I took the Series 7 on May 14th and got a 69%, missed it by 6 questions. I am also using STC and consider it a good media for study. I was consistently scoring mid 80’s on the closed book exams and a 82% on the green light #1 exam. Study specialist said, “no problems, you’ll do fine on the actual exam”. Hmm, not quite but at least my employer is giving me a second chance at taking the exam. I will go through the study material a second time and also got the Series 7 for Dummies book. I think it’s easier to understand the calculations than how STC is doing it. STC is way more detailed the dummy book as the dummy book just focuses on the main points. Retaking the test mid June.

Scores on practice exams are a good indication of your probability of success on the actual exam. Someone scoring mid eighties on the first attempt on practice tests should pass but other factors might be at play here. A lack of investment experience could also prevent someone from passing. It can be difficult for someone to answer suitability questions without the experience. Reading the material again is a good idea but you might be wasting your time with Series 7 For Dummies.

Mike
http://www.series7examtutor.com

Just passed the 7 with an 82% using only the STC materials. I found the materials to be more than enough to do well on the exam. In my opinion, the 2 greenlight exams were very close indications of the actual exam. Tons of suitability, but if you do the 50 question suitability exam that STC just released, you will be fine. I was scoring in the high 70s to low 80s on exams 1-13 and got a 72 on greenlight 1 and a 90 on greenlight 2. Hope that helps! Now to worry about the 66…

Hi, I need to purchase a prep course/material for the series 7 like right now. My employer is recommending the Kaplan prep book over the STC but from what I’ve been reading it seems like a lot more people are using the STC prep course. Of course some passed and some didn’t their first try. I only have 1 try to pass the series 7 so I need to make this count. Which prep would be the best? I have to take it by middle of August.

Kaplan seems to only have 1 practice exam and the qbank vs STC’s 13 practice exams.

Also, I read in the previous posts about the Addendum for the STC and is that something that’s updated in the Kaplan version as well? And what about this Suitability update mentioned by au1979?

Thanks in advance. I’d appreciate any feedback. Earlier the better.

I took the revised test yesterday and passed with a 74. It was my first attempt, so I don’t have any basis for comparison. That being said, make sure you know options and munis. My score would have been higher if I’d focused more on those areas.

TEST Sandi Brown

pncu - I have heard that STC is among the best materials to use for the S7 and among the worst for the S66. Personally, I used STC for the S7 and TC for the S66. I honestly don’t know much about the Kaplan program other than some people at my last firm used them to pass the S7 and did fine as well. There is a ton of material to go over with STC, but if you put in the time you will be prepared. During my crash course, they mentioned that the STC material would be updated again shortly and a chapter would be added (most likely suitability). I have no idea if or when this will happen, but STC was good about promptly releasing updates and changing material to most accurately reflect the test itself. STC released 2 updates that I know of, one was over ETF, ETN, Tax updates, and terminology that were added to the S7 q bank and the other was regarding suitability. Since a big chunk of the test is now about suitability, like identifying what product is best for clients, and what allocation is best for specific situations, I found the suitability exam to be very helpfull. If I remember correctly, I had something like 30 questions or so on this. I found the green light exams to be very close to the real deal in terms of question structure and level of difficulty. For me what worked was to go through the material cover to cover once, reading and highlighting. Then I took the first few tests, and identified problem areas by topic. Then I took the topic tests on each of the topics I was weak in until I was passing those sections with 75 or better. Take the next final, rinse and repeat. I ended up studying for about 4 weeks and took the 4 day crash course they offer. You will want to focus on options, bonds, and suitability mostly, but I had a ton of questions on annuities as well. I followed the recomended study plan almost to a T and did ok. The test was far from easy, but I was more than happy with my score and passed my first time through. Anyways, I hope that helps and good luck!

Ok…So I am taking my Series 7 on Wednesday and my 63 next Wednesday. I have been grinding through the already above mentioned monotony of Ms. Leahy, but I must say she has taught me a lot. I have studying now for 8 weeks and am getting 79-85 on the Random Final at the very end. Done it about 8 times now. Am still going through an reviewing ALL of the wrong answers Am I ready??? I’m starting to get really nervous and want to start my career off on the right foot. Any advice??? Sorry…never been on a forum like this one before.

Thanks All.

And please don’t be an a**. I’m really asking for help here

anewbie2thefield,

From the sound of it you are on the right track. I used STC to prepare for the series 7. I spent about 5 weeks preparing total. I read the entire book cover to cover, then focused on practice exams. I would take a final exam, identify my areas of weakness, then take topic specific exam on the weakest areas before moving on to the next final. I was scoring in the low 80s on my STC practice finals and a 72% and 90% on the 2 greenlight finals respectively. I also took a 4 day review class the week before my exam. I made an 82% on the 7 using this method a few days later.

I’m not familiar with TC for the 7, but I did use them for the 66 and they were excellent. If you are scoring in the low to mid 80s you should be just fine. Its a lot of material to cover, but stay focused and you should do fine.

I took the 66 instead of the 63, studying the laws is boring, but pretty straight forward memorization. Best advice I can give you on both tests is read and re-read the question. I know several people who miss questions simply because they did not read the question completely. Also, make sure you tackle the 63 with the same intensity you studied for the 7. If it is anything like the 66, I know at least a few people that failed because they felt overconfident coming out of passing the 7 and did not spend enough time preparing.

Good luck!

Took the 7 today and passed with an 82. My firm provided me with STC study materials. I started reading the book in May and finished reading it cover to cover by end of June. Since then, I did nothing but the study test on paper as well as the study CD, which broke down questions by topic if needed.

I started out making 68-72 early July but within last two weeks, I started getting scores between 77-84. I was nervous with my score increasing because the paper test and the CD had the same questions sometimes. I didn’t know if I was learning the answer or knowing the question and just answering since I’ve seen it before. But after scoring 82 today, it seems my study method paid off.

I was surprised with how many questions I had on mutual funds and annuities. Be sure to know those areas in my opinion. I had very little on options maybe 20 questions in general. I may have had 10 questions on breakeven, max loss, max gain. I was surprised by that. As others have said, know suitability and know what fits the client best. The test gives you clues as in “looking for something tax free” or “looking for something with low management expenses”. Also, know tax questions as in cost basis for option contracts, bonds (premium, discount, and par). Hope this helps anyone else out there studying, good luck! Now time for me to study for the 66.

I am not surprised by the reduced emphasis on options. How many retail investors buy options? I am surprised at the number of question on annuities. Annuities are terrible investments because the fees are so high.

I took the series 7 11/27/2013 and failed with a 56. I read the Kaplan book but this test blew me out the water. I really focused on bonds and options to my surprise I had about 10 to 15 questions with no calculations! Annuities Annuities that’s what I felt every other question. Also a lot of cost basis questions. I am going to attempt this test again in 2014 but need some advice on how to study. I previously used the Kaplan material and followed the calendar and watched the videos. I was scoring 76-78 on my chapter quizzes and took 2-3 quizzes for each chapter. Any advice would be great.

The focus should be on everything regardless of what you think will be on the test. Everyone’s test will be different. With a 56 on the exam, there is a large disconnect between you and the material. Also, you mentioned quizzes. Did you do any longer exams? You might want to consider getting a tutor for the next attempt. 16 points is a lot to overcome on your own.

I just took it this Friday and passed with a 77 which I am pleased with considering I had virtually no financial background. I did study hard and very diligently. Unless you are a genius and have a photographic memory I dont recommend taking this test lightly. You need to put in the time. And while I felt I had to know everything (nothing like a little pressure) and the practice STC exams make you feel that way, the reality of the test was completely different.

So many things that I was so prepared to answer never came up. Yes, lots of options, munis, Rule questions, annuities, and a good amount of suitablity questions.

My biggest advice is to try to know as much as possible AND, most important, know why something is or is not suitable for a customer. THAT is where so many people seem to have issues because you are so fucused on learning so much info that you dont look at the big picture on how to apply all that knowledge to advising an investor.

So everytime you come across a comment on suitablity of a particular product for a particular investor take now.

I just took it this Friday and passed with a 77 which I am pleased with considering I had virtually no financial background. I did study hard and very diligently. Unless you are a genius and have a photographic memory I dont recommend taking this test lightly. You need to put in the time. And while I felt I had to know everything (nothing like a little pressure) and the practice STC exams make you feel that way, the reality of the test was completely different.

So many things that I was so prepared to answer never came up. Yes, lots of options, munis, Rule questions, annuities, and a good amount of suitablity questions.

My biggest advice is to try to know as much as possible AND, most important, know why something is or is not suitable for a customer. THAT is where so many people seem to have issues because you are so fucused on learning so much info that you dont look at the big picture on how to apply all that knowledge to advising an investor.

So everytime you come across a comment on suitablity of a particular product for a particular investor take now.

Just passed my Series 7 a few weeks ago. Selling my STC book (most recent version). Series 7 for dummies book (with 2 practice tests in it), and have access to 12 more practice tests until October… $175 OBO… Let me know if you’re interested!

Hello all, I’ve been looking your comments about the series 7 exam and i would really like to know if you could give me some advice for the material that i can buy to study. I’m 22 years old and I’m from Mexico City so i don’t really know where to start. I’ve seen that you all talk about Kaplan and STC material but I I’m still confuse so if you take the time to help me I would really appreciate it.

Hello all, I’ve been looking your comments about the series 7 exam and i would really like to know if you could give me some advice for the material that i can buy to study. I’m 22 years old and I’m from Mexico City so i don’t really know where to start. I’ve seen that you all talk about Kaplan and STC material but I I’m still confuse so if you take the time to help me I would really appreciate it.

Has anyone used online offerings? I’m considering posting classes online, and want to know if anyone has found the free resources available to be helpful, complete, incomplete, interesting, boring, or whatever. Would you use a good online, free resource if available?

Has anyone used online offerings? I’m considering posting classes online, and want to know if anyone has found the free resources available to be helpful, complete, incomplete, interesting, boring, or whatever. Would you use a good online, free resource if available?

I would think that most people would take a look at a free resource but before using it, they should evaluate the author’s bio to see if going through the resource would be a good use of time.