Harvey H. answered • 07/04/23
Business and Tax Attorney with CFP and Teaching Experience
Congratulations! You are on the cusp of entering into a wonderful career and profession. Your aspiring vision to become a professional, diligent work in meeting all the prerequisites, and determination to successfully pass the qualifying exam are a testament of your fortitude to achieve great things.
The organizations responsible for these exams offer resources for you to consider in preparation for their exam. For the bar exam (MBE/UBE), see https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mbe/preparing-mbe. For the CFP exam, see https://www.cfp.net/get-certified/tools-and-resources.
Bar Exam. The University of Virginia School of Law, ranked among the nation’s top law schools, offers several tips from professors, students, and alumni on preparing for law exams. See https://www.law.virginia.edu/news/202011/10-things-help-you-study-exams. In video numbered two, Professor Thomas B. Nachbar says he doesn’t think study guides are very useful to his students in preparing for his written exams since such guides only list the black letter laws covered in the class; therefore, his advice is for students to truly understand the rules of law to better spot the issues in the facts within the test scenarios. Most importantly, the application of the rules of law to the facts (i.e., demonstrating your ability to argue both sides of a legal issue) that push toward a conclusion is where his students set themselves apart from others. You, too, may consider adopting Professor Nachbar’s approach so you are prepared to apply the laws on the written bar exam (i.e., demonstrating to the exam graders that you have a higher understanding of the rule of law and are ready to apply the law to clients as an attorney). As Professor George Cohen states later in the second video, the question he (likely a bar exam grader, too) is asking himself when grading law exams is “Would I hire you as my lawyer?” (i.e., based on your insightful analysis and logical application of the law to the fact scenarios given on the exam).
CFP Exam. Among the best ranked online certificate programs for the CFP exam (see https://www.wealthmanagement.com/careers/15-top-ranked-instructor-led-online-certificate-programs-cfp-exam), the College for Financial Planning (CFFP) provides the following tips and resources when preparing for the CFP exam. For a copy of a “free” (i.e., you must complete a form requesting your name and contact information) eBook by CFFP entitled “Creating a CFP Study Plan That Works,” see https://www.kaplanfinancial.com/resources/getting-started/free-ebook-creating-a-cfp-exam-study-plan. Also read CFFP’s article “5 Reasons Why People Fail the CFP Exam” so you don’t find yourself in either of these predicaments. Additional information about the CFP exam and tips to pass it can be found in the following U.S. News & World Report article (see https://money.usnews.com/investing/investing-101/articles/cfp-exam-101-everything-you-need-to-know-to-pass-the-cfp-test).
General Reference on the Topic of Learning. For help with taking lecture notes, studying for exams, taking tests, or reading difficult books, consider the recent book by psychology professor Daniel Willingham (i.e., ranked by Education Week as one of the country’s most influential education scholars). For an article on Professor Willingham’s book “Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning Is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy,” see https://news.virginia.edu/content/youve-been-studying-all-wrong-professor-can-help-you-outsmart-your-brain
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