A practical CSC Exam 1 study plan you can follow: 30-day intensive, 60-day balanced, and 90-day part-time schedules with weekly focus areas, suggested hours/week, and a repeatable syllabus → practice loop.
This page answers the question most candidates actually have: “How do I structure my CSC Exam 1 prep?”
Pick a timeline that matches your availability, then follow a repeatable loop:
Syllabus → short drills → review misses → mixed sets → weekly checkpoint.
CSI’s official guidance for the CSC course is 135 – 200 hours of study (the course includes two exams). Use that as a reality check, then choose a schedule that lets you cover Chapters 1–12 plus review.
Source: https://www.csi.ca/en/learning/courses/csc/exam-credits
Choose based on hours per week:
| Time you can commit | Recommended plan |
|---|---|
| 10–15 hrs/week | 30‑day intensive |
| 6–9 hrs/week | 60‑day balanced |
| 3–5 hrs/week | 90‑day part‑time |
Target pace: ~10–15 hours/week.
Goal: finish the syllabus quickly, then harden instincts with mixed practice.
| Week | Focus | What to do | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapters 1–3: Marketplace + capital markets + regulation | Build vocabulary (participants, primary vs secondary, order types, the regulatory environment). Start your miss log. | Overview • Syllabus |
| 2 | Chapters 4–5: Economics + policy | Rate/inflation relationships; business cycle intuition; policy tools (concept-first). | Cheatsheet • Practice |
| 3 | Chapters 6–7: Fixed income (features + pricing/trading) | Bonds: yield measures, clean vs dirty, accrued interest, duration intuition; drill calculations daily. | Cheatsheet • Practice |
| 4 | Chapters 8–12: Equities + derivatives + statements + financing | Equities + transactions; options/futures payoff logic; financial statement basics; how securities are financed/listed. Finish with 2–3 mixed sets and close gaps. | Cheatsheet • Practice |
Target pace: ~6–9 hours/week.
Goal: steady learning with repeated review so terms and formulas “stick”.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 1–2 | Map participants and how capital markets function; do 2 short drills. |
| 2 | Chapter 3 | Regulatory environment vocabulary; add “trigger phrases” to your notes. |
| 3 | Chapter 4–5 | Economics + policy; build a one‑page “rates/inflation” map. |
| 4 | Chapter 6 | Fixed‑income features and types; flashcard key terms. |
| 5 | Chapter 7 | Fixed‑income pricing/trading; drill clean/dirty + yield questions. |
| 6 | Chapter 8–9 | Equities (common vs preferred) + equity transactions; practice interpretation questions. |
| 7 | Chapter 10 | Derivatives; focus on direction + payoff + breakeven logic. |
| 8 | Chapter 11–12 + review | Financial statement basics + financing/listing; end with 2 mixed sets and close gaps. |
Target pace: ~3–5 hours/week.
Goal: slow repetition; avoid cramming by keeping a weekly cadence.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 1 | Two study blocks + one drill. |
| 2 | Chapter 2 | Focus on primary vs secondary and market structure. |
| 3 | Chapter 3 | Build a regulation vocabulary list and drill it. |
| 4 | Chapter 4 | Economics basics; write a one‑page summary. |
| 5 | Chapter 5 | Policy tools; connect to inflation and rates. |
| 6 | Chapter 6 | Fixed‑income features; build a bond terminology mini‑glossary. |
| 7 | Chapter 7 | Pricing/trading; do one calculation set and one mixed set. |
| 8 | Chapter 8 | Common vs preferred; corporate actions and risks. |
| 9 | Chapter 9 | Equity transactions; order types, settlement language. |
| 10 | Chapter 10 | Derivatives basics; payoff intuition. |
| 11 | Chapter 11 | Financial statements; ratios and what they imply (conceptually). |
| 12 | Chapter 12 | Financing/listing; underwriting basics and issuance language. |
| 13 | Final review | Mixed sets; tighten weak areas; finalize one‑page notes + formula pack. |
✅ Next: open the Syllabus and start Topic 1.