Only 7 days to study! Any tips?

Hi @Live_amber_hippopota, welcome!

Studying for the SIE in a week will be intense, but you can do it! It’s fairly common to see firms put their new hires through a “bootcamp” period like this where you just cram for the exam.

For anyone else reading this thread: we feel it’s much better to take your time learning and not cram your studying into a single week. It’ll be less stressful and you’ll have a better understanding and long-term retention of the material. But if you’re in this situation, here’s what I’d recommend (assuming you don’t have to work and are just studying):

  1. Read through the entire online textbook from start to end. It’s about 8 hours of reading, so try to break it into 4 sessions of 2 hours each over two days.
  2. Skip the topic review quizzes entirely, just focus on reading and understanding.
  3. After you’ve read the entire book, start doing full-length, timed practice exams, maybe around three a day. After you finish an exam, take a 5-minute break, then spend an hour or so reviewing every question you missed or guessed. Revisit the reading material for trickier topics.
  4. Get a good night’s rest the night before the exam.
  5. Review the SIE exam dump sheet immediately before your exam.
  6. And do your best!
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