Went into it feeling pretty good and having good numbers on my course.
Honestly thought it was going really well for the most part.
There were some questions that were a bit wacky, but I thought I’d have enough correct answers to still be able to pass. Guess I was wrong!
I didn’t memorize practice questions or answers (made sure of that), and when answering I made sure to explain to myself why the answer was correct and why the others were not correct.
Maybe I got a crappy question bank? Maybe I was just having an off day?
Not too sure, but I am certainly bummed out about this.
I didn’t find the wording of questions particularly confusing (maybe like 3 questions).
Oh well.
I guess all I can do is go back to studying and try again in 30 days.
Hi @Andrew_K, sorry to hear it didn’t go your way. What you described, explaining to yourself why the correct answer is correct, and the others aren’t, rather than memorizing questions, is exactly the study method we’d recommend. Your study plan looks really good overall.
Looking at your study progress, you were scoring solidly in the high 70s to mid 80s across six full exams, so the underlying knowledge is clearly there. The Series 63 is one of the trickier exams because it’s shorter than most, which means each missed question carries more weight toward your final score, and it’s also possible to draw a tougher-than-usual question set on test day. Either of those can turn a comfortable practice range into a closer, real result without anything being wrong with your prep.
A few general habits are worth double-checking as you head into the next 30 days. Make sure you’re spending real time reviewing every missed question, on both quizzes and practice exams, reading the explanation, and reinforcing why the right answer is right rather than glancing and moving on. Try not to skip review between assessments, either; that’s where a lot of the actual learning happens. And when you’re moving through quiz questions, slow down enough to read carefully and think through your reasoning rather than answering on instinct. Scoring above passing is good, but aiming for consistent scores in the mid to high 80s on the practice exams, which gives you a real buffer for exam day nerves or a tougher question set. Try to reach 100% readiness.
Scheduled my second attempt yesterday for the 23rd.
After reading some posts from Reddit I decided to supplement with Kaplans QBank to get a different question bank and see how I do with the practice exams.
So far I’ve taken 2 full length practice exams from the QBank and have scored exactly 90% on both of them (they do 65 graded questions, I think for the timing aspect)…
Now I’m thinking that I did get a tougher-than-usual question bank on my first attempt.
I know the material and concepts, and I think that’s proven using a foreign (Kaplan) QBank.
Anyways, all I can do is keep going over material and doing questions and exams from both Achievable and the QBank and hope that my second exam question draw isn’t as bad!
Hi @Andrew_K, Great job on those 90s, that’s a strong sign the material and concepts are clicking.
Keep working through practice questions and exams, and when you review missed ones, go a step further than just confirming the right answer. Ask yourself how that same concept could get tested from a different angle or wrapped in different wording, that’s usually where the tougher questions on test day catch people.