They may also provide you with a list of some of the companies that have made filings and you could try contacting them to learn of their experience. The theory had been that a businessman should be able to answer 50 questions and provide enough information for a person to make an intelligent estimate of the stock's attractiveness. You should not underestimate just how much effort will really go into this. In addition, you'll have filing fees to pay, and eventually a printing bill for the prospectus. Not all the states use the U-7, but all have some variation of the form or an alternative for filing.
Experience can be vastly different, from state to state.