For the student deciding between the SIE textbook vs videos, we don’t recommend you agonize too long. In today’s post, we unpack whether one is better than the other.
SIE Textbook vs Videos: Something is Better Than Nothing
When it comes to studying, it may be obvious to say that any studying is better than nothing. The reason for this comment is that many many people we see at Professional Exam Tutoring often do nothing if they feel pressure to exclusively read the textbook (and ignore videos).
That is totally understandable. The nature of how people consume information these days, attention spans are shorter. Sitting down for two or three hours and reading a textbook is very unappealing.
If watching 15 minute videos at a time is more likely to get you to absorb material, then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing that.
For more visual learners, the videos can be especially helpful. Of course, the textbook is also visual, but if you daydream every five minutes with the textbook, then it will be less effective.
Will Either Choice Impact My Score?
The short answer is no. As an SIE Exam Tutor for hundreds of students every year, we can definitely say that the large majority of test takers pass the exam using either study method.
The SIE exam is fairly high-level and the definitions require some basic understanding but there is a lot of memorization. However you choose to memorize the answers and absorb the material doesn’t make a ton of difference in our experience.
On the other hand, making sure that you do enough practice questions is very important.
Overall, the textbook and the videos will teach you with the definitions, but the practice questions will ultimately teach you how the exam may try to trick you, which is arguably more important to understand. If you need more help, feel free to reach out. Good luck!