You're sitting in the Prometric center. The air is slightly too cold. Your palms are sweating. You have exactly 60 seconds before the computer starts that 225-minute countdown for the General Securities Representative Qualification Examination. This is the moment for the series 7 dump sheet. You grab that scratch paper or the laminated whiteboard they give you and start scribbling like a person possessed.
But here is the reality: if you’re trying to memorize a 50-line grid of option payoffs while the clock is ticking, you’ve already lost the mental game.
Most people treat their dump sheet like a security blanket. They think if they can just get the "Options Bird" or the "Bond Seesaw" down on paper, the test will solve itself. It won't. The Series 7 Top-Off isn't a memory test anymore; FINRA shifted the focus years ago toward suitability and "what should the RR do?" rather than pure math.
I’ve seen candidates spend ten minutes of their actual testing time drawing elaborate charts only to realize they didn’t actually need half of them. You need a lean, mean reference guide, not a textbook recreation.
The Myth of the Perfect Series 7 Dump Sheet
There is no "official" version. If a prep provider tells you that their specific "cheat sheet" is the only way to pass, they’re selling you a line. Kaplan, STC, and Knopman Marks all have their own flavors, but the best series 7 dump sheet is the one you built yourself during your final two weeks of prep.
Why? Because your brain isn't the same as mine.
Maybe you struggle with the relationship between interest rates and bond prices. You’ll need the "Bond See-Saw" or the "Teeter-Totter." But if you’ve been a fixed-income desk assistant for three years, that’s second nature to you. Why waste space on it?
Honesty is key here. You have to admit what you keep forgetting. For most, that's the convoluted world of options.
Options: The Meat of the Sheet
Options are the "make or break" for many. You’ll see maybe 20 to 40 questions involving them in some capacity. People obsess over the Greeks or complex spreads, but the dump sheet needs to handle the basics: Bullish vs. Bearish.
Write down your "DEW" and "PANIC."
- Debit / Exercise / Widen
- Credit / Narrow / Expire
If you have a debit spread, you want it to exercise and the premiums to widen. If it’s a credit spread, you want it to expire and the premiums to narrow. Seeing that written down in your own handwriting stops the mid-test panic when a question asks about a Bear Call Spread.
And then there's the "Options Matrix." Some people love the T-chart. Others love the quadrants. Whatever you choose, keep it consistent. Don't switch your layout two days before the exam.
Bonds, Yields, and the "Teeter-Totter"
If you can't visualize the relationship between Nominal Yield, Current Yield, Yield to Maturity (YTM), and Yield to Call (YTC), you're going to get burned on the "order of yields" questions.
Basically, when a bond is at a discount, the YTC is the highest. When it's at a premium, the Nominal Yield (Coupon) is the highest.
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$Nominal < Current < YTM < YTC$ (Discount Bond)
Writing this sequence out takes five seconds. It saves you three minutes of mental gymnastics when you're 110 questions deep and your brain feels like it’s melting.
The Math You Actually Need
People freak out about the math. Seriously, take a breath. The Series 7 isn't a calculus exam. It's mostly arithmetic.
You should probably jot down the formula for Current Yield (Annual Dividend or Interest / Current Market Price). It’s simple, but easy to flip upside down when you’re stressed.
And don't forget the Tax-Equivalent Yield.
$$Tax-Free Yield / (100% - Tax Bracket) = Corporate Equivalent$$
You’ll almost certainly get a question about a municipal bond versus a corporate bond. If you have the formula staring at you, you won't accidentally multiply when you should have divided.
Margin Accounts: The Scary Part
Margin is usually the most hated section of the Series 7. The formulas for Long and Short Margin accounts are non-negotiable for your series 7 dump sheet.
For a Long Account: LMV - Debt Balance = Equity.
For a Short Account: Credit Balance - SMV = Equity.
Then there’s the "Minimum Maintenance." 25% for long, 30% for short.
But here’s the pro tip: write down the "Market Value at Maintenance" formulas.
- Long: $Debit Balance / 0.75$
- Short: $Credit Balance / 1.3$
If the question asks "At what market value will the customer receive a margin call?" and you have these two formulas written down, you just plug and chug. No thinking required.
Suitability: The Invisible Requirement
You can't really put suitability on a dump sheet, can you?
Sorta. You can put keywords.
If you see "Capital Preservation," you think Treasuries or Money Markets. If you see "Income," you think Preferred Stock or Bonds (but not Munis unless they're in a high tax bracket). If you see "Tax-Free Income," it's Munis all day.
I’ve seen students write a small "Suitability Key" in the corner of their sheet.
- Speculation = Options, Small Cap, High Yield.
- Growth = Common Stock.
- Liquidity = Money Market.
It’s a sanity check.
The "Time Management" Trap
Let's talk about the actual process of dumping.
Prometric rules have changed over the years and can vary by location. Generally, you aren't allowed to start writing until the "Introductory Tutorial" starts. Use those 10-15 minutes of tutorial time. You don't need to read how to click a mouse; you know how to click a mouse. That is your window to build your series 7 dump sheet.
Don't rush it. If you spend 8 minutes drawing, you still have plenty of time for the 125 questions (plus 10 ungraded "experimental" ones).
One thing people get wrong: they write too much.
If your sheet looks like a wall of text, you won't be able to find what you need during the test. Use white space. Use big letters for the important stuff.
Why You Should Practice "The Dump"
You should be able to recreate your sheet from memory in under 7 minutes.
Every time you take a practice exam from providers like PassPerfect or Training Consultants, start by doing the dump. Do it until it’s muscle memory. If you’re still looking at a reference guide to help you build your "cheat sheet," you aren't ready for the exam.
The sheet acts as a bridge. It moves information from your stressed-out short-term memory to a physical piece of paper where it can't be forgotten.
Real World Nuance: What the Books Miss
The Series 7 isn't just about formulas. It’s about the "Standard of Care."
Lately, FINRA has been leaning hard into Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). While your dump sheet focuses on numbers, your brain needs to focus on the "Why."
A lot of candidates fail because they get the math right but the "rule" wrong. For example, knowing how to calculate the cost basis of a gifted security is great, but knowing the holding period for the recipient is just as vital.
(Quick refresher: If the fair market value is higher than the donor’s basis, the recipient takes the donor’s basis and holding period. If it's lower... well, it gets complicated.)
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- The "Everything" Sheet: Trying to fit the entire SIPC and FDIC coverage limits, the 5% Markup Policy, and the cooling-off period rules. Just... don't. You know those. They are "recognition" facts. Save the paper for "calculation" facts.
- Small Handwriting: You're going to be squinting at a screen for hours. Your eyes will get tired. Write big.
- Using the Exam Time: If you didn't finish your dump during the tutorial, don't spend 15 minutes of the actual exam finishing it. At that point, just start the test and write down formulas as you need them.
Building Your Custom Framework
If I were taking the test tomorrow, my series 7 dump sheet would look exactly like this:
The Top Left: Options
- The Matrix (Call Up/Put Down)
- MG/ML for Spreads and Straddles
- "Epic" (Export/Import/Calls/Puts) for foreign currency questions.
The Top Right: Bonds
- The See-Saw.
- $Accrued Interest = 30/360$ for Corporate/Muni, $Actual/365$ for Govvies.
The Bottom Left: Margin
- $LMV - DR = EQ$
- $CR - SMV = EQ$
- The 0.75 and 1.3 divisors.
The Bottom Right: Random "Gotchas"
- 1:100 (Option contract size).
- $Current Yield = Div / Price$.
- $PE Ratio = Price / Earnings$.
Actionable Steps for the Next 48 Hours
Stop taking full-length practice exams the day before. You'll just exhaust yourself. Instead, focus on the "Dump Drill."
- The 5-Minute Sprint: Set a timer for five minutes. Try to get your entire sheet down. What did you miss? What did you struggle to remember?
- Identify Your "Panic Points": Look back at your last three practice tests. Where did you second-guess yourself? If it was Investment Companies (Mutual Funds vs. ETFs), add a tiny note about "Nav vs. Market Price."
- Check the Rules: Confirm with your specific testing center their policy on the tutorial time. Most are fine with you writing then, but some proctors are sticklers.
- Mental Reset: Realize that the sheet is there to support you, not to take the test for you. If a question is about a specific FINRA rule on communications, the sheet won't help. Trust your training for the words; trust the sheet for the numbers.
The series 7 dump sheet is a tool of confidence. When you walk in there and put those first few symbols down, you're telling yourself: "I know this. I'm ready."
Get your markers, get some scrap paper, and start drilling. You've got this. Once you clear this hurdle, the 63 or 66 is usually a lot smoother sailing. Good luck.