I took my exam on July 3, 2025, and passed on my first attempt!
I only used the Achievable material. I would like to share my process in detail and hope that some of you will find it useful. I was provided test prep material through my employer in November of 2024, but it was full of lecture videos. I took a lot of notes but because there was not enough practice, I did not retain any of the material. I had scheduled an exam for February 2025 but decided not to take the exam because I did not feel confident at all. I spent some time looking for a better test prep provider and found the Achievable platform. The SIE material was condensed into bite size sections with practice quizzes after each section. Using the Achievable material, I was able to get the practice that I needed because I learn better by doing. It has been more than 10 years since I have been out of school and I work a full-time job, but I was able to make some key adjustments to my life which were an important part of the process.
I like that you have the Achievable material for a whole year because I personally don’t like to rush the process. The test prep material which was provided by my work had an expiration date and it was not enough time to learn the material for me, so I felt rushed. However, I did not feel rushed with this platform since I have the material for an entire year and many of us have work, life and other responsibilities that tend to get in the way so being able to pace yourself is important. I needed to really know the material before I felt ready for the exam and along the way, I made a lot of mistakes, but I worked on my weaknesses.
I also made a lot of adjustments to my personal life. I adjusted my sleep schedule. I started going to sleep earlier and waking up earlier to ensure that I was getting enough sleep. I would study in the mornings when my brain was fresh. I cleaned up my diet to make sure that I was able to perform and was mentally sharp. I adjusted my workouts at the gym and my gym schedule. I work out five days a week and I used to lift heavy which taxed your nervous system. I used to work out later at night to avoid a crowded gym, but I switched to an earlier schedule, and I began to lift lighter weights and did more cardio and stretching to feel less tense and stiff all the time. Before I made the adjustments, I had this sense of always feeling behind and trying to catch up but as I began making the adjustments to my schedule, I began to feel like I was finally ahead and on top of things.
The other thing I did to improve my focus was eliminate distractions, and I removed people who were taking too much of my time and were dragging me down. These things often go unnoticed, but they are critical. I only kept a few good people around me who were supportive and wanted to see me succeed.
I began studying using the Achievable material in March and studied 7 days a week. I did the practice quizzes after each section and tried to hit an 85 or above in each section. Once I completed all the material, I took the practice exams for each chapter, and I followed the process all the way through until I reached the full practice exams. I took 2 full practice exams and passed with a score above 75 but I was not satisfied. I took time off from work from June 30, 2025, until July 3, 2025, which was the day of my exam. During the 3 days before my exam, I took all the practice exams beginning from the first chapter all the way through to the last chapter. Then the night before the exam I took the last full practice exam and scored an 85, which I was happy with. The morning of the exam, I woke up early and did more questions from the list that I had flagged. This process helped me not panic under time pressure. I was finishing the practice exams for each chapter in very little time and was scoring above 85. Some of the material is counter intuitive, so you have to make it stick, in your own way.
Remember this, the more you sweat during practice, the less you bleed during the battle. I was studying so much that I just wanted to get the test over with and that’s when I decided to schedule my exam. I scheduled my exam on June 20, 2025, which was about two weeks away from the exam date and that put me into intense focus mode. This is where I went back to chapter 1 and took the practice exams and worked on my deficiencies. I will say that I spent a lot of time on the most difficult material, which was probably not necessary, but I like to overprepare and leave no stone unturned.
Despite all the work I put into studying, the real test is a different beast. The night before the exam, I checked to make sure that my system was working.
My exam was at 11 AM on July 3, 2025, and it was remotely proctored, which is quite the process. They check everything! The proctor spoke fast and had a thick accent, so it was hard to understand some of the things they were saying. The exam platform is different than the Achievable platform so make sure you go through the simulation before your exam begins. There are 10 questions which are not graded, and I am not sure if they are designed to throw you off, but I saw some questions that really puzzled me. There were moments when I began to feel some panic, but I was trying to be strategic and answered all the questions, but I marked several questions for review. After I answered all the test questions, I went back a second time over each question and found some simple mistake I made, which I was able to correct. So don’t rush! I took my time and did not rush through the exam. I finished with barely 3 minutes remaining. My goal was to pass on my first try, not finish as soon as possible. After you submit the test, you will get the result immediately as a Pass/Fail only - not a numeric score.
For comparison, the test prep material I was provided through my employer was not effective and I chose to pay out of pocket for the Achievable system because I had read that the Achievable system has a high success rate, so it was definitely worth the money. I only used the Achievable material and did not watch any YouTube videos or do more questions from any other test prep provider because that would have confused me more than anything. I am not being paid for this endorsement by the way.
I am going to take the Series 7 and then 66 but I told myself that I want to build a strong foundation beginning with the SIE, so I set out to do well and learn the material since the Series 7 builds on the SIE. I am going to take a break before I begin studying for the Series 7 and I will use Achievable again because I like their system. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
One of the key things I discovered through this process is that working versus focused study require a different part of the brain function. Work becomes routine and monotonous over time but when you are learning new material through a self-paced, non-structured learning environment, you will need to rely on your memory, recall, retention, focus and concentration. The more you practice, the better you get. Your brain also needs glucose, healthy fat and sleep to function at its best so try to optimize these variables.
I hope whoever reads this post finds it useful. It’s a process, so do a lot of questions, work on your weaknesses, eat healthy, get plenty of sleep, get rid of distractions, and pace yourself. Good luck to all of you and if you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
