Today, we wanted to provide an SIE study material update. In recent years, more SIE study material has come online. There are a few new companies out there that provide useful help for the SIE exam. In this post, we update students on which material seems to be most effective.
SIE Study Material Update: STC is Still the Winner
In terms of the best study material, the STC textbook is not necessarily the darling, however, the STC practice exams are still the best preparation that we see out there.
Kaplan, Pass Perfect, and Achievable are all excellent resources, but the STC practice questions tend to be the most representative from our experience. Their scores are excellent predictors of a student’s success. Newer companies such as Achievable are effective and get great feedback from students, however we recommend STC’s decades of experience, which still seem to hold sway.
How Should I Use STC Study Material?
What we, at Professional Exam Tutoring, have found most effective for most students is to use STC’s eight practice exams.
Going through one practice exam at a time (starting at 1 and going through 8), tends to be most effective. From there, we recommend taking notes on any questions you get incorrect. Study only those notes , for the time being. Most people tend to find taking notes on everything overwhelming, and as a result tend to stop studying from their notes because they end up with such a massive trove.
Keep your notes to a minimum around areas in which you’re having problems. It may seem like common sense, but where you have deficiencies is where you should focus. That will streamline your studying and keep you very wasting time on redundant study areas.
After finishing the practice exams, and if you have access, use STC’s “Greenlight exams.” Keep in mind, they will be difficult. You’ll typically see your score drop by about 10 percentage points from the practice exams. But, these are also a very good way to study. You don’t necessarily have to crack 80% on these, but cracking 80% on the STC practice exams is usually the best indication of when you’re ready to go.
For more information, or for a little more feedback and guidance, feel free to reach out! Good luck, in the meantime!