Passed first try! Some advice
Passed the SIE on first try earlier this afternoon! For reference, I studied with Cerifi Pass Perfect and Achievable with 40 ish practice tests on Achievable alone. I started at high 60s, low 70s, but eventually rose to mid-high 70s then high 70s-low/mid 80s then high 80s/low 90s over the course of a month. I suggest doing a lot of practice tests and read why you’re right/wrong on each question. Achievable does a great job drilling concepts and I felt it filled gaps I had on Pass Perfect. The FINRA practice exam is also good, felt like Pass Perfect was very specific relative to the SIE but I also was scoring 80%+ consistently there too. Also, the Achievable book is a great complement to the practice exams and it’s also great to listen to Ken’s videos, as well. I actually listened to his hour-long recap/rapid fire video on the way to the testing center and it was worth it. But listening to videos does not replace reading and practice exams/quizzes.
Biggest pieces of advice on test day:
- Know everything about bonds and its risks, as well as current yield and premium/discount bonds and the corresponding yield order. Bonds took up a LOT of the questions.
- Know about preferred stock and common stock and their risks, as well as options. Those also took up a good amount of the questions I got.
- If you’re 50/50 on questions, “mark for review” or flag it. Otherwise, don’t second guess and keep going, confidence is everything.
- It’s okay to straight up not know a few questions, 70 is the same score as 100.
- Get there early and be in the right frame of mind. You know the material and you will pass, no doubt on test day!
I can answer other questions if necessary, but good luck to anyone testing soon!