United States
Hong KongFlashcards for mortgage regulations
Make cards for timeframes with their anchor event, tolerance buckets, thresholds and fixed-count definitions. Phrase each question as the exam would, and keep the deck to around two hundred cards.
Cards suit this material because so much of it is a fact attached to a trigger, and that is exactly what a card holds well.
What to make cards for
- Every timeframe, with its anchor event on the answer side
- The tolerance buckets and what falls in each
- Thresholds - HOEPA points, points and fees, PMI percentages
- Definitions with a fixed count - six application items, eight ATR factors, nine ECOA bases
- The six calculations, written as short scenarios
How to phrase them
As the exam would. "Loan Estimate" on the front tests nothing. "How long after a complete application must the Loan Estimate be delivered?" tests recall of the answer.
One fact per card. A card with three facts on it gets half-remembered.
It becomes a chore and gets abandoned in week three. Around two hundred well-chosen cards covering the confusable material beats a deck that duplicates the syllabus.
What not to put on cards
Anything you already know cold. Anything requiring judgment rather than recall - steering questions, for instance, which need a scenario and cannot be reduced to a card.
How to use them
Ten to fifteen minutes daily, alongside the calculation drill. Both are short, both are daily, and both fight the same decay.
Cards give you the rule. Practice questions teach you which rule a scenario is about. You need both and they are not substitutes.
Common questions
Are flashcards useful for the NMLS exam?
Yes for timeframes, thresholds and fixed-count definitions. Less so for anything requiring judgment.
How should I phrase a card?
As the exam would ask it, with one fact per card, so you test recall rather than recognition.
How many cards should I make?
Around two hundred well-chosen ones. Larger decks get abandoned.
What should not go on a card?
Anything you know cold, and anything needing judgment rather than recall.
Do cards replace practice questions?
No. Cards build retention; questions teach application.