The Dalton Review Blog

On May 27, 2008 the CFP Board issued the following email to all review providers:

“Effective immediately and beginning with the July 2008 examination, students will be advised that programming functions on a programmable calculator are not to be used and calculators are to be cleared of all programmed formulas prior to each section of the examination.  Calculators are subject to inspection by proctors and violation of this policy will result in removal from the examination and forfeiture of the exam registration fee.”

Why did the Board send this email 7 weeks ahead of the July exam?  Well, the Board felt it was necessary to address an issue where a “renegade review provider” was providing students with instructions on how to program formulas and calculations into a financial calculator, which is a clear violation of a long-standing rule the CFP Board has regarding programmable calculators.  Now, the most unfortunate part is that this “renegade review provider” put their students in a very difficult position.  Students that were relying on “short-cuts” now find out their review provider misled them and students really have to learn the material just a few short weeks ahead of the July exam.

All of us with The Dalton Review realize that our student’s best opportunity to pass the exam is if they just learn the material.  Regardless of how a question is asked, if you’ve learned the material, you’ll get the right answer.  Short cuts, gimmicks and tricks only get you so far.  There’s no substitute for just knowing the material.  At The Dalton Review we strive to present the material in a concise, easy to understand format, with as many exam tips, mnemonics and insights from our experienced instructors (many of whom have served on the CFP Board in some capacity) as possible.  Some review providers will pretend to know exactly what is on the exam, when they really don’t.  Some review providers will pretend to know exactly what is not on the exam, when they don’t.  Some review providers will encourage their students to program their calculators, when they can’t.  Some review providers won’t answer your questions during class, when they should.  

The Dalton Review is very proud of our student’s success, which is consistently 20-25% higher than the national average, resulting in a pass rate between 70-80% on each exam.  We take the time to teach our students the material and answer their questions.  Our goal is to help our students pass because ultimately, our success depends on your success!

Joseph M. Gillice, CPA, CFP®

One of the most important factors in a candidates success on the CFP(r) Certification Examination is the amount of time they spend studying for the exam.  Consider that it takes about 150-175 hours of total prep time to get “exam ready”, not including time spent attending the review.  Figure 100-125 hours to work through pre-study materials and another 40-60 hours of post-review studying.  It’s a good idea to determine the number of hours you can study each week, divide that number into 175 to budget how many weeks you need to study.  Once you know the total number of weeks you need to study, work backwards from the exam date to determine the ideal date to begin your studies.  On average, if you can study for 10 hours per week, you’ll need to start studying 17.5 weeks prior to the exam, or a little over 4 months.  If you can study for 15 hours per week, you’ll need about 12 weeks or 3 months.  The point is, start early to be sure you can get all the studying done necessary to pass the exam. Something else to consider is attending The Dalton Review twice, before taking the CFP(r) Certification Examination.  Once you enroll in The Dalton Review, you can attend as many times as you want, at no additional cost.  By starting early, attending the review twice and putting the required time into studying, you’ll be in great position to pass the exam on your first try.  So, consider attending the review that’s offered prior to the exam you’re actually going to take.  The more times you hear the material, the deeper understanding you will get each time.  Here’s an example of an ideal study plan: 

March Exam - Attend the review in Nov., study Dec. - March, attend the review again in March and pass the March exam.

July Exam - Attend the review in March, study April - July, attend the review again in July and pass the July exam. 

Nov. Exam - Attend the review in July, study Aug. - Nov., attend the Nov. review, pass the Nov. exam.

Happy Studying!

Joseph M. Gillice, CPA, CFP®

Greetings,   

If you have taken a CFP review course, please provide feedback on your experience.  Any feedback you can provide regarding the quality of materials, instruction, convenience and student support will be valuable for anyone considering taking the CFP(r) Certification Examination and attending a review course for the exam.  Thank you for taking the time to leave your comments.  

Regards,

Joseph M. Gillice, CPA, CFP® 

To: Kaplan, Keir, Zahn and College for Financial Planning

Re: CFP(r) Certification Examination Pass Rates

Why is there so much confusion in the market about pass rates on the CFP exam and how they are calculated?  How can anyone advertise 90% pass rates when the pass rate on the exam is 50-55%?  Why do some review providers exclude students if they don’t study enough? Why do some include students that don’t report their results as “Passing”?  It seems outrageous to me to have so much confusion and mis-information in the marketplace.  I would challenge all of you to submit to an independent audit of pass rates.  The independent auditor will then publish pass rates according to their audit.  This will result in accurate reporting; consistent calculation of pass rates and allow students to select their review provider based on actual, verified results.  Please contact me to begin moving forward with publishing audited pass rates.

Regards,

Joseph M. Gillice, CPA, CFP®

JoeGillice@dalton-education.com