Pass rate of series 24

Ok, I’m glad I’m not the only one.  The 24 is the most ridiculous exam I’ve ever taken.  Maybe it’s just that they’re changing a lot of things right now, but I assure you I only passed based on luck (70% even). 

What book did you use?  I had the 3rd edition of the Kaplan, and then proceeded to take the “4th” edition test.  67%. 

I then got the 4th edition book, studied all month, and passed with a 70% (all the while I just knew I was going to fail again, and that everything I had studied still had almost nothing to do with the actual exam). 

For the record, I was scoring high 80’s low 90s on the Kaplan’s practice CD…the actual test was like nothing I studied for. 

I used Kaplan and scored similarly on the test (80).  I don’t think the material is that hard…just dry as sawdust.  I prepared for the 24 as little as I did for any securities test…I doubt I had 100 hours total in it.

i don't have any hard stats on the pass/fail rate for the Series 24, but I just took it this past Tuesday (and passed, with a scored of 77), and the lady at the testing center said that "most" people fail the exam.  I would take that to mean over half, but please remember that that is hardly an official tally.  My score sheet did not detail the average score and pass/fail rate, like it did for my Series 7.  I believe that if you can pass the Series 7, you can pass the Series 24.  You just have to be ready for a lot of questions that there did not seem to be an prep for.  I will suggest this: two of the answers on all of the "crazy questions" are always obviously wrong, so eliminate them.   Then, when choosing between the two remaining, please note that the incorrect answer often contained a fact that caught your attention, but did not answer the question.  Avoid what has been called the "fact trap."  Also, consider this: which of the two answers are better for the customer, and "which one would I want if I were the customer?!"  Keep these in mind, and you will probably pass the exam the next time. 

Does anyone have the STC Series 24 full package, including the on demand lectures and the book.with cd rom tests? Looking to get a deal. 

The Series 7 exam, IMHo showed me that STC far out did Kaplan  and Empire more specifically. I only want THEIR study material for any securities training.

If anyone passed the 24 recently and used their stuff email me and give me your best deal.

LoEG

I just took the Series 24 for the second time, and I got a 67%; the first time I took it I got a 69%.  I prepared by using STC, and I read the materials twice and took all seven simulation exams twice. When I took the sample tests, I was scoring in the low 80s, so I was shocked when I got a 67 on the real test. 

So I called STC, and I asked how they explained my experience.  He told me that I had learned the test  and not the materials.  There was about a month between the first and second time that I took the simulation exam, so I didn't think that was the reason and even if it was, it wasn't a solution for me to pass the test.  I reported that there were many questions that I did not recognize at all when I took the second exam, questions that referred to material that I did not recall as being in any of the readings.  He told me that everything on the FINRA outline for the test was on the training manual. 

So I googled FINRA and easily found the outline of the series 24 exam.  There is a material on the FINRA outline which is NOT included in any of the training materials which goes to explain (1) why I did not recognize some of the materials at all and (2) why I would get a 67 when I was scoring 80s in the sample tests. 

The STC spokesperson (Mike Houser) told me that there are sample questions, and these questions may come from material which is not on the training materials.  There are five experimental questions according to FINRA, and I didn't recognize about 20 or 25 questions, where I guessed without being able to eliminate any of the choices, so I didn't think that this explained what I experienced.  It is difficult to say precisely how many questions I did not recognize, because I wasn't keeping track: I focused on answering the questions and passing the test.  But if there were 20 questions, that means that if I answered every question in the sample tests correctly, I would get an 87 on the test.  If There were 20 questions that were not covered in the training session, and I got 82% of the questions in the training material, I would have passed with a 71%.  If there were 25 instead of 20 questions which weren't on the test, 17%, then I would fail with an 69% given an 82% correct reponse rate on my part.

How much material is excluded from the training materials that is on the test?  difficult to say.  The STC material has its own order which is different from the FINRA outline. STC says that they are trying to place the material in a way that makes it easier to follow.  Maybe.  The FINRA material has logic in the outline.  An alternative explanation could be that they don't want to make it easy for us to see that they didn't cover all the material on the test in the test preparation materials.  Soccerguy seems to have found questions that weren't in his prep book, what percentage would you say were new to you?  What materials did you use?

Does the Kaplan follow the FINRA outline?  If you don't know what that is, then look at your exam results.  Those are the FINRA categories.  A possible solution for me is to buy a second set of study materials.  That's not a cheap solution.  The FINRA outline has a list  of the primary sources from which the test questions originate, but finding the passeges that apply to the missing material is a long process.  A team studying for the test could do it, but it is too much for a single person to do it.

I still have not decided whether to try this exam for a third time.  I worked so hard on it the second time, I am not sure what I can do to change the result.  I would appreciate your thoughts.

I totally agree with Vero. Did the exam today (68%) and some questions were just ridiculous. Even remembering the questions at home I still don’t know the answer with the stc material next to me.

As vero stated at least 20 questions were not related to anything in the STC manual. Does anybody know how they make the manual?

I’d like to get some better study material then this STC crap cause unfortunately not passing this exam is not an option for me.

I have spoken to two people who passed the test since I wrote my post, and I asked them what percentage of the questions they did not recognize, and they also agreed with me at that it was at least 20-25 questions.  Vgaal, check out the FINRA outline, but it doesn't really help.  The topics are there, but not the answers.  It will take months to dig through all the primary sources.

I had an interesting experience.  The first time I took it, I got a 69%, although I never got a 70 in the 5 simulation exams of STC (I never even took the last two).  Because I knew that, I guessed at all the questions that I didn't know.  I had a MASSIVE headache while taking the test.  I also used up every minute for the test.

On the second round with the test I had no headache, I had about 1.25 hrs left, and I had taken the two supplementary exams of STC, I had taken 3 or 4 of the topic exams of >100 each on the areas in which I was testing as weak, I retook all the five sample tests again, and I was scoring an 85% in the sample tests.  My final score was a 67%.  I did worse.

So, here are my conclusions.  The test starts easy, gets ridiculous at about question 105, then it gets easy again at the end.  In the last quarter of the test I encountered  questions of which I know nothing, because they were not in the training materials.  These questions are like being in pitch darkness, and you need to find the door that gets you the hell out of there. 

Someone on this board said that in 2007 the mean score was 71.  I believe it.  Someone else said that FINRA made the test more difficult recently, because of the number of people moving out of the wire houses.  This may be true, because the compliance officers of my B/D says they have seen lots of people failing the tests recently, more than normal.  Small sample, but it could be true.  The point is that we all know that we seem to get stuck very close to the pass score.

You can't memorize your way through this test.  It's a combo of guessing and memorization.  The trick to passing the test seems to be in finding a good balance between those two and not falling for their tricks.

I took it a couple of years ago. And the test was as clear as mud then. But I remember telling someone in the office that they would have to start closing the gate. Just as you say the sheer number of reps leaving the wirehouses the FINRA just cannot over see all the offices.    

I think that we deserve to know more about the test, because it affects our livelihood, and all information is restricted.   What is the mean passing score, the standard deviation, and has the test been recalibrated?  Why should everything be under a cloak of silence?  Why should this exam be different from any other exam? 

I agree about the STC material.  It did not prepare me for the exam.  I got lucky and passed with a 75.  I would not give STC credit for it!  With that being said....I will gladly sell you my STC study guide. 

I also took the exam and failed with a 67% and 65% the second time. I knew the STC material front and back. I called and spoke to STC but they weren't very helpful. I even took the class. Im thinking about using Kaplan's books next time.

Don't give up on it.  Use Kaplan.  I used STC the first time and got a 69.  I then printed out the outline from FINRA and went over STC again and got a 68.  I then used Kaplan's sample tests.  They cover such a wider range of scenarios than Kaplan does.  Even though I barely passed with a 72, I feel using Kaplan, STC, and knowing the basics of the outline will push you over the edge.  Also remember that you are not getting the same test every time you take it.  The first two tests, I did not have any math type problems and the third time, I had about six or seven problems which dealt with Avg Trading Volume, etc.  Maybe you'll get a slightly easier test next time.

I spoke to my licensing department and they mentioned the material has changed dramtically and their vendors (STC and Training Consultants) were in the midst of a massive update. They are moving everyone to Training Consultants as the pass rate is much higher. I have great results with their 7 & 66 material. They have not finished the online lectures for the 24 but I have the book and the online tests. Taking it on oct 1. Wish me luck.

@ DukeH Good luck. Let me know what materials you are using. Im using STC ver. 41

I have taken the Series 24 twice, scored a 64 and 65.  I used the STC interactive training materials.  I have taken every exam they offer, every quiz in the training manual, took diligent notes and made flashcards.  I know the material in that book really well.  I have scored above 85 on ALL practice exams.  Problem is there were 21 ?s that I have never ever heard of.  These weren't ?s I just couldn't get straight, they were ?s I've never heard of in my 13 years in the business.  I can't even find the answers or subject material in my books and I'm searching thru Finra's site trying to find answers.  From what I've read the Kaplan and STC materials are awful.  What should I use?  How about the video training programs.  I am going to have to order and pay for new study materials or I will never pass this test.  It was 13 years ago I scored an 90 on my Series 7 and may not have studied as hard as I did for this test.

 HELP!!!

I'm not sure about the Kaplan study materials but their practice tests for the 24 threw questions at me that I never saw on the STC practice tests.  You should probably take as many different tests as you can because I felt the STC exams kept the topics in a narrower range than the Kaplan tests.  The Kaplan tests force you to look at more aspects of a question which was very helpful when I took my 24 for the third time.  If you can, get as many different tests from different companies that you can because it's real frustrating when you see ?'s which you never even seen before.  GL, Keep trying and you'll pass...

[quote=melg915]

I have taken the Series 24 twice, scored a 64 and 65.  I used the STC interactive training materials.  I have taken every exam they offer, every quiz in the training manual, took diligent notes and made flashcards.  I know the material in that book really well.  I have scored above 85 on ALL practice exams.  Problem is there were 21 ?s that I have never ever heard of.  These weren't ?s I just couldn't get straight, they were ?s I've never heard of in my 13 years in the business.  I can't even find the answers or subject material in my books and I'm searching thru Finra's site trying to find answers.  From what I've read the Kaplan and STC materials are awful.  What should I use?  How about the video training programs.  I am going to have to order and pay for new study materials or I will never pass this test.  It was 13 years ago I scored an 90 on my Series 7 and may not have studied as hard as I did for this test.

 HELP!!!

[/quote]

My experience was very similar to those above. Although I only studied intensively for about a week and for a combined total of around 30 hours, I scored a 66% (I was able, during the test, to predict my score within 1%)

I used the Kaplan study materials, but mostly used the questions and reviewed them (I took just over 1000 questions.) And like everyone else, there were like ~25 questions unlike any question I had seen in the practice questions, and another ~40 which I did not know the answer to. (I assumed I answered 25% of these 65 questions correctly)

Note: Using Kaplan 5th edition (even though ordered in June 2011.)

What bothered me most were the question(s) regarding confirms. I remembered reading this section in the book, but was unable to confidently answer it(them.) When I got home and looked at the book, I still couldn't answer it(them.) So today, I went and looked up Rule 10b-10. It is an eight page rule (opposed to 8 bullet points in the study book) and it has all the information I needed to answer that(those) question(s).

To give you an idea of just how bad the section on confirms was compared to Rule 10b-10:

* The Security's Identity

* Price

* Number of Shares (or Principal Amount)

None of the above are listed in the Confirmation section of the Kaplan 5th edition book, yet they are all listed in the second paragraph of rule 10b-10. After reading rule 10b-10 I now feel confident I can answer any confirmation question that could be on the exam.

I also intend to search for and read every rule listed in any of the materials (the materials alone are not enough.)

Thanks for the advise. I'm taking the test next month and need all the help I can get

Just took it today and failed with 69.33.  Yes one question off.  Unlike the other tests I've taken (6,63,22,62,65; don't ask) I actually felt pretty comfortable as I worked through the test.  Obviously I was wrong to feel so.  There was definitely material covered that I didn't recognize but that seemed to be the norm for FINRA tests.  I studied with Kaplan and it hasn't steered me wrong yet (up to this point).  I did just order an addtional study guide (Series 24 exam secrets and flashcards).  I think any help is good considering what I just read from you guys above...

The 24 is the most intense exam i have had to take. I used the study material from Trainingconsultants.com. It is by far the best material i have seen and used. Hope this helps

I just took the 24 this morning. I knew the Training Consultants book inside and out. I had almost an hour and a half left and got a 83%. That said, it was a difficult test. I would say at least 20 questions were not covered in the book at all, and some of the wording on topics I knew well still had you double thinking things. I took the 7 probably 15 years ago and got a 93, but I am sure it has had to of gotten a little harder over time.

I took the series 24 using STC training materials and I got an 81 on my first try. I did everything STC told me to do which included: reading the book, attending the 4 webs and working through EVERY question on the practice CD once. I have a very limited background with retail brokerage products, and I have spent most of my career working with the institutional division of my company. I never would have passed this exam if it were not for the detailed STC training materials. My husband used Kaplan and scored much lower than me. I reviewed their materials and the book was half the size of STC’s manual. I would recommend STC to anyone!!! I am very pleased!!!

I am taking the 24 in early Dec. I’m wondering if the test requires you know the names of all the rules, or just rules themselves. Can someone comment on how detailed the test is when it comes to knowing what each section of a regulation is referring to, or if you just need to know the rules without necessary being able to identify the exact section (for example will there be questions that just say, something like 'what is section 13F of the 1934 Act?). Thanks.

Here are my 2 cents. I just took the Series 24 exam for the first time and passed with an 80%. I used Kaplan study materials which included the online qbank questions and on demand class videos. I basically followed the Kaplan study guidelines as closely as possible. I read the whole book, went through almost 100% of the questions in the qbank and took at least 10 (150 question) practice exams as well as the Mastery exam that they offer on their site. I was scoring 85-93% on the practice tests before taking the exam. The actual exam was torture, I felt like there was so much material on it that I wasn’t familiar with and the questions were worded very differently from the study materials. There were no combination questions, like I&IV, they were all multiple choice with just one answer per question. There were not very many rules that I had to know by the actual numbers. The ones that showed up on my test by number were Rule 144, 144A, Reg A, Reg M, and maybe a couple more. At the end of the exam as I was waiting for my score I really felt like there was a large possibility that I had not passed. Alas, I did pass and by a decent margin, so in my experience the Kaplan material works. I also used Kaplan for my Series 7 exam which I took about 2 months ago and I passed that with an 86. My advice to everyone studying for these exams is put a ton of time and dedication into reading the book and going through lots of practice exams. I basically had no social life for the past 5 months, studied nights and weekends while also working full time. I gave 5 months of my life to this but now I’ve got the licenses and I never, ever have to do this again!

Took the 24 yesterday for the first time, that test is NO JOKE! I studied myself into a coma for a month and only got an 81. I used training consultants for all my tests; 7,66 & 24 and passed with 90%, 88%, and 81% respectively. I can only say great things about TC. They’ve never steered me wrong and do a fabulous job at not only preparing you for the test questions, but with the underlying knowledge that applies to the test. I found the 24 to be much harder than the 7.

I wanted to add to this thread because reading it really helped me prepare for the exam. I passed this morning and couldn’t be happier!

I agree with most of the previous posts that this exam is extremely difficult. I passed my 7 on the first try in the high 80’s and have always been incredibly proficient with standardized exams. The 24 threw me for a loop because the questions on the actual exam seemed to be really different from the study materials. What really helped me was getting a second form of study material. I studied solely using Kaplan at first and failed the exam but when I added Testeachers to the mix I passed the Series 24 with flying colors. Testeachers has really great video libraries and their customer support is excellent. The reading is also laid out in bullet point format so it’s a bit less wordy and easier to memorize. It’s an amazing feeling to be done with this exam! Good luck to anyone who will be taking it soon.

I looked at this site when thinking of taking the 24 and it was helpful. Training Consultants was my study material. Studied nights and weekends 3 months, then all day last 7 days. Scoring 85% on last 2 practice exams, I passed with 78 (well, 78.7% but no they dont round up!). I had gotten 88% on the Series 7 about 25 years ago. This seems common; to score about 10 points less on the 24 compared to the 7. Also to get about 7% less on the 24 compared to Training Consultants’ full practice exams. Spent much of my study time taking TC’s practice chapter tests. Biggest task is reading the material fist time thinking of each topic, then as you go over the material it gets easier as it sinks in. Kept an acronym page - with a short description of each of the many acronyms. Good luck!

A few days ago it was nothing to do, began to look for how to make money on the internet and came across this seven WebMoney purse
Number: Z272096239460
Said that the need to put 77 to 7777 dollars and come back at 7 times more! I thought it was just another divorce, but $ 77 was not sorry to go.
Already thought lost money, but in 7 hours by going to the page I saw that I had 539 dollars! Sent a second time, it’s over. Sent a third, also came. But only 7 times a day, you can send money

Whatever the message above is all about notwithstanding, I took the 24 several years ago. I too have heard that it has been made progressively more difficult. I also however after reading several of the posts remember hearing the same types of complaints of some of the test material not being in the study materials. I believe there is no doubt that is the case and always will be. Because of changing laws, an effort to maintain the test’s relevancy and remain a true test of reasoning skills, FINRA will always have their tests designed with unknown or experimental questions that we may see passed down as dictum at the professional level at some point in the future. My suggestion is to stop looking, you will not find the holy grail you are looking for. I have gone on to take the 9/10 and found the same “unknown” material raised its ugly head on those as well.
The one solution I found was given to me way back when I was using the Dearborn (now Kaplan I believe) materials when I was studying for my Series 7. Back then Dearborn gave a guarantee, if you consistently score over 85% on all of your practice tests and finals, if you did not pass, you get your money back, period the end. With that mindset, I got 86% on my 7. I used them again for my Series 24 and while they did not have, well more to the point I did not ask, if they had that same guarantee, I went in with that same philosophy. If I am not getting over 85% all the time, then I am not ready. Again with that mindset, I got 73% the first time on the 24. I only studied for 2 weeks…for the 24, NOT the 7. Now that was a hard 2 weeks, I did nothing else, no TV, no real work (truth be told) and not less than 8.5 hours of study a day between work and home including weekends. I lived ate and breathed the damn thing. I think the person who was told “they had learned the test” was given good counsel. The format of the questions or similarity to what was presented in the study materials should be supplemented with what Soccer Guy had to say regarding avoiding the “fact trap”. I think that was awesome advice. I used Pass Perfect for my 9/10 and am therefore confident that for the 24. with either source, Kaplan or Pass Perfect, simply because of with both P.P. and Kaplan’s sheer number of tests that are available to be taken and customized, its hard to go wrong. As an unsolicited kudo to Pass Perfect, I called several times when I was studying and was given personalized help in some rough spots for no extra money at all from the same person. That person helped to design the study materials if I remember correctly. They were awesome. I cannot praise them highly enough. Good luck!

I took the exam yesterday and scored an 87%, which completely blew my mind because I was scoring 60% to 65% on practice exams by STC and Pass Perfect. I used Training Consultants to prepare. I started out with STC but found the material too dense and wordy as a study guide, so I coughed up nearly $500 for Training Consultants. I also purchased the test bank from Pass Perfect. The PP and STC practice exams seemed to include material that I was not familiar with. I was already so invested with Training Consultants, I just stuck with them. They have only 4 practice tests and I took them each once and scored 76%, 78%, 83% and 83% in that order. I studied a considerable amount. The information is not hard to understand, but it is or was very hard to remember given the sheer volume. I suggest anyone taking this test make a kind of Cheat Sheet to put all the information that you want to remember in just a few pages and try to memorize that. The long sentences and legalese language just makes it difficult to remember. It has been about 10 years since I last took a test and I wish I had made the Cheat Sheet earlier. At times I want back to the STC material to cover topics that weren’t making sense from TC and realized that STC actually did a pretty good job with the material, but not a great job at boiling it all down. I haven’t read any study material from PP, but the advertisement shows that have a comprehensive study guide and then a short 200 page guide where the boil stuff down - which is what I was hoping for from STC. As I have indicated earlier, the performance on the TC practice tests seem have the best correlation with performance on the actual test - in my experience. Earlier postings on this site indicate that people scored lower on the actual test than they did on practice exams for STC and PP - which was the opposite of my experience. I really thought I was borderline going in and I studied a lot. But after I started, it seemed very easy for the first 60 questions and got harder after that. The high level of preparation seemed to pay off - allowing me to eliminate the wrong answers and know how FINRA might think on questions where I wasn’t sure. This was my first shot at the 24 and being a research analyst about 95% of the stuff was new to me. I would have gladly settled for a lower passing score for less prep time. Hopefully this posting helps someone and good luck!

I am getting ready to start the process of taking the 24. I have used Kaplan for many other things and have had decent success. Is this still a viable option?

Also, what extra CE requirements are there for the 24? Thanks.

I just took the S24 and passed with an 87%. I started with Kaplan books (which I had used for the CFA & CAIA) but I found that their question bank actually was just OK. I bought the PassPerfect online exams as a supplement which were clutch. On the real exam there were maybe 5-10 questions that I hadn’t seen before (as opposed to the 25 or so people had mentioned above) so there weren’t too many surprises. I thought most of the unknown questions were intuitive. I read the Kaplan book once through to get the foundation and then just hammered out practice questions & tests. I was getting 65%-75% on the practice exams and PassPerfect did say that on the real test you’re likely to get 10% on top of practice exam scores, which was accurate. The materials is dry as hell and 90% of it I’ll never use because we’ll never be a market maker or trading firm but they want to just hammer this stuff in your head once so it’s somewhere in there.

I am preparing for series 24 and was wondering if someone can please advise me on good flashcards that I can revise at work. slimraeli… what were your scores like on Kaplan practice tests (full length).Thanks.

GB0324, I am also preparing for the exam. I am not sure of how “good” these are, but there is an App for iPhone (maybe android) and a website called “Quizlet”. There you can make your own flash cards and play games to remember them, etc. You can also view other people’s flashcard sets. Using someone else’s flashcard set would save you some time, but you have to be careful of the accuracy of information. …but I wanted to share that idea! Good luck to you!

I would recommend Solomon Exam Prep. I have used STC and Kaplan and Solomon is the only one of the three that sufficiently train for the real exam. Their questions require deeper understanding and are harder than the actual test, making it feel like a breeze.

Took the Series 24 Friday and passed with a 78% I used the Kaplan book and then Training Consultants online exams. Similar to another person earlier, I scored 74%, 78% and then 73% on the three Training Consultants Online Finals (didn’t have time for the last one). Perhaps 20 or 25 questions on TC finals were verbatim to the real exam. The Kaplan tests are unreliable. Their material (book) is awesome if you go slow, highlight all the important parts and take your time knowing the details.

You cannot cram for a week and expect to beat this exam.

If you pair the TC online question bank with a Kaplan, STC or a Solomon book, you can pass this with a few weeks of effort. I would write on a notecard why I missed a question in as few words as possible. These notecards became my master “I Don’t Know List” that I cleared up before I took the real exam. I added to it after each final with more missed ones. I would write myself reminders and notes. Finally I went through these cards in my car at the testing center before the real test.

Glad I read this forum before my studying so I could recognize that “road map” and succeed.

Thanks to all for the advice above. I’ve got about two to three weeks to pass this exam (last second notice). Based upon what I’ve read, I’m going to do the following three things: 1) Use either Kaplan or Solomon as a base guide 2) Do the exams from Training Consultants (as those are the ones most mentioned above as closest to the real thing) and 3) use some sort of flash card system to help reinforce it all.

I’d welcome any and all feedback. Thanks!

Took the 24 today and passed with a 78%. This was my second time taking it, 64%. I originally used Kaplan like I had for the 7, 63, and 65 but their material did not prepare me for the real exam. Their book is great, their test bank is easy. I was making in the 80’s on the Kaplan tests before taking the exam. I then resorted to STC, these guys have it down. Their test were hard but helped out tremendously. I was scoring in the mid to low 80’s. I also took their live online class and read the manual. I would say the biggest piece of advice I could give for people taking it the second time is to act like you have never taken the exam before. Study like its brand new to you and do not skip over sections because you “think” you know them. For people that are taking it the first time, put effort into it. Eat, sleep, and breath this test. Suffer now, so that you can pass the first time.

Hope some of this helps!
SJ

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I posted a few posts above and as a method of paying it forward wanted to first thank those who gave me a path to success and give some detail as to what worked for me. I took the 24 last week and scored the highest on the real test compared to any practice exam I had previously taken. My method was to use STC - read the whole book, watched all the online chapter by chapter lectures, and did each of the eight practice tests in Q&A form two times (one week apart).

I took notes during each Q&A test - notecards for acronyms and regular notes for concepts I wasn’t recalling well. Scored in the high 50s to low 60s on the my first round. As I did the tests over, I scored in the mid 80s regularly but again, this was all in the Q&A mode.

I then purchased the test package from Training Consultants for $125. They have four tests and I took them all closed book like the real thing. I scored in the mid 70s on each of those. Please note that the STC materials are more up to date than Training Consultants tests. There were answers that I knew were wrong on the TC tests because they were using out of date rules from FINRA.

There is no substitute to hard work and focus on this exam. It took me a month to do it. Thanks to this thread and the previous posters for giving me a path to success!

I appreciated comments in while I was studying here an so I decided to add my 2 cents to potentially help future test takers.

I just passed the 24 with an 86%. I primarily used STC which I thought did a great job prepping me. This was probably my least favorite test I’ve ever taken (I’ve done CFA, plus 7, 65, etc). I like learning concepts better than just memorizing rules which is why it was such a challenge for me. I feel like I studied a TON for this.

For those using STC, don’t get frustrated if your scores seem low the first time you take the open book final exams. My scores were on the 8 open book tests on the first round were: 63,63,63,64,67,69,72,69. I wrote down notes going along each test to memorize. I didn’t take any closed book tests in STC, but took the first 4 open books a second time within as I was getting close to taking the actual test and got 87,88,84,89. Also took one Training Consultants closed book test and got 79. Also did a bunch of topic questions from Training Consultants. Using both prepared me well, but I did study a TON!

Good luck to future test takers!

As someone who was looking for information as I prepared for the 24, I figured I would add my experience. I recently passed with an 86. STC was my primary resource. I did the study plan recommended, and it works!

I never received higher than an 80 on any practice test, so I was surprised I passed with a high number. Read (I kind of skimmed to be honest) the material first. Take the Q&A tests, make notes of things… Then take all the closed-books. Review the areas that are weak. For me, it was financial responsibility and underwriting and margin. I actually went back read each chapter that I was doing really bad on. Then take the topic questions in those areas. Finally, I went back and looked at all the Q&A tests and closed book test scores, and picked a couple I did really bad on, and re took them to make sure my score was better.

You have to study. It’s awful and boring and mostly memorization, but you have to put it int he time.

I also used Solomon’s audio book, and I listened to that commuting to/from work each day to keep the material in my head. They word things differently than STC which helped me think about the material differently, which helped me out.

Finally, a couple of days before the test, I decided to purchase more questions, which I did from Solomon because I liked their audio book. Honestly, while the questions were great to see because they phrased things differently and were harder in my opinion, they weren’t quite formatted the same way as the test, which was much closer to STC.

I still have access to the Solomon audio / test bank until April 2017 if someone would like to purchase them from me. They’re each about $100, but I’d sell the access to both for $125 if anyone is interested. PM me.

Good luck!

I took the 24 today and failed with a 59% I used Kaplan’s materials and online class. I felt 100% confident going into the test. I feel like the materials that I studied were really out dated compared to the actual test. I studied over 100 hours for this test, and I was shocked with my score. I will definitely look at STC.

S24attempt2 - can you share which study materials you used to study?

Is there anyone here that used only the TC materials and passed and felt that it adequately prepared you for the test? I started off with STC and found the material to be too dense and not organized in a manner I could understand so I switched to TC and have used that exclusively for the past few weeks. I am getting nervous that maybe I chose the wrong materials for this exam. I am taking it in less than 2 weeks so any advice would be appreciated.

Hello everyone,

I hope one of you would be sonkinda as to answer this question for me. I've been in the industry for 12 years with only a 6 & 63. I passed the 7 last week on the first attempt using only Kaplan, with an 80%, and I studied for about 6 weeks evenings only. I was amazed to see the questions on the 7 were very similar to Kaplan qbank questions. Now I'm using Kaplan for the 24 and this material is INTENSE!

For those who have taken the 24, passed or failed, did you receive a lot of questions asking for specific dates, time frames, and deadlines?...basically memorization types of material. Or, were there more scenario based questions?

Your insight is greatly appreciated.

I took the Series 24 a couple months ago with very little study time (some book I got on Amazon and a bank of test questions purchased from Securities CE) and I got a 68. I am a good test taker and I have passed much harder exams (CPA) so I went into this thinking that I could pass with very little study time. Don't make the same mistake that I did. The material is very dry and is basically just memorization of rules and regulations. I am going to purchase an on demand video class from Securities CE and then retake the test after I have properly prepared.

I studied for the 24 using Kaplan materials for about 4 months rather casually. I went through 50% of the question bank and was scoring in the 70s. I watched their video library but that was a joke. I read the entire book. I went in and scored a 66. I used Kaplan on the 7 and 63 and scored a 92 on both those exams so I went in with a bias towards using Kaplan again. Don't make my mistake.

On the second round I used STC. Their book is not as well indexed as Kaplans book and I found myself refering to Kaplan's book at times. However, beyond that STC is superior in every way to Kaplan. They have a great Q and A bank with solid explanations on each question. Their video library is decent. I took their class in person and it was a good use of time. I made index cards on topic areas that came up a lot and that helped me memorize enough of the rules. This is a test that is about memorization. You can be smart and fail. You have to memorize a lot and because of this I would recommend condensing your study period over 6 weeks and no longer. You have to breath the materials and just live to study around work. It will suck but trust me its better then spreading it across 5 months and failing the exam once. I passed with an 82 on Monday.

Best of luck to you!

As I read this thread in August, I was somewhat concerned about passing the Series 24. I took the Series 7 earlier this year and passed easily with a 80% using STC material. Per my prior experience and feedback from employees, most folks recommended STC. So I had the company buy the STC online lecture, flashcards and other material. I spent about 110 hours of studying in 4-5 weeks. I read the book, did the Q&A, listened to lectures twice (very helpful) and focused on areas I was struggling with. I ended up passing the Series 24 with a 75%. When I was taking the test, some of the questions were similar to the STC material; however, there were a good amount (20-30) questions where I really had to narrow it down to 2 answers and pick the best answer from a compliance/customer perspective.

Everyone's study habits are different. Some need two weeks, some need two months. It is hard to predict what questions will be on the test, but if I had to take it over again, I wouldn't focus on Securities Act 1933 or 34 at all as there were only 5-10 questions around those.

You guys are awesome! Thank you for the feedback and advice. I'm almost done with my Kaplan 24 book. I'm taking tons of notes and will create flash cards. I also ordered a virtual class through Knopman Marks. I watched a few of their series 7 lectures some months ago I found them to be pretty good.

Congrats to those of you who have recently passed. One more question, I know it's a lot of memorization; but were there really a ton of questions about dates and times? i.e. 30 days for this, or 25 days for that?

Super helpful forum. The 24 is the most frustrating exam I have ever taken. 99% of the material has nothing to do with what I do but because I supervise registered reps, I'm required to take it.

I have used STC through all of my licensing exams (7, 63, 3, etc) and have passed on the first shot. On the 24, I've failed 3 times with no real improvement on each exam. I've read all the materials, created my own set of notes, done 1000s of questions. Just can't seem to get this stuff to sink in.

I consider this material easy but voluminous and dry. I have to take this exam in a week. Wish me luck. Open to any suggestions.

I just took the 24 on December 23 after being out of the brokerage business for 6 years. I used Kaplan study materials, and let me tell you, about 25% to 35% material on the exam wasn't covered in the study materials. Needless to say, I got a 68%. I'm in the process of applying to FINRA to become a member, and the 24 is a requirement. Anyone have any thoughts on how to pass this damn 24 the second time around and be done with it????

Hello Everyone,

Thank you to those of you who have posted on this thread. Your responses helped me tremendously. I passed my 24 exam a couple of days ago on the first attempt. Here are my thoughts... my company had me using Kaplan and they honestly aren't the best for THIS exam. While they cover everything, it seems the most testable points were only mildly covered. Fortunately, after reading the book I purchased a flash card app from Knopman Marks which was awesome. Then I supplemented my studies with STC's questions bank which included a 14 page series 24 cheat sheet. I also created my own flashcards for rules and dates. I had about 150 of those I committed to memory. If I relied on Kaplan only I would have failed. I snagged about 15-20 questions thanks to the STC cheat sheet alone! So here are my best practices to help those who are struggling:

1) Make flash cards for EVERY date and rule! For example: (front of card) Rule 123 requires a member to update form ABC in this amount of time. (Back) answer. This method helps you drill down and know the material.

2) Use STC questions. Only costs $105. It will save you!

3) Buy a flashcards app to keep on the go.

4) Memorize all of the minimum net capital requirements. ALL of them. Use flashcards for that too.

Thats about all all I have. I'm more than happy to answer any other questions about my experience. Good luck!

Hello There Bassman2011

So can you let me know what you thought of the exam? Did Kaplan help at least abit with the material being tested? Do you strongly recommend getting another set of study materials? The firm I work for purchased the kaplan material for me. I read the book once but don't feel like I understood it 100%. I am currently starting the on demand course to see if I could pick up some items. Please let me know your thoughts on the series 24 exam?

Hi folks,

Passed yesterday with 72... my co-workers tell me that is the perfect score indicating that I did not overprepare...lol. I jumped online this morning to see if this was just difficult for me or if the test is a challenge for everyone... Seeing so many have failed I thought I would share my thoughts.

Here's my feedback on my experience - I studied for approx 5 weeks (2hrs a day) and read the complete materials 1x only. I completed all provided sample questions 2x and finished up with a three day cram and utilizing a cheat sheet with key facts I memorized. I used Testeachers and to be honest Testeachers was woeful, disorganized materials that do not match up neatly with the FINRA outline, old videos and a stack of updates in the last chapter on mistaught earlier content. The exam was very difficult for me... it was peppered with questions (maybe 20-30) I had ZERO idea about and had to use logic rather than knowledge to make an educated guess. I scored 90-100% in the BD Supervisory section and under 70% in the other four areas - I work in an OSJ. I'm pretty sure if I had to take it again and studied I wouldn't get much more than I did the first time! I knew everything generally and that was not enough to make this exam easy to pass...

Tips

- Read and re-read materials, the minutiae is what you are tested on, not the general detail or understanding of the topics. This is a test in memorization of detail not your capabilities or suitability for supervision. Being confident you understand what you've read is NOT enough!

- find a good provider and then buy question banks from one or two others (wish I had done that!)

- have a cheat sheet memorized so the awful sense of dread this exam gives you once it is underway is eased by having some confusing times/day limits/etc at your fingertips

- the test had no questions where you choose 2 answers from I-IV, every question was a straight up multiple choice - and less than 5 questions involved calculations. Many questions had more than one answer that COULD be correct but you had to devine the MOST correct one.

- accept that you are going to see nasty questions you are completely unprepared for, make an educated guess on those, mark them for review and move on. Staring at them and running out of time won't help!

Hope that helps

Great feedback, I am not a fan of the Kaplan questions. In the past I used Test Teachers for all my exams; 7,63,65, and Life/health. But for the series 24 I am hearing mixed reviews of test teachers. I take the test in 2 weeks, my firm provided the STC material to me. Would this and Testteachers be sufficent?

Also what are yalls thoughts on the PassPerfect qbank?

I just passed the 24 with a 78%, after failing the first time with a 66%. The first time I used Kaplan exclusively, and went into the test pretty confident that I was going to pass. There were MANY questions and topics that I was completely unfamiliar with, so I was not surprised that I failed.

I ended up buying the STC question bank and flash cards and they saved me this time around!! The study guide from STC is also extremely helpful and I feel like I picked up a significant amount of questions from that alone.

I wouldn't waste your time with Kaplan - the questions don't "feel" the same as the actual exam, and you will be missing a ton of testable information. STC got the job done!

Good luck!

Okay so I wanted to leave some comments on this topic because I looked EVERYWHERE before I took the 24 and could literally find no help online except through this chain. I passed the test today with an 80% I used training consultants. The test wasn't much like the book at all, but I think that's how it is for most training programs, I was scoring upper 80s on my practice exams, basically took 10% off my score on the real one. My recommendation is to really nail down the chapters on investment banking and secondary offerings as well as the sections on market making supervision. Had I not been well versed in those two areas I would have failed no doubt. The key to this exam is to eliminate the two OBVIOSULY wrong answers, and then when you're left with two decent answers ask yourself "what's best for the client" and go with that answer. I would NEVER take this exam again, but what I will say is do not take it until you have studied for at least 140 hours. Hope this helps!

I took the exam today and got a 68%.I found that kaplans questions are nothing like the actual exam. I read fhe posts about using an alternate study qbank and got the stc qbank like 2 weeks ago before my exam. I think i should of gotten this sooner to make my study efforts worth it. is the training consultants material good as far as the reading manual? Someone please advice.

What would your advice be to someone who has been using Kaplan reading materials supplemented with STC qbank, and who takes the exam sometime this week?

I woud suggest that you really focus on the investment banking & research section as well as market making. Those 2 areas I struggled the most. I got a 68%; I missed it by 3 questions. Also pay attention to the dates. I strongly feel that you need to focus on the concepts. The practice questions don't really help that much. Know the concepts. It is all memorization.

Alrighty, so I took the exam this week and got a 78%. First and foremost, I want to thank everybody who posted on here with their advice, because without it, I don't think I would've achieved the same result. Here is my study plan and my time frame.

I studied for a little over 3 weeks. I passed the 7 in October, and the 66 in November, so a lot of the rules and regulations were fresh on my mind still. I originally had bought Kaplan, because it had helped me achieve postive results for the 7 and 66, but I wouldn't recommend the whole package for this exam. The testbank, like everyone said, is not helpful in the slightest. I studied for an hour before work, an hour at lunch, and 3 hours after work for that time period. You honestly have to live and breathe this stuff to keep it fresh on your mind. I read the Kaplan book in the first week to nail down the topics. In the last 2 weeks I only did practice tests. I think all in all my total questions used were around 3500.

1) Buy the Kaplan book, and the book only. It is the most organized and coherent book of them all. (The cheat sheet that you can also buy is well worth it too. I think only $10?)

2) Buy the STC questionbank. Like a previous test taker posted on here already, the crunchtime facts worksheet is worth it alone. I did all 8 practice quizes, and both closed book practice exams twice. The questions are a little more tough than the actual exam, but makes you think more deeply about the topics.

3) Buy the Training Consultants questionsbank. They are the MOST SIMILAR of all the practice questions that I used. I did all 4 practice tests, then did individual chapter tests on the subjects that I was underperforming in.

4) I also purchased the Knopman Marks 24 notecard set per the advice of another test taker.

The test blows, but you have to put in the time to read the actual topics and explanations. Everyone is different in their test taking abilities. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Quick question, I am currently studying for the 24 with Kaplan and Pass Perfect. Am I supposed to be able to recite the rule numbers? Should I focus on the rule number, or is understanding that there is a rule for said issue enough?

Thank you!

I took the Series 24 today and passed with a 74% on my first try! I received a lot of good advice on this site, so I am trying to return the favor for those of you preparing for the exam.

For me, it was the most difficult FINRA exam to date. I have my Series 7, 63, and now 24! :-)

I passed with only using the Training Consultants book, and online exams. Read the book from cover to cover, slowly making sure you understand/comprehend what you are reading.

Take each chapter online exam until you score 85% or better consistently. Take each of the full-legth practice exams. Drill-down (re-read the book) on the chapters/areas that you scored under 70% or lower on.

Make Flash-cards for all of the Main Rules, and for the rules that have how many days/minutes do you have to notify FINRA? Those were the most difficult for me keeping them all straight.

After you take the full-length practice exams, make sure you review ALL of the questions especially the questions you got wrong, making sure to read and UNDERSTAND the explanation on why it was the correct answer. If you dont understand the concept, go back to the book.

To pass this exam, you HAVE to understand the underlying concepts, and not memorize the answers from the practice exams. You can expect to get approx 10-15% lower on the actual exam as compared to the Training Consultants full-length practice exams. Shoot for 85-90% on the full-length practice exams prior to sitting for the actual test.

You can do it! You just need to put the time in to learn/understand the concepts.

Sounding a little repetitious, but my 2 cents worth...

I took the 24 around 18 months after passing 7, 3, and 63. Used Kaplan for the first 3 x exams, averaged high 80s in practice, and passed all 3 with a 90.

The 24 was brutal. Similar to the 7, but with anything fun or interesting removed. I constantly read the phrase 'dry' on this string, and that's exactly how I'd describe it. I worked extremely diligently, 5-6 weeks, at least 2-3 x hours per night, and used Kaplan. Best I could average on practices was mid to high 70s. In the end I passed with an 80, and felt so drained I couldn't even really celebrate. Again to agree with others, the start and end were ok, whilst the middle section was jaw dropping in places, but you just have to crack on as best you can.

I've taken 17 industry exams across 5 x countries, and the 24 was the toughest. In a lighter moment a few weeks later, one of the guys who worked for me (and wasn't particularly diligent, thinking 20+ years in the game would be enough) actually walked out of his exam 20 minutes in, and told the invigilator 'there's been a mistake..I'm supposed to be taking the 24'. She replied 'you are!' Yup..you need to take this seriously, and it sounds like STC is the way to go.

Ive also taken lots of test and agree with you this exam was Brutal.

Your jaw dropping comment was perfect.. I felt like I was sitting in the wrong exam just after I started into the questions.

Where do they come up with those horrible unrelated questions? I've got just under 40 years in the business and feel I have a very good grasp on how everything pretty much works.

I figured I would bang right through this exam since I was getting in the high 80's to 90 on the Training Consuntants materials and also doing extreemly well with the STC materials. Also averaging in the high 80's to 90. I learned quite a bit from the STC training questions which are absolutely worth the money.

I took the test earlier today and only got a 67.. so close yet so far.

I used the Training Consultants study materials and also used the question bank from STC corp. I spent a good 150 hours using these materials and passed the Green Light for STC yesterday. I feel if I had a better handle on market making avtivities ( supervision of trading) I would have sqeeked through. My friend who does execution for a large firm had an advantage since he knows the lingo and all those little market designations for trading.. If anyone has any Ideas for me. IM all ears..

Best of luck to anyone who has to take this miserable exam.

Took the 24 yesterday and passed w/ an 88. I wanted to put out there what I did in case it helps someone in the future. I studied w/ the Kaplan material. The book was great. Great format & great delivery of the material in an understanding way. The questions, however, were great to get a BASIC understanding of the rules, but not even close to the actual questions on the exam. The questions will NOT get you ready for this exam. Start w/ these questions to get a basic understanding. Next, I ordered the training consultants question bank. The questions were great. As someone stated before, these were the most like the real exam. Get to where you can get in the 80's in every section. Finally, I ordered the passperfect question bank. These questions were a big part of the reason I passed the exam. The passperfect questions are designed to be MUCH more difficult than the actual exam due to the detail they provide. Once you get in the green in all sections you are probably ready to take the practice timed finals. The week before the exam, after I read the Kaplan manual for the second time, I started with the final timed practice exams. These practice exams were so thorough, and drilled down on the little details of each rule. It is with out a doubt a BIG part of the reason I passed. I took 2 practice finals a day until the day of the exam. I made sure to read every explanation of the ones I got wrong, as well as the ones I got right. I takes alot of time, but will be worth it when you pass. If you can score in the 70's on these practice finals, then you are ready. As I said before, they are MUCH more difficult than the actual exam. Good luck to anyone taking this exam, as it is very difficult. Don't get discouraged when taking the test. I thought I failed it when I was done. You can usually narrow it down to two answers on the exam. The final two will be very similar and both seem right. If you know the small details of the rules you should be able to make the right call. Alot of my questions had to do with manipulation rules such as what Market makers & insiders can & can't do. I don't think i had even 1 question on margin or any calculation type questions. (VWAP, selling control stock, etc.) GOOD LUCK!!!

I Finally passed this thing a few days ago with a 78%

I took it back in August and got a 67% I was so taken back.

To initially prepare I used the Training Consultants materials and the question bank from STC which I also thought was helpful. But, someone said to me why not try Knopman Marks training materials. I called up knopman and felt that they offered good value because in addition to the book and internet training I was able to attend a 2 day Series 24 course here in midtown Manhattan. I feel that the Kaplan book provided by knopman was the best of all training materials. It was publised in 2017 and even had multiple changes in rules and regulations that the other study materials didn't offer. Now that I've been through this entire painful event I would say to anyone, go right to Knopman Marks, read the book twice, attend the classes and pass this thing the first time around.

The quality of the Knopman Marks study materials, training courses and classes were the best ever.

Had I not changed gears, IM sure I would have failed again. The two day training course is where all of the details appear that you'll see on the real exam. And by the way, this exam was brutal so, do yourself a favor and get the best training materials first time out. You don't want to take it more than once. Now that I passed it, I can move on with my life. I never want to look at the 24 materials again.

gas anybody used the solomon audio book for the 24?

jimdarcy wrote:

has anybody used the solomon audio book for the 24?

It is not unusual to fail the series 24 with a score that is close to passing. Most students who seek our services for help have already failed the exam at least once and sometimes twice. We can work with you in-person in NYC and online anywhere in the US

I just passed this morning on the 1st try with a 87, I went over the stc crunch time facts last night, I'd say I probably got 50 questions correct just from that alone. The Kaplan book is great but their tests are a total waste of time, way to easy. The stc question bank is way way to hard. I never scored above a 58 on the stc tests and was in the high 90s on the Kaplan tests. That being said out of the about 4000 practice questions that I took between the 2 I think maybe 20 questions I recognized out of all of them. Stick to learning the material and really go hard on the crunch time facts and don't waste as much time as I did taking practice tests.

Took the 24 back in Spring 2009...failed it and scored in the low 60's. I am a morning person and my boss wouldn't let me take it until afternoon. It was so hard that I thought about just giving up. A few months went by and my boss asked me to try it again. Told him I would but had to be on my terms. Studied again and took it at 8am....passed with a 72. Was in my 20's at the time. I used STC. Good luck to anyone taking it. I think if you put in the work you can do it.

I just took the Series 24 today and passed with a 75 (first time taking it). This forum helped me tremendously and so I wanted to offer what was given to me: advice on how one might study for and pass the Series 24 exam. Let me say that I have spent 10 years in the financial services business, primarily in retail, and have taken numerous industry exams (7, 66, Insurances, CFP, etc.). In terms of difficulty, this was about on par with the CFP. I do not mean to imply that the subject-matter is comparable , because it's not. I am saying that how the test makes you feel as you are taking it is very similar to how one might feel sitting for the CFP exam. It's pretty stringent and I was not at all sure I had passed the test when I pressed the button. In general, I am a confident test-taker. I am good with process-of-elimination, but could not have come close to guessing my way thorugh this exam. Here's how I approached it:

I found this forum early on in the process, so I adopted several pieces of its advice. I used Kaplan to study and learn the material. While you go through the book, I suggest using a highlighter. That way, when you go back through it a second time, you can hone in on the important points. I did this over the course of several months, mostly because I was just taking my time and not sticking to a study plan. I then ordered question banks from Pass Perfect and Training Consultants, which are online question banks. Pass Perfect lived up to the hype. These tests were extremely difficult, but very helpful in terms of making you think about the topics from multiple angles. I took the PP quizzes until I was consistently scoring in the 80's and 90's in each section. PP recommends that you pass at least 3 of the section's quizzes before moving on to the next section. Maybe go for 5 instead. Once you can score in 80's for 3-5 consecutive section quizzes, move on to the next section. Do this for each section until you have successfully moved though all of them. The TC quizzes are organized differently than the PP and Kaplan materials, so it might be hard to track them back accurately. I did not do many of the TC section quizzes for this reason.

Once I completed all of the section quizzes in PP, I took a PP final. I scored a 58. Doing this really discouraged me, although I took some comfort from previous posts that said you should score 10-15 pts higher on the actual exam than you do on the PP finals. I then pulled out Training Consultants for the final practice exams. There are 4 on there, but I only had time for 3. I scored (in order) a 76, 79, 79. On each of the quizzes and practice exams (both vendors) I read through each question's justification, even if I got the answer right. There are nuggets of nuance packed in those answers which will show up on the actual exam.

I did not take a cram course, although I know PP offers a virtual cram course. I think it is just a class where they go thorugh a bunch of questions over 4 days and explain how you would approach those questions.

Truthfully, I did not start taking practice finals until the last week before my exam. Had I started sooner and spent more time taking practice finals, I may have gained a few extra points. But to be honest (while it's still fresh on my mind), if I had failed today and had to take it again, my gameplan would be to go back into the materials to memorize more of the nuances of the Regs and would have spent more time going through PP quizzes and exams with their corresponding justifications. Thank goodness I do not have to do this.

Many of the questions on the exam are situational. If "this" happens, then you would do "this." There are some questions which have ridiculous choices which you can easily eliminate. Then there are others where you know they are alluding to a particular policy or reg, but they don't actually say it in the question. And none of the answer choices are explicitly wrong.You just have to know it. Also, there are no I, II, III, IV questions on the actual exam, but don't discount the utility of these questions in helping you prepare for the exam. This question format is an effective way to improve your knowledge of a particular topic as well as your process-of-elimination skills.

(continued in post below)

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If I could do it all over again, I'd:

- schedule the exam for 8 weeks in the future, or 8 weeks from when you will be able to begin studying.

- get the Kaplan materials again, but would try to finish the materials over a shorter period of time (no more than a month, studying 2-3 hours per weekday). I would not stress about trying to retain all of the information I read, more just to gain familiarity with terms and topics, building the foundation.

- go back through the Kaplan materials, section by section, and then work through the PP quizzes at the end of each section. Move on to the next section only when you can score in the 80's in consecutive attempts. This should take about a week and a half to two weeks, studying 2-3 hours per day (including weekends)

- once you have completed the material for a second time and the PP quizzes, I would begin taking the final exams of both PP and TC. I would plan to take take one of these tests every other day (assuming it takes you 2-3 hours to complete one exam), and then go back through the exam and answer justifications on the days in between. Just alternate like this on weekdays and one day over the weekend. Alternate between PP and TC, as each will help prepare you for the test in its own way. If you had to take more of one of the exams, take more of the TC exams. But try to take at the very least 3 PP final exams to give yourself the best opportunity to pass. Leave yourself one day before the test where you don't study anything. Give your brain a rest. No cramming!

*Note* The TC's exams are most similar in difficulty and question structure to the actual exam, BUT I don't feel like these questions alone would have been enough for me to pass the test. There were more than a couple of exams questions that were as difficult as the PP questions, so you need both.

I sincerely apologize for the length of this post. But if you are in here, I have to believe this exam means something to you and/or your career. Hope this helps, and happy studying!

Like others, I found this post invaluable as I was prepping for the 24, and wanted to pay it forward with what worked for me. As many suggested here, I studied using the STC book and exams and then added on the Training Consultants question bank. I read the book once, and honestly it was a struggle to maintain focus given how dry the material is. I had to break each reading session into very small blocks just to make progress and then give myself a break. After completing the book, I focused on the STC final exams in Q&A format only (I prefer the real-time feedback of Q&A vs. answering 160 questions) and the Training Consultant topic-specific exams. I kept a running document of notes on topics I seemed to be struggling with, which I referred to often particularly in the last few days of crunch-time studying.

I found STC questions to be harder than the actual test - they employed more of the tactics designed to confuse or trick you. This is actually really good practice for the actual exam in that it teaches you to read very carefully and look for cues. Training Consultants, as many have mentioned, seemed closer to the actual exam. By the time I took the test, I was scoring in the mid 70s on STC and ~80% on Training Consultants. I passed on the first try with a 74, which was good enough for me. None of the material in the actual exam felt foreign to me, which is a good testament to the preparation provided by these two sources. But there were often 2 answers that were equally plausable or very close to seeming right.

Also agree that the STC crunch-time facts were a great last minute resource and seemed up to date with what was trending on the exam.

I would like to echo the experience of some of the more recent posts to this thread. I passed the series 24 last week on my first attempt with an 82. I started studying in early June and spent about 8 weeks preparing for the exam. I primarily used the Kaplan textbook which does an excellent job of explaining concepts.

I initially used the Kaplan tests to gauge my level of understanding. I focused primarily on the simulated exams instead of the chapter quizzes. The Kaplan questions are relatively easy, but have value as part of an initial study process. I scored between 80 and 88 on all of the simulated exams, but failed their "Mastery" exam with a 65 about 3 days before my actual exam.

About 2 weeks before my exam date started using the Training Consultants test bank for my final preparations (STC no longer offers a stand-alone test bank option). The format of the Training Consultants questions and the layout of the test bank software were similar to the actual exam. I completed all 4 of their exams scoring between 79 and 84.

In addition to the Kaplan and Training Consultants, I also recommend reading the actual rules on the FINRA website. The textbooks explain the main concepts, but the actual rules are filled with additional details not presented in the books or test banks. There were several questions on the actual exam that I would not have understood had I not read the actual rules. This step alone can make the difference between passing and failure.

Each person has their unique learning style, but this thread pointed me in the right direction which paid off with a successful score. Hope my comments help and good luck to future test takers.

Hey all my fellow 24ers! I just passed the series 24 on my second attempt with an 82%. The first attempt I failed with a 69% and only used training consultants. It had never let me down with previous exams, but it did not cover enough material for me. Keep in mind I scored an 85% on their practice exams so I was shocked when I failed. On the second attempt I used STC practice tests only, which I found to be extremely helpful. Still every question has two possible answers and no matter what when you hit grade there is a chance you will make a 60% or an 88%. My suggestion is to use two different types of practice tests. Also, while you are taking the actual exam you have to stay focused and POSITIVE throughout the whole thing. I hope his helps someone!

FINRA does not publish passing rates for the series 24 exam. They do not publish passing rates for any exam.

I recently passed the 24 and I wanted to share my experience since I relied heavily on the advice of others in this thread.

My second attempt was after the new rules, so I did not receive a score- just a passing result. However, when I initially sat for the 24 in July, I scored a 68. I used Training Consultants almost exclusively- but looking back I did not have a good enough handle on the material (hindsight = 20/20). I took about a week off, and when I started to study again, I started from the beginning as if I had not gone through the material before. I didn't want to make any assumptions about what I remembered, knew, or didn't know since my results did not reveal a specific area of improvement- just 60-70% throughout.

For the second attempt, I used Training Consultants, but I also purchased the Pass Perfect test bank. I listened to the entire lectures and then took the chapter exams. At the end of TC's lectures, I started taking the PP chapter quizzes. They suggest you take three until you pass.

I studied for 2 hours every day including weekends for the first three weeks. Then, I studied for 4-5 hours every day for two weeks. A week and a half before the exam I studied non-stop taking special care to review the concepts I struggled to recall.

While days, dates, and times are central to the exam, I found it more important to focus on the concepts. You will need to be able to understand the rules and regs well enough to answer scenario based questions that include a lot of unnecessary information and out of the four answers you will have two correct options to choose from -with one being the most accurate. That is what makes this exam difficult - judgment.

As others mentioned using more than 1 test bank will be critical to your success because you are testing your understanding against questions that are structured differently. Also, the exam is not real world application - its testing world. Some of the answers they are looking for might not make sense to you because it would look different in the real world.

During the exam, you will see questions you have not seen before and have to understand the concepts well enough to apply them to the question that might allude to a rule or reg (without specific reference) to make a judgment call about the scenario. When you've poured over the material extensively staying focused is difficult but necessary. Keep going through it until you know the rules, regs, and associated days, dates, times, and amounts off hand or at min. can recognize them when you see them listed (i.e. 50k or 50m? business days or calendar days?)

Lastly, someone mentioned staying positive throughout the actual exam -this can't be underestimated. Don't slump in your seat when you start to see questions you struggle to answer and try not to become frustrated -square up your shoulders and press forward. Godspeed!

I am about to start studying for my Series 24 and have found the posts on this site to be most helpful. I am still trying to decide between using Pass Perfect, which I used for my 7 and Training Consultants, which I have also heard very positive things about. I think the general reviews are that TC’s questions are most like those of the test but I am wondering if that will be enough or if using Pass Perfect and “over-preparing” is the way to go as PP was very comprehensive and tough during the studying phase. Thanks so much in advance.

Hello,

I passed my Series 24 today and as you know, if you pass, no score is given, just a "pass" (but I'll take it!). I'll say as I was taking it I really wasn't sure which way it would go.

I used STC mainly with Kaplan's Qbank. I felt STC was better prep. Here were my STC test scores: 57 64 63 70 78 79 71 64. In addition to self study, I went to STC's class in NYC and would highly recommend it. If you go, review the entire book ahead of time and try to get through a few mock test. The class helps connect the dots and the instructors tell stories that make the dry material more memorable. They also have an instructor hotline and anyone I spoke to clearly knew their stuff.

Ultimately, it comes to putting in the time, energy, and focus. As an example, when I studied Friday to Sunday, I wouldn't check my work email until Sunday evening. The material itself isn't difficult, but the volume makes it an investment of time in order to pass. As long as you know study habits that are effective for you and put in the time, you will pass. For example, I knew studying every day would make me burn out, so I studied 4 days a week, about 20 hours.

I also know when taking a test I need breaks, so I practiced and ultimately took 2 breaks during the exam to then refocus. Figured sharing tangible examples would help spur ideas for you. Also, a positive attitude can go a long way! Good luck, friends!

I just passed my S24 on my first shot. Get prepared to study study study. It took me about 12 weeks to compeltely grasp all the information. I only STC material and attended an in person class in NY as well. I would study during the week when possible but my weekends were dedicated to studying. I probably put about 12 hours total during the weekend. Ultimatley, make sure you know the concepts and the DOs and Don'ts. It's going to save you during the real exam. I didn't pass my pracitce exams until exam 4. I took 10 practice exams total. 58 - 62 - 68- 68 - 77- 84 - and my scores stated aroudn the same for the remained of the exams.

During my exam I was so accustom to the questions and verbiage that i was breezing through the questions. However, please make sure you pay close attention to what they are asking you. It could easily be missed and you'll select the incorrect answer.

I received A LOT of questions around customer and RR sharing profits and losses, on REIT interests and reporting of vioaltions. Know the reporting times. This will make it easy for you. For financial responsibility i only received about two questions around net cap requirements (15:1 8:1). Not much on margin except for the risk disclosure document.

Good luck and just make sure you are scoring above 75 before walking into this exam!

I passed my 24 yesterday. This site was instrumental in my reasearch and I want to pay it forward.

I used PassPerfect but supplemented my studying with the Training Consultants QBank. I recommend both. I did not take a class but did hire a tutor associated with PassPerfect (he wrote the quick reference book) for three hours to help me with those concepts that I was challenged to fully embrace. The more surgical approach worked well for me.

I started studying right before Christmas and took sdvantage of quiet time at work over the holidays to immerse myself. I was able to put in 8 - 10 hours most days until the new year. All told, I probably put in over 120 hours of studying. I took more practice exams than I care to remember and probably over studied but that is how I needed to approach this. By the end of last week, I was scoring in the 80s on PassPerfect and high 80s/low 90s on TC. Even so, this test is not an easy one. And given the volume of material, I would suggest trying to shorten the time between starting to study and taking the test, even though if will require a degree of focus and dedication that may be challenging.

I felt very positive about the fact based questions. There is no telling what facts will appear. A prior poster said they had only 2 questions on net capital ratios. I had none. This is just one example. There is just no way of knowing which of the many data points you will need to draw upon. I thought crowd funding and senior suitability might appear but had no questions on either. The test bank is quite large so I am not sure it makes sense to even try to guess what might appear. I was given a calculator but did not need it once for any of my 160 questions, but again, others might.

But as others have shared, even more important is being able to apply the concepts. It was not uncommon for me to feel that 2 or even 3 of the asnswers to a question were correct. The question was which one was most correct. It was so important to read each question...and each answer, very carefully. In one case, it was one word that made the difference in how I answered the quesstion. I used the “mark for review” heavily and kept track as I went along as to the topic for each and every question so I could cross reference, where helpful. By the end of the three hours I spent, I was reasonably confident that I had passed...but it definitely was a long 30 seconds before it was confirmed. And I wish they shared the score in the end but it’s only Pass/Fail now.

Whilel there was nothing on the test that surprised me with respect to the topic, I was surprised by many of the questions, how they were asked and how challenging they were to respond to. There were also at least 5 questions that I had seen before from my practice exams. I have no idea which of the 10 questions were “trial questions” that were not scored because all the questions covered topics I had studied. There is a lot of judgement required on this test beyond knowledge of the facts.

If you are able to take the 24 shortly after you take the 7, I would recommend it as there is some overlap and carry forward. I actually found the material for the 24 more interesting than the 7 but it is definitely more nuanced and dense.

Good luck! The gift of these tests are appreciation for free time once you have your life back.

Took Series 24 today. Passed. It was my first time taking. Just wanted to pay it forward for the valuable advice I received from this site. I went with the STC program. Took the in person course in NYC. Very good. Studied for about 2 weeks straight about 5-7 hours a day. Took all 8 STC practice tests - 67, 66, 65, 67, 71, 67, 73, 74. Thought I failed when I hit submit and was elated to see the word pass on the screen. I would say the STC tests were slightly (but not by much) harder then the real test. Read a lot of the Pass Perfect book as well which I thought exaplained some of the harder concepts very well. Also bought the Training Consultants exam bank. Questions were def easier then STC and the real test but still good to get another test bank. One thing I did not like about TC is that it didn't have an option to see answers as you took test. I much prefer that way. Or at least the option. Maybe I just didn't see it. The one complete test I took with TC scored a 79.

*** - Do not buy Testeachers/ExamFX - the video lecture is WAY out of date (it was made around the time FINRA was first formed - not kidding). After seeing that I did not trust the rest of the material. And I had used them previously for Series 7 and thought the video lectures were excellent so was disappointed.

Between all the material I studied, the class and practice test taken there were honestly only about 5-6 question where I had no idea or never heard of something mentioned in the question. Maybe they were experimental I don't know. Doesn't mean though there weren't a lot other questions I didn't know the answer to or were 50/50 between 2 choices. Just that I had at least seen the material and should have known it. Most of the answers choices all sound pretty good. You have to pick out the "more correct" one if that makes sense.

Anyway good luck. Glad I'm done.

Paying this thread forward - I took this test in 2005 (got an 86) via brute-force question repetition from the dearborn CD, and have no real memories of it being difficult. my licenses lapsed, and I retook it this week.

originally studied with the kaplan materials (which I had used retaking the 7 and sie in january). read here that this would likely not be adequate so I picked up TC's question bank. averaged high 80s on the practice exams after doinng a lot of the question set.

I think it is important to note that, unlike kaplan, TC does not show you the total questions you have answered, incorrect, etc.. kaplan lets you focus on things you got wrong, and/or only use questions you have not seen before. I likely did not see the entire TC question bank and find this to be a singular defect. after the tenth time you answer how to sign a stock certificate, it gets old. also, their interface does not allow simple keyboard entry and paging - why on earth not?

I took the actual test and passed. I definitely knew about 45-50% of the questions, probably or 1 of 2 items knew maybe 35%, and was wild guessing on the rest. my raw % guess before finishing was high 60%'s. I passed, which may be due to curvinng rather than % correct. Perhaps there were TC questionss I never saw which would have prepared me.

Many of the concepts in the questions I had no idea on were items I had not seen in either the kaplan or TC question set.

I just passed the series 24 Saturday and wanted to pass on some feedback that may help.

First, I selected STC and used them exclusively. Make sure to get the online training which I thought was very helpful. In total, I spent probably abouit 120 hours studying for this test. I would go to the library after work for 2 hours which helped and I spent about 8 hours a weekend studying for this test. It isn’t really difficult stuff but there is soooo much information. On the STC self tests I didn’t pass my first test until the 5th test I took. From there I average in the mid 70’s and scored a 63% on test 8 a week before my test. Yes I was concerned. All in all I did all 8 practice exams closed and open and even took a few a 3rd time. Also, I used the about 40% of the flashcards and listened to some of the lectures 2 or 3 times and made a my own flashcards.


A couple testing tips. There is a ton of time that is allowed. Like a previous post I would suggest take a bathroom break. During this time I got some water (water not allowed in testing center) and ate some nuts that I brought. It was quick but I think it really helped me. Also, take your time and read each question carefully. Think of the answer before you look at the answers.


Overall I thought the STC practice tests were harder than the actual test. But if you put in the time and take all 8 tests open and then closed and can get into the mid 70’s toward the end you should be okay. Don’t memorize answers but read each answer to the questions included the ones you got correct. STC provides detailed answers that will help with other test questions. Most of the questions are scanrio based which you can only gain experience by taking the practice exams.


Anyway, I wanted to provide some encouragement to those out there that are overwhelmed by the material and not scoring well on the practice tests. Make sure to get at least in the mid 70’s on a few of the tests. Call or email the instructors if you have questions. Lastly, go in with a postive attitude.


Good luck.


Good Luck.

I’m a terrible test taker. I have been since I could remember and it’s not just regarding study habits but about anxiety and overthinking everything. I passed the 24 this morning!

Process: I started by using the Kaplan Book and Q Bank with my own dime prior to my start date with my firm (about 3 weeks). Once I started with my firm I received the STC material. I used the STC material only going forward, which was about 6 weeks of study time. I read both books once and highlighted. I took some notes here and there but at the end of the day, you won’t know what notes to take until you start taking tests, the whole book needs to be memorized. I took all STC quizzes and exams. The Green Light 1 was 2 days before the exam and Green Light 2 was the day before the exam. I took all 8 practices tests via “open book” and then I took the first 3 again via “closed book.”

Open Book Scores: 66, 59, 59, 61, 70, 68, 69, 63

Closed Book Scores: 74, 74, 77

Green Light 1: 68

Green Light 2: 71

Regarding the actual test… it was tough. There were times I felt like I was crushing it and then there were times I felt like I was bombing it. I marked just a few for review. Stay positive, there is a reason passing is only 70%.

Recommendation: Whichever material you are using, USE it to the fullest. There is a reason there is a process and trust the process. You need to take time to study and at times, possibly sacrifice other things that may be more appealing (everything) to push through this test. There is more than enough time to complete the test so take your time reading each question. Go in confidently and stay positive! This test is knowledge based but I think it really focuses on mindset of the test taker as well! Good luck future test taker! You’ve got this!

I passed the 24 yesterday with Kaplan…it is the hardest test I have taken. I actually failed it twice with 65 in the last few months with STC. I am glad I went to Kaplan the third time. I undestood the Kaplan content the best and I found myself more comfortable during the test because of it.


Here is my disclaimer: I never liked reading big books! and I was never a really good student, but I was alwas a good test taker, and english is not my first language.



If you are in the industry and like most, are just looking to pass a test, you probably are looking for a way to pass it period so you can move with your life…I get it, I have done in the past with no problems.


But here is my experience with the 24.


Here is my side by side comparison on STC VS Kaplan.

STC: 16 Chapters where concepts can overlap and get you confused, at times I could not tell where one topic begun or end. I had to read the book severl times to make sense of it. The practice test were challenging in a good way but the explanations were limited in nature for me.

Kaplan: 5 Chapters. That format kept me more focus. The Test questions writting was easier to understand but challenging enough. Most questions in both books are for the book exams, meaning they do not push you out of what’s written, and you need more that that.

.

I read the books and looked for rules, regulations, definitions, exceptions, exemptions bla bla bla…there are just so many that you can get confused easily, I did. I tried to memorize as much as I could, I actually over did it…really.

Eventually the hard way, I figured out that you need to “fully” understand the whole story in the book which happens to be boring content in some chapters. Sure it is important to remember all the facts but is even more important to ask yourself “why, why not, and what if” specially when you start taking practice test. weather you get the answer right or wrong ask your self why is that the right answer (when applicable of course). The book might not provide a full explanation, or an explanation that makes perfect senses to you. And let me tell you, there might be times during the exam that the questions might seem to be written in chinese, just like many other challenging examinations…literally UNTIL you find one or two key words that ring a bell and “IF” you fully understood the story from the book you will find the right answer. If not…it might be very difficult to have a chance.

On my way to take the exam I was hoping I would reschedule it because I felt after taking the exam twice and studying different books I was finally begining to get it. Another week would put me where I wanted to be. But I moved forward and took it cause I was sick of it.

If you are going to take this exam…start reading ASAP, start asking yourself “why does it work that why?”, and if the book is not giving you clarity, go online!..is all public info, and more importanly different websites and articles are written and a simple way that gives you clarity with examples applicable to real industry scenarios.

The most valuable lesson I learned on this exam was to how to prepare for similar exams in the future.

Good luck.

Hello everyone,


My exam date is next week, and I’ve been studying with the STC. I’ve read the books and did chapter outlines and have been focusing on final exams/custom exams these past few weeks. I’ve started out really bad and was basically hitting high 60s and low 70s on them.


I took a breather and went through some notes and retook them and have been scoring in the mid 80’s now. But I’m worried if it’s memorization or if I really do understand the concept.


For the remainder of this week I’ll be doing closed book exams and then Greenlight Exams 1 and 2 this Friday. I hope I’m ready, looking forward to updating everyone next week!

Hello everyone, I passed the series 24 last night. Toughest exam I ever took in my life.


I used STC. I got my material in March, but I messed around and put it on the back burner until end of April/Early May.


I ended up reading the book only one time through while doing the Progress Exams at the end of every 4 chapters. It was a mess after that I just did load of practice exams, closed book and open book and custom.


I kind of had an issue where I hated spending my weekends doing practice exams, so I kind of rushed them. This is very bad advice. During “hell week,” the last week before my exam date, I really hunkered down and blasted through some tests while focusing on the explanations. At the end of Hell Week, I was feeling good and destroyed my greenlight exams with an 83 and 81% score. For those who don’t use STC, a Greenlight exam is a harder version of the practice exams that’s closed book and can only be done once. I read some of the STC’s Crunch Time facts and some explanations on questions I got wrong, before the exam and I was nervous going in but felt confident in my abilities.


That all went to hell when I started the actual exam. It was a nightmare, question after question, the formatting completely different from STC’s practices. I really used a bathroom break and took a breather. I refocused and some of the STC material started making sense in my head. There is ample amount of time to take all questions and return to any you may have had questions on. I really thought I failed, but i ended up passing.


My advice if I were to do this whole thing again is to get as many Q&A banks as you can. A variety of questions and explanations in different formats would really help. All in all, you can never expect what kind of questions will be asked on the real exam. Know the core concepts and really, you can afford to get 30 questions wrong, so if you don’t know it, just put the best answer down in your opinion

Hi Guys,

Wanted to pay it forward since this thread is helpful. I passed today for the first time and my partner passed a few weeks ago on his first try. He used Kaplan exclusively 100% and felt like he was pretty close 70-75% on the actual exam. I used Kaplan exclusively but also had the Solomon Materials and then the last few weeks I bought the STC exams. I feel like I got in the 80-85% range on the actual test and was not nervous when clicked the final finish button cause I felt I had passed. Here is what I would advise someone to do,

I passed the Series 24 today. I cried a little when I saw that beautiful word “Pass”. Hopefully my experience can benefit someone else who is about to undertake this arduous journey. I suggest taking this process seriously. The exam is not really that difficult, but the volume of material you will need to know to pass it is massive. You must read, study, take many exams. Just get that in your head in advance and you’ll be fine.


I started on July 1 with Kaplan. I bought the whole package- book, online class, test bank, access to instructors. I’m Independent so I paid for it all. I started reading the book. I broke it down into Units (1-5), then broke the units down into sub-sections. It’s that dense. How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time. It took me a week or so to figure the following process out: Read one sub-section (break it down so it makes sense to you), then test yourself on that subsection until you have the basics down. Work through the entire book until you have a good working knowledge of much of the material. Kaplan’s book is very well laid-out. Their test bank is also nice because you can create your own quizzes by sections. I took the online class as well, which is helpful.


Once I started getting 90’s in Kaplan, I moved on to buy Training Consultants and Passperfect test banks. I got that information from this forum. I sort of wish I had spent less time on Kaplan’s tests and moved right into these other two. TC’s question format is very similar to the actual test, and PP was just agony at first. The questions seemed very difficult compared to Kaplan, or maybe I just got too used to Kaplan test bank. I soldiered on. I also spent a lot of time on the FINRA and SEC websites, reading the actual rules and regs. I suggest this as part of your process. I also found a couple of really good securities law firms that had some very clear, easy to read white papers. This will bring the concepts to light. I also have to give props to Peter from PP, he’s very smart and knows this stuff in and out. I emailed him a few times. He does tutoring as well. The Kaplan instructors are also very responsive, and they are good. I will tell you that TC has some wrong material, and well, that’s just wrong! But, since I had Kaplan and PP, I was able to verify the truth. I also looked up many things on my own.


I made index cards for each section. You’ll know the areas that are weak, and you’ll just work them until you have it. I then went back to the Kaplan book and re-read many, many sections.


For my testing- I had open book until the last week before the test- hey, last week in fact. I did look things up that I got wrong, re-read, then re-tested until I had it clear. I was getting 90-100 in TC, 77-88’s in PP. I finally felt like I had enough, maybe, to pass the test last night at 9 pm. Remember, you are learning until you go into that test center. Try to get these scores consistently and you’ll likely pass the exam.


For a study timeframe: 11 weeks total. All weekend except for some breaks, during the week after work as much as I could stomach. This is what it takes. My husband is a saint. And this is the first weekend since June 30th that he has me all to himself, Ya!


For the actual exam- I took two bathroom breaks, stretched, got water. You can’t go onto your locker during the exam. My stomach was growling loudly at the end. Hopefully others had earphones on. I used earplugs and noise-canceling earphones. I’m noise-sensitive, but you’ll figure out what you need to stay focused. I suggest finishing the exam, then taking a break and going back to review your marked questions. I changed 3 answers upon review. Don’t give up, it’s worth it. You will be a General Securities Principal if you put in the time, effort and focus.

I passed my series 24 yesterday and I’ve got some golden advice I wish someone had shared with me sooner. I too almost cried when I saw I passed and didn’t stop shaking with excitement for about 30 minutes because passing this test meant a LOT to my career opportunities in the near future.


For starters, it was my 3rd attempt at the test so the pressure was on. I got a 62 on my first try, and the worst score possible on my second try, 69. I also hold my series 6, 63, 65 and 7, all of which I passed the first try so I came in to the 24 overly confident, boy was I wrong.


Between the 2nd test and the 3rd, they were two completely different tests. One had a ton of questions on margin, code of procedure, and arbitration, the other had none. So you really have to know ALL the material well in order to pass because you just dont know what the test is going to emphasis.


On this third attempt I did a few things differently. For starters, I re-watched all the videos and every time they talked about anything with a timeline, I would write it down. The stuff that refers to days, weeks, months, quarters, or years either things need to be reported or submitted to FINRA or whoever else. When it came to market making time questions, I also wrote down whether it was NYSE, NASDAQ or OTCBB. Then I memorized that list as much as possible. There were a LOT of long, comprehensive type questions, but there were also a lot of easy questions that involve time tables that you just don’t want to miss, so just memorize that list.


Also, I spent way more time on this third attempt really hammering the details of market making and underwriting. There seemed to be a lot of questions on each of the tests I took for those. I made flash cards in addition to the list and I started out using Kaplan to study but then added in STC for this third attempt. Not to say STC was the reason I passed, but I think being exposed to both brands of study materials helped make sure everything was covered. STC was better to narrow down specific topics for videos, Kaplan was better for practice quiz questions.


Hope that helps for whoever is reading this, and good luck!!

Does anyone have a Kaplan Q Bank for sale?

Took the series 24 today and passed. I studied 3 weeks pretty intense with Training Consultants only. I read the entire book in depth with 3 chapter quizzes for each and then a total of 7 finals: 67,79,67,82,87,87,92. After the second 67 is when I reviewed everything again.


all I can say is that the exam is very different than the practice exams, so make sure you understand the material inside and out.

Hello everyone I took the exam on 12/12/2019 and passed first attempt. I studied with STC and also used Pass Perfect practice exams, I never had an 90’s in the practice test my avg was 77%. Here’s my advice for the futre test taker:

Paying it forward as these posts are definitely why I passed! I failed the first time with a 67 back in Feb. Then COVID happened and the testing centers shut down for months and I couldn’t get in until just last week. Finally passed.


I ended up cramming for basically 3 straight weeks. Stuck with Knopman Marks for second time but panicked in week before test and listened to everyone here. Bought passperfect, STC and TC. Yes, that is not a smart plan and a lot of money.

Passed the series 24 and wanted to pay it forward like all these other lovely people! If you’re a procrastinator like me, please read on…


The materials I had were STC premier access (class, book, qbank, practice tests etc) and Kaplan (just q bank). I later bought the TC qbank and practice tests (literally two days before the test…lol)


I got my materials 2 months before the test. I did one practice quiz then didn’t look at it at ALL. Then, ONE WEEK before the exam, I picked back up. I haaaaate reading textbooks, and I got through the series 7 3 years agoby just taking quiz after quiz, so I figured that would work here for me. So in the STC materials, I would have the quiz for each chapter on one screen, then the pdf of the text book on the other, and would just control + f to find answers. I would just do the quizzes once and that’s it. Then did progress exams after the allotted chapters, didn’t pass most of them. After I got through all the questions, I started doing Kaplan questions. So different! I did worse on the Kaplan questions.


Anyways, I decide to do one of the Green Light exams before getting into my review and got a 56…6 days before the exam. So then I keep taking practice exams; low to mid 60s. So then I switch over to Kaplan and take quizzes and tests there; even worse. I’m convinced that if I take a ton of questions, it will all magically click. And it kind of did. But I later realized I was just memorizing the questions. I didn’t review any of the explanations, I just kept taking more tests.


So 3 days before the test, I’m STILL getting 60-64s on the practice tests. I’m freaking out, so I come on this lovely forum and see all the great advice. I immediately buy the TC qbank and start taking quizzes there. Got a 59 on my first exam. But then I start taking quizzes on the weak areas there and actually reviewed the explanations - that was the game changer. I work my way up to a 69 on the TC practice exams the day before my test.

Studying:

Buy STC and TC. STC was on par with the exam and materials were helpful. TC was basically identical to the exam, but a little easier. I could take or leave Kaplan.

Take lots of questions, BUT READ THE EXPLANATIONS!! My ADHD means I get sooo bored reading. Taking questions is the only thing works for me because it’s interactive. But you HAVE to make yourself slow down and learn why you got something wrong and why you got something right.

Review the STC cheat sheet every day, and add to it! I wish I had discovered it earlier! So so helpful

give yourself more than a week! I pulled 3 all nighters and studied all day every day to take questions this week - needless to say I’m gonna celebrate passing by taking a loong nap :-). A month should be sufficient, but if you want to read the textbook, give yourself a lot more time because that thing is dense.

eliminate distractions! I got a puppy recently and I ended up taking him to doggy daycare several times during the week so I could fully focus.

Ensure that you get the freebie questions! I consider freebie questions to be things that don’t require much thinking, just memory. Dedicate a lot of time to memorizing timeframes (how many days before filing with finra? How many days before settlement? How long is quiet period? That was so much of my test. Other hot topics - who can buy from a new issue, who are restricted persons, how can a research analyst interact with different folks, what goes on an order ticket vs a confirmation, etc

Taking the exam:

-Take your time. Something about me - I am a fast test taker, because I haaate sitting still for that long. I finished the full series 7 in 2 hours, and the 63 in 20 minutes. So please hear me when I say this - take your time!! You have sooo much time to answer 160 questions. Read the question, read the answers, read the question again, think it through. Mark things for review and go back and look at them after. I never mark things for review because when I’m done, I’m done, but I actually did it this time. Thank goodness I did! I changed a few answers, and some of the later questions helped me answer previous ones.

Narrow down your choices. I wrote down “A, B, C, D” on my scratch paper for many of the questions. Then I would read through the choices and cross off a letter for whatever didn’t fit. You’ll usually get down to 2, but 50% chance is better than 25!

look out for answers that are true but don’t apply in the context. For example, a question may ask you about IPOs, and then one of the choices says something correct about a do not call list. The statement might be true, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with the question.

-in a pinch, choose what’s best for the customer.


By all accounts, I should not have passed this test. And if I got to see my score, I would bet it was a 70.00000001%. So if you have the time, Listen to all the other advice on this forum!! But if you’re like me and have limited time to study, make sure you take lots of questions, read the explanations, memorize the cheat sheet, and for the love of god, don’t talk to an investment banker if you’re a research analyst


GOOD LUCK! If I can do it, you can do it!

Just thought of something else to add on - this is not a test that you can “logic” your way through all the way, like you can with the 7. Know the concepts but also you MUST KNOW THE DETAILS. It’s really hard to logically decide when the answers are:

A) 3 days

B) 4 days

C) 5 days

D) 6 days


memorize the tiny details! I imagine flash cards would be helpful.


In my opinion, this test is not difficult, but it’ll mess with your head because often, all of the answers will look correct. Memorize timeframes, net capital requirements, order reporting time requirements (10 seconds, 15 minutes, etc), and you’re halfway there!

Reg 144/A, Reg A, and Reg S were also big topics. Just know who can buy them, when they can sell them, and volume limits and you’re good to go.


Also, brush up on Arbitration, Code of Procedure, U4 requirements - when the offense has to be filed with FINRA, how many arbitrators sit on the panel, etc.


sorry, it all came back in waves - I’m done now! You got this!

I stumbled upon this forum when I first googled “pass rate of the Series 24” and I told myself if I ever passed I’d share my story because I think this site was VERY helpful for me personally.


My journey is a little odd but it will make sense by the end. I first started studying back in late April, early May of 2020 when I was sent to work from home due to the Pandemic. I ordered Kaplan’s total plan, read their book and took practice tests and sat for the exam in July of 2020 and got a 65%, I was scoring mid-90’s on their tests.


Turned out I had some health issues I needed to get taken care of, fast forward to 2021 and I began my study path to the 24 all over again due to my time away from the material.


After finding this forum, I ordered STC’s total package and T.C.'s practice exams. I began the second time around on Feb 1 of 2021. I re-read Kaplan’s book as I agreed from this forum it was probably the best book for the information. I then went into practice tests. The order of this part is not important in my opinion but I built and took 5 custom exams in Training Consulstants and I built 4 custom exams in STC. The STC cheat sheet that everyone raves about on this forum didn’t do much for me so I built my own. I built my cheat sheet by watching all of the video lectures/slides from STC. This was very valuable as the 10-12 pages of notes I got from those videos were my study guide for the rest of my tests.


After the videos, I took all 8 STC finals and 3 of the finals in TC. Earlier on I also took all of the progress exams in STC (8). I was scoring mid-60’s to 73% of the finals. The night before the exam I took a greenlight from STC and scored a 75%.


So my breakdown of all of this: 1. Kaplan probably does have the best book for reading the material. 2. Kaplan’s practice exams/finals are not hard enough. STC has the toughest and best tests in my opinion and they were much more like the actual exam questions. 3. I’m glad I took the TC tests to get different writing of exam questions but honestly I don’t know how much it really helped. 4. A 24 at my Broker Dealer told me to try and get this done in a month and I managed it in 6 weeks so close but I agree, it can be done in 4-6 weeks, don’t study for 3 months like I did the first time. 5. I think STC’s materials are the best in comparison to Kaplan and Training Consultants.


Hope this helps someone and best of luck.

Congrats Bill - I agree with a lot of what you said.


Like everyone else here, I wanted to pay it forward as I found this thread to be valuable! I took the 24 yesterday (for the second time) and passed.


The first time was in September last year and I had only used Kaplan’s study materials. While these worked great for the 7 and 66, they were not really helpful at all on the 24. I was making A’s and B’s on their practice tests and went through every question in their bank and scored 62 the first time I took the test. I felt like the questions just weren’t detailed enough.


This time I ordered STC and did every part of their program. I thought their on demand videos were well done and very helpful. I took all of the practice tests…all of the finals and the greenlights. I had an average on all exams of 69 and made a 74 and 76 on the two greenlights. Also, about a month ago I started panicking and bought the quiz bank for Pass Perfect (about $200). They had 12 finals and I took every one of them over the last month. I was scoring 65-75 on all of those. The explanations on the Pass Perfect questions are really really good!


Pass perfect was tough and if I had it to do over again I would definitely use both STC (full version) and Pass Perfect quiz bank. The test was still hard this time but it was so much more familiar than the first time I took it just using Kaplan.


I also used TC’s quiz bank somewhere in between the two tests and really I think I could take it or leave it. I’m not sure it helped a lot but as someone else mentioned, sometimes it’s good to see different questions written in different ways.


Good luck to anyone reading this and thanks to all of you that have posted prior that helped me to find the right materials and study habits.

hello

i am new to this thread. 69 points is great. congratulations. Pass perfect is the hardest part for me. how did you simplify the material to better understand it? maybe give a couple of tips.

Thank you.

Best, Andrey

This forum was a great source of advice in my exam review so I decided to register just to post here and pay my dues. I passed Series 24 on my first attempt today. Took SIE in Nov20, Series 7 in Mar21 and Series 63 in Apr21 knocking every exam out on the first attempt so many concepts were still fresh in my head, however I approached Series 24 with extra diligence.


Used STC materials provided by my firm, first reading the Study Guide and highlighting key concepts and details. Then proceeded to final exams with explanations off, never breaking the 70% barrier on any of them, as remained stuck in mid-60s, 62-68% range. When reading the study guide for the second time after the exams, I took notes of all the timeframes. Then it magically clicked. During the second run of finals scored 80% on final exam 01 and 02 - that’s when I felt ready for the real thing. Visiting SEC and FINRA sources for actual rules and regs I got wrong during mock testing helped a lot on the actual exam.


Actual exam felt very close to STC finals. Memorising timeframes saved me - more than 10 questions required to memorise exact number of days in rules/regs, another 10+ allowed for elimination of wrong answers with “fact clutter” based on memorised timeframes. It was a great confidence boost when I could quickly pick answers being absolutely sure I got them right. My advice - do your own notes for this exam. I didn’t for my previous exams, while for this one they literally saved me. And take your time - I finished the exam with a full hour left, therefore there was no point for a hurry - just concentrate, read carefully, use the method of elimination when you don’t see an obviously correct answer, don’t leave questions “unanswered” as there is no point in coming back and second guessing yourself if you are careful.


It is a difficult exam so don’t be discouraged by failing scores on STC finals and lack of score progress - you can nail it during the second run of finals. Try to review your wrong answers before the exam and check FINRA/SEC sources for rules&regs - some questions on the actual exam delve deeper into them than the STC study guide, so be prepared to go that extra mile. It will actually made you remember these concepts and provide a huge confidence boost. Use STC crunch-time facts, however focus your revision on timeframes you did yourself.


In total, I dedicated 4 weeks to preparation, 3-4 hours per study day. Took some extra long study guide time to do the timeframes diligently - focus on it as a core part of your revision. This test is mostly memorisation, down to minute details, so no point in spreading your studies over more than one month. Just take it when you still have concepts fresh in your mind and schedule the exam as soon as you feel ready - I scheduled mine for the following day and the “next-day shot” worked for all my FINRA exams passed at first attempt (SIE, Series 7, Series 63, Series 24).


As for the “must-know” topics that tend to reappear: who are the restricted persons, Regulation M, Regulation FD, Regulation SHO, Fail-to-deliver and closeouts, Net capital requirements (got 3 questions so memorise the minimums!), Retail/institutional communications, supervision of research, Form U4&U5 filing and amendments, general supervision (OSJ, principal supervision, Form BR), Code of Arbitration, recordkeeping time, passive market making, order display and order protection, who reports to TRACE, TRF, Consolidated Tape, etc.


Always beware the “information clutter” as it is designed to trick you - eliminate the answers that contain irrelevant facts forcefully pasted into the context (even if otherwise they might seem correct). Remain positive throughout the exam, capitalise on answers you know you got right - attitude during this monster exam is very important.


Last but not least, I was allowed to test remotely through the FINRA special temporary accommodation request, which is a huge boon out if this pandemic. It felt like doing another STC final exam, although slightly easier. Just don’t forget to download the latest ProProctor client app as it was updated in late April:)

This thread saved my ass. I passed this morning on the first attempt. I graduated high school with a 2.0 GPA. Graduated college with a 2 year degree with a 2.0 GPA. I’ve been in the industry since 2006 when I passed the Series 7 with exactly 70%. My point being studying has never been my strong suit. I’m 37 with a family, so I could not dedicate every moment to preparing for the test. Sufficed to say, I was unsure about my chances.


I used Kaplan for the 7, 63, and 66 - so I figured I would use their program again. I’ll just come right out and say Kaplan materials are awful regarding the Series 24. My advice is to fun from Kaplan. FLEE. The Dec 2020 edition of the book is outdated and the Q Bank quiz questions were simultaniously erroneous and far too easy. The online PDF version of the book is even worse. Kaplan haphazardly updates their content on a bad corner of their site via a list of disoconnected articles. Their piss-poor excuse for not maintaining accurate primary content. I became suspicious of Kaplan when scores seemed too easy to achieve and discovered this beautiful thread 14 days before my exam date. I immediatly switched to Pass Perfect and took a final test every night until the day before the exam for 12 nights in a row. Each morning I would then review every question thoroughly for hours on end. I achieved the following scores on Pass Perfect:


58%, 56%, 65%, 65%, 60%, 67%,58%, 57%, 69%, 64%, 64%, 70%, 68%


I’m typically a relatively stable man in no way prone to emotional meltdowns. With two weeks before the exam, I went from from scoring in the 70s and 80s with Kaplan to that first 58% with Pass Perfect. It brought my mental health cratering into a pit of dispair. I could not sleep. I named that dispair Kaplan. I utilized that terror of potentially failing to study more, so I bought STC’s cheat sheet. Which was stellar. But that dispair named Kaplan never left me. I lay awake having panic attacks. I assumed my children’s fatherless weekends and the horrible stress I was placing on my wife would be in vain. That I would lose my job. My career. It was an albotross hung on my neck for all to see until I received the exam results. Frankly, I thought I was going to fail today. I probably got 70% exactly.


If you are two weeks out and use Kaplan, heed my story.

Hi all, thanks all for your great insights. I am less than 3 weeks out and panic is hitting me. Went through the book and started the final exams on STC. I’m going through it while looking up answers and even though I end up only in mid 70’s. What am I doing wrong. Passed the 7 a few years back with close to 90%. You think I’m still ok track or should I try to push out the testing date. Thanks all for your insights.

alexg wrote:
This forum time tracking software was a great source of advice in my exam review so I decided to register just to post here and pay my dues. I passed Series 24 on my first attempt today. Took SIE in Nov20, Series 7 in Mar21 and Series 63 in Apr21 knocking every exam out on the first attempt so many concepts were still fresh in my head, however I approached Series 24 with extra diligence.


Used STC materials provided by my firm, first reading the Study Guide and highlighting key concepts and details. Then proceeded to final exams with explanations off, never breaking the 70% barrier on any of them, as remained stuck in mid-60s, 62-68% range. When reading the study guide for the second time after the exams, I took notes of all the timeframes. Then it magically clicked. During the second run of finals scored 80% on final exam 01 and 02 - that’s when I felt ready for the real thing. Visiting SEC and FINRA sources for actual rules and regs I got wrong during mock testing helped a lot on the actual exam.


Actual exam felt very close to STC finals. Memorising timeframes saved me - more than 10 questions required to memorise exact number of days in rules/regs, another 10+ allowed for elimination of wrong answers with “fact clutter” based on memorised timeframes. It was a great confidence boost when I could quickly pick answers being absolutely sure I got them right. My advice - do your own notes for this exam. I didn’t for my previous exams, while for this one they literally saved me. And take your time - I finished the exam with a full hour left, therefore there was no point for a hurry - just concentrate, read carefully, use the method of elimination when you don’t see an obviously correct answer, don’t leave questions “unanswered” as there is no point in coming back and second guessing yourself if you are careful.


It is a difficult exam so don’t be discouraged by failing scores on STC finals and lack of score progress - you can nail it during the second run of finals. Try to review your wrong answers before the exam and check FINRA/SEC sources for rules&regs - some questions on the actual exam delve deeper into them than the STC study guide, so be prepared to go that extra mile. It will actually made you remember these concepts and provide a huge confidence boost. Use STC crunch-time facts, however focus your revision on timeframes you did yourself.


In total, I dedicated 4 weeks to preparation, 3-4 hours per study day. Took some extra long study guide time to do the timeframes diligently - focus on it as a core part of your revision. This test is mostly memorisation, down to minute details, so no point in spreading your studies over more than one month. Just take it when you still have concepts fresh in your mind and schedule the exam as soon as you feel ready - I scheduled mine for the following day and the “next-day shot” worked for all my FINRA exams passed at first attempt (SIE, Series 7, Series 63, Series 24).


As for the “must-know” topics that tend to reappear: who are the restricted persons, Regulation M, Regulation FD, Regulation SHO, Fail-to-deliver and closeouts, Net capital requirements (got 3 questions so memorise the minimums!), Retail/institutional communications, supervision of research, Form U4&U5 filing and amendments, general supervision (OSJ, principal supervision, Form BR), Code of Arbitration, recordkeeping time, passive market making, order display and order protection, who reports to TRACE, TRF, Consolidated Tape, etc.


Always beware the “information clutter” as it is designed to trick you - eliminate the answers that contain irrelevant facts forcefully pasted into the context (even if otherwise they might seem correct). Remain positive throughout the exam, capitalise on answers you know you got right - attitude during this monster exam is very important.


Last but not least, I was allowed to test remotely through the FINRA special temporary accommodation request, which is a huge boon out if this pandemic. It felt like doing another STC final exam, although slightly easier. Just don’t forget to download the latest ProProctor client app as it was updated in late April:)

andrejpesockij920 wrote:

alexg wrote:
This forum time tracking software was a great source of advice in my exam review so I decided to register just to post here and pay my dues. I passed Series 24 on my first attempt today. Took SIE in Nov20, Series 7 in Mar21 and Series 63 in Apr21 knocking every exam out on the first attempt so many concepts were still fresh in my head, however I approached Series 24 with extra diligence.


Used STC materials provided by my firm, first reading the Study Guide and highlighting key concepts and details. Then proceeded to final exams with explanations off, never breaking the 70% barrier on any of them, as remained stuck in mid-60s, 62-68% range. When reading the study guide for the second time after the exams, I took notes of all the timeframes. Then it magically clicked. During the second run of finals scored 80% on final exam 01 and 02 - that’s when I felt ready for the real thing. Visiting SEC and FINRA sources for actual rules and regs I got wrong during mock testing helped a lot on the actual exam.


Actual exam felt very close to STC finals. Memorising timeframes saved me - more than 10 questions required to memorise exact number of days in rules/regs, another 10+ allowed for elimination of wrong answers with “fact clutter” based on memorised timeframes. It was a great confidence boost when I could quickly pick answers being absolutely sure I got them right. My advice - do your own notes for this exam. I didn’t for my previous exams, while for this one they literally saved me. And take your time - I finished the exam with a full hour left, therefore there was no point for a hurry - just concentrate, read carefully, use the method of elimination when you don’t see an obviously correct answer, don’t leave questions “unanswered” as there is no point in coming back and second guessing yourself if you are careful.


It is a difficult exam so don’t be discouraged by failing scores on STC finals and lack of score progress - you can nail it during the second run of finals. Try to review your wrong answers before the exam and check FINRA/SEC sources for rules&regs - some questions on the actual exam delve deeper into them than the STC study guide, so be prepared to go that extra mile. It will actually made you remember these concepts and provide a huge confidence boost. Use STC crunch-time facts, however focus your revision on timeframes you did yourself.


In total, I dedicated 4 weeks to preparation, 3-4 hours per study day. Took some extra long study guide time to do the timeframes diligently - focus on it as a core part of your revision. This test is mostly memorisation, down to minute details, so no point in spreading your studies over more than one month. Just take it when you still have concepts fresh in your mind and schedule the exam as soon as you feel ready - I scheduled mine for the following day and the “next-day shot” worked for all my FINRA exams passed at first attempt (SIE, Series 7, Series 63, Series 24).


As for the “must-know” topics [url=https://www.worktime.com]worktime[/url] that tend to reappear: who are the restricted persons, Regulation M, Regulation FD, Regulation SHO, Fail-to-deliver and closeouts, Net capital requirements (got 3 questions so memorise the minimums!), Retail/institutional communications, supervision of research, Form U4&U5 filing and amendments, general supervision (OSJ, principal supervision, Form BR), Code of Arbitration, recordkeeping time, passive market making, order display and order protection, who reports to TRACE, TRF, Consolidated Tape, etc.


Always beware the “information clutter” as it is designed to trick you - eliminate the answers that contain irrelevant facts forcefully pasted into the context (even if otherwise they might seem correct). Remain positive throughout the exam, capitalise on answers you know you got right - attitude during this monster exam is very important.


Last but not least, I was allowed to test remotely through the FINRA special temporary accommodation request, which is a huge boon out if this pandemic. It felt like doing another STC final exam, although slightly easier. Just don’t forget to download the latest ProProctor client app as it was updated in late April:)