Customer Reviews

License Exam Manual (Passtrak (Numbered))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased the study guide plus CD Rom. Although I have never taken any licensing exam before, I was confident that with a little help, I would easily pass this test. After all, my IQ tested out at over 140, I have never failed any test throughout high school or college, and I have worked in related fields.

Foolish me.

First off, this "guide" was nearly impossible to get through. Read the other reviews, most say the same. There were glaring errors in the math, multiple instances of conflicting information, and completely wrong answers to exams.

I contacted Dearborn about this four weeks ago and still have not heard back.

I blew through the CD Rom exams with better than passing grades. When I took the actual series 3, there was little similarity between the CD exam and the real deal. In fact, the CD prepares you for a 70% or better overall score, while the real series 3 has two sections, each scored individually, with a 70% required on both sections.

Having not been prepared for this, I did get a passing grade on the combined average score, but failed one section individually.

Had I been prepared properly with a different product or class, I doubt this would have happened.

Result: No license, no job.

Thanks, Dearborn! You suck.

Please do not buy this product.

What can I say? The book is bad, but that's all you need to pass the exam. There were so many mistakes in it. Many things were not explained clearly, some were wrong, and there were even two consecutive paragraphs in the text that were identical. In the same sample test the same problem appeared twice, and that happened at least three times. All you sense is stupidity. When I first read it I felt very uneasy. How could anyone pass with only such a sloppy book? The reason is the test is as stupid. There were even spelling mistakes in the test, with "that" instead of "than". Repetitive questions again and again, exactly the same taste as the book. There were about twenty questions exactly appeared in the book. Either the book and the test were from same people, or the book did a wonderful job to track the stupidity of the test. I found problem sets in the book helpful, though repetitive. The hotsheet is useful too.

Buy this book at your own risk. I bought this in spite of the two reviews above and have regretted it. It may be enough to pass the test, but you will be extremely frustrated using it for you primary study guide.

Frustration #1: You read a few pages and take a quiz. The problem is the material you just read didn't cover the information! (This happens on about every mini quiz and especially on the sample exam tests.) You have to assume the answers to the exam are correct and use those questions to learn from.

Frustratin #2: Repeated questions in the same exam, quiz etc. Absolute stupidity! One exam of 120 questions had 4 or 5 repeats!

Frustration #3: On the Sample final exams, you get the answers and explanations given to you with a reference to the page number in the book where the material was covered. When you go to that page, You often find that the material was never there. I wasted time trying to find the information in the study material but finally gave up and assumed the answers and explanations to the questions were the only place where the material is covered.

I will probably pass the exam because I have a knowledge of the industry already, but if you are taking this without a vast array of experience already, Good Luck you will need it.

(If I fail the test, I'm think about sending Deerborn a bill for the book and also for the testing fees!!)

This book will help you pass the test. I read the book once, took all the practice tests and got a 93% on the actual exam. If you study the material you will pass. Don't expect a literary masterpiece nor expect to be an expert in the futures industry and you won't be disappointed.

I reviewed for my series 3 exam by purchasing both a home study book from [...] and by purchasing a Passtrak Series 3 book.
Passtrak book - is a complete waste of time. The quizzes and tests are merely there to try and trick you. Nearly half the questions use information that is either irrelevant to the test or are there to try and throw you off. I passed the Series 3 test with a score of 91 yet when I took the prep quizzes and tests in the Passtrak book I failed nearly everyone and usually got only half of them correct. If you want to go into the test with doubt and confusion, purchase this book. Otherwise goto [...]

I think you might be better off with another option...this book has a bunch of typos and other mistakes. I didn't think it was worth the money. I passed the exam but switched to another book after 4 chapters.