r/Series66Exam

Alright guys moment of truth. My exam is tmr.

My STC scores are 79,77,80,73,80

STC green light exams: 70 and 72

Kaplan sim exams 75.45 and 75.45

Ken’s brutal exam 1: 80%

Ken’s brutal exam 2: 84%

Just need to know if I’m in good standing here. Thanks for all y’all’s support.

Thank goodness that’s over with. Felt good overall but still had some tough questions throughout the middle. Take it slow and review! Ken’s brutal exams were great supplements to Stc.

I know everyone says this but if I can do it, you can too!!

Studied hard for about 2 weeks!

Happy to answer any questions about my experience.

Hi all,

Very disappointed right now.

I missed this time by one point and the last time as well.

I have read the textbook twice, watched all the videos, used Testgeek, S7 G, and did the Brutal exam in advanced all of which I excelled. I took these exams and was scoring very high, the brutals I only missed 3-5 Qs at the most each

I went in really feeling like I knew it all.

But the questions didn’t represent anything I really studied. Asked me questions I knew and then gave me answer options I had never seen before or even close.

I am going to keep at it because this industry really suits my skill set.

I just can’t believe just how different the test was from any of my materials…

Just venting a bit.

I refuse to give up, just shocked is all.

Missing by one point twice in a row hurts quite a bit.

It’s been proposed, but it’s not a rule yet there is a timeline for all this

Slightly different situation than most people: I passed 66 6+ years ago, but had a role change and lost it. Changing my role again and had to relicense.

Took the 66 yesterday morning after 3.5 weeks of studying and passed. What worked for me: following Kaplan’s study program and supplementing with Ken Finnen YouTube videos. I tried to read at least 1 chapter a day (got through 23 sections in just under 2 weeks), and then took 7 simulation exams (68, 71, 68, 78, 80, 74, 81), the Kaplan practice (62%) and mastery(62%), and both of Ken’s brutal exams (80%, 70%).

I’ve been in finance for almost a decade so some things I barely needed to study, but going through every step of Kaplan was perfect for me. I listened to some of the on demand videos right after I read the chapter/did questions, and in hindsight I maybe could’ve truly followed the schedule because it would’ve reinforced all that I learned. The big jump in my scores came from after listening to Ken’s videos on IA/IAR/BD/Agents etc which made those differences much easier for me. I will say I think Kaplan’s practice and mastery exam are insanely hard, and it really shook my confidence after taking them. Also I felt so comfortable with Ken’s brutal exam, but his other video called brutal exam prep made me feel like I knew nothing.

Topics on my exam: ESOP, dividend discount model, CE credits/hours, guarantee dividends, advertising rules, ETNs.

Night before the exam I actually did no studying. Felt like I had so many nerves and was burning out so just tried to relax. Good luck to all of you still grinding, you can do it!

Used Achievable, QBank, and (most importantly) Ken!!

Those brutal exams are the most valuable thing I did.

Feel free to AMA but my performance does not guarantee your future results.

So absolutely stoked to be done with these!

Im going to be taking the s66 for the 3rd time. I failed it twice with the same score of 66 even after double the hours of study. I used multiple vendors with an average simulated test score of 82%. Since then ive passed the 63 and just barely missed the 65 by 1 point. Im taking the 66 on Monday and my stc & kaplan test scores have hit 90%. Am I ready to go? Is there anything else I can try to improve my chances?

I want to thank this community as it was always helpful reviewing peoples feedback. I am finally done with my journey. Know a lot of who must register and where like pertaining to the office. I would say this was definitely the hardest exam of the 3. Whole time taking it I was thinking what am I gonna do if I fail. Press the button the submit and heart beating so fast. Do a ton of practice questions, and make sure to watch ALL of Series7Gurus YT vids. The explicated exams really helped. Read the book in full. Take notes. Do what it takes and you’ll get it done. There were so many things on my test I felt like I’ve never seen before. Certain questions all 4 answers looked right and didn’t have a clear choice. Know the products and their advantages/disadvantages. You got this! Love yall

I passed the SIE and Series 7 on the first try. Everyone in my office basically said the 7 was the "big bad wolf" of securities exams and "if you can pass that first try you'll be fine for the 66." So I thought, after failing the 66 the first time in May (with a score of 64), that I went in a little too cocky. I was humbled my second go around a month later, only getting a 68. I'm using STC, read the whole book, took the chapter tests as I read and did okay on practice exams (scores ranged between a 66-78 on those.) I used Ken's 66 videos faithfully as a supplement as I feel he was the reason I passed the 7. What else should I add? Kaplan Q bank? I'm at a loss and feeling defeated. Just reopened my window and can schedule at the end of July.

As the subject says, I passed my 66 today and concluded my exam journey 3/3 on the first shot (for now anyway). For context I’m no stranger to standardized tests, having successful endeavors in the ACT, LSAT, Uniform Bar exam, SIE, 7, and now 66. A glutton for punishment, me. But let me tell you that these exams are no cake walk. When you pass the 7 and/or the 66, you’ve done something. Be proud. As for the 66, I used Kaplan as I has for the SIE and 7. It was sufficient enough but I wasn’t terribly impressed with the book, or the live class. In fact, if you’re using Kaplan for the 66, just don’t waste your time on the live class. Looking at you, George Lucas (discredit to the name imo). For the Kaplan series 7 live class it was Mark Esposito, and he was the man. Incredible course from Espo. I didn’t hop on the TestGeek train until the 66, but wow. Buy that instead. Buy it regardless. Brian’s got the test figured out. $100 with the guru20 code. If you want to know what’s on the exam and how it’ll be, that’s your answer. I also became quite close (unbeknownst to them) with Ken and gru. It’s a shame those guys are oil and water, because they both are absolutely incredible at what they do. Between Ken’s brutal and TestGeek, over half the exam was things I’d either directly or indirectly seen before. As an aside, I saw 2 SPAC questions, a QDRO, a balance sheet equation, and an after-tax current yield equation. Everything else was par for the course. Anyway, just wanted to post this for some encouragement and to say thanks to the guys that helped along the way. Peace and booty grease, soldiers.

QUESTION: A BD who is registered in State A and State B has one office in state A. State A requires $45K net capital while State B requires $55K net capital. The SEC requires $35K net capital. How much does the BS need to maintain?

A) BDs are never required to maintain any amount of working capital

B) 45K

C) 35K

D) 55K

I passed today on my second attempt, thank you to all who I asked questions to and those who responded. Anyone who is taking it I recommend to see as many versions of the test as possible I started with Kaplan then switched to STC and usher the brutal exams and listened to everyones. Had the $33 dollar premium on my test shoutout Ken!

I was averaging 77-83 on and STC was 70-75!

Getting ready to take the exam Monday July 6th, looking for any last minute study tips this weekend. I crammed hard the 2 days into the first exam and looking back I do feel like that worked against me in a way.

Missed the first attempt by 1 point a little less than 30 days, section 4 was the clear lagger.. 1: 75% 2: 82% 3: 77% 4: 64%

So far I’ve re read the entire book, took some notes but tried to not get caught up in note taking again. I do feel that my handle on section 4 specifically is much better.

STC Practice Exams: (I only took 1-3 before attempt 1)
1: 64% -> 87%
2. 76% -> 84%
3. 70% -> 87%
4. 80%
5. 81%
6. 83%
7. 80%

Ken’s brutal exam before attempt 1: 84%.. haven’t taken it yet after failing the first exam.

Looking for advice on whether I should finish out the remaining 4 stc exams or dive into maybe some of Ken’s videos over the next 5 days. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Hey everyone. Unfortunately did not pass my exam today after studying thoroughly and intensely for 5 weeks straight. Got a 70/100… missed the mark by 3 questions. I took 12 practice exams through STC scores ranging from 73 usually - 79. I re took practice exam 1 this past Sunday and got a 91. I was feeling soo confident. I utilized series 7 dudes material a ton and Ken finnens videos like his brutal exams and power hour. They were easy for me. Come to exam day and man after the first 20 questions everything was so hard. The wording on these questions were horrible I mean I would get asked about concepts like joint tenants and survivorship which I know and then the answer choices were stuff I have never seen before describing the concept. A lot of new material as well that I have never seen before and asking questions that I’ve never even been asked in my life after doing 1500+ practice questions. Of course I get to see where I did worst in which was laws and regs… I got 16 wrong. Easy to say if I just focus on laws and regs and hammer those in I should pass no problem but I’m not sure what else there is to do other than maybe use a different vendor that my company provides me with and try that out (knopman marks). Please I would love any ideas or criticism on how to approach this test again and be confident next month. I hate having to wait 30 days to take this thing again. Thanks for all the advice that’s given.

This is my first ever Reddit Post. The posts and info here were very helpful so I figured I'd share my experience to pay it forward.

I passed the SIE/7/63 two years ago and recently changed firms. My new job requires the 66 and I had only one attempt available to keep the job, so to say there was a bit of pressure would be an understatement.

For previous exams I used ADBanker with no complaints, however I used Pass Perfect for the 66 primarily because it came highly recommended by my firm and colleagues. I was slightly worried that since it had been a while since the 7 & 63 that I would have to re-learn much that I had forgotten.

My Method: Treat studying like a job. Put time in every day. Be intentional. Avoid overwork/burnout. Analyze performance and improve.

1. Read through the chapters once to get the general ideas and take the chapter exam. If I got anything lower than 60% on the chapter exams I reread the whole chapter before moving on. After completing the entire course I used the "proficiency" scores to dive deeper on understanding certain topics I had trouble with.

2. After completing the entire course I started using YouTube as a supplement to keep high level topics fresh and get deeper understanding of areas I had trouble with the 3 biggies. I watched these religiously everyday. Hearing someone explain the concepts helped them get cemented in my brain better than reading the same explanations over and over again.

3. Practice Exams - The two weeks leading up to the exam date I hit the practice exams hard. I took a full exam every day. After completing the exam I went through all of my answers, right or wrong, to understand the "why" behind the concepts. I realized there were many questions that I got right for the completely wrong reasons. Also realized how frequently I got a question wrong because I DIDN'T READ THE FULL QUESTION or I got mixed up with EXCEPT etc. . .

4. Analyze - The proficiency analysis was very helpful to find weak spots and spend more time understanding the topics. For me, this was primarily Registrations, Laws and Regulations.

5. Supplement - As many have said here, I highly recommend supplementing with the Kaplan Qbank. This was a game changer for two reasons: 1. It exposed me to different language and styles of questions to test my comprehension of the topics. 2. I could create custom topic quizzes to fine tune my understanding of specific topics where my understanding was weak. Quick 20-40 question quizzes helped me get into a rhythm for each topic without feeling burnt out. I also did Ken's Brutal Exam which was a game changer. I know for a fact I got a question right on the actual exam because of this, Ken had a question that referenced something I had never seen on Kaplan or Pass Perfect.

6. Try different things - I tried flash cards, hated them. Writing out notes especially helped with the equations/definitions (that I didn't even end up needing, more on that). The biggest help for me personally was to teach. I taught my girlfriend all about different topics, which she gracefully put up with and immediately regretted. When she wasn't around or willing, I taught by speaking out loud to an empty room. Simply recalling and explaining technical vs fundamental analysis, State vs Fed IARs etc. helped my brain recall concepts better than simply recognizing answers to a question. This also had the added bonus of giving me the confidence that I knew what I was talking about.

The Exam

The actual exam was easier than I had anticipated and while there were definitely questions that had tricky wording, they were not as tricky as Pass Perfect or Kaplan. I only needed to use the calculator twice for basic calculations and the only other equations needed were recognition (e.g. when to use DDM, CAPM, etc.) The majority of the time consuming questions were suitability (Which of these is least/most suitable), Ethics, and Registration questions (State A, State B).

I made sure to read the full question slowly, and understand exactly what it was asking before looking at any of the answer choices. For many of the questions I didn't immediately know the right answer but I could pick out the definite wrong answers. For these I wrote out:

A

B

C

D

on my scratch sheet. I could X out each answer I knew was wrong, using process of elimination until I narrowed it down. This helped tremendously.

Overall I averaged 81% on PP and 73% on Kaplan leading up to the exam and I felt very prepared.

If you're studying now, hopefully this helps. Remember preparation and confidence are key. You got this!