r/Series7exam

Started with STC at the first of the year was getting high 80s went and took the test and got a 66. Started completely over this time using Achievable and I'm again getting mid 80s on the final exams. Am I actually ready this time? I'm tired of studying but I don't want to do this a third time....

Any thoughts from the brain trust?

I'm taking the exam next week. I've been studying for about three months and I'm constantly averaging 62% to a 68% on Kaplan practice exams. I just took the series 7 brutal exam by Ken and scored a 76%. I feel like those are two very different scores and I don't know which one to believe ,not that I want to be super confident going into it, but I just want a better understanding of where I'm at.

Any advice?

Hi guys,

I plan on taking the exam by the end of July. Do you think that’s sufficient time to study to pass? How many hours would you recommend of studying per day?

Also, in reading the textbook first, but how many weeks do you think is optimal to spend doing practice questions?

Just passed today! Thought I was failing the whole time lol. My draw had a lot a lot of options calculations but those were easy for me bc I bought Ken’s options videos. I only think I passed because I had a lot of calculations lol. Barely any munies, couple calculations like current yield and dividend yield, some questions about years you have to keep stuff, and the rest was suitability for the most part.

Ngl some of the questions and answers felt a little foreign where you kind of have to read it a few times to even understand wtf they’re asking, but applying all the tricks and memory aids I guess did the job.

I used Kaplan and they go into wayyy to much detail about things I didn’t even see.

Was very shaky on options going into the test ( I thought ) and was scoring mid to high 70s on Kaplans practice exams.

Tried the mastery exam yesterday and gave up…

But, Passed test today. LOTS of options and suitability ( knowing products and what to recommend). Honestly wasn’t sure if I was gonna pass or not mid test.

(title)

What were the ways u guys locked in suitability for the exam? It's costing me a lot of trouble. If you have any specific recommendations that would be greatly appreciated.

I am using STC, but my firm provides Knopman Marks as well if relevant.

Thanks!

Thought I would come on here and share my experience as I looked through these posts almost every day in the weeks leading up to my exam. A couple housekeeping things I wasn't prepared for but wasn't a big deal, it could've just been my testing center, but to take the test I received 2 laminated sheets with expo markers to write with as well as a calculator. And you aren't able to write anything down until you get to the first question. I didn't practice a data dump sheet or anything but just wrote down a few things I thought I might need throughout the test. In terms of preparation, I only took 3 full practice exams. I used achievable and thought it combined with listening to the S7G and Ken prepared me for the test. I took 2 achievable practice tests and didn't score above a 74 on either of those, and then 2 days before the test I took the Brutal S7 Exam from Ken and scored around a 67 I believe. There were a couple questions on there that directly correlated to me getting a few questions right. As far as the test goes, obviously you need to know advanced options, suitability and munis big time. I would say maybe the largest section of my test was what a registered rep can/cannot do which I struggled with leading up to the test because there are so many obscure situations they can throw at you. It is definitely true that you may feel like you're failing during the test, when I hit submit I wouldn't have been too surprised if I saw a 65 pop up. I took 2 breaks and splashed water on my face, anything to psych myself up to stay locked in. Also, I flagged probably 40 questions and only went back and changed 1 answer. Like Ken and SG7 say your first instinct is most likely the right answer. I also took Ken's advice in going back and reviewing the first 10 questions as I wasn't really in the zone yet. Huge shoutout to Ken and SG7 I couldn't have done it without them. Good luck to anyone taking it soon, you got this. Just control to controllables and don't get discouraged during the test even if you feel like you're failing. Hope this helps, happy to answer any questions. Onto the 66!

I got the 3rd tier, is that mostly for the zoom meetings and options? Where do I start? I'm studying, not on finals yet though.

Trying to shake off some nerves as I wrap up my studying. I felt very confident a week ago but now I’m afraid I’m starting to dig TOO deep. Scoring in the mid 80s on Kaplan practice exams and just scored 80% on ken’s brutal exam. Seems good to me, but I’m still afraid I’m missing something.

My Achievable exam scores are: 84, 79, 78, 78, 76, 80, 82

On Kaplan my average q bank score is 71.4 and I have done 1100 questions. My Kaplan exam scores are: 79, 70, 73.

Because if work full time it was difficult to do full Kaplan exams so did random sets of questions throughout the day.

I know this is a horrible mindset to have going into it but my exam results clearly show I’m not ready. I use Kaplan and I’ve taken 5 simulated exams and 1 practice exam with the mastery tomorrow. I’ve gotten 66-68% on all the exams with a 66 on the practice exam. Tbf they were all under unfavorable conditions since I’m studying at work and have to sit meetings throughout the day but even then I doubt it makes that much of a difference. I have a great understanding of suitability (getting nearly ever question right) and at least a basic understanding of everything else but it’s the rules and regulations (along with communication with the public and customer accounts) I have troubles remembering.

I may be jumping the gun since I still have the mastery but I don’t magically see myself jumping up by 5%+. I guess all I can do is study but I wanted some opinions/insight. I’ve heard you shouldn’t even consider taking the real exam until you’re scoring consistent 73+ but I’ve also heard people who never cracked 70 that passed. I’ve had a ton of time to study (5+ weeks) so I can’t really move it also I’m pretty sure it would cost a lot of money since I missed the 10 day window. I’m also starting to kinda freak out which in turn makes my studying less effective.

Sorry for the long post but I’m just not feeling great about this.

Started studying March 21st and had my test today. I used Knopman Marks and I felt like they prepared me well for the test. I got a 65%, 81% and 65% on my practice tests for Knopman. I bought ken finnen’s options membership which was a GAME CHANGER. Big thanks to you Ken! Used your brutal exam and quick and dirty which helped so much.

As for the test, i had lots of options questions (maybe 20-25), tons of suitability which was a strong suit of mine and of course muni’s. The test makes you feel like you want to walk out and quit (at least for me) but somehow i passed. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

I've prepared for the Series 7 using Kaplan. I read the book and found it to be a complete waste of time. I seemed to learn the most from Ken and the other guy on YouTube... (IDK why I can't say his name on here.)

I've been taking practice tests on Kaplan and have been getting high 60s.

I'm wondering if it's worth buying a different website's Q-bank for a different style of questions or if I should continue with Kaplan, as I've heard it's the most accurate in wording to the test.

To all my people that have used pass perfect for their 7 and passed, how was the material in relation to the test? I have passed my SIE and 66 and around halfway through the 7.

I’ve talked to a couple buddies of mine who used different vendors and said they were tested on some topics that they never even seen. If you guys have any tips or tricks that you used to help pass, please let me know!

Only things I’m fairly struggling with (~71-72%) mark is pre refunding, refunded, and sinking fund bond characteristics + options math (breakeven/gain/loss) on 2 different contracts.

Thanks!

I have been using Kaplan for 7 studying. My problem areas are options, types of orders and Portfolio and account analysis.

Have been getting 72-78 on my last 6 or so practice exams. Very worried. I’ve heard Kaplan is harder than exam and the options questions on the actual exam are WAY easier.

Any suggestions or words of encouragement!!!

I am a recruiter in the financial services industry. The Series 7 is not a license; it is a registration. Getting sponsored today is not an easy thing to do. For the financial firm, there is risk; risk that a person may not pass the exam; risk that a person with no existing book of business will fail (the fail rate is 88% if the first four years for someone with no experience, no book of business, nor proper business development training).

Man… I’m 45 and been doing IT consulting for 23 years making $200k and I’m just tired of the same thing (same small town and basically same company). So had an invitation to take a chance on becoming a financial planner through the prudential track. I studied and passed the SIE, then the insurance exam… did those in about 2 months ( mind you with a full time job and a pretty intense golf habit). Then started on the series 7……… a. Why the hell didn’t they give me the SIE and 7 back to back? b. Why is this so freaking hard. 500 pages of some the most in depth knowledge of the financial planning industry one could imagine. I took the LSAT and I can’t imagine it being harder but some how they have done it. KUDOS to all of those who passed with ease you got to have genius level IQ’s. I just finished the last of the 20 chapters in STC, have averaged 60% on the chapter quizzes, I feel like there is literally 0% chance I pass this. It feels like I’m 22 again trying to get into law school and the universe, or God or my dumb brain is just like “not in the cards “.

Passed today even though Sarasota tried to kill me with 3 flipped cars on the highway.

Studied for 4 months total. Ended up getting max 83% on Kaplan QBank sim and 84% on Ken's brutal exam.

I drove down and listened to Ken and the other guys summary videos and that helped a ton.

I got the weirdest draw ever. Like 80% options and 19% suitability and 1-3 random sectors sprinkled in with a few questions that were so incredibly hard (must be experimental? idk)

Definitely know options / spreads and straddles got fr 10 of those, suitability, and also a big thing I don't see people talking about enough is being able to limit the possible answers to 2. That helps so much. Also got 3-4 accrete / amort ("OID you must accrete" was actually used believe it or not).

Accidentally hit the tiger woods fist pump and a LFG in the testing center once I passed but they were cool about it.

On to the 63.