r/Series24

I started studying this past week for S24. My company provided me with Kaplan as a studying resource (coworkers on my team used it)

I’ve been reading through many posts and here’s what I’ve gathered thus far as a strategy:

Read the text book from beginning to end, do the knowledge checks and questions as you’re going through the units, save the qbank questions and exams until the end. Don’t treat this like the series 7 where you can pass the test just by doing practice questions and exams over and over. Also, I stumbled on Deans YouTube page which looks to be a huge resource for information. Does anyone have a strategy where they used Dean before, during, or only after getting through the text book?

There is so much raw memorization of rules, numbers, percentages, where I find myself so distracted writing down notes for almost everything (all new to me) that each unit is taking forever to get through. And then when I do the knowledge checks, I’m barely getting a third of them correct. Is it normal for majority of this stuff to not make sense? Trying to get thru the text in just the first 1.5 units has been so demoralizing, i feel like i don’t know anything.

It’s only been a week and I’m freaking out!

To start I’ve passed the 7, 65, 66, 63, 9, and hold several designation including my CFP so test taking in normal - passed all on the first try…. second time taking the 10 and didn’t pass. I’ve used STC for my 9 felt good as the videos, reading material, practice exams and QBank all aligned with the actual exam. It was almost the complete opposite when it came to the 10.

I’ve read a lot of comments on Kaplan and PP but most of them are more than a year old. Any input on which was helpful would be appreciated.

STC was good but most of the practice tests and QBank questions were too simplified.

Any help would be appreciated.

after three times i finally passed this beast! thank you to Dean for all the great content that helped me tremendously. my advise is keep at it. understand the concepts of the rules more than anything. if i can do it
you can too!

Passed the S24 this afternoon after my 3rd attempt.

First test using Kaplan was not prepared at all and it was too late to change the date (43)

Second attempt better prepared using mainly Kaplan and STC qbank (69)

Third attempt all STC from start to finish books and videos.
70s on all the finals done with answers and I would use AI to explain a lot of the questions I was having trouble with.
GL 1 71% GL 2 64%

Shout out to this group and of course Dean and all the videos he created. Listen to the 24 in 60 mins on the way to the exam. It definitely helped with one or two questions.

You guys got this!
GL

Happy to announce I passed the 24 today on the first try.

Here is my personal experience-

❌Used STC & supplemented with Kaplan Q Bank.

I think STC by itself would have been sufficient but I did both because I was only going to do this test once.

❌Memorization of key facts, dates, and figures was paramount. This test was memorization first and foremost with the understanding of the underlying key concepts second.

I’ve read several posts where they mention that STC goes wide, but the test goes deep. I did not really have that experience. I had a LOT of point and click answers on mine that matched the material almost identically and a handful of questions I had no clue about and just guessed.

In my experience, the STC tests covered a lot of the material that I saw. However, when testing and answering the practice tests I always reasoned the WHY so that it stuck.

With both providers I made custom exams with wrong answer questions as well as with weak area chapters as provided in their reports. I’ve taken the SIE, 6, and 7 in the last two years all with Kaplan and I had no idea they did reporting on weak areas. Unless it’s new otherwise I just had no idea.

If you’re taken the 7 recently (I took it in March) there is some crossover of questions.

My exam scores were:
STC Final 1: 61%
STC Final 2: 65%
STC Final 3: 66%
STC Final 4: 69%
STC Greenlight #1: 74%
STC exam: 74%
STC Greenlight #2: 78%
STC exam: 83%

Kaplan:
64.38%
63.75%
70.63%
80%
73.75%

❌Utilized ChatGPT to help with test prep
I signed up for ChatGPT subscription and loaded in the STC PDF material and CTF into a project and set it up the prompts to help me study. STC doesn’t let you copy and paste their material so I had to screenshot questions into it and have it “ELI5” many many many times to have it dumb down certain topics so I could understand. Kaplan lets you copy and paste, which was much more friendly. I dropped in the weak areas from both providers and had it drill me on CTF, make up its own “series 24-esque” questions, and help me build a study plan.

❌Used Dean’s videos for anything that I needed extra help with- used the 60 min video last night and this morning.

Thanks to Dean and all of the advice provided here I can now rest that it’s done. I might be a bit addicted now, though and might go for the 10. 🤣

I used Kaplan for the SIE, 7, 66 and 9. However, for the 10 I feel the Kaplan Qbank let me down. I switched to using the Pass Perfect QBank leading up to my second attempt and feel that made all the difference. The PP Qbank has harder questions that will better prepare you for actual exam. Specifically for the 10, PP is the way to go. Good luck!

I just passed the Series 24 yesterday and I still feel like I’m dreaming. Although I felt confident in my studies heading into the exam, roughly 4 questions in I realized how different the exam was going to be from what/how I studied. People will tell you the questions are long and it is a reading test, and while that’s absolutely true, I was not exactly prepared to be converting language. It truly felt like I studied in a different language compared to the test itself in relation to how the questions were written. It’s been a few years since I’ve taken one of these, and I forgot just how obnoxious some of the questions are. I used STC to prep and although they have a high pass rate, I really did not feel that the material they focus on was prominent in the actual exam. I could’ve gotten a rough draw, but I also think they cast a very wide net as compared to what the exam deems important. Personally, hearing the concepts talked about in Dean’s YouTube videos is what helped me the most. He goes deep on the topics which is way more necessary than memorizing time frames or knowing what needs to filed when. I shouldn’t be surprised since this is a general principal/supervision qualifying exam, but the majority to the questions were situational judgement calls. When in doubt, try to picture yourself in the example outlined in the question. Oh, and forget all about margin and net capital, and focus on the WHY behind the concepts. Dean’s stories helped me learn the real world “why”.

Currently studying for the 24... taking it next week. In the final bit of my studies... currently testing in the 70-75 range. Green light exam 1 : 72% 115/160

Is this a good spot to be in?

Thanks.

Thank you to Dean and the youtube videos, extremely helpful.

Currently hold SIE, 7, 63, & 9

Just failed my Series 10 exam today…been in the industry since Jan 2025 I got a 66% which comes short about 7-10 questions.

I’m trying to retest in 15 days with the new rule but apparently reduced waiting time hasn’t gone into effect yet I’m bummed because this is my first exam I’ve failed and I know in 2 weeks time I can learn the material I struggle with. 30 days out seems too far and a lot of time for me or lose info. Honestly just wanted to vent hoping my next attempt is a pass