Have you had the unfortunate luck of a failed series 7 exam? Fret not, you’re not the only one. While I strive to make sure that every student that seeks out my services as a Series 7 tutor passes, some will not. Today I’m going to share what I’ve learned from those that don’t pass the first time around. Below are the top 5 reasons why some students end up with a failed Series 7 exam.
Failed Series 7 Exam: Reason 1
Insufficient study time. The most common and most obvious reason is the cliche “no pain, no gain.” Young professionals with minimal background in finance will find that they may need up to two months of studying for the Series 7 exam. Others may need two months of studying and private Series 7 tutoring. On the other hand, those that can learn concepts quickly and already have a vast background in finance may need only a couple of weeks. All of that said, every one of these types of professionals still needs to put in some study time. Whether it’s overconfidence, a lack of focus, a hectic schedule, or a major life event be sure to make up the time. Knowing the content well is key. Guessing your way through the exam won’t work.
Failed Series 7 Exam: Reason 2
Not enough time spent on (STC) practice questions. Everyone has their own methods for studying. I encourage you to embrace whatever study method has successfully worked for you in the past when approaching the Series 7 exam. One tip I highly recommend to all students that seek out my Series 7 tutoring services is the following: Make sure to spend some time practicing the STC’s practice exams/questions. The questions tend to be a good representation of the actual exam questions. The more of them you do the better off you’ll be. As mentioned in another post, once you can get 85% of the questions correct, you’re ready for the exam.
Failed Series 7 Exam: Reason 3
No review. You don’t need to be proficient at taking the Series 7 to realize that there is a lot of content. Much of the material is going to be new. As many first time financial services professionals find out, there are plenty of obscure regulations, rules, names, and definitions that show up in the multiple choice options. For example, take a look at Rule 147. Other than memorizing the rule, just seeing “Rule 147” won’t likely tip you off that it deals with Intrastate Offerings. These are the sort of things you’ll have to know (or at least be able to recognize when you see them) to sidestep a failed Series 7 exam. Thus, I recommend to all of my students to spend at least an hour reviewing the material covered in the previous week. Committing terms, definitions, and rules to long-term memory through constant review will be a tremendous help.
Failed Series 7 Exam: Reason 4
Didn’t take a mock exam. Going through practice questions might not be enough. Make sure to sit down at some point and take a mock exam. At a minimum take half of a mock exam. Remember that the full exam involves two three hour sessions, so sitting through one three hour mock exam should at least prepare you to do it again. Series 7 tutoring can help you up to a point, but you need to experience what it will feel like to take the test. This will be the first exam for many since graduating college. Take the time to take at least one practice exam. I highly recommend STC’s practice exams (closed book), on top of the practice questions that they offer.
Failed Series 7 Exam: Reason 5
Locking in the exam date. Don’t be afraid to postpone the test if you aren’t ready. Be realistic with yourself. As much pressure as you may feel from your boss, there is no shame in pushing the Series 7 exam date. I don’t have exact numbers but anecdotally I would be willing to bet that close to 50% of the students I see shift the exam date. It’s a six hour exam and takes a lot of preparation. Rather than fail it the first time, just call up FINRA and push it back a couple of weeks. The extra time spent with a Series 7 tutor, the Series 7 material, and Series 7 practice questions will increase your odds of passing so you can avoid a failed Series 7 exam the first time around.
2 thoughts on “The Top 5 Reasons Why You Failed the Series 7 Exam”
All in all the above points which you make are spot on suggestions in my opinion, that being said one should remind all of those people whom read your suggestions that they need to also factor in the financial outlay of the sponsoring Investment company, (your number 5 Reason ) being the most precautionary step to take, that is of course if the sponsoring company complies with the request that the aspiring intern makes to FINRA. Because when everything is said and done, if the ‘Financial Advisor Intern’ fails it is unlikely that the Investment company will repeat the approximately $1500.00 cost to enable the intern to be re-tested. In my case I was terminated, thereby losing a confirmed salary, as well as the one time sponsor cost. There were people in the Human Resources department who were in favor of my having a second chance, but the larger picture which concerned other failed applicants, as well as myself totaled a substantial amount of money to the Investment company, their attitude possibly being that what you extend to one intern, should be granted to all of those in the same situation, and businesswise that would be impractical. So I went away knowing that I wasn’t singled out personally, yet knowing it would be difficult to find such a sponsor ever again however much I may have continued to study. Please address this point of view.
Thanks for your comment Frank. Yes, I have seen many large employers that pay financial advisers while they are studying for the test. In some of these cases the Series 7 hopefuls are only given “one shot” to pass. On the other hand, there are also some firms that allow more than one shot to their employees (in fact, I’ve seen some students take the Series 7 exam three times with the same employer). The best advice, in my view, would be to find out the company’s policy before you start and weigh the pros and cons. Sorry to hear about your situation, I’ve seen it happen multiple times unfortunately.
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