Customer Reviews

BarronÂ’s Stockbroker Examination: Series 7 (Barron's Stockbroker Exam: Series 7)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I found this Series 7 book to be very incomplete in it's material. I used another book that was 3 times the content of this book. This book should only be a secondary supplement to a more detailed text book. The best book on the series 7 that I've seen is AIT. there number is 1 877-252-8600 It was over 800 pages with 2000 test questions.I found it to be very strong and I passed my test with it.

Very poor guide to a very comprehensive exam. Typos and missing words throughout. The text continually refers to esoteric terms in the text and chapter tests prior to them being defined. It makes your overall comprehension that much more challenging. Considering the voluminous material that needs to be understood, I found this very annoying. I called the Securities Training Corp. and received a much more comprehensive and better organized study guide. They also provide 5X as many practice exams. It may be more expensive, but not as expensive as the damage to your reputation if you fail.

This book was not very thorough. It is a good overview of what to expect and the topics covered, but do not use this book as a primary study guide for the exam. It might be a good book for someone who just wants an overview, but not for someone who is preparing for the exam.

I recently read this book to prepare for the Series 7 and was not very impressed. After passing the Series 7 (with an 84%) and seeing the questions on the test, I decided to review this book. While the book definitely deserves it's 2 stars (as opposed to a lower rating), but book will not prepare you to pass the Series 7 exam alone.

I personally used this book in conjunction with the Dearborn Passtrak Series 7 exam manual. The Dearborn manual has nearly 1000 pages...Baron's coming in shy of 400 pages just to give an idea of a contrast between this book and the Dearborn. Obviously, it's impossible to condense 1000 pages of already condensed material into 400 pages.

Aside from the book being too brief and skirting over general ideas, the book is simply poorly written. My biggest complaint is the fact that the questions seem to have been written by someone that never saw this book in production, in that, the questions can't be answered by reading the chapters. On top of that, the questions are written in a muddled confusing manner that is NOT consistent with the way the REAL Series 7 questions are asked.

Overall, this book only helped me round out some rough edges that the Dearborn manual left behind. I didn't need it to pass the exam though and basically wasted my money.

You get what you pay for regarding this book. Don't bother with it and just get the Dearborn book.

I purchased Barron's and ARCO/Thompson's material. I would highly recommend this book as a great starting point for concise answers to specific questions on the Series 7, and a general core review. It does fail in that there are details it leaves out, but after taking the review questions and practice exams, you'll know exactly what those are, and what additional information you need to research. Other more complete books often leave you bumuddled and confused with the massive amounts of information, over what will actually be on the test. This book will help you get the core concepts down quickly, and from there you can move on to more complete material and additional practice exams and computer based testing to feel in the gaps without drowning in an onslaught of information. I would recommend this as the best starting point, well worth its cost and time spent studying, but you will need to purchase more material with additional practice exams, and more detailed information to fill in the gaps.

I had previously disparaged this text as a poor study guide (in my PASSTRACK review), but now realize the book is well worth your attention if you are just beginning to study for the Series 7. The price is incredible. I would recommend this book as a starting point, however. Once your firm decides to sponsor you, you can consult thier much denser texts and go from there. I wouldn't recommend using the Barrons as your ONLY means of preparing for the spectre, I mean seven.

Unfortunately, the Barron's hasn't been updated in 3 years, so beware. Additionally, I found some typos in the exam sections which leave one vexed and pining for clarity. Finally, the index needs to be expanded so as to facilitate "quick searches." Nevertheless, the Barrons needs to be commended for packing in so much material into 300 pages.

I am currently studying for the Series 7. While I found the material and test questions in this book helpful, I would recommend that anyone buying this book also check out other study materials and not rely solely on this book to pass the difficult exam.

I bought several books to make sure my coverage was complete, and to give me a good base of sample questions to draw from. This book provides test questions at the end of each chapter, so I planned to use it for review work. That's about all it's worth.

The chapters themselves leave you woefully unprepared to take even the test questions Barron's includes. Many critical issues are explained in just a few words, with no particular emphasis. For instance, where other books might spell out the order of payment when a corporation is liquidated, this book makes a brief mention that is easy to overlook. This problem is endemic to the entire book.

Note that all of the books I've read have incorrect, imprecise, or conflicting statements. For example, the Boston Institute of Finance Stockbroker Course Series 7/63 Preparation Guide says "A stockholder has the right to examine the list of stockholders. It does not mean the stockholder can examine detailed financial records of the corporation." Barron's book says "A shareholder has the right to examine the books and records of the corporation." The truth is, it depends. Even non-shareholders can view 10K statements and other filings. But examining detailed books would probably require a legal procedure by a shareholder, regardless of whether s/he had the right conferred by owning common shares.

It's certainly cheap, so if you just want a set of additional test questions, go ahead and get it. But, I wouldn't use this for anything other than summary/review work. I definitely wouldn't recommend it as the only guide you buy - the Dearborn Passtrak is much better.

Just took the series 7 today ( 84%) 6/21/04. I read this book first and realized in about a month it was a total waste...many errors, horribly written...don't waste a penny or your time on this one!

If you're thinking about preparing for the Series 7 this is a great book to start with. It gave me lots of great information and topics actually covered on the exam, the sample questions helped me get familiar with the format and style of the real exam. The Series 7 has a high faliure rate, and I passed on my first try... so I say this book is one to own.