Series 7 – Passed On My First Attempt!
I took the exam on April 10 and passed on my first try! I spent a total of 228 hours and 35 minutes with 96% exam readiness. The model predicted that I would pass between 80%-90% with high confidence. I took a total of 7 full exams and scored between 87% and 91% on the full exams. I also took the Final Exam A and B before the full exams, so altogether I took 9 full exams. My average time to complete the full exams was about 101 minutes out of the 225 minutes allotted. The total number of hours spent studying does not include time I spent creating my own flashcards or studying outside the achievable system on my laptop or phone.
I did not use any other system besides Achievable, and I did not take any outside tutoring. I also did not post any questions to the forums and simply put the time required and gave the material it’s due respect.
Before I even started studying for the exam, I heard many colleagues mention that it took them several tries to pass, so I began the studying process with humility towards the material and the exam. I had the mindset that the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in the battle. I was simply determined to pass the exam on my first attempt and was willing to do whatever it takes to go all the way and give it my all.
The week before the exam, I focused on my weak points. I reviewed challenging topics by reading the material again and taking the chapter quizzes for active learning and reinforcement. I re-read the chapters that make up the bulk of the exam. This helped me tremendously during the exam because I saw questions on the topics I reviewed the week before my exam so it was easy to recall the information during the exam. I knew that I was not going to remember everything; therefore, it’s important to understand and master the material. rather than rely on memory. There are no shortcuts, tips or tricks. You must put the time and effort required and be strategic in your approach. I focused on the heavily tested topics and have mastered the material to a point where I now feel confident enough to teach the material to others. The Achievable system is highly effective, but you must dedicate the required time. I used Achievable to pass the SIE on my first attempt as well.
I browsed through the forum and saw many people post questions about basic things that they should know, if they have put the time in. If you read through the forum and closely look at the statistics of the people who pass the Series 7 exam on their first try, you will notice that they all give the exam it’s due respect. They put in the time and effort required, and they take large amounts of practice exams. A week before the exam, I spoke with a colleague who took the exam 4 times before she passed. I asked her how many practice tests she completed before the real exam and sure enough, she only took 2 practice exams! In comparison, I took 9 full exams altogether, and I wanted to do more but I did not have enough time. My coworker who failed the exam multiple times used different test prep providers and got help from tutors. Whereas I only used the Achievable system for both the SIE and Series 7 and I passed both exams on my first attempt each time.
On exam day, I finished the exam with 1 hour and 16 minutes remaining, so I used the remaining time to review the entire exam over and changed a few answers. On the real exam, only a few questions were similar to the Achievable practice exams and very few questions on the exam were straightforward. Most of the questions are designed to test how well you can filter out unnecessary information, how to eliminate wrong answers, and you must pay attention to what the question is asking. You need to apply some test taking strategies, which you naturally cultivate as you go through the practice exams on your own. This is why it’s important to get through the material and then do as many practice exams as possible before the real test and to complete the focused review of the questions you miss.
Initially, it’s going to feel like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant and it is overwhelming. However, once you get through the material and spend time reviewing, you will feel more relaxed, and the material will begin to tie itself into your mind. I reviewed the material all the way up to the day of the exam and I asked myself questions that could possibly show up on the real test.
Since we are not allowed to discuss the exam content, I will not go into the exam details, but I cannot stress enough how important it is to master the heavily testable topics, particularly options, because I definitely saw a lot of questions on options and most people fail because of options. I was also astonished at the fact that I absorbed the material to a point where I even remembered what I was not tested on. It is impossible to be tested on every little detail but if you know the material well enough, then you have nothing to worry about. It is very easy to begin memorizing questions with practice exams, which gives you a false sense of confidence. Instead, it’s more important to understand the why and how because that’s what helps you truly learn the material.
You are not going to remember everything but make sure you focus on the heavily tested topics. Follow the system, try to do better each time and don’t rush through the material. The predictive tool is a reliable measure of your performance on exam day so use it as a gage. If you are consistently scoring above 85% then you are sure to do well on the real exam because it puts you well above the passing score and accounts for any mishaps that may happen on exam day. This happened to me because I got sick the week before my exam and was fighting a respiratory infection and congestion. I still took the exam because I knew I was ready, and I was determined to pass on my first try because I did not want to sit through the exam again or spend more money rescheduling. I did not allow all the fear mongering about the difficulty of the exam to deter me. Instead, I dedicated enough time while working a full-time job. I am just an ordinary guy who followed a tried and tested system and simply put in the required time and effort.
I want to thank Achievable for developing an effective system. In my opinion, the value exceeds the cost. All that is required is for you to use the system and give yourself the best chances at success.
Best wishes and good luck to you all!