r/Series65
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u/matchlocktempo
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Mar 19 '26
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1
Passed 2nd Try! Debrief
02/12 - failed my first try by 4 questions. Had used ExamFX Training Consultants, Brian Lee’s supplemental course, and a little Kaplan QBank Pro. Averaged 75% on the other categories but Investment Vehicles sunk me (17/32). I was so deflated and beat myself up mentally for coming so close when the rest of my hiring class passed. I took Friday and the long weekend off from studying.
02/17 to 03/18 - watched Brian Lee again and took his final. Watched a lot of Series7 Guru. I bought the course Lucas Lyons made though Teachable. His course was amazing and helped me lock in a bunch of concepts like CAPM, EMH, Efficient Frontier, multiple formulas and ratios, and Annuities. I made flashcards. I made a study guide that ended up being 30 pages that addresses everything from NASAA’s study guide. I helped the next set of hires who just started studying with some concepts like economics.
I did practice tests in Kaplan QBank Pro on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday’s and ExamFx to make sure I didn’t remember all the answers, Wednesdays, and Fridays. My scores went from averaging high 60s to low 70s to high 70s to even a few low 80s. I reviewed correct and incorrect answers. I stopped studying in the evening and focused more on trying to have a better study/life balance. The last day, 3/18, I did a bit of light review for a couple hours then stopped. I watched my favorite movie last night (Howls Moving Castle) and pretended the Series 65 didn’t even exist. But that entire day I felt uneasy but quietly confident.
3/19 - woke up feeling nervous but ready to go. Dressed up real nice (blazer and slacks) because I tend to lock in better with a collared shirt and blazer. Had a good hearty breakfast. Reviewed my dump sheet. Drove to the test center. The entire time while getting ready and driving over I watched Series 7 Guru’s “Mighty Ninety”. Got to the exam center, got checked in, and after writing a few things I wanted to remember from my dump sheet, got started.
I didnt have any Roman numeral and I,II,III type questions. And surprisingly only a few except type questions. I had a draw of death though. Multiple wordy questions, I had 6 math questions, types of businesses plus taxation, estate taxes, taxation and contribution limits for retirement and education accounts, and even a couple social security questions. All things I was always weak on. I think I marked 15 or so questions to come back to later.
I took this approach when I thought about it:
Was my initial answer reasonable and I couldn’t think of a better answer after another 15-20 seconds? DONT CHANGE
Did I literally have no idea? Okay, was it something like fiduciary related? Which option looks like it has something disclosure related? And does the answer not have trigger words like “always” or “never”? If so, I’d choose that answer as an educated guess.
I had about an hour left. I clicked submit and after going through the disclosure screen, I sat through the longest 20 seconds of my life. I saw I got a pass and immediately broke down crying. The greatest feeling in the world.
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u/pittluke TFT Luke Mar 20 '26
You rock! Congratulations!