Those who have earned their CFP (recently?)- what program did you use for the education component? What did you like most and what did you like least about the program?

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Dalton education for me. It was online since there wasn’t anything local for me. Felt a bit overwhelmed by the large amount of info it taught, thinking there was no way I could pass the test. Test was difficult but didn’t test on near as much as it could have, which helped. Liked that I could extend the program if I needed more time.

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Kaplan. I thought it was very good. Especially the review which was excellent. You take a mock exam before and after the review. My mock exam score increased 30 points from 60 to 90 after the review. I would have failed without that. Also if you want a masters degree in financial planning you can do the college for financial planning and get your masters and cfp. I would still recommend the Kaplan review though.

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I used Bryant University. It was the cheapest and totally self paced-which is how I learn best. I'm not sure how much I actually learned from it since I tore through the whole program-including Capstone in 3 months but I passed the exam on the first try. I attribute my success more to the fact that I bought every test bank I could get my hands on and went through 500-1000 questions a day for a few months every day leading up to the test.

I never did any of the 3-5 day review classes that most people speak highly of because I live in the sticks. Total cost for me other than what I paid the CFP board for taking the test was less than $3K.

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I used Kaplan - also passed first time with admittedly less study hours than were recommended. I also did their crash course which was about $1000 if I remember correctly. Highly recommended

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I used Dalton Education through Northwestern University. The classes were taught online which was convenient and you can go back and listen to a missed class recording. Also the instructors were very knowledgeable and working professionals. The exam prep course was an additional cost but well worth it. Passed on first try.

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As requested, the test banks I used are listed below. I should also mention that I only passed my 7 and 66 12 months before taking the CFP exam, so I didn't have a lot of real life experience to draw from.

Kaplan Q bank and the 2 practice tests from the CFP Board were the most helpful. I knew almost all of the Q bank questions by heart by the time I took the test. The CFP tests are obviously the most similar to the actual test but you can only take the test once without the answers being displayed. As an FYI-I scored a 74 on one of the tests 2 weeks before the actual exam.

I also used the test banks from Bryant (included with my tuition), Zahn and Kier. Each had their good and bad points and all of them likely played a small part in helping me pass on the first try, but if you're short on time or funds, I'd invest in the Kaplan Q bank and the CFP tests before anything else.

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I passed it in March of 2017-BTW.

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@ financial advisor 3
Congrats on passing!
Do you mind sharing where you got your test banks?

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I used Kaplan, passed in March 2017 on first try. I have used them for app tests and passed them all. Many Q bank questions and practice tests. THe my also have a review class for the final test which, the teacher (online) was the most helpful on what to study and what NOT to waste time on.

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I passed this summer...American College for Financial planning for materials, what is the meaning of tell if I could get and work my way through 5 or 6 of them. Passed it simply

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Kaplan

Kaplan self study. From start to finish took me 8 weeks (while working full time and running a few businesses, raising kids, etc. ) passed the exam first try summer 2017.

Boston University. The exams are online at home so I could take multiple times until I got the score I liked. Took the two day review in person. Passed CFP on first try.

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