Kaplan has a reputation of being very comprehensive.  Some people say that they give you too much information.  Personally, I like alot of information.  Many people here will tell you that Training Consultants is more targeted and concise, which I believe is consistent with the way they market their products.  

I used Kaplan for the 7, just took the exam last week. I studied really hard because everyone was scaring me about how hard it was and in my current situation, I needed to pass on the 1st attempt. Ended up getting a 95% on it! Currently studying for the 63. I highly recommend Kaplan, prepared me really well. If you want, PM me if you have any questions.

httrading, how much time did you spend on studying for the 7?

2 weeks on my own, 4 days in the live class, and then 3 days studying / reviewing on my own. Approximately 3 to 3.5 weeks. I studied for about 6-8 hours a day.

This is how I studied for it:
- Read a unit, took the test in the end of the unit, then took the online practice test for that unit.
- Once I completed about 4 units, I took a test with material from all 4 online
- I completed the book in a little over 1 week, then started taking tests on all the material. All I did after that was take tests and made sure I understood the concepts.
- Then I went to the class for 4 days, Mon-Thurs.
- Studied a lot Fri, Sat, Sun; mostly taking practice tests
- Took the Kaplan Mastery exam on Sat, copied the questions into a word document to make sure I understood them
- Took the 7 on Monday.

Taking the practice tests really helped me out. I wasn't "surprised" by an questions on the actual exam, like most people.

Selecting test prep for the 7 wasn’t an easy process. I came across Training Comsultants by accident and when searching for reviews there really weren’t that many for TC. Kaplan, STC and a few others seemed to dominate all the forums. I used Kaplan for the 65 over ten years ago (deerborne at the time) and failed the first time, passing the 2nd time by the skin of my teeth. One thing for sure I wasn’t going to put my fate and the next 40 days of my life in their hands. I have been out of the industry for 8 years and at 43 yrs old, I needed all the help possible to pass this beast. Training consultants is amazing! I followed their system from start to finish and am happy to say I passed the test today with a 79. The program is a life saver. I couldn’t believe how so many of the questions were almost word for word. If you are a working professional who hasn’t had to study much of anything in the past 10 years and want to pass this test the first time, choose Trainig consultants. You will not be disapointed. This is the first time I have ever taken the time to write a review on anything and am doing it with the hope that someone will read it who was in the same place I was just over a month ago. TC is the real deal, trust me. More than happy to answer any questions regarding the material, test etc.

Thanks for the help. Did the standard finals prove to be what really helped you pass?

I took the Series 7 on 08/10 and I used the STC to prepare. 3 days before the exam, I was freaking out about memorizing questions so I bought the Kaplan Qbank for $124. Is anyone interested in purchasing it? It has two downloads and 3000 questions. $90 OBO

I am preparing to take the series 7 in June. I am using training consultants as the main source of information. Read some great reviews and decided to give it a try. My firm provided me with Kaplan study material, which made me feel like an illiterate, I did not understand anything so I decided to invest in training consultant. So far I am on chapter 2, bonds, and feel comfortable understanding the context, however, I have difficult time memorizing the formulas to calculate yields, conversion price, parity and what not. Are there a lot of math questions on the 7, where I will be needing these formulas to solve a problem or is it more about the basic knowledge? I know, that I have to memorize and learn the curves and how options are calculated but how about the bods will I need to use those formulas?

I spent hours on doing research on this topic and this discussion is the only one up to date.
Next month I'm taking Series 7 test and besides that I'm foreigner, and English is my 2nd language, I'm also new to financial business. I have only one attempt to pass Series 7 and then Series 66 to keep my job, so if somebody could help me and let me know which materials Kaplan or TC these days, in your opinion are more helpful, easy explained and easier to learn from, I would be very grateful.

From what I know, my company will provide me with STC to study from, but I prefer to invest some money in a better study materials since I learned from hours and hours of research that STC sucks and I don't want to risk.

Any suggestions will be very helpful.

Thank you!

Series 7 Kaplan vs Training Consultants-Any one has any suggestion or feedback.

I used Kaplan series 7 about 18 months ago, but failed. Now I am ready to try again but not sure I should used Kaplan or Training Consultant??? Anyone???

angelfish wrote:

Series 7 Kaplan vs Training Consultants-Any one has any suggestion or feedback.

I used Kaplan series 7 about 18 months ago, but failed. Now I am ready to try again but not sure I should used Kaplan or Training Consultant??? Anyone??

Angelfish, I used TC and passed last month with an 88. After 10 practice final exams, my average was an 89, so I feel that TC was accurate and gave me a good understanding of how the real thing was. I studied for 5 weeks, about 2-4 hours a day, only on weekdays. Two of my collegues used TC and passed with similiar scores. TC's best asset is its simplicity and its video lectures. If you prefer to listed to a lecturer rather than read it for yourself, then TC is for you.

I was brand new to the industry and used Kaplan for the Series 7 and passed with a 75%. I thought that the QBank was okay and it worked for me personally, but I wasn't so sure if it would work for everyone. I also tried to use Kaplan for the Series 66 and failed with a 70%. I read A LOT of positive reviews for Training Consultants so I spent the money for access to their practice questions. The second time I took the 66, I passed with an 84% (14 question difference).

I realize that you only asked about the 7, but I think that since I've used both courses, I can say without a doubt that Kaplan just gets into too much unneccessary detail. While it can be nice to have a lot of different practice questions to use, I think that sometimes too much detail is actually counterproductive and can be overwhelming. It feels like Kaplan's QBank is just about quantity of different questions while Training Consultants practice tests are about the quality of the questions being asked. Training Consultants was just SO much more focused on what is actually tested.

Good luck and hope you are able to figure out what works for you!

Is there a lot of mathematics and calculation type problems on the 7?

TC IS THE BEST FOR 7 AND 66. I USED STC BEFORE AND IT SUCKED AND I FAILED MY 7. THEN I SWITCHED TO TC AND PASSED MY 66 WITH 80 AND MY SERIES 7 WITH 83 TODAY!!!! I CAN NOT THANK TC AND MS. TINA ENOUGH FOR MAKING THE MATERIAL SO EASY AND UNDERSTANDABLE FOR ME SINCE I AM NEW TO INDUSTRY. YOU MUST FOLLOW HER STEP AND STUDY AND REVIEW DURING THE FINAL PRACTISE EXAMS. BUNCH OF THE QUESTIONS ON THE EXAM WERE SIMILAR FORMAT TO PRACTISE TESTS. 2 OR 3 WERE EVEN EXACTLY THE SAME. TC IS THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME. KAPLAN AMD STC SUCKKKK.THEY MAKE IT SO MUCH MORE DIFFICULT THEN IT IS . TC IS THE BEST. IF YOU WANNA PASS THAN GO WITH TC FOR SURE. YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!! :) :) :)