After many months as a SIE exam tutor (and years as a Series 7 tutor), I have noticed two types of students that fail the SIE exam. The first type is the one that scores in the low-to-mid 50% range. The second type of student fails by a hair. The latter student barely missed passing the SIE and typically scores 65% or above (but below 70%).
If you want to know how much more you need to study, and if you fall into one of these categories, then here’s a quick guide.
I Scored in the 50s…What Should I do?
If you failed the SIE exam, and your score was below 60%, then I’m sorry to say but more than likely you probably have over a month of studying. In my experience as a private tutor, I’ve seen many students come to me after disappointing results.
Typically, when a student reaches out to me after a failed SIE exam by a lot, I find one of two things: 1) The student was rushed into the exam by a hasty boss, or; 2) The student rushed into the exam themselves thinking they knew more than they did.
If you fall into one of these two categories then you likely need at least a month to get yourself over the hump (70%). Chances are, you’ll need more than a month. Since you have 30 days before you can retake your exam anyway, I highly recommend you get back to studying asap while it’s still fresh.
Before you do that however, I recommend that you make sure that you have the right SIE exam study material. Once you have that in place, book a tutor, or start re-reading the sections in the text that gave you the most trouble. Then take as many practice tests as you possibly can, until your score improves to over 80%.
Barely Missed Passing the SIE
If you barely missed passing the SIE or FINRA’s minimum score of 70% then you are going to have an easier time studying. It won’t take as much to get you over the hump, but I still do recommend a tutor. More than likely, there are a few gaps your knowledge that can quickly add 5% to 10% to your score. One of the most common situations I see is when the student scores in the 80s and 90s on their practice tests, but doesn’t realize that their particular practice test provider is not truly reflective of the exam’s difficulty.
The right study material is key. I won’t name names but I have seen this happen time and again. Two providers that I highly recommend are STC and Knopman. If you’d like more information on either of them, then please feel free to reach out.
In the meantime, I wish you luck with your studying!