Definitely go to grad school. The CFA exam is curved. A lot of those candidates, including the ~60% of candidates who do not pass, retake the exam. Some say the minimum passing score is re-calibrated to generate future revenue. Others call it a glorified pyramid scheme. Depends who you ask. CFA means you most likely failed twice and spent so much time studying you decided to take the exam again and again. You definitely learn a lot...

According to the CFA Institute, approximately 25% of candidates are not admitted to the exam on exam day by 3rd-party minimally trained proctors (hired by CFA). And no refunds (~$1600/exam + approx 300 hours of study).

This does not include the people accused of cheating during the exam. The exam is not recorded or monitored in any way other than sketchy part-time proctors who barely speak English. If you're suspected of cheating or "give the appearance of cheating", you're SOL. There are more CFA horror stories than successes.