Passed yesterday (1st try)

FINRA FINRA SIE
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Just wanted to thank the achievable team for the great study material provided. I will say that through the 1st 15 questions or so I felt extremely discouraged and most of them I flagged for review. It felt like nothing I read on the achievable material at all. Maybe those were some eval questions, but I definitely felt more comfortable as it went along. Wording was indeed different so I would suggest taking additional practice tests outside of what’s provided on achievable. There are many free ones you can find out there.

The test was also EXPONENTIALLY more difficult than the free practice test provided on the FINRA website or any other practice test I took. You need to understand the concepts and reasons for why the regulations/rules exist and why they make sense. Rather than focusing on memorization (which is obviously still important), focus on applying what you learn to different possible cases. Many questions presented a “scenario” where I needed to apply that knowledge.

I do have option trading experience which helped as I remember getting 3 or 4 questions. A question I received which I don’t remember seeing on Achievable (haven’t gone back in to check) was a stock spilt and its effect on an option contract. (ABC stock @ $50 and a 2:1 forward split, what happens to the long $50 call purchased for $5?). Just thought I’d mention it.

Last thing…

BONDS!

Know them. All of them. Everything about them. And then continue hating them. That is all.

Series 7 next, but are there any plans on a Series 57 program?

Thanks again to the Achievable Team, and good luck to all those in testing soon!

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Hi @3rn, congrats on passing your SIE, and thanks for posting about your experience!

It sounds like you were unlucky and received a very difficult and unusual test, and I’m glad you succeeded regardless.

On this topic:

This feedback is spot-on - so glad you emphasized that. FINRA changes their wording often - some questions are quite simple, while others are distractingly complicated - but if you understand the core concepts, you’ll be able to answer any sort of question.

Not at this time, but I’ll add your vote to prioritize developing a Series 57 course in the future!

Onwards to your S7~ :slight_smile:

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Congratulations, @3rn! We’re so happy for you.

I really appreciate your feedback. Stock split and dividend adjustments are typically a Series 7 topic, but it seems like it may be creeping onto the SIE. We now have a new chapter dedicated to these contract adjustments. Thanks for letting us know!

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Thank you!

@Justin. Just to clarify… I should have probably said it was EXPONENTIALLY “different” rather than “difficult”. That is most likely what caused it to seem more difficult, especially in the beginning. When a test-taker is presented the information differently (by FINRA) after being exposed to the material in Achievable’s words for so long, it can be a bit of a shocker.

And @brandonrith, I just read the new chapter! Well Done.

Thanks again

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