The short and sweet Series 63 exam is one of the last exam most people conquer. It tends to be less grueling than exams like the Series 7 Exam, Series 86 Exam, or Series 79 Exams, however, don’t underestimate this short exam.
Short and Sweet Series 63 Exam…But Full of Tricks
The Series 63 Exam involves mostly understanding state regulations, and how they may differ from federal ones. A very large portion of the exam involves understanding what types of securities need to be registered, what type of transactions need to be registered, and the difference between broker dealer and investment advisor registration.
Although that seems like a short list, there are an amazing number of ways in which these topics can be twisted to be tricky.
First, we highly advise that you watch out for the dreaded double negatives. Many questions will include things you should “not” do, and then to choose from a selection of things to “avoid not doing.”
Eyes crossed yet?
A very simple trick is to drop one of the negatives, and then answer the question that way. Three out of the four multiple-choice answers will be correct. Often times they can be easier to do than to pick the one answer that does not fit.
Time Left? Double Check
Since this exam is short and sweet, we also recommend that you take the time to double check your answers at the end of the exam. The Series 63 Exam only includes 60 multiple-choice questions. Of the 60, you’ll need to score 43 correct.
You’ll be given an hour and 15 minutes to finish the exam. This should be plenty of time. At Professional Exam Tutoring, we almost never hear of students running out of time on this exam.
As a result, if you do have say, 20 minutes left on your exam, use that 20 minutes to review questions. Specifically, and counterintuitively, review questions where you were confident.
We recommend this strategy much more than reviewing questions where you had a problem answering. That’s because if you had a problem before, you’ll likely still have a problem after.
Doublechecking answers in which you were confident will be much more fruitful. You are likely to know whether or not you answered correctly. Keep in mind that if you were confident on 30 out of the 60 questions, you still probably answered a few of them incorrectly. A quick doublecheck will ensure you find any questions you might’ve missed the first time around.
Overall, the Series 63 Exam will be a nice walk in the park for some of you. However, give this exam the time it deserves in order to pass. Usually three weeks is enough for most people, but if you have to go to four weeks or five weeks, to make sure you pass it first time around, we encourage you to do so.
The sooner you finish the exam, the sooner you can enjoy your summer! If you need any help, feel free to reach out. Good luck!