CFP Board Candidate Open Forum

  • 1.  Learnings from my failed July attempt

    Posted 10-02-2022 12:04

     I failed in my last CFP July attempt. I will be appearing again in this CFP November. I certainly did some mistakes last time and will make sure not to repeat them this time. Here are my learnings: 

    • Dedicate enough time. Don't take things too casually. Prepare with a mindset that you have just this one attempt to pass CFP. 
    • Study the material and then work on practicing questions. Rely on quality sources. Do some R&D before finalizing the mentor/prep platform. This time I am relying on Dalton for videos and CFP by Achieve for questions. 
    • After practicing, take some time to review correct and wrong answers. 
    • Don't be reluctant to take CFP Practice Exam/Sample tests/ Quizzes to get real feel of the exam. It's fine to score low in the initial days but just make sure that you improve eventually. 
    • Make sure to go through case studies. Not many platforms provide them but trust me they can affect your score. Again, I am relying on CFP Achieve to practice questions around them. 
    • I have also started making digital flashcards. It is helping me a lot and I can definitely suggest others to do the same. 
    • Most importantly, trust yourself. It is ok to feel nervous on some days (Yes, everyone has that feeling). Do some meditation practices and try to visualize your success. I am sure that will certainly work. 


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    Peter Josh
    Advisor
    LYN Wealth Counsel
    Atlanta GA
    (770)517-1569
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  • 2.  RE: Learnings from my failed July attempt

    Posted 10-02-2022 12:36
    Thank you for sharing this, I believe folks will be able to use this and learn from it!  Truly appreciate you sharing your experience with everyone on here and wish you the best on your next attempt to pass the CFP(R) exam!

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    Ryan Kleiss, CFP®, ChFC®, CIMA®, CLU®, AAMS®, CRPC®, CRPS®, WMCP®
    Financial Advisor
    Edward Jones
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  • 3.  RE: Learnings from my failed July attempt

    Posted 10-03-2022 00:58
    Josh, I had to take the exam twice to pass. One big piece of advice I pass along, in addition to your excellent points, is to not jump back into the exam quickly. Skip an exam cycle or two or more. I had a 16 month break in btwn my attempts. That worked well for me. Best wishes. 

    Regards,
    Rob Rea, CFP®, MBA





  • 4.  RE: Learnings from my failed July attempt

    Posted 10-03-2022 09:57
    That's great advice, Josh.  I'll also add that while you want to be pushing yourself to pass, it's important to take a little breather here and there so that you give your mind a break and time to absorb the information.  I took just two days off when I went through the curriculum over a 10 month period and while I passed, I could have paced myself a lot better.  Also, I know being involved in a study group or even having another student to bounce topics off of can be very helpful.  A study partner likely will add to a topic that you were struggling with and vice versa.  Good luck!

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    Sev Meneshian, CFP®
    ProExamTutors.com
    980 N Michigan Avenue
    Suite 1400
    Chicago, IL 60611
    224-567-1854
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