Best EPPP Prep Materials?

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Holiday Greetings SDN'ers:

Can anyone out there give me recommendations for the best EPPP study materials and why they liked them? I've been researching Academic Review, PsychPrep, AATBS, and Taylor Study Method and it's very confusing (and expensive). I'd love to benefit from the experience of others out there!

Thanks!

well, for me, the best ones are the free ones! barring that, all my friends love psych prep. they seem to think academic review is a bit overwhelming.

and since they were free, im using psych prep

Originally Posted by psychmama

Holiday Greetings SDN'ers:

Can anyone out there give me recommendations for the best EPPP study materials and why they liked them? I've been researching Academic Review, PsychPrep, AATBS, and Taylor Study Method and it's very confusing (and expensive). I'd love to benefit from the experience of others out there!

Thanks!

I went with a new AATBS set supplemented with some PsychPrep stuff loaned to me by a friend. I supplemented with stuff I found on flashcardexchange.com. Passed on the first try. From what I've heard, AATBS and PsychPrep stuff are fairly equivalent in quality, it's more about the time and method of study you put in. For me, I just used lots and lots of flashcards....

This is an old thread I started a while ago. Anyone care to weigh in on the relative merits of PsychPrep vs Academic Review?

Can't speak to one vs. the other, but I used Academic Review and felt that I was well prepared.

One thing I've heard from others is that the Academic Review materials seem to be "harder," such that the practice tests are particularly tough. As a result, people can get nervous when they barely pass the practice tests. That was my experience - I was just barely passing the practice tests, but got a rather high score on the actual test. Luckily, I was given a heads up about this phenomenon with the AR materials, so I just kind of went with it.

I will say that, at least with the AR materials, definitely take the practice tests, study your incorrect responses, and then take them again. I still don't quite understand how this works, but there were some questions on my actual test that were identical (or almost identical) to practice test items from the AR materials.

I found AATBS to be pretty good. We supplemented it with retired questions and a bunch of other practice exams that have been passed down from prior fellows.

From one "psych mama" to another, I definitely recommend Psych Prep.

All of the major test prep companies (not counting Taylor, as I don't know enough about them, plus their aggressive, intrusive marketing tactics annoyed me) will prepare you to pass. Psych Prep will prepare you to pass in the most user-friendly, efficient way, and with the least amount of stress. They teach you the concepts you need to know and how to approach the test questions, without bogging you down with extraneous information. I found their rationales straightforward and concise, while some of Academic Review's rationales were unnecessarily dense. Working full time while raising a family, I just didn't have the time or energy to learn anything I didn't need to know for the exam or to generate any avoidable anxiety. As Shatani indicated, some prep materials are more overwhelming than others. And for me, the more overwhelmed I feel, the less likely I am to actually get down to studying. Your mileage may vary, though. That's my $0.02.