A recent Series 7 candidate who had invested over 70 hours in preparing for her Series 7 exam was not scoring well enough on her practice exams to be within the comfort zone to pass the actual Series 7 exam. She was scoring well on most of the sections, but was having trouble with the option questions and with identifying what the question was asking her. Her most recent scores on her Series 7 practice tests were all between 70 and 75% – this is not within the margin of error when it comes to the actual Series 7 exam.

Solution

One of our Series 7 instructors reviewed her exam results and noticed she was missing similar types of questions on her practice exams. Her issues with the option questions were not with the math but with the concepts of when and why an investor would establish or exit and option position. Her second issue was with the Roman numeral style questions. Our instructor spent a total of four hours virtually tutoring this Series 7 candidate focusing on the option concepts, market attitudes of option investors and fine tuning her test taking strategies. On her next simulated Series 7 exam her score had increased by 11 points. Three days later she passed her Series 7 exam with a score of 81%.

A recent college grad had joined a very well respected firm and was juggling his new duties as an apprentice and studying to take his Series 7 exam. He was required to work long hours, “paying his dues” as they say, and was given only a short period of time to pass the Series 7 exam. Having been a good student with a degree in finance he was fairly confident that he could learn the material in the required time and pass the Series 7 exam in short order. While he had a good general understanding of the material he was unfamiliar with the application of the knowledge as it related to the securities industry and specifically to the Series 7 exam. He scored 60% on his first attempt and his supervisor was not pleased.

Solution

One of our Series 7 tutors spoke with him on the phone and evaluated his exam results. This Series 7 candidate had mastered the more challenging questions but had little understanding as to servicing customer accounts, making suitable recommendations and industry regulations. The Series 7 candidate had to retest within 30 days. Our Series 7 tutor put together a comprehensive training plan designed to ensure that he passed his Series 7 exam. Our Series 7 tutor met with the Series 7 candidate Monday and Wednesday evening from 6PM to 8PM and on Saturday from 10AM – 4 PM. The candidate took his exam that following Monday and passed the Series 7 exam with a score of 84%.