not affiliated with CFA Institute, any exam prep providers, or any testing organization. All reviews are submitted by community members and represent their personal experiences and opinions.

We also think financial context matters. Some prep publishers, media sites, and review-style resources earn affiliate revenue when readers click through to certain providers. That does not automatically make their content wrong, but it can influence which brands get featured most prominently. CFAReview.org is built to be useful precisely because it is not tied to a provider affiliate relationship, and we want that independence to be clear when you compare reviews here with provider-adjacent content elsewhere.