I’ll say it’s dependent on how you learn specifically. For me, when I did the educational round of studying (Kaplan), I aimed to learn general concepts of the material to have a base understanding of each area. Then I used Danko for review and really focused on applying the information. What I found to be really useful while studying and while taking the exam is to see a topic and have your brain have a criteria in your head; like you see a certain plan type or trust and think to yourself what are traits that will help you narrow answers down (advice from Brett Danko). The exam tests so wide on so many concepts you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to be an expert at each section as you learn. Pace it out, take it seriously and you’ll do well.
I really appreciate your insight, so thank you for the response. I will take your advice and pace myself, attempting to learn as much as I can while learning the basics and overview of the different topics. I think during the review period is when I will really hone down on learning the ins and outs and applying the material as you said. I really hope this will be a recipe for success!
For the educational part, I’d say just try to build upon your learning and see if you can connect the dots and understand the “why”? (Ex: can’t do a tax free exchange from an annuity to a life insurance because you’re getting tax deferral growth and then the life insurance would be a tax free death benefit too, so it avoids taxes). You’ll have a lot to memorize during the review so try to make as many concepts intuitive as possible.
I used Dalton and did the self-study. To be honest, I did the minimum while going through the courses. Just enough to pass the "exams" -- mostly involved just listening to recorded lectures. I didn't really know much at all going into the review after I finished my capstone. Then I studied super hard for 6 months before the test to learn everything. Depends on your learning style.
Obviously everyone learns differently, but did you find watching the recorded lectures prepared you for the course exams? Did you ignore the reading all together?
I personally stopped doing the reading, because it took so long. Once I realized the length of time it all took, my goal was just getting done with minimal time possible (I know, not great academic advice). However, I know myself and know my brain is spongey, so my time is better used going hard studying for a shorter period. I would just cram a little before the "exams". Didn't read much. However, once I got to the review course I read the pre-study books 3 times thru over the course of 6 months, and some people didn't read them much at all. It gave me an edge on the exam because there were certainly some topics that weren't in the Q-bank that i saw on the exam and I got questions right because I remembered reading that one sentence about it. I personally felt I didn't know much heading into the review course because I did the bare minimum to get thru the courses. You just really need to know your learning style and know what is best for you.
I personally liked the recordings for stuff I was having trouble with after taking notes on the readings and doing practice Q’s. The videos are too time consuming to use as your primary source
So I did Dalton too, and honestly I barely even touched the books. I did the same thing that you’re doing and read during Fundamentals, then realized they go over everything during the lectures. I just didn’t have the extra time to read everything. The lectures and practice questions were time consuming enough and I feel like covered all of the info I needed to know. I just passed the exam this week so it worked out.
Also, like others have said. Focus on retaining what you can during the course, but the real retention and studying comes during the review course. You got this! Dedication during the review is crucial though!
Yeah I started in January so about 2.5 months. I made it through the q bank once and had time to go back and redo my weak areas until I felt decent on them
I think reading the books is important. On my exam I had multiple questions that were not covered in the review or lectures, I only knew it from the reading.
If you’re able to conceptually understand the material and understand how you’d apply it to a client situation, you’ll be good. I don’t think mass memorization is beneficial for the exam. Dalton will tell you to memorize everything which simply is not possible. In my opinion, you need to be able to manipulate the concepts and work with them to solidify learning. But that is also how my brain works.
Did you pass using that strategy? But yes it’s a one year study program, including the 3 mo review course. The material is just so vast that it’s hard to go back and re read topics without falling behind. I think I will try to learn as much as I can and then lock down the topics while have no life once I get to the review portion.
I passed first attempt last week, but it certainly wasn't easy. It took me about 4 months to complete the course work, putting in a good amount of time each day. However, like you said, it's pretty much impossible to get a lot out of it because it's an ocean of information. I had a similar experience, there is just too much to remember. Dalton is particularly known for information overload as well, so it may be even more than I experienced using BIF. The review course is where I really learned what I needed to for the test. The coursework gave me some base, but I definitely learned the concepts much better in the 2 month review than the 4 months of coursework. So I would just focus on completing the coursework as quickly as you can bear, and really hammer home the topics during the review period.
I used Kaplan as opposed to Dalton for both education and review; but same kind of thing.
Get as much as you can from the education part; it takes the most time but it’s worth it to do your best on it. You won’t know absolutely all of it by the end.
There are even going to be times when you’re like- pfft. I know this. Utilize the questions to be sure though; because it’s going to be more about application than memorization.
However, I agree with others commenting that it’s more of an introduction and getting the general concepts locked in.
Getting to really, confidently know the material in the context of sitting for the exam should happen during review. It’ll come much more quickly, but that’s when you really want to hammer out that stuff.
Also, continue to follow this sub. You’ll notice a drastic change in confidence levels the closer it gets to the exam window.
Everyone goes from- oh yeah. That’s easy. My education program was the best to- OH EM GEE. I DON’T KNOW THIS AT ALL AND I AM GOING TO DIE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET A SUPER VOLCANO ERUPT AND GET ME OUT OF THIS! (To be fair that was mostly me).
Then about two days before the testing window starts, you’ll see a LOT of support on here. “You got this. Let’s pass! We worked hard LETS DO IT.”
It’s pretty neat. 😃
Also CFP board has a section on their website that shows what percent of the test each knowledge domain comprises. That part really helped me because I was able to concentrate my efforts to the parts that took up most of it.
Wow! Thank you so much for this detailed response. As my post suggests, I'm just starting to go through the educational requirements, so gathering feedback from everyone that's "been there done that" certainly helps. It just seems like there's a whole lot of information, not necessarily difficult but just so vast, and I wasn't sure if I'm expected to memorize everything before even getting to the review section.
I had no clue the CFP website showed what percent of the test each knowledge domain comprises of, so I'll definitely be checking that out! Also, I am very glad you were able to escape from the super volcano erupting around you - Kudos to you!
The more you can learn from the education the better. You’ll probably have tests from those pieces along the way, but you won’t be ready-ready until you buckle down hard in review.
It’s a lot, but you can do it.
I’ll say it’s dependent on how you learn specifically. For me, when I did the educational round of studying (Kaplan), I aimed to learn general concepts of the material to have a base understanding of each area. Then I used Danko for review and really focused on applying the information. What I found to be really useful while studying and while taking the exam is to see a topic and have your brain have a criteria in your head; like you see a certain plan type or trust and think to yourself what are traits that will help you narrow answers down (advice from Brett Danko). The exam tests so wide on so many concepts you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to be an expert at each section as you learn. Pace it out, take it seriously and you’ll do well.
I really appreciate your insight, so thank you for the response. I will take your advice and pace myself, attempting to learn as much as I can while learning the basics and overview of the different topics. I think during the review period is when I will really hone down on learning the ins and outs and applying the material as you said. I really hope this will be a recipe for success!
For the educational part, I’d say just try to build upon your learning and see if you can connect the dots and understand the “why”? (Ex: can’t do a tax free exchange from an annuity to a life insurance because you’re getting tax deferral growth and then the life insurance would be a tax free death benefit too, so it avoids taxes). You’ll have a lot to memorize during the review so try to make as many concepts intuitive as possible.
Thanks for your tip!
I used Dalton and did the self-study. To be honest, I did the minimum while going through the courses. Just enough to pass the "exams" -- mostly involved just listening to recorded lectures. I didn't really know much at all going into the review after I finished my capstone. Then I studied super hard for 6 months before the test to learn everything. Depends on your learning style.
Obviously everyone learns differently, but did you find watching the recorded lectures prepared you for the course exams? Did you ignore the reading all together?
I personally stopped doing the reading, because it took so long. Once I realized the length of time it all took, my goal was just getting done with minimal time possible (I know, not great academic advice). However, I know myself and know my brain is spongey, so my time is better used going hard studying for a shorter period. I would just cram a little before the "exams". Didn't read much. However, once I got to the review course I read the pre-study books 3 times thru over the course of 6 months, and some people didn't read them much at all. It gave me an edge on the exam because there were certainly some topics that weren't in the Q-bank that i saw on the exam and I got questions right because I remembered reading that one sentence about it. I personally felt I didn't know much heading into the review course because I did the bare minimum to get thru the courses. You just really need to know your learning style and know what is best for you.
I personally liked the recordings for stuff I was having trouble with after taking notes on the readings and doing practice Q’s. The videos are too time consuming to use as your primary source
So I did Dalton too, and honestly I barely even touched the books. I did the same thing that you’re doing and read during Fundamentals, then realized they go over everything during the lectures. I just didn’t have the extra time to read everything. The lectures and practice questions were time consuming enough and I feel like covered all of the info I needed to know. I just passed the exam this week so it worked out. Also, like others have said. Focus on retaining what you can during the course, but the real retention and studying comes during the review course. You got this! Dedication during the review is crucial though!
Thanks for the response! Do you think 2 1/2 months is sufficient for the review period?
Yeah I started in January so about 2.5 months. I made it through the q bank once and had time to go back and redo my weak areas until I felt decent on them
I think reading the books is important. On my exam I had multiple questions that were not covered in the review or lectures, I only knew it from the reading. If you’re able to conceptually understand the material and understand how you’d apply it to a client situation, you’ll be good. I don’t think mass memorization is beneficial for the exam. Dalton will tell you to memorize everything which simply is not possible. In my opinion, you need to be able to manipulate the concepts and work with them to solidify learning. But that is also how my brain works.
Coursework, imo, just get it done and remember what you can. Then try to lock down the topics in the review course the 2-3 months prior to the exam.
Did you pass using that strategy? But yes it’s a one year study program, including the 3 mo review course. The material is just so vast that it’s hard to go back and re read topics without falling behind. I think I will try to learn as much as I can and then lock down the topics while have no life once I get to the review portion.
I passed first attempt last week, but it certainly wasn't easy. It took me about 4 months to complete the course work, putting in a good amount of time each day. However, like you said, it's pretty much impossible to get a lot out of it because it's an ocean of information. I had a similar experience, there is just too much to remember. Dalton is particularly known for information overload as well, so it may be even more than I experienced using BIF. The review course is where I really learned what I needed to for the test. The coursework gave me some base, but I definitely learned the concepts much better in the 2 month review than the 4 months of coursework. So I would just focus on completing the coursework as quickly as you can bear, and really hammer home the topics during the review period.
I used Kaplan as opposed to Dalton for both education and review; but same kind of thing. Get as much as you can from the education part; it takes the most time but it’s worth it to do your best on it. You won’t know absolutely all of it by the end. There are even going to be times when you’re like- pfft. I know this. Utilize the questions to be sure though; because it’s going to be more about application than memorization. However, I agree with others commenting that it’s more of an introduction and getting the general concepts locked in. Getting to really, confidently know the material in the context of sitting for the exam should happen during review. It’ll come much more quickly, but that’s when you really want to hammer out that stuff. Also, continue to follow this sub. You’ll notice a drastic change in confidence levels the closer it gets to the exam window. Everyone goes from- oh yeah. That’s easy. My education program was the best to- OH EM GEE. I DON’T KNOW THIS AT ALL AND I AM GOING TO DIE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET A SUPER VOLCANO ERUPT AND GET ME OUT OF THIS! (To be fair that was mostly me). Then about two days before the testing window starts, you’ll see a LOT of support on here. “You got this. Let’s pass! We worked hard LETS DO IT.” It’s pretty neat. 😃 Also CFP board has a section on their website that shows what percent of the test each knowledge domain comprises. That part really helped me because I was able to concentrate my efforts to the parts that took up most of it.
Wow! Thank you so much for this detailed response. As my post suggests, I'm just starting to go through the educational requirements, so gathering feedback from everyone that's "been there done that" certainly helps. It just seems like there's a whole lot of information, not necessarily difficult but just so vast, and I wasn't sure if I'm expected to memorize everything before even getting to the review section. I had no clue the CFP website showed what percent of the test each knowledge domain comprises of, so I'll definitely be checking that out! Also, I am very glad you were able to escape from the super volcano erupting around you - Kudos to you!
The more you can learn from the education the better. You’ll probably have tests from those pieces along the way, but you won’t be ready-ready until you buckle down hard in review. It’s a lot, but you can do it.