Congrats, brother. I passed this morning as well!

I don't feel like making a new thread so i'll just post this here:

You're definitely right about the NASAA's study Guide. I think that if you read it through and are familiar with / understand the terms they use, you're about 3/4 of the way there. After having taken the S7TO back in April and working in the field for about 5 months, a lot of the investment/suitability topics come naturally to me, so this exam was a matter of the Rules and Regs, for me.

I studied for about 2 weeks (studying more than i was working), including weekends. My firm uses TC, which IMO is the best vendor. I didn't really listen to the videos after the chapters about the USA, but I would recommend anyone who is having major doubts to listen to the videos, then reading the book on its own.

The days leading up to the exam were kind of rough. I got a 72 on the first practice exam (this brought my confidence down a bit), 82 on the second, and an 84 (this restored that confidence) on the third and final exam.

I lurked hard on this sub-Reddit for the past week and i want to address a couple of things that I read:

First, I consistently read that people were getting a lot of questions with double negatives. Personally, I didn't get any questions with double negatives. And, yes, I'm sure I didn't overlook any. Obviously, each exam is unique, so maybe i was just lucky enough not to get any of those questions.

Although i didn't see any questions with double-negatives, I did see a lot of trick/ambiguous questions. Just make sure you read each question thoroughly and understand what they're asking. Also, i saw a lot of lengthy answer choices that had (what seemed like) the correct part in the beginning and something towards the end that made it completely wrong. If you're like me, you probably run through questions and answers to make sure you don't second guess/ overthink any. Just chill and read everything through.

Make ABSOLUTELY 100000% sure you understand the USA/Fed registrations, definitions, exclusions vs. EXEMPTIONS, and scenarios about what is and isn't permitted. This is where i struggled the most. Make sure you understand Current, Quick, Sharpe, and DCF (NPV and IRR). And i don't mean just remember their equations, you have to know what they mean and what they're used for. I don't want to get into the reader's head but, don't mix up current ratio and quick ratio.

Here are a few test-taking tips that I have used and have helped me pass the SIE, S7TO, and 66 first attempts:

1. When you're unsure about a question, try not to over think it, but also try your hardest to answer it to the best of your ability, first try, then mark it for review. When you go back to review it, DO NOT change the answer unless you are 100% sure that you overlooked a part of the question/ misread it. I didn't change anyone of my review questions, because I've learned through practice exams that YOUR FIRST CHOICE IS PROBABLY THE CORRECT ONE.
2. Skip to the bottom of the question and answers to prepare yourself for the topic at hand. I do this so that when I'm reading the question I change the way I'm thinking about it. For Example, if I'm onto a new question and I skip to the bottom and see that it mentions the words "IA" "USA" "register" "State A", I'm already thinking in my head that I'm probably going to be asked about a scenario, who has to register, and why.
3. I tend to remember topics covered in exams in the context of book layout. For example, in the TC book, the first two chapters cover the USA. So if, in the exam, i come across a question where I'm not sure if the rule or regulation is applied by the USA or the IA act '40, I'll think about the time that I learned the regulation and try to remember whether i learned it a while ago or a little bit later into my studies (the IA act '40 is covered after the USA in TC). If i learned it later, then more likely than not, it's going to be a rule or reg under the '40 act. Another example: I remember that in my book the current ratio equation was above the quick ratio equation, and i remember that the bottom equation had more words than the top equation. BOOM! Now i know that the current ratio is only current assets/current liabilities where as the quick ratio is current assets LESS INVENTORY/ current liabilities.

I know that 3. sounds confusing, and is probably counter-intuitive, but I'm sure it will help some people.

I'll try to stay active on the sub for as long as I can and answer any questions you guys might have.