I have scoured the net and found no discussion about the Series 53.

A little background - I took the Series 24 in August of 2013 studying for less than 30 days using Kaplan and passed. Right after I bought the Kaplan Series 53 material and studied in the same way as I did for the Series 24 and missed the S53 by 1 point a 69%, literally 1 question on the 100 question exam.

Back to the book and questions I went and 30 days later another 69%!!! I have NEVER failed an exam I actually tried for and to come so close both times was maddening!!

The actual exam was nothing like the Kaplan material at the time. I ended up speaking to the CEO of Kaplan after the general folks couldn't answer my questions. As such, I have decided not to use them this go around even though it appears they've updated their material.

I'm scheduled to take the Series 53 in less than a week and am using STC. I also noticed the exam weighing options in some of the sections has changed a bit since 2013.

I'm scoring anywhere between 79-84% on their practice exams and feel like I have a better understanding of the material this time. But I am a bit uneasy due to my past experience with this tyrant of an exam.

My question is directed to anyone who has somewhat recently taken the S53 and passed, I don’t care if you made a 70 or 100. What vendor did you use, how long did you study and any other info you would think would be helpful would be greatly appreciated to pass this nemesis of mine!!