Progressive Training Leads to Exam Day Success

Posted by Adam Scherer, CFP®, MS

Dec 1, 2021

“Motivation remains key to the marathon: the motivation to begin; the motivation to continue; the motivation never to quit.”

Hal Higdon


People say the CFP® Exam is the marathon of tests. We get the analogy. CFP® curriculum covers a lot of ground. So do marathons.
My team at The Boston Institute of Finance (BIF) likes to take this analogy a step further. We believe that progressive training can and does lead to success on both race day and on CFP® Exam day.


Training for race day.

Hal Higdon wrote the book on marathon training. His 18-week “Novice 1” program is designed for running newbies. That’s not marathon newbies… that’s people that are completely new to running. Impressive.

How does it work? Through progression: “The key to the program is the long runs on weekends, which build from 6 miles in Week 1 to 20 miles in the climactic Week 15. After that, you taper 3 weeks to get ready for the marathon." Simply put, progressive training is the key to building the endurance needed to complete marathons.


Training for CFP® Exam day.

BIF’s Exam Prep course progresses students through 3 levels of understanding. For each topic, we provide our students with a first step, then a second, and finally a third. Hal doesn't expect you to run 20 miles on week 1 and we don't expect you to answer marathon-level questions on day 1. Instead, we build your understanding (and your confidence) over time to the appropriate level to achieve success on Exam day. Here are BIF’s levels of understanding:

  1. REMEMBER - Master the basics. Establish your knowledge base and set the foundation.
  2. APPLY - Apply knowledge to simple situations. Cross the bridge from theory to application within 1 exam topic.
  3. SYNTHESIZE - Apply knowledge to complex situations. Fully understand how multiple exam topics work together.


Hal is right. Motivation remains key. BIF's Exam Prep course provides the motivation to continue and never quit by progressing through topics the right way. The motivation to begin comes from you. Are you ready?

 

Topics: Exam Study Tips