Greetings fellow Test Takers,
TEST EXPERIENCE
Today, I passed the SIE exam on my first attempt. I tested in-person at a Prometric testing center. The only vendor who’s book / quiz materials I used was Achievable (no Kaplan Qbank or simulated exams). For the few concepts I struggled with, I supplemented with Dean Tinney (Series7Guru) and Ken Finnen’s (Capital Advantage tutoring) YouTube videos. Achievable’s videos were also a great resource (by the end of the textbook, the gentleman in them had a baby … still a better love story than Twilight).
The exam itself was very different than I anticipated, even after taking FINRA’s official practice exam a few times. Overall, I would say the real thing was more challenging than expected.
That being said, it’s challenging in a different way. There were a few questions whose prompts either contained concepts I just outright did not recognize, or used terms I was unfamiliar with. I strongly suspect these questions to be from the additional 10 ungraded “experimental” questions FINRA includes in the exam draw.
Walking into this test with confidence is key. I stuck to what I knew, and made educated guesses on the rest. I only flagged what I was not 100% sure on. Most answers, I was able to easily eliminate 50% of the choices. Don’t get caught up on what you don’t know. Read the full question (RTFQ) and answer sets. There were at least three questions I would have missed if I didn’t slow down; the answers were very close and tricky. This could be the difference between passing and failing.
I finished with 20 minutes to spare. I studied Achievable’s dump sheets, but to my surprise, barely used my scratch paper or written notes. I did not dump anything from the dump sheet, mostly going from memory. I got two sheets and used 1/5 of one sheet. I used the provided calculator less than 10 times for only what amounted to very basic arithmetic - just be be sure 2 + 2 = 4, because you never know 
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STUDY TIPS
Do not cram, you will get mentally exhausted, and you will start making mistakes. You will also experience unnecessary frustration (ask me how I know). I fully agree with Achievable’s recommendation of registering an exam date to get yourself to commit to it. It will provide you a timeline of how quickly you need to get through the material … and you can adjust or reschedule accordingly. But once you pay the exam fee, you have skin in the game. The knowledge is 100% perishable. By the time I got to Chapter 13, I forgot most of Chapters 1-6.
ACHIEVABLE REVIEW
Now, onto my thoughts on the Achievable material: You must absolutely read the book, read every word. My personal learning style is extremely visual, and that’s the only reason I had to supplement with some free content on YouTube. YouTube really helped me when it came to mathy stuff, but once I got a better idea, Achievable’s textbook made so much more sense and I was flying through the quizzes.
Take every chapter quiz. Every single one. Study what you miss. If you get 70 or lower, you’re not missing something, you’re missing a lot … go back.
The textbook’s search function is overpowered. In my final reviews days leading up to the exam, it was my SIE Google. Anything I struggled committing to memory, I used the textbook search function to review. Also, customize your quizzes and review for your weak areas and drill until you’re scoring at least 90%+ consistently.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My immense gratitude to Justin Pincar, who corresponded with me as I navigated the material. Every step of the way, he and the rest of the team were there to review my feedback, make clarifications, and bring me back down to Planet Earth. Nothing worth having comes easy, and the SIE is just a foot in the proverbial door. I can’t thank him and the rest of the Achievable team enough.
From having zero background in finance, to passing the SIE in a couple months, I am proud to be a product of the Achievable method. I am the proof in Achievable’s pudding. If I can do it, anyone can.
Sorry for the long post, but I really hope this helps / motivates others. Feel free to reply / dm with any questions. And to Justin and the rest of the team at Achievable: you have my sincerest gratitude.
