[quote=gkza]hi all.

Thanks in advance for your time and interest!!

[/quote]

OK, here's the deal for you.  Stick with the STC material.

When it comes to Series 7 they are head and shoulders better than the second place team, which is Dearborn.  Dearborn is head and shoulders better than Pass Perfect.

There are NO other publishers who should be considered--NONE.

Now, I can hear you wondering why--well here it is.  STC is a company of several hundred people with their HQ at The Battery in NYC.  They teach thousands of people every year in New York alone--they have more people taking their classes in any given month than all other schools operating in New York have in their classes during an entire year.

Next is the way the three firms worthy of considering publish.  Dearborn and Pass Perfet both bind their publications.  In order to make that cost effective they must produce quite a few copies--six months?  A year's worth?  That sort of depends on the good fortunes of the coming months but if things change--and that does not mean if topics change because they don't really change that often, instead it means if the thrust of the questions being asked changes Dearborn and Pass Perfect have a difficult time incorporating those changes into their material.

By comparision STC publishes in loose leaf format.  If page 45 in chapter 12 needs to be revised--just revise it.  If you have some books already printed up send the revision with the book and instruct the user to replace the sheet.  Can't do that with a bound book--well you can include an errata style addendum, but they tend to get put aside and not looked at again.

Finally there is the "quality" of the sample questions.  What happens is because STC has so many students they become aware of the "real questions" more easily than the other schools.  It's usually a student in a class who will interrupt and say something like, "I took the test last month and failed.  But I had a question that I'll never forget and it went like this.........."

That's golden information.  But in order to avoid copyright problems it needs to be changed slightly--so it is.  Then it becomes part of the next printing--remember they print in relatively small batches of loose leaf pages.  Changes are incorporated frequently.

It appears that Dearborn buys an STC book every so often just to see what is new.  When they see this new question they will "borrow" it for their course and rewrite it slightly so as to not violate STC's copyright.  By this point the question has lost much of the verbatim nature that was originally there back in the classroom.

Pass Perfect is actually one guy who does all that work himself.  He is bright and works like a Trojan, but he's still only one guy.  He is not interested in drawing attention to himself with the similarity of his questions to those being published by Dearborn or STC and consequently he is rarely able to show you things that will look like the actual test.

When we have people use Pass Perfect material they often pass, but it is because the questions are damn hard compared to the real test.  The problem is that when you're in the real test it helps if you're seeing a lot of almost identical things instead of stuff that is much easier than what you studied.

What your firm provides for you is usually determined by the training department at the home office based on relationships with the vendors.

It is fairly commonly agreed that insurance firms and banks tend to favor Dearborn; NYSE member firms tend to favor STC; and regional firms such as Legg Mason tend to favor Pass Perfect.

If you have STC--and you do--stick with it.  Should you fail, and something like 70% of those who will take it for the first ime on Monday will fail, you can use Pass Perfect for your second run at it.

How you will do on the real test will be +/- 5% of how you do on STC finals 8, 9, 10, 11 collectively.  Be sure to do finals 12 and 13 too, that's where new stuff appears.  The first seven are too easy and somewhat older material.

wow, man. this is exactly what I have been looking for. You seem to be a controversial figure on this board, but I find you to be extremely intelligent, well spoken and insightful. I couldnt pay for this info. Thank you very much. Regarding your last paragraph, if that holds true, I will repat the process ad naseum. I am flying through tests 1-7 with mid 80s to low 90 scores.



So I guess I ditch Pass Perfect all toegether, is this the key take away?



Also, with you vast knowledge, any advice for a 28 yr. final yr. MBA in NYC trying to get into instituional sales? Just wanted to throw that out there!



Thanks again man!

Hey man I am in the same boat..

I used Dearborn and its great! I dont know about the other products but a lot of people reccommended the Dearborn.

As for being 28 with the MBA. I went the same path at the same age. I personally think a young professional who has a diverse background, strong sales and networking skills, common sense and knowledge can go far in this industry.

Network, network and listen to those who are where you want to be.

Today's Trivia Question:

What does GKZA, Seven 28, & ExecutiveJock all have in common?

Choose A, B, C, or D:

A. They are all Put.

B. They are all Put.

C. They are all Put.

D. They are all Put.

Coag,

Thanks for giving me a laugh so late this Saturday evening...!

Do you see what I see??? Over the last couple of weeks, I see Putzy losing whatever was left of his one long ago fragmented brain cell.....total meltdown!!

Putzy!!!!!!!!! Before the men in white clothes start coming for you, keep sucking your own cock -it may soon be the last right thing you ever did..............

[quote=dancethedrink]

Coag,

Thanks for giving me a laugh so late this Saturday evening...!

Do you see what I see??? Over the last couple of weeks, I see Putzy losing whatever was left of his one long ago fragmented brain cell.....total meltdown!!

Putzy!!!!!!!!! Before the men in white clothes start coming for you, keep sucking your own cock -it may soon be the last right thing you ever did..............

[/quote]

I think Coag and Dancethedrink must be the same person--it would be impossible that there could be two morons who are both fixated on Put Trader.

Tell me Joedabrkr--no, tell me Maybeeeeee--is the phrase in blue something you would expect a Wall Street professional to publish?

Where is the forum member who left that incredible psychological piece--I suspect it was Duke#1 pretending to be smart--but in any case where is that person today?

You know what would be interesting is a discussion of how one person--Put Trader--is able to get so many people to dance as if they were nothing but empty headed marionettes on the end of his strings.

Most Internet forums have their "characters" but I wonder how many characters are able to get two different forums to behave as if they were possessed of St. Vitus dance?

As Put Trader would say, "It is to laugh."

[quote=executivejock]

Hey man I am in the same boat..

I used Dearborn and its great! I dont know about the other products but a lot of people reccommended the Dearborn.

[/quote]

EJ, have you taken the test yet?  I am about certain that you have not.

So how would you know if Dearborn is "great" or not?

There is another phenomenan that occurs.  Whatever books you read second are always going to be "better" than the first ones, when in fact what has happened is you're finally learning the stuff so the author of the second set seems so much better at explaining it.

The reality is that for pure ease of understanding Pass Perfect rules the roost.  Edward Fleur is brilliant in the way he explains some of the tougher subjects.  He is clever with his use of graphics and the wide margins that he provides in his books make them appear "light and airy."

However, he sucks at replicating what the exam questions will look like.  They are way, way, too difficult.  As I was explaining last night, while my wife was screaming for me to get off the "G-D" computer, STC and Dearborn are going to give you sample questions that look like the real thing--Mr. Fleur will give you sample questions that are designed to get you to understand the industry.

Years ago there was a course called Golle and Holmes--fondly known as "Broker In A Box."  It was a true training course for Wall Street.  There were smallish books bound with those plastic things they call combs--each book was about 100 pages and they incorporated that technique of using a red sheet of plastic to see the "secret answers."  It was very professional, very.  It came in a large plastic box, complete with audio tapes of actual specialist transactions on the floor, traders talking to each other in the OTC market, a mutual fund presentation being made to an investment club.  Truly a great course.

It was also very expensive and firms began to favor less expensive exam preparation courses rather than industry training courses.  We could train rookies on how the business works, what we needed from outside vendors was good presentation of sample test questions.

Well, Pass Perfect sort of fills that void in a way. It is not as "cut and dried" as STC and Dearborn's "Just the facts" approach--but it is not the complete discussion of the industry that Golle and Holmes sold.

For those of you who appreciate what I"m doing on this forum--you're welcome.

For those of you who don't--GFY.

just for the record I am not whoever you guys say I am. If you read my first post, I was looking for serious answers, and I got that. What I wasnt looking for is vicious name calling that could be found by turning on MTV.   Please start a name calling thread. This is a series 7 discussion thread. Jeez!

You're absolutely right.

I took my S7 back in March. I read and used the Dearborn book and practice questions. The book is invaluable and provides more than enough information. In my opinion, the Dearborn questions are OK - not great. I used the PassPerfect questions and they made all the difference in the world. Good luck, you'll do fine. Study hard.

[quote=derekgaddy]

You're absolutely right.

I took my S7 back in March. I read and used the Dearborn book and practice questions. The book is invaluable and provides more than enough information. In my opinion, the Dearborn questions are OK - not great. I used the PassPerfect questions and they made all the difference in the world. Good luck, you'll do fine. Study hard.

[/quote]

Hi Derek,

Would you be honest enough to do me a favor and add to my base of information.

I am assuming that since you did not have access to STC that you are not with a major wirehouse.

I am further concluding that since your first course was Dearborn that you are associated with either an insurance or bank based broker dealer--forgive me for not paying enough attention to everything you've said, in which you may have said you're a bank broker or whatever.

The fact that you have Pass Perfect would seem to mean that you have a friend who is with a regional firm such as Legg, Hilliard or Ray J.

Is that a fairly correct interpretation of your situation and how you came to have what you used?

I just passed on Tuesday using STC material.  Now I’m using their
stuff for the 66.  I liked the breakdown of questions by topic, so
you could get hit with like 50-100 questions on the same material at
once and it reallly drove it home.  

[quote=MikeTampa]I just passed on Tuesday using STC material.  Now I'm using their stuff for the 66.  I liked the breakdown of questions by topic, so you could get hit with like 50-100 questions on the same material at once and it reallly drove it home.   [/quote]

Legendary for NOT presenting what you're going to  see on the test.

Within the last week or so somebody posted that they used STC to prepare for 66 and no more than 30% of what they saw on the exam had any resemblance to what they saw in the STC textbooks.

Each of the vendors has their strengths--and STC's is NOT Series 65 and 66.

Seven 28 - You're right I'm not with a major wirehouse and my firm offers a discount through Dearborn and STC.

Unfortunatley I had to study the S7 material on my own and not with a group of peers. In addition, I did not have the luxury of taking a class. I'm college educated but not a great tester. Lot's of common sense but tests scare me to death. I ordered Dearborn for their comprehensive material - again I found the book great and the questions repetitive after a while. I was gun-shy taking the test based on the Dearborn questions. I guess I didn't think I was THAT GOOD.

After talking to a few folks at work and on this board I ordered the PassPerfect databank of questions. These questions enlightened me and made me study harder. You're right they are very difficult but in the end help me immensely. My .02

Now on to the S66. I have the Dearborn material and plan on ordering the PassPerfect questions. Thoughts??

[quote=Seven 28]

[quote=MikeTampa]I just passed on Tuesday using
STC material.  Now I’m using their stuff for the 66.  I liked
the breakdown of questions by topic, so you could get hit with like
50-100 questions on the same material at once and it reallly drove it
home.   [/quote]

Legendary for NOT presenting what you're going to  see on the test.

Within the last week or so somebody posted that they used STC to prepare for 66 and no more than 30% of what they saw on the exam had any resemblance to what they saw in the STC textbooks.

Each of the vendors has their strengths--and STC's is NOT Series 65 and 66.

[quote=MikeTampa]

So then who do you recommend for the 66?
  [/quote]

Pass Perfect if you can get your hands on it for not too much money.  You can buy it for about $100.

Try the website www.securitiesexam.com.  Pass Perfect uses resellers and he's a good guy who sends us free stuff from time to time.

For the S7 this guys stuff is pretty good and he's a good resource if you have questions about the material. Got to buy his stuff though. I would use it in conjuction with Dearborn and not a stand alone. He breaks down the 800+ pgs in Dearborn to about 350 pgs. He's got some good practice questions as well. Cheap, cheap too.

http://www.passthe7.com/index.htm

I think the CD for Dearborn is awesome!! Once you get the disk save to hard drive and install. You dont need the disk.

Its wonderful! Now when I pass the test in two weeks I will be on a mission.. A mission to pass the next test. :)

For some reason my firm just switched from STC to “Fire Solutions” and
I think its horrible, and its the only couse I’ve ever seen.  STC
must’ve raised their prices now that they’re popular and my firm
bailed.  

can anyone speak to the accuracy of the STC greenlight exams? are they close to what you scored on the real exam?