I have attached the feedback I provided for the DSST Principles of Finance exam which I took about seven months ago. This feedback may also be found in the "Specific Exam Feedback" section of this forum. That section is now only available to InstantCert subscribers. If you are preparing to take CLEP, DSST, ECE or TECEP exams and are not a subscriber--you should be! In addition to instantly obtaining study materials for dozens of exams--you will also have access to valuable feedback from people like me who have recently taken the exams. Below is just a sample of what you will find once you have access to the "Specific Exam Feedback" section.
If you click on the links in my signature below, you will find my feedback for most of the exams I took to earn my B.S. in General Business from Excelsior College. Many of those links were connected to the "Specific Exam Feedback" section so I'm reposting some of that feedback so all of my links will function for everyone--even those who have not yet joined InstantCert. Check it out and if you would like to see more, sign up!
[SIZE="4"]Principles of Finance - May 2008[/SIZE]
Preparation: I spent approximately two weeks preparing for this exam. On a good day I would put in 2-3 hours. Other days around one hour. I prepared for this exam differently then I prepared for any of my past exams. I knew that it was not going to be easy to prepare in two weeks, so instead of starting by running the IC cards, I started with the available Specific Exam Feedback. I consolidated and ranked all the feedback and began learning the material using the Block and Hirt "Foundations of Financial Management" text. I purchased an old version for around $8 and it worked just fine for most things. When I bought it, I thought I was getting the "primary" recommended textâbut when I looked back at the fact sheet I realized that it just happened to be the first text they listed because "Block" comes first in alphabetical order. I probably learned 80% of what I ultimately knew from that method.
Once I had (almost) exhausted my list from the Specific Feedback, I looked at IC and used the practice problems. IC demonstrates an unusual method for Future Value of an Annuity that requires a two-step process that only works with the table IC provides. The table provided by DSST is different so you should get your hands on that and learn to solve problems using the tables you'll use on the exam. By the way, there was no need to know any of the (1+I)^n formulas so don't worry about learning that. You just need to know the four formulas, using the tables, to solve present and future values of $1 and present and future values of an annuity. You will also have to solve for a recurring annuity payment. Know that well and you'll be a quarter of the way to passing this exam. Also, I didn't have any questions regarding calculating future payments on a loan like you'll see in the IC practice problems.
I STRONGLY advise anyone who is taking this exam that also needs to take Financial and Managerial Accounting to take Managerial Accounting first. That DEFINITELY helped me and if I had it to do again, I would have been preparing for DSST Finance while studying Managerial Accounting. There is a LOT of overlap. PV, FV, all them ratios, payback period, IRR, net present valueâI had to relearn it all a year later. I probably could have been ready in one week if I had taken this exam right after Managerial Accounting! I already had all the formulas memorized. Now they'll probably clog up my brain for lifeâor at least a week or two.
I never got around to using any of the on-line study aids listed in the Specific Exam threadâalthough I did get some notes from someone who had compiled them from the internet and they turned out to be very helpful in filling in some holes and solidifying some concepts. So, prep for this test was a combination of my memory of Managerial Accounting along with some of the materials from that course, the recommended text, a few notes from the internet and IC.
I decided to take the test without a financial calculator since their use was so controversial and I figured my feedback would be most helpful if I took the test the same way that most others would likely have to take it in the future. That being said, I'm certain I could have used a financial calculator at my testing center but, having never learned to use one, I didn't miss it.
Prior to the test I called my testing center 2X to make sure the PV and FV tables would be available. When I arrived, the clerk and her boss were discussing the fact that the clerk should have taken care of this before today. Fortunately, I had contacted the DSST people the day prior to have them fax a copy to me. Of course, I had called DSST in the morning and they said they would fax and email them to me. Six hours later I called again. They had clearly forgotten. Ten minutes later I received a fax. That was niceâexcept the quality was pretty bad and the numbers representing the time periods down the left side were missing on three of the four sheetsâand the quality in the middle of some of the sheets was bad enough that I couldn't read the numbers. So, I sat there for about 10 minutes and filled in all the numbers the best I could. I'm glad I didâbecause those were the sheets I had to use.
I also discussed the calculator problem with Cheryl in DSST customer service. Not to be too insulting, but I'm pretty sure that Cheryl did not come from the world of academia. She explained that you had to use "just a simple" calculator. I explained to her that the DSST Candidate Bulletin contains contradictions and, in one place, requires a four-function calculatorâwhich does not exist. Her response was that it has to be just a simple calculator. She clearly is not losing any sleep over the fact that their materials are contradictory and inaccurate.
The Exam: It took the folks at the testing center about 30 minutes to get my test to come up. Apparently they have been "fudging" something for the last year or so and they theorized that something must have changed on May 1st. At one point, they asked me if I HAD to take the test today. I told them that it was my last exam and I would wait as long as I had to for them to make it work. In the meantime, I wrote out all the formulas I had memorized. They totaled about 35. There were a handful of formulas, I would say about six or so, that I had not memorized because they looked insignificant and no one had mentioned them in the Specific Feedbackâor I came upon them too late in my studies. Amazingly, of those six, three were on the exam. I started laughing when I got to the third one. If I didn't know better, I would swear the DSST gods were looking over my shoulder when I was studying. If anyone currently studying for Statistics would like a practice problem, it would be interesting to know what the chances are that three of the six formulas I chose not to study would appear on the test for which I had memorized 35 formulas. Maybe a good one for cookderosa and son? If it wasn't for bad luckâ¦
Moral of the storyâthe more insignificant the formula appears, the more likely you'll see it on the exam.
Of the 88 questions on the exam, I knew the answer to 46, had a 50/50 shot at 24 and had to guess on 18. That got me a 63. I needed a 46 for a pass and a 56 for an "A" at Excelsior. Of the 88 questions on the exam, 31 required calculations requiring knowledge of formulasâand probably close to half of those were present and future value calculations.
I was certain that time was going to be a problemâparticularly because I was not using a financial calculatorâbut I ended up with 24 minutes left over. I went back and looked at seven problems I had marked and then went back through the whole test to make my tallies (I had forgotten to tally while I was taking the test and was concerned that I would run out of time anyway).
Well, for anyone who has made it this far, that about sums up my experience. I've attached a document which includes my feedback regarding which topics were and were not covered on my exam--for everyone who doesn't really care about all that other stuff anyway. Hopefully some of it will be helpful to future test-takers.
If you click on the links in my signature below, you will find my feedback for most of the exams I took to earn my B.S. in General Business from Excelsior College. Many of those links were connected to the "Specific Exam Feedback" section so I'm reposting some of that feedback so all of my links will function for everyone--even those who have not yet joined InstantCert. Check it out and if you would like to see more, sign up!
[SIZE="4"]Principles of Finance - May 2008[/SIZE]
Preparation: I spent approximately two weeks preparing for this exam. On a good day I would put in 2-3 hours. Other days around one hour. I prepared for this exam differently then I prepared for any of my past exams. I knew that it was not going to be easy to prepare in two weeks, so instead of starting by running the IC cards, I started with the available Specific Exam Feedback. I consolidated and ranked all the feedback and began learning the material using the Block and Hirt "Foundations of Financial Management" text. I purchased an old version for around $8 and it worked just fine for most things. When I bought it, I thought I was getting the "primary" recommended textâbut when I looked back at the fact sheet I realized that it just happened to be the first text they listed because "Block" comes first in alphabetical order. I probably learned 80% of what I ultimately knew from that method.
Once I had (almost) exhausted my list from the Specific Feedback, I looked at IC and used the practice problems. IC demonstrates an unusual method for Future Value of an Annuity that requires a two-step process that only works with the table IC provides. The table provided by DSST is different so you should get your hands on that and learn to solve problems using the tables you'll use on the exam. By the way, there was no need to know any of the (1+I)^n formulas so don't worry about learning that. You just need to know the four formulas, using the tables, to solve present and future values of $1 and present and future values of an annuity. You will also have to solve for a recurring annuity payment. Know that well and you'll be a quarter of the way to passing this exam. Also, I didn't have any questions regarding calculating future payments on a loan like you'll see in the IC practice problems.
I STRONGLY advise anyone who is taking this exam that also needs to take Financial and Managerial Accounting to take Managerial Accounting first. That DEFINITELY helped me and if I had it to do again, I would have been preparing for DSST Finance while studying Managerial Accounting. There is a LOT of overlap. PV, FV, all them ratios, payback period, IRR, net present valueâI had to relearn it all a year later. I probably could have been ready in one week if I had taken this exam right after Managerial Accounting! I already had all the formulas memorized. Now they'll probably clog up my brain for lifeâor at least a week or two.
I never got around to using any of the on-line study aids listed in the Specific Exam threadâalthough I did get some notes from someone who had compiled them from the internet and they turned out to be very helpful in filling in some holes and solidifying some concepts. So, prep for this test was a combination of my memory of Managerial Accounting along with some of the materials from that course, the recommended text, a few notes from the internet and IC.
I decided to take the test without a financial calculator since their use was so controversial and I figured my feedback would be most helpful if I took the test the same way that most others would likely have to take it in the future. That being said, I'm certain I could have used a financial calculator at my testing center but, having never learned to use one, I didn't miss it.
Prior to the test I called my testing center 2X to make sure the PV and FV tables would be available. When I arrived, the clerk and her boss were discussing the fact that the clerk should have taken care of this before today. Fortunately, I had contacted the DSST people the day prior to have them fax a copy to me. Of course, I had called DSST in the morning and they said they would fax and email them to me. Six hours later I called again. They had clearly forgotten. Ten minutes later I received a fax. That was niceâexcept the quality was pretty bad and the numbers representing the time periods down the left side were missing on three of the four sheetsâand the quality in the middle of some of the sheets was bad enough that I couldn't read the numbers. So, I sat there for about 10 minutes and filled in all the numbers the best I could. I'm glad I didâbecause those were the sheets I had to use.
I also discussed the calculator problem with Cheryl in DSST customer service. Not to be too insulting, but I'm pretty sure that Cheryl did not come from the world of academia. She explained that you had to use "just a simple" calculator. I explained to her that the DSST Candidate Bulletin contains contradictions and, in one place, requires a four-function calculatorâwhich does not exist. Her response was that it has to be just a simple calculator. She clearly is not losing any sleep over the fact that their materials are contradictory and inaccurate.
The Exam: It took the folks at the testing center about 30 minutes to get my test to come up. Apparently they have been "fudging" something for the last year or so and they theorized that something must have changed on May 1st. At one point, they asked me if I HAD to take the test today. I told them that it was my last exam and I would wait as long as I had to for them to make it work. In the meantime, I wrote out all the formulas I had memorized. They totaled about 35. There were a handful of formulas, I would say about six or so, that I had not memorized because they looked insignificant and no one had mentioned them in the Specific Feedbackâor I came upon them too late in my studies. Amazingly, of those six, three were on the exam. I started laughing when I got to the third one. If I didn't know better, I would swear the DSST gods were looking over my shoulder when I was studying. If anyone currently studying for Statistics would like a practice problem, it would be interesting to know what the chances are that three of the six formulas I chose not to study would appear on the test for which I had memorized 35 formulas. Maybe a good one for cookderosa and son? If it wasn't for bad luckâ¦
Moral of the storyâthe more insignificant the formula appears, the more likely you'll see it on the exam.
Of the 88 questions on the exam, I knew the answer to 46, had a 50/50 shot at 24 and had to guess on 18. That got me a 63. I needed a 46 for a pass and a 56 for an "A" at Excelsior. Of the 88 questions on the exam, 31 required calculations requiring knowledge of formulasâand probably close to half of those were present and future value calculations.
I was certain that time was going to be a problemâparticularly because I was not using a financial calculatorâbut I ended up with 24 minutes left over. I went back and looked at seven problems I had marked and then went back through the whole test to make my tallies (I had forgotten to tally while I was taking the test and was concerned that I would run out of time anyway).
Well, for anyone who has made it this far, that about sums up my experience. I've attached a document which includes my feedback regarding which topics were and were not covered on my exam--for everyone who doesn't really care about all that other stuff anyway. Hopefully some of it will be helpful to future test-takers.
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