When it comes to your Series 7 Top-Off priorities list, a few items should be at the top. In today’s post we give you a quick dancing lesson on what might matter most on exam day.
Series 7 Top-Off Priorities
At Professional Exam Tutoring, many of our students initially don’t know where to start. We recommend every student try this: start with what is likely to be most tested, and prioritize that.
So, still not sure where to start?
Here’s another tip: Kaplan’s QBank does an excellent job at weighing some of the most important, and hence, most likely sections to be tested.
Below we give you a quick rundown of what’s in the Kaplan QBank that you should notice.
Options…Not an Option
First, Options is by far one of the most heavily weighted topics in the QBank.
Although there is the possibility that Options questions don’t show up in large proportions on any one exam, we believe that the odds are extremely high that if you (unfortunately) have to take the Series 7 Top-Off exam twice, or more, you’ll run into one exam that is extremely Options heavy.
Kaplan does an excellent job reviewing the Options material. They do an even better job with their questions in the QBank. Try going through Options questions, and specifically targeting the subtopics. You can select subtopics in the QBank like Options Math, Taxation of Options, and others that may trip you up.
This is a key section we highly recommend that you brush up on.
Suitability
Next, you won’t find a section on Suitability in the QBank. However, you will find many questions covering Suitability. The problem with this section is that these questions are buried in each of Kaplan’s covered topics.
Although this section is not specifically broken out by Kaplan though, you should take it very seriously. Chances are high that you will get quite a few questions on Suitability.
When Options questions aren’t it great supply on the exam, there is a chance that Suitability may be. Suitability should be high on your list of Series 7 Top-Off priorities.
Munis
Lastly, Municipal Securities is another topic that you’re likely to see on the Series 7.
You’ll notice that Kaplan’s QBank goes out of its way to offer up several hundred questions on this topic. This should be a waving red flag warning you to pay attention to this section. The Munis section has been a fairly core topic on the Series 7 exam for years.
Some subtopics in the Munis section that tend to trip people up include the amortization and accretion of muni bond prices, tax equivalent yields, and the various rules and regulations associated with municipal securities.
If you need to go back to the SIE Exam text for basic definitions, then you should do it. Alternatively, try a Series 7 tutor. Either way, this section is not worth overlooking.
Overall, we recommend that you prioritize these three sections carefully. Other general topics that tend to trip people up include things like taxation, cost basis, and profit and loss calculations. These general questions are covered among many topics (Munis, Options, Margin, etc.) so try to pay attention to each. With enough preparation, and the right prioritization, you will do just fine! Good luck!