I recently took the mock SIE exam after reading through the book and scored around 40% (passing is 70%). I still have a few weeks before I take the exam but the low % got me worried. Goal is to now go through the rest of the material - videos / questions bank but thought I'd share my anxiety here for any tips.
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Are you using a training provider? My recommendation is just to take as many questions in their question bank as possible if so.
Best way to improve your score for any FINRA exam is to get as many reps as possible IMO. There are a lot of oddly phrases and random questions and the best way to get better is just see as many as possible. If you’ve got 4 weeks, try to exhaust the question bank and you should eventually see your results trend upwards
Thanks man but yeah I think I need to spend a lot of time reviewing the questions that from the practice tests. That should help me out.
Yeah get through that material. First time I took the practice test I failed (65%) but I was also using a different provider and was passing there practice test consistently. I passed the exam. I would get your pass rate up.
I did read the book cover to cover but haven't done anything else yet except that practice test where i got 42%. You think I should move to doing questions now and use the book as reference right? Or should I just read the entire book again (450 pages)?
Questions with no reference
Do NOT just re read the book. Do more practice questions.
The Knopman q bank is great because the answers contain a textbook reference citation. Take 100 question practice tests at a time without the answers being shown. Try to take 300 per week and then review each exam answer to figure out what you are getting wrong.
Also, they have cumulative score reports that show you how you are trending on each topic. If you see you are doing better on one topic and worse on another, adjust your studying to focus more on the areas in which you are weak.
Do NOT just re read the book. Do more practice questions.
The Knopman q bank is great because the answers contain a textbook reference citation. Take 100 question practice tests at a time without the answers being shown. Try to take 300 per week and then review each exam answer to figure out what you are getting wrong.
Also, they have cumulative score reports that show you how you are trending on each topic. If you see you are doing better on one topic and worse on another, adjust your studying to focus more on the areas in which you are weak.
You need to have a stronger baseline knowledge. I didn't study at all and went into the exam and got a 69% (RIP I know). Understand the core concepts and you can logic away certain answers
That's where I think I'm missing out on. I don't really understand all the core concepts (options / call / put etc.)
I'm using the Knopman material and just finished the book (read it cover to cover). Without really spending a lot of time re reading anything that I wasn't sure about (that's what Knopman said online to first read the book without making notes etc.). I feel like once I go through the videos I should be able to better understand the concepts. Which will probably help me score better. Overall, I just want to be done with it and just focus on the job!
I didn't read the book for any of my exams. Just take the exams and crunch the data where you struggle and then just practice those areas.
For context, do you have a finance degree/background?
I studied for a week for the SIE and had no trouble. My advice is similar to others - read the entire text, take the section quizzes at the end of each chapter and mark which ones you’ve missed for further review. When you’re done with the entire text, take the full mock exams and be prepared to go back and really grasp the areas where you are weak. Also pay attention to the question weighting of each section. They tell you exactly how many questions on the exam will come from each section.
A positive note: I found that the mock exams in the study text were more difficult than the actual exam.
I do not have a finance background. Been in banking with a small show and just got a job at a big4 IB. I'm just struggling with understanding the basic concepts for the exam while grinding 100 hours/week.
videos didn't help -- take the practice tests and the FINRA practice exam on their website. that's what i did and i passed (series 79 and 63 as well)
Do you have a finance background? Also, did you start understanding concepts while doing the questions? That's what I'm struggling with right now - concepts.
Finance major. i read the study book (STC) then focused on questions. buy a guide
I took it three weeks ago. Studied with the Achievable program for $70 and it prepared me pretty well. My only complaint was the structure of the questions on the exam were presented differently on the exam than the program. I studied for four weeks while I was interning (MM Lending). I got a 40% on the FINRA Practice Exam the night before and still passed the exam the next day.
JerseyGuy thanks for sharing re: Achievable and your experience, glad it worked well for you.
Are you open to sharing more about how the questions were presented on the test? We try hard to make sure they're as similar as possible. My email's [email protected] if you want to drop me a line there instead :)
Got a free month of amazon kindle. Searched SIE and there's one book that's about 120 pages or so. Read that once, did some practice questions and passed with no problem. Only took a week. You shouldn't struggle on this.
Did you have a finance background? Did the book help because it covered the key concepts well or more because you already had a good idea about what you were studying?
I studied finance in college but I was still in undergrad when I took it. So I guess I had an idea of what I was studying but the book also was just to the point. There is no need for a 400 page book. The test won't cover all of it. I would focus on margin requirements and the regulations. Like understanding difference between dealer, broker etc.
I would not stress about it. Just make sure you’re getting solid practice scores on exams
Okay, I'll start focusing on more practice tests. Thanks
Hey BrownChad - pretty normal to score poorly on your first https://achievable.me/exams/finra-sie/?utm_source=wso</a">FINRA SIE practice exam. Don't worry.
What you need to do is a classic breakdown of:
1 and 2 should actually be your focus at first. The FINRA SIE doesn't go too deep into topics, and instead covers a little bit of a lot of topics in one test. The primary challenge with the SIE is just keeping all this stuff straight, so your study technique should be https://blog.achievable.me/sie-exam-study-guide/?utm_source=wso</a">mostly memorization-based techniques like flashcards until you feel like you're handling these "do you know this" questions with ease.
At that point, you can move on to #3 and start to practice getting good at the math/application-based questions - but honestly those are a pretty small part of the SIE. Now, once you move onto your Top-Off, you'll see a lot more application and math questions, so be prepared for them.
I hope this helps!
Thank you
SIE portion was extremely manageable. Drill questions. It's much easier now to hone in on the material expected with SIE + license exams being separate. From friends that took it while SIE + license was still one test, it sounds like the breadth of content packed into the single exam was the largest issue for most.
What is the consensus on the recommended study material to buy?
I used Knopman and I liked it.
I used Achievable
@quantgrunt" just wanted to say hey, glad you had a good experience with Achievable and thanks for sharing :)
Knopman is by far the best provider IMO. Passed the exam in June then started on the 79 afterwards.
I would recommend reading the book and then watching each video right after reading the chapter. Also, I think I took roughly 1,500 practice questions or so.. Once you understand how they ask the questions it becomes much easier.
The SIE was actually a lot harder than the Series 79 from my experience. Series 79 contains a lot of concepts you learn before you even get into banking (valuation, financial statements etc..). Both tests were muhc more qualitative than expected as well. When you get to the Series 79 make sure to memorize the names and timing of all filings for transactions.
Just grind out as many practice questions as possible and you'll find your scores get better and better. Good luck.
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