Ok, I’m glad I’m not the only one.  The 24 is the most ridiculous exam I’ve ever taken.  Maybe it’s just that they’re changing a lot of things right now, but I assure you I only passed based on luck (70% even). 

What book did you use?  I had the 3rd edition of the Kaplan, and then proceeded to take the “4th” edition test.  67%. 

I then got the 4th edition book, studied all month, and passed with a 70% (all the while I just knew I was going to fail again, and that everything I had studied still had almost nothing to do with the actual exam). 

For the record, I was scoring high 80’s low 90s on the Kaplan’s practice CD…the actual test was like nothing I studied for. 

I used Kaplan and scored similarly on the test (80).  I don’t think the material is that hard…just dry as sawdust.  I prepared for the 24 as little as I did for any securities test…I doubt I had 100 hours total in it.

i don't have any hard stats on the pass/fail rate for the Series 24, but I just took it this past Tuesday (and passed, with a scored of 77), and the lady at the testing center said that "most" people fail the exam.  I would take that to mean over half, but please remember that that is hardly an official tally.  My score sheet did not detail the average score and pass/fail rate, like it did for my Series 7.  I believe that if you can pass the Series 7, you can pass the Series 24.  You just have to be ready for a lot of questions that there did not seem to be an prep for.  I will suggest this: two of the answers on all of the "crazy questions" are always obviously wrong, so eliminate them.   Then, when choosing between the two remaining, please note that the incorrect answer often contained a fact that caught your attention, but did not answer the question.  Avoid what has been called the "fact trap."  Also, consider this: which of the two answers are better for the customer, and "which one would I want if I were the customer?!"  Keep these in mind, and you will probably pass the exam the next time. 

Does anyone have the STC Series 24 full package, including the on demand lectures and the book.with cd rom tests? Looking to get a deal. 

The Series 7 exam, IMHo showed me that STC far out did Kaplan  and Empire more specifically. I only want THEIR study material for any securities training.

If anyone passed the 24 recently and used their stuff email me and give me your best deal.

LoEG

I just took the Series 24 for the second time, and I got a 67%; the first time I took it I got a 69%.  I prepared by using STC, and I read the materials twice and took all seven simulation exams twice. When I took the sample tests, I was scoring in the low 80s, so I was shocked when I got a 67 on the real test. 

So I called STC, and I asked how they explained my experience.  He told me that I had learned the test  and not the materials.  There was about a month between the first and second time that I took the simulation exam, so I didn't think that was the reason and even if it was, it wasn't a solution for me to pass the test.  I reported that there were many questions that I did not recognize at all when I took the second exam, questions that referred to material that I did not recall as being in any of the readings.  He told me that everything on the FINRA outline for the test was on the training manual. 

So I googled FINRA and easily found the outline of the series 24 exam.  There is a material on the FINRA outline which is NOT included in any of the training materials which goes to explain (1) why I did not recognize some of the materials at all and (2) why I would get a 67 when I was scoring 80s in the sample tests. 

The STC spokesperson (Mike Houser) told me that there are sample questions, and these questions may come from material which is not on the training materials.  There are five experimental questions according to FINRA, and I didn't recognize about 20 or 25 questions, where I guessed without being able to eliminate any of the choices, so I didn't think that this explained what I experienced.  It is difficult to say precisely how many questions I did not recognize, because I wasn't keeping track: I focused on answering the questions and passing the test.  But if there were 20 questions, that means that if I answered every question in the sample tests correctly, I would get an 87 on the test.  If There were 20 questions that were not covered in the training session, and I got 82% of the questions in the training material, I would have passed with a 71%.  If there were 25 instead of 20 questions which weren't on the test, 17%, then I would fail with an 69% given an 82% correct reponse rate on my part.

How much material is excluded from the training materials that is on the test?  difficult to say.  The STC material has its own order which is different from the FINRA outline. STC says that they are trying to place the material in a way that makes it easier to follow.  Maybe.  The FINRA material has logic in the outline.  An alternative explanation could be that they don't want to make it easy for us to see that they didn't cover all the material on the test in the test preparation materials.  Soccerguy seems to have found questions that weren't in his prep book, what percentage would you say were new to you?  What materials did you use?

Does the Kaplan follow the FINRA outline?  If you don't know what that is, then look at your exam results.  Those are the FINRA categories.  A possible solution for me is to buy a second set of study materials.  That's not a cheap solution.  The FINRA outline has a list  of the primary sources from which the test questions originate, but finding the passeges that apply to the missing material is a long process.  A team studying for the test could do it, but it is too much for a single person to do it.

I still have not decided whether to try this exam for a third time.  I worked so hard on it the second time, I am not sure what I can do to change the result.  I would appreciate your thoughts.

I totally agree with Vero. Did the exam today (68%) and some questions were just ridiculous. Even remembering the questions at home I still don’t know the answer with the stc material next to me.

As vero stated at least 20 questions were not related to anything in the STC manual. Does anybody know how they make the manual?

I’d like to get some better study material then this STC crap cause unfortunately not passing this exam is not an option for me.

I have spoken to two people who passed the test since I wrote my post, and I asked them what percentage of the questions they did not recognize, and they also agreed with me at that it was at least 20-25 questions.  Vgaal, check out the FINRA outline, but it doesn't really help.  The topics are there, but not the answers.  It will take months to dig through all the primary sources.

I had an interesting experience.  The first time I took it, I got a 69%, although I never got a 70 in the 5 simulation exams of STC (I never even took the last two).  Because I knew that, I guessed at all the questions that I didn't know.  I had a MASSIVE headache while taking the test.  I also used up every minute for the test.

On the second round with the test I had no headache, I had about 1.25 hrs left, and I had taken the two supplementary exams of STC, I had taken 3 or 4 of the topic exams of >100 each on the areas in which I was testing as weak, I retook all the five sample tests again, and I was scoring an 85% in the sample tests.  My final score was a 67%.  I did worse.

So, here are my conclusions.  The test starts easy, gets ridiculous at about question 105, then it gets easy again at the end.  In the last quarter of the test I encountered  questions of which I know nothing, because they were not in the training materials.  These questions are like being in pitch darkness, and you need to find the door that gets you the hell out of there. 

Someone on this board said that in 2007 the mean score was 71.  I believe it.  Someone else said that FINRA made the test more difficult recently, because of the number of people moving out of the wire houses.  This may be true, because the compliance officers of my B/D says they have seen lots of people failing the tests recently, more than normal.  Small sample, but it could be true.  The point is that we all know that we seem to get stuck very close to the pass score.

You can't memorize your way through this test.  It's a combo of guessing and memorization.  The trick to passing the test seems to be in finding a good balance between those two and not falling for their tricks.

I took it a couple of years ago. And the test was as clear as mud then. But I remember telling someone in the office that they would have to start closing the gate. Just as you say the sheer number of reps leaving the wirehouses the FINRA just cannot over see all the offices.    

I think that we deserve to know more about the test, because it affects our livelihood, and all information is restricted.   What is the mean passing score, the standard deviation, and has the test been recalibrated?  Why should everything be under a cloak of silence?  Why should this exam be different from any other exam? 

I agree about the STC material.  It did not prepare me for the exam.  I got lucky and passed with a 75.  I would not give STC credit for it!  With that being said....I will gladly sell you my STC study guide. 

I also took the exam and failed with a 67% and 65% the second time. I knew the STC material front and back. I called and spoke to STC but they weren't very helpful. I even took the class. Im thinking about using Kaplan's books next time.

Don't give up on it.  Use Kaplan.  I used STC the first time and got a 69.  I then printed out the outline from FINRA and went over STC again and got a 68.  I then used Kaplan's sample tests.  They cover such a wider range of scenarios than Kaplan does.  Even though I barely passed with a 72, I feel using Kaplan, STC, and knowing the basics of the outline will push you over the edge.  Also remember that you are not getting the same test every time you take it.  The first two tests, I did not have any math type problems and the third time, I had about six or seven problems which dealt with Avg Trading Volume, etc.  Maybe you'll get a slightly easier test next time.

I spoke to my licensing department and they mentioned the material has changed dramtically and their vendors (STC and Training Consultants) were in the midst of a massive update. They are moving everyone to Training Consultants as the pass rate is much higher. I have great results with their 7 & 66 material. They have not finished the online lectures for the 24 but I have the book and the online tests. Taking it on oct 1. Wish me luck.

@ DukeH Good luck. Let me know what materials you are using. Im using STC ver. 41

I have taken the Series 24 twice, scored a 64 and 65.  I used the STC interactive training materials.  I have taken every exam they offer, every quiz in the training manual, took diligent notes and made flashcards.  I know the material in that book really well.  I have scored above 85 on ALL practice exams.  Problem is there were 21 ?s that I have never ever heard of.  These weren't ?s I just couldn't get straight, they were ?s I've never heard of in my 13 years in the business.  I can't even find the answers or subject material in my books and I'm searching thru Finra's site trying to find answers.  From what I've read the Kaplan and STC materials are awful.  What should I use?  How about the video training programs.  I am going to have to order and pay for new study materials or I will never pass this test.  It was 13 years ago I scored an 90 on my Series 7 and may not have studied as hard as I did for this test.

 HELP!!!

I'm not sure about the Kaplan study materials but their practice tests for the 24 threw questions at me that I never saw on the STC practice tests.  You should probably take as many different tests as you can because I felt the STC exams kept the topics in a narrower range than the Kaplan tests.  The Kaplan tests force you to look at more aspects of a question which was very helpful when I took my 24 for the third time.  If you can, get as many different tests from different companies that you can because it's real frustrating when you see ?'s which you never even seen before.  GL, Keep trying and you'll pass...

[quote=melg915]

I have taken the Series 24 twice, scored a 64 and 65.  I used the STC interactive training materials.  I have taken every exam they offer, every quiz in the training manual, took diligent notes and made flashcards.  I know the material in that book really well.  I have scored above 85 on ALL practice exams.  Problem is there were 21 ?s that I have never ever heard of.  These weren't ?s I just couldn't get straight, they were ?s I've never heard of in my 13 years in the business.  I can't even find the answers or subject material in my books and I'm searching thru Finra's site trying to find answers.  From what I've read the Kaplan and STC materials are awful.  What should I use?  How about the video training programs.  I am going to have to order and pay for new study materials or I will never pass this test.  It was 13 years ago I scored an 90 on my Series 7 and may not have studied as hard as I did for this test.

 HELP!!!

[/quote]

My experience was very similar to those above. Although I only studied intensively for about a week and for a combined total of around 30 hours, I scored a 66% (I was able, during the test, to predict my score within 1%)

I used the Kaplan study materials, but mostly used the questions and reviewed them (I took just over 1000 questions.) And like everyone else, there were like ~25 questions unlike any question I had seen in the practice questions, and another ~40 which I did not know the answer to. (I assumed I answered 25% of these 65 questions correctly)

Note: Using Kaplan 5th edition (even though ordered in June 2011.)

What bothered me most were the question(s) regarding confirms. I remembered reading this section in the book, but was unable to confidently answer it(them.) When I got home and looked at the book, I still couldn't answer it(them.) So today, I went and looked up Rule 10b-10. It is an eight page rule (opposed to 8 bullet points in the study book) and it has all the information I needed to answer that(those) question(s).

To give you an idea of just how bad the section on confirms was compared to Rule 10b-10:

* The Security's Identity

* Price

* Number of Shares (or Principal Amount)

None of the above are listed in the Confirmation section of the Kaplan 5th edition book, yet they are all listed in the second paragraph of rule 10b-10. After reading rule 10b-10 I now feel confident I can answer any confirmation question that could be on the exam.

I also intend to search for and read every rule listed in any of the materials (the materials alone are not enough.)

Thanks for the advise. I'm taking the test next month and need all the help I can get

Just took it today and failed with 69.33.  Yes one question off.  Unlike the other tests I've taken (6,63,22,62,65; don't ask) I actually felt pretty comfortable as I worked through the test.  Obviously I was wrong to feel so.  There was definitely material covered that I didn't recognize but that seemed to be the norm for FINRA tests.  I studied with Kaplan and it hasn't steered me wrong yet (up to this point).  I did just order an addtional study guide (Series 24 exam secrets and flashcards).  I think any help is good considering what I just read from you guys above...