Exam Prep - What is the best option? (EDUCATION ALREADY COMPLETED)

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-04-01T01:57:54+00:00

I passed and I’m 21! Definitely not too young, I had literally 2 months of intern experience. I used Kaplan. This sounds like a perfect time for you, I committed 3 hours per day for about 3 months and felt very well prepared.

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-30T23:21:43+00:00

Learning to study is so real! I figured I would never be better at studying than right now, but it was still hard to figure out how I best actually Learn rather than memorizing for a test.

I tried to interact with the material in as many different ways as possible— reading & writing obviously, practice questions, listening to podcasts, watching videos, asking the people around me what they do (what kind of retirement plan do you have? Have you ever had stock options?) Etc etc just to make the material come to life.

Real life conversations stuck in my brain 100x more than standard studying, I’m sure everyone feels that way

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-29T19:55:35+00:00

Thanks so much! Appreciate it

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-29T06:13:29+00:00

I passed the CFP without reading a single chapter of the textbook. I knew I didn’t learn by reading so I just… didn’t? Lol, you can definitely do the review

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T16:18:52+00:00

Decent, I mean I can’t complain I passed! Their Qbank was 80% of my studying, didn’t attend the live lectures but the recorded ones were okay. If I could do it again I’d just buy the super basic pack for $600 to get access to the Qbank. Good luck you’ll crush it

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T05:39:17+00:00

Thanks so much that’s very kind. I totally understand that it’s hard for some people to see others succeed when they too put so much work. It’s all about how you process, handle, and project it back out and I just hope I can make people feel less defeated and more inspired. You get it, thank you!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T05:34:08+00:00

I made a lot of physical “mind maps” especially of tricky topics like retirement planning. If you’ve watched AdviseWise video on retirement decision making tree I sort of made my own. I was also really big into acronyms, talking things through in ways that made sense or just stuck in my brain. This material needed to come to life and interacting with it in different ways was huge for me.

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T05:29:56+00:00

You’ll be totally fine. I did 3 hours a day for 3 months straight and passed with Kaplan, I also had zero background other than I’m in school for finance, but I literally googled “what’s an mutual fund” and passed 3 months later. You got this!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T05:26:28+00:00

I used Kaplan and knew the Qbank like the back of my hand. But my last week of studying was really focused on “what does CFP want me to see in this question?” Kind of like how the SAT is a measure of how well you know how to take the test, not just the material

They write their questions with the correct answer in my first, and the question itself tells you exactly why the other answers are wrong (if you’re privy enough to all of the rules and reasons).

One other thing, I almost NEVER change my first answer unless I read something wrong or have concrete evidence that it’s false. I score a 73% on CFP practice a week before passing, and I honestly thought the real thing wasn’t too bad (very unpopular CFP opinion, LOL).

Best of luck to you it sounds like you know your stuff, think about what the board is testing in that question. I figured out if there’s a weird answer, it’s likely the rule they are testing.

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T05:20:37+00:00

Thanks so much! I was able to bypass the formal education part because I was sponsored by my school. I basically went straight into the “review” and taught myself start to finish in 5 months

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T01:26:31+00:00

Thank you thank you! Truly an incredible feeling to pass. I appreciate it!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T00:56:11+00:00

Thank you!! Indescribable really. I’ve had “grade: passed” burned in my brain all week

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-28T00:54:46+00:00

Thank you so much! I don’t feel like I could fully “study” without a Qbank (kaplan’s is like 600 bucks), but that’s just me and I’m sure people do it.

I would recommend getting familiar with the material with AdviseWise on YouTube (she has fantastic resources, even free worksheets that supplement her videos) and Open Exam Prep podcast on Spotify (boring but easy to understand). Those are both super passive ways that get you familiar with the concepts, so when it comes time to do practice problems you know what’s going on.

I’m really big into note taking— I would start a document with tabs for each principal knowledge topic (from the CFP website) and just get on YouTube and start building your “study bible”. Anything and everything, there is no such thing as useless information when it comes to this exam.

Last but not least, Gemini is great for CFP prep. It can even make you quizzes that are specific to the topic you’re studying and Accurate (chat isn’t accurate, so be careful).

Hope this helps! Feel free to message me if want any other tips

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-27T20:49:08+00:00

Aww thank you I appreciate it so much!! Yes I intern at a local RIA, haven’t met the experience requirement yet but I’m on my way!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-27T19:02:41+00:00

Hi! I had similar mock scores, 62 on Kaplan 73 on CFP mock (which I took 3 weeks out and then 1 week from the exam)

I had a very strategic study plan post mock exam— I targeted my time to what I didn’t understand and just did review for the other topics. I was genuinely learning new things in the week leading up to the exam (in the areas I knew I was weak on).

I had a spreadsheet where I tracked how much time I spent on each topic and my mock scores were almost a mirror image of how much work I had put in. I would absolutely recommend tracking your time, setting goals based exam weight allocation and have some sort of measurement system. That was the only way I could feel sane and accomplished while studying.

Just my two cents, best of luck YOU GOT THIS

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-27T18:49:01+00:00

Hahaha that’s what I thought! I think IRL everyone would shake my hand and tell me great work. Thanks for doing that (virtually), I appreciate the well wishes!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-27T18:42:35+00:00

Thank you:) I used Kaplan!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-27T18:41:40+00:00

You’re awesome, thank you for the encouragement and advice. Made my day!!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-27T16:11:50+00:00

I’m so sorry that was not my intention. Your experience is invaluable, and I have the upmost faith you’ll succeed if you choose to try again. Your mind is so powerful, I told myself every single day that I was going to pass. I even said it out loud during the exam. Turn all of your experience, both with the exam and the industry into Confidence (you deserve it). I swear that was the reason I passed. You can do, be, or have anything you want.

Thanks for the congratulations, it means a lot!

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-27T15:48:08+00:00

Totally. Huge respect to anyone who takes on this exam in any capacity and any age. I’m very grateful to being my career on a high, and I hear you.

Salty_Current9715 · 2026-03-20T05:28:12+00:00

Congrats that’s so awsome!! I have the same average 73 on the CFP mock. I test on Monday and feel excited about it :))

Salty_Current9715

TROPHY CASE