PassPerfect.com

[quote=derekgaddy]PassPerfect.com[/quote]

Only if you want to pass on your second or third attempt.

Among the Series 7 vendors PassPerfect has fallen from a distant third to an even more distant fourth.

For Series 7 you want to make your decision as follows--it's different for Series 6:

1.  STC because they dominate the NYC Series 7 business and as the saying goes, "If you can make it there you can make it anywhere."  Additionally STC focuses, almost exclusively, on NASD licensing exams.

2.  Dearborn, which was acquired by Kaplan the big test preparation outfit.  Before Kaplan bought Dearborn they bought Bisys Education Systems which was formed by a merger of a software based idea called Examco and a training school in Atlanta called Investment Training Institute.

Anyway this group is outstanding with Series 6, but not so very good with Series 7.  Nonetheless they're the second choice among the country's training directors because of they've been around since the 1960s under one name or another and they're willing to spend the money necessary to put out a top notch product.

3.  CCH Wall Street.  A number of years ago a group of folks left STC to go to work for Commerce Clearing House.  One of them was the "brains" at STC, a guy named Tom Tomko.  About three or four years ago Tom suddenly died, but those who he had brought with him picked up the effort and have turned out a hell of a good training program.

4.  PassPerfect.  This firm has been around since the late 1980s and has experienced enough success among the sleazy firms and some of the regional firms to stay in business.  The most common comment about PassPerfect is that the sample questions don't look anything like the real test, that they are worded differently and that they are far more difficult.

When you look into PassPerfect you find that the whole organization is actually one guy who works incredibly hard but can only do as much as one guy can do.  He sells the books to a network of instructors so the organization appears larger than it is.  One guy publishing books out of his home sells to six or seven people using them to conduct classes that they arrange out of their homes.

That's all there is to PassPerfect.

5.  The rest.  There really are no other good Series 7 self-study courses to buy.

I used Dearborn for the 7, 63, 65 & 24 and always found them to be more than adequate.

[quote=Big Easy Flood]

[quote=derekgaddy]PassPerfect.com[/quote]

Only if you want to pass on your second or third attempt.

Among the Series 7 vendors PassPerfect has fallen from a distant third to an even more distant fourth.

4.  PassPerfect.  This firm has been around since the late 1980s and has experienced enough success among the sleazy firms and some of the regional firms to stay in business.  The most common comment about PassPerfect is that the sample questions don't look anything like the real test, that they are worded differently and that they are far more difficult.

When you look into PassPerfect you find that the whole organization is actually one guy who works incredibly hard but can only do as much as one guy can do.  He sells the books to a network of instructors so the organization appears larger than it is.  One guy publishing books out of his home sells to six or seven people using them to conduct classes that they arrange out of their homes.

That's all there is to PassPerfect.

5.  The rest.  There really are no other good Series 7 self-study courses to buy.

That guarantee has appeal.  The vendor sells you a set of books for $300 to $400 and promises to refund the testing fee (about $200) if you don't pass.  The books don't cost the difference between what you pay and what you get back so it's a profit to them regardless of what happens.  Good marketing idea, been around for a few years.

But never offered by the dominant players in the game, no doubt because they don't have to.

The risk in taking Series 7 half cocked is more than the cost of taking the exam.  There is a thirty day wait between testing and time is money.  There is also the emotional damage of getting a really bad score.

Suppose you walk out of Series 7 having scored 60%.  On a 250 question exam you missed it by 25 questions, that's not really close.  Thirty days later you're going to be eligible to take it again--unless you work for a reputable firm in which case you were probably fired.

But you're going to get all new questions--all new, the computer knows who you are and is not going to give you the same questions again.

Where I'm going with is can be quickly summarized by the word "fear."  You begin to fear the test because you're best friend--you--blew it a few days ago.

The best way to approach Series 7 is to study very very hard.  When you can't stand it any longer stop for a day then start again.

Now, within a few hours some of the nimrods who post on this board will show up saying things like, "I got a 92 and I studied in the car at a traffic light on the way to the test."

They're lying for some reason.

Big Easy - I have the Series 7 and 63. I must get my 65 or 66 (firm is leaving it up to me). Which is easier in your opinion? I studied my butt off for the Series 7 and only scored a 73. I’m not a great test taker. Thx for any help you can provide.

[quote=derekgaddy]Big Easy - I have the Series 7 and 63. I must get my 65 or 66 (firm is leaving it up to me). Which is easier in your opinion? I studied my butt off for the Series 7 and only scored a 73. I'm not a great test taker. Thx for any help you can provide. [/quote]

Series 66 because all it deals with are the laws.  Yes it's boring stuff, and yes the wording can be tricky, but it's still only the laws.

With Series 65 you're going to encounter almost as many questions about the laws, and all of the meaningful ones, as well as things from Series 7.

The questions you get about something like options may not be all that hard, but why expose  yourself to the risk of falling victim to what might be an easy question, but isn't?

What people need to know is that the Series 65 and 66 exams are administered in the same manner as the others, but the questions are written by a different organization with different parameters.  A common comment is "It's different."  When asked what that means all the recent test taker can say is a variation of 'I don't know how to express myself, but the questions are just not the same as on other tests."

Approach both of them with extreme caution.

Thx for the email Big Easy that is very helpful. According to the NASD website the tests are broken down as follows:

Series 65:

Series 66:

It appears the 66 has more questions related to the Uniform Securities Act and NASAA etc...than the 65. If that's the case I'd rather take the 65. I'll test better on the S7 stuff than I will on memorizing Federal and Uniform Security Acts and trying to interpret what the question is asking me.

Oh and the 65 requires a 68.5 to pass and has more questions. The 66 requires a 71.  Hmmmm.

[quote=derekgaddy]Oh and the 65 requires a 68.5 to pass and has more questions. The 66 requires a 71.  Hmmmm.[/quote]

That's one of the little mysteries--it's also a number that changes, perhaps they're doing some sort of normalizing, scoring on a curve that sort of thing.  The NASD doesn't do that, but this is not the NASD it's NASSA.

The deal about the laws is that they're actually not that big a deal.  How many clients do you have to have in a state in order to be required to be registered there is not a difficult concept and you'll have to "memorize" it for Series 65 or 66.

Cram courses are taugh concerently.  The people taking Series 66 and 65 start together, then once the 66 material has been discussed they leave--but the Series 65 people have to know the exact same stuff.

Yes there are more "rules" questions in 66 than in 65, but there is no way of knowing which ones won't be asked in 65 so you have to know them anyway.

Plus with 65 you're going to get all that other stuff--which, while you think it's stuff you know, it may not be and/or it could be a question so tricky that you don't even see the trick.

If you can, always take Series 66--there is no reason to expose  yourself to being tested on more things than are necessary.

[quote=Big Easy Flood]

[quote=derekgaddy]Big Easy - I have the Series 7 and 63. I must get my 65 or 66 (firm is leaving it up to me). Which is easier in your opinion? I studied my butt off for the Series 7 and only scored a 73. I'm not a great test taker. Thx for any help you can provide. [/quote]

Series 66 because all it deals with are the laws.  Yes it's boring stuff, and yes the wording can be tricky, but it's still only the laws.

With Series 65 you're going to encounter almost as many questions about the laws, and all of the meaningful ones, as well as things from Series 7.

[/quote]

[quote=Big Easy Flood]The Series 65 is for people who do not hold a Series 7.  It is my impression that you must take Series 66 since you do.

The good news is Series 66 is shorter than Series 65 since the latter includes parts of Series 7.

The bad news is the questions on Series 66 generally require a deeper understanding of the industry.[/quote]

Idiot. 

Hey Big Easy I left you a vmail.

[quote=derekgaddy]

Hey Big Easy I left you a vmail.

[/quote]

I know.  You won't make friends with the other boys and girls if you let them know we talk.

I took the Series 65 last week, and there was nothing there that I had never seen before.   

[quote=Philo Kvetch]I took the Series 65 last week, and there was nothing there that I had never seen before.   [/quote]

Then you scored 100%.  Congratulations nobody has ever gotten 100% on Series 65 before.

NASSA will be contacting you for an interview.

96%, actually.

Hey Philo how was that 65. Easier or harder than you thought? I’m torn between the the 65 and 66. Thx.

[quote=Philo Kvetch]96%, actually.[/quote]

That's really amazing.  The last stats I saw showed that less than 2% of the people who took it in the first four months of 2006 scored above 90%.

Your score must put you in the upper 1/10th of 1% of the people who will ever take it.

Didn't you tell us that you scored 99 on the Series 7 after studying for a couple of hours outside the testing center?

In fact, it seems like last year you said you took the Series 65 the day before and scored 97%.  Odd that you'd have to take it a second time so soon.

Afraid that wasn't me, laughing boy.

I did score 90 on the 7, but studied for two months previous to the test.

Derek, the 65 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I reviewed the Dearborn (or Kaplan, if you prefer) material for a couple of weeks, and then took the two day class.