Tuesday, November 3, 2009

The Series 7 Exam

Let's talk about the Series 7 exam itself. First, the basic facts:


  • 250 questions (plus 10 experimental)
  • 6 hours with a required "half-time" break
  • a calculator is provided--bring your photo ID only
  • you must be sponsored by a broker-dealer to take the test
  • to get a securities salesperson (agent) license from your state, you must also take the 63 or the 66 exam in virtually all states

Now let's dispel a few urban legends regarding the Series 7

  • there is no limit to the number of times you can take the test
  • however: you must wait 30 days to re-test after the first failed attempt, 30 days to re-test after the second failed attempt, then 6 months after every failed attempt going forward
  • the test does not adapt to anything you're doing on the computer
  • no one has the "actual Series 7 questions"

How do people perform on this exam?

  • on any given day, ~ 66% of those taking the test pass it
  • any company claiming to have a "90% pass rate or higher" is pulling a number out of thin air. how could anyone consistently beat the national average by 25+ points, especially when all other vendors have access to each others' materials? there are no secrets in the test prep industry
  • the average score is about 73% on the test
  • no one has results broken down by "first attempt," "second attempt," etc.

For more information on the Series 7 exam itself, go to YouTube and type in "Series 7 exam" or "What is a Series 7?" and click on our video clip.

2 comments:

  1. The Kaplan exam prep materials I was given seemed to be written in Elizabethan English...heck, I thought Shakespeare had probably penned it.
    Thankfully, the PassThe7 materials are written in the plain English. Now I have a fighting chance of passing the 7.
    Bob, where were ya when I was studying for the CPA...?

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  2. Thanks! Most people writing Series 7 books fancy themselves "experts," and never miss an opportunity to impress the reader with big words and legalistic mumbo-jumbo. If Warren Buffett can write shareholder letters explaining how billions of dollars have been invested in Plain English, why can't a Series 7 book do the same?

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