The importance of a good cemap study program
If you’re considering a career in brokerage, mortgage advising, accounting, or many other positions in the finance field, then you’ve probably come across the term CeMAP many times. CeMAP is an acronym for Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice. CeMAP certification is a basic requirement of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) for recognition as a mortgage advisor. CeMAP study, then, is crucial to your future career in this industry. The right attitude will get you started, but the right CeMAP study program will take you the rest of the way.
First it is important to understand the CeMAP examination process. Obviously you cannot get certified if you do not pass the exams, and you will not pass the exams if you do not complete your CeMAP study, but you cannot complete your CeMAP study until you have attained a full and working knowledge of the material included in the exams. With that said, we’ll go over the exams. Attaining a CeMAP is a three exam process. There are no other qualifications—no previous education, no licensing, no other certifications—for attaining a CeMAP, just those all-important exams. Each exam covers different aspects of mortgage advising.
The first exam covers basic financial service and regulatory information. It is a 100 question multiple choice test. The second exam is also a 100 question multiple choice test, and it covers the mortgage industry and purchasing process in more detail. The final exam is called the synoptic exam. It is called this because it is basically a synopsis, or overview, of the whole field as demonstrated through case studies. You will read six case studies and then answer ten questions on each using what you learned in your CeMAP study and phrasing your responses as if you were advising a client on the same situation. You must score a 70% on each exam, though a score of 80% and up will earn you a merit and a score of 90% and up will earn you a distinction.
CeMAP study programs are usually broken into three parts to cover each of the exams thoroughly. For each course of CeMAP study, the information covered is compiled from previously used CeMAP exam questions. Additionally, your instructors will be certified experts with intense knowledge of the CeMAP and all of the processes it covers. There is a limited pool of questions that the CeMAP pulls from for each new variation of the exams, so a broad CeMAP study program technically provides you with all of the information that could potentially be included in the exam. Having a real understanding of these concepts is not only crucial to your attaining a CeMAP, but to your ability to provide quality advise to your future clients, so it is important to take your CeMAP study seriously and glean as much as possible from your program and instructors while the resources are still available to you.
The CeMAP is certainly an important step toward professional credibility, but with appropriate CeMAP study, it’s within your reach. Don’t jeopardize your chances for a bright future by underestimating the importance of a good CeMAP study program.
