have you passed the EPPP?

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Shatani

Shatani

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im starting the study process and am looking for some inspiration, some "light at the end of the tunnel" type of talk....

so, what was your experience?
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You won't hear this from most people, but many people do not pass the 1st time. This is mainly due to how they study for the test. Do NOT study to understand the material, like we are trained to do in school, but rather to memorize the answers they want you to put down. My advice is to take every practice test, and review every answer, right or wrong, thoroughly. Many of the questions in the study materials were the same or very close to actual questions on the test. If you do this, you should be fine. If you fail the 1st time, you will get after it the 2nd time, and there is no shame if this happens! The best thing I did was take 1 day off every week for 2-3 months and study that whole day. The rest of the week I did nothing. This strategy really works well with the advice to take all the tests as each test of 200 questions takes at least 4 hours to take and thoroughly review and it is best done in one chunk of time. Good luck!
 
I'd echo more or less what Stigmata said. All passing the EPPP is about is rote memorization. It would be nice if getting a psychologists' license actually required demonstrating some specific skills, but that's for another thread, I guess....

When I returned home from my post-doc, I made studying for the EPPP essentially a part time job. 2-3 days a week I sat myself down in a coffeeshop or the local pub, made my coffee or beer last several hours, and simply created flashcards. I relied somewhat on some practice tests that I accessed online and through purchased materials (and also what I could find on www.flashcardexchange.com), but essentially what I did was create a stack, literally, of hundreds of flashcards, probably over a foot tall in the end. Any bit of information from my materials, or from the practice tests, or anything that might look like it could be turned into a multiple choice question, I turned it into a flashcard. Although I did practice with my flashcards, I think the more valuable exercise for me was actually creating them.

I passed on the first try.
 
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I've seen a few different methods, though the most common seems to be 1 day a week (worth of time) for 3 months, taking plenty of practice exams to get accustomed to the pacing and types of questions, and then mix in study guides as needed.

We are about to start our study group, and we are doing a few hours every week as a group, and probably 2 nights a week on our own. We chose 4 months, though with the holiday it is probably closer to 3.5 months. All of my mentors said to take it seriously and put in the time, but not too worry too much about it. I like their confidence in me, but I still have to take it in March! :eek:
 
Is your experience with EPPP at all similar to your experience of the GRE Psychology subject test? Both appear to require rote memorization. I know the contents are different but I am curious. The subject test felt like a piece of cake. I want to know if EPPP will be much worse.
 
One of my course instructors gives us quizzes with questions based off of the EPPP. They are absolutely terrible and I am terrified for the day when I have to take it! Best of luck to you all.
 
SingingCow said:
Is your experience with EPPP at all similar to your experience of the GRE Psychology subject test? Both appear to require rote memorization. I know the contents are different but I am curious. The subject test felt like a piece of cake. I want to know if EPPP will be much worse.
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i didnt take the psych subject test for the GRE...

all this flashcard talk is reminding me of when i had to do comps! that was BRUTAL. i am definitely going to take this seriously! ive got access to online practice exams, paper exams and a friend of mine is giving me all her materials (she just passed), so im gonna put those cds on my mp3 player and listen to it while i drive.

i decided to just take a practice test to see where i am and i got about a 60% which is FAR better than i thought i would do...that gave me a bit of hope. im going to take a lot of the tips you guys offered. thanks!!
 
I'm studying for the EPPP now and hoping to take it in December. I bought materials on ebay including review books and CDs I listen to in my car which have been helpful. I also teach psyc 101 which has actually helped a lot with some of the vocab terms.

Does anybody know if you can find practice exams for free online? I hear that they are really useful but don't have access to that many.
 
ClinicalPsycPhD said:
Does anybody know if you can find practice exams for free online? I hear that they are really useful but don't have access to that many.
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There is a yahoo listserv for people taking the EPPP. If you search for "yahoo EPPP listserv" it should pop up. The actual name is: "Preparing to Take the EPPP Discussion List" (EPPP_Prep)" I can't vouch that it is awesome, but people share tips, study methods, etc. I am not on it, though friends have said it can be useful, though they recommended to get it in "Digest Form", which sends you one e-mail a day of all of the day's posts.
 
Anyone have preferences for the review materials? The ones I know of are Academic Review, AATBS, and PsychPrep...

Opinions are welcome.
 
most of my friends prefer psychprep and they all passed on the first go-round.
 
Students I've supervised have used each of the programs with positive results and say that it really is about your own personal "style" as each program has a somewhat different look/feel. So there is no "wrong" choice (other than not studying)--but you might try to look at some materials from each and see which is the best "fit" for how you learn/stay motivated.

I think it also helps to accept that the exam is a "bar" one is expected to clear in terms of general knowledge identified with "being a psychologist". So even though you might never have studied a certain topic much or never want to practice in that domain, you still have some obligation to the public to know the basic terminology and be able to be (or help others be) an informed consumer of services psychologists provide. Students sometimes waste a lot of time/energy being mad at the exam and I think a certain amount of "radical acceptance" is actually key to getting it over and done with in your career trajectory.
 
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docma said:
I think it also helps to accept that the exam is a "bar" one is expected to clear in terms of general knowledge identified with "being a psychologist". So even though you might never have studied a certain topic much or never want to practice in that domain, you still have some obligation to the public to know the basic terminology and be able to be (or help others be) an informed consumer of services psychologists provide. Students sometimes waste a lot of time/energy being mad at the exam and I think a certain amount of "radical acceptance" is actually key to getting it over and done with in your career trajectory.
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Yes, this does not bother me too much. I've survived studying for, taking and passing the bar exam. The EPPP is really quite similar. Just another hurdle to jump; necessary but nothing more.

Thank you for the advice. Maybe I'll check out a couple of different prep companies and see what appeals to me.:)
 
Shatani said:
most of my friends prefer psychprep and they all passed on the first go-round.
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I've heard good things about psychprep -- mainly that it is more concise than some of the other programs. Good to hear people are passing after using it.
 
I failed this test several times and I am now going renagade as I have no more money to give to the boards. I challenge anyone licensed for at least 10 years to take that test and see what will happen. NOt only is it extremely difficult, each version of the test is not equal to other versions in terms of scoring as my scores were aproximately 100 points apart from one test to the other. I gave up.
 
LIFE COACH said:
I failed this test several times and I am now going renagade as I have no more money to give to the boards.
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What does "going renegade" mean exactly? just curious...
 
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I just took my first full practice exam (no studying)...what a humbling experience. I scored a 55%, which I was told was decent. I only got a few wrong between neuro and pathology...but developmental theory and test construction was rough. so many of my "wrong" answers had to do with wording and not understanding, which I know is a complaint of many.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
I just took my first full practice exam (no studying)...what a humbling experience. I scored a 55%, which I was told was decent. I only got a few wrong between neuro and pathology...but developmental theory and test construction was rough. so many of my "wrong" answers had to do with wording and not understanding, which I know is a complaint of many.
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i did about that well with no study....i think most of my problems came from I/O and second guessing myself.

i,too, was told that this is a solid starting place....we can do it, t4c!
 
Shatani said:
i did about that well with no study....i think most of my problems came from I/O and second guessing myself.

i,too, was told that this is a solid starting place....we can do it, t4c!
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I/O seems to be really hit and miss for me. I have some training in the area, but I definitely have knowledge gaps for what they want. With things like developmental I can narrow it down to 2 choices, but some of the I/O questions felt like I was blind-folded and asked to throw darts at random answers..after being spun around 3 times. :laugh:

We are meeting 1 night a week for the next 16 weeks, and hopefully by the end of it we'll be ready for the exam. We broke down the sections according to the % that they appear on the EPPP. We are trying to do the readings and topic questions every week, and then take 1 full practice exam (200 questions) per week to track our progress. I figure the only direction I can go is up!
 
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I have been studying for the EPPP for 7 (yes, 7) months using Academic Review. Here are some things I would recommend to cut your study time down:

1 - As you go through a content area, make notecards and REVIEW them fairly often. This is BY FAR the best advice I can give you.

You will find that as soon as you learn one content area and start another one, retroactive interference will ensue. Thus, you will forget the original material you learned.

What I am doing, is I have 5 stacks of notecards. Each day, M-F, I take different stack and review it during lunch at work. At night, I only cover new material (which means more notecards added to the stacks).

2 - Read the books and read them many times. The first time through you just master the basic concepts. It take many repetitions, however, to understand the subtle concepts and how things connect with each other.

3- Realize that some of the practice test questions, at least the AR ones, are ridiculously hard. Ignore those because nobody will get them right. For example, I had a few asking about what type of antidepressant was in some new transdermal patch; who knows and who really cares?
 
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edieb said:
3- Realize that some of the practice test questions, at least the AR ones, are ridiculously hard. Ignore those because nobody will get them right. For example, I had a few asking about what type of antidepressant was in some new transdermal patch; who knows and who really cares?
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*raises hand*

;)

I could do without all of the nit-picky "theory" questions though.
 
I just to reiterate that regardless of your "learning style", study for this test by learning the right answers and not to learn or understand the material.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
I've seen a few different methods, though the most common seems to be 1 day a week (worth of time) for 3 months, taking plenty of practice exams to get accustomed to the pacing and types of questions, and then mix in study guides as needed.

We are about to start our study group, and we are doing a few hours every week as a group, and probably 2 nights a week on our own. We chose 4 months, though with the holiday it is probably closer to 3.5 months. All of my mentors said to take it seriously and put in the time, but not too worry too much about it. I like their confidence in me, but I still have to take it in March! :eek:
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hey t4c...how goes the studying?? still planning to take it in march?
 
Shatani said:
hey t4c...how goes the studying?? still planning to take it in march?
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I'm still on track for March. I've sort of faded in my studying in the last few weeks, but I'm going to make one last push. I read one section per week, did the practice questions, and usually did part of an exam. We didn't have an exam for every week, but we had subject questions each week, and supplemented them with sections of practice exams. Every few weeks we'd mix in a full exam. My average has steadily gone up, though it still isn't where I want yet (75-80). I wish I could say the study has been useful in my day to day work, but 98% of it has not.

How goes your studying?
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
I'm still on track for March. I've sort of faded in my studying in the last few weeks, but I'm going to make one last push. I read one section per week, did the practice questions, and usually did part of an exam. We didn't have an exam for every week, but we had subject questions each week, and supplemented them with sections of practice exams. Every few weeks we'd mix in a full exam. My average has steadily gone up, though it still isn't where I want yet (75-80). I wish I could say the study has been useful in my day to day work, but 98% of it has not.

How goes your studying?
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um...well. i took a holiday break so to speak! im going to a conference this week, but when i get back im gonna get on a schedule. a professor of mine gave me some study tips that im goin to try out. i plan to take it by august of this year, which will be a year out from finishing the program....i will have all my supervision hours and stuff too, so thats good. just get it all done at the same time.
 
study harder

"The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment."
 
i was hoping to take it in april, but I haven't studied nearly enough (eating, sleeping, cleaning....those good 'ole things keep helping me procrastinate!), so it looks like I'll be pushing for May now.

Anyone attend (or planning on it) the AATBS 4 day conferences?
 
any updates?? who has passed recently? give the rest of us some hope! :)
 
Shatani said:
any updates?? who has passed recently? give the rest of us some hope! :)
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im looking to take it in november/december (fingers crossed!) and am currently listening to study guides as i type this...
 
Shatani said:
any updates?? who has passed recently? give the rest of us some hope! :)
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Well...*I* was ready to take it in March, but there was a snafu with my state licensing board and associated groups. I had to re-submit everything (twice, via snail mail), and what was supposed to take a few days took weeks. :rolleyes:

I got slammed at work (new rotation) and then went on vacation, so now I'm stuck trying to cram it in at the end of August. My test scores are about where they were back in March (give or take 3-5%), so I figure I'll be ready with another 1-2 weeks of sporadic studying. If all goes well, I'll be able to take the Fall off, and then start studying for the ABPP neuro boards. :eek:
 
I think it depends on your training path. I know some people who took it towards the end of internship, as they were in states that allowed them to take it prior to completing their internships. It seems that most try and take it as close to when they finish their post-doc year, so they plan backwards and estimate about how much time they will need to study. I started last November, with the plan to do it in March...but life happened. I don't think most people study more than a couple of months part-time. I'm not in a huge rush to do mine because I don't technically need it until after the 2nd year of my fellowship. I just want to get it out of the way so that when I apply for jobs I'll have one less thing to worry about. It is also preferred by employers because they need you at least license eligible.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Well...*I* was ready to take it in March, but there was a snafu with my state licensing board and associated groups. I had to re-submit everything (twice, via snail mail), and what was supposed to take a few days took weeks. :rolleyes:

I got slammed at work (new rotation) and then went on vacation, so now I'm stuck trying to cram it in at the end of August. My test scores are about where they were back in March (give or take 3-5%), so I figure I'll be ready with another 1-2 weeks of sporadic studying. If all goes well, I'll be able to take the Fall off, and then start studying for the ABPP neuro boards. :eek:
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I started my first job/post doc in March 2010 and took it for the first time in March 2011 and passed with a 680/750. I studied daily for a year and felt like I was in hell. I primarily read and re-read the Academic Review books for 7 month (they were disintegrating when I was done with them) and then started taking practice questions for 4-5 months while still re-reading the books..
 
I took the EPPP on July 30th and I passed by a comfortable margin- found out about a week later. I started studying moderately in April - reading PsychPrep materials in my free time and taking one practice test every week to two weeks. I stepped it up final month, taking at least one practice test a week. Week before the exam I took off and studied 12-15 hours per day, taking old practice exams from all the test prep companies and reviewing missed questions daily. Two days before I took the retired questions and passed, so I felt pretty good day of. One thing I'll say is, two weeks before I took the exam I did NOT feel ready. It was definitely that intense "hell week" that did it for me. By the end of that week, I had pretty much memorized all the PsychPrep & Academic Review practice exam questions!!

It's not as bad as they make it out to be, you just need to put the time in. I technically didn't need to take it now, as I am just finishing the first year of my 2-year neuro postdoc, but like T4C said, now I can start studying for neuro boards!
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Well...*I* was ready to take it in March, but there was a snafu with my state licensing board and associated groups. I had to re-submit everything (twice, via snail mail), and what was supposed to take a few days took weeks. :rolleyes:

I got slammed at work (new rotation) and then went on vacation, so now I'm stuck trying to cram it in at the end of August. My test scores are about where they were back in March (give or take 3-5%), so I figure I'll be ready with another 1-2 weeks of sporadic studying. If all goes well, I'll be able to take the Fall off, and then start studying for the ABPP neuro boards. :eek:
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its crazy how much life gets in the way with stuff like this! i honestly have been thinking about the boarding, but i cant make too much room in my brain for it. i keep meaning to go to the abpp site and see what it requires....i always thought you couldnt get boarded until well into your career (mostly because anyone i know who is boarded is older) but you alerted me otherwise! thanks!
 
madeincanada said:
When are the most common times for people to take their EPPP?

Is it towards the end of internship? Just beginning post-doc? 6 months into post-doc? Later still?
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i think a lot of that has to do with your state's requirements. PA just changed theirs so that you can take it as soon as you get your doctorate; it used to be that you had to wait until you had amassed all your training hours first. most commonly around here one would take it towards the end of post doc, but i do believe that is changing as the laws have changed.

my suggestion would be to take it soon after finishing your program and get it out of the way earlier. it makes you "license elligible" and that means more money a lot of the time....although, things always seem different for neuropsych people! a large contingent of my friends are such...
 
Shatani said:
its crazy how much life gets in the way with stuff like this! i honestly have been thinking about the boarding, but i cant make too much room in my brain for it. i keep meaning to go to the abpp site and see what it requires....i always thought you couldnt get boarded until well into your career (mostly because anyone i know who is boarded is older) but you alerted me otherwise! thanks!
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There seems to be a general push at neuro fellowship sites to "strongly encourage" the fellows take the written portion of the exam as close to when they finish their fellowship, because they'll have the broadest training...as most clinicians fall into niche practices. The boarding process can take ~2 years, depending on how quickly you get the exam out of the way, work on your cases, etc.
 
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Flutterbyu said:
I took the EPPP on July 30th and I passed by a comfortable margin- found out about a week later. I started studying moderately in April - reading PsychPrep materials in my free time and taking one practice test every week to two weeks. I stepped it up final month, taking at least one practice test a week. Week before the exam I took off and studied 12-15 hours per day, taking old practice exams from all the test prep companies and reviewing missed questions daily. Two days before I took the retired questions and passed, so I felt pretty good day of. One thing I'll say is, two weeks before I took the exam I did NOT feel ready. It was definitely that intense "hell week" that did it for me. By the end of that week, I had pretty much memorized all the PsychPrep & Academic Review practice exam questions!!

It's not as bad as they make it out to be, you just need to put the time in. I technically didn't need to take it now, as I am just finishing the first year of my 2-year neuro postdoc, but like T4C said, now I can start studying for neuro boards!
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congratulations!!

my main focus in the past couple weeks has been practice tests....im gonna start making notecards soon as well. i do some studying everyday and listen to the study guides as i drive and before bed.
 
I started with study materials and an exam every other week, then we moved to study materials + practice exam every week. Now I'm just doing practice exams, as the study material just runs together.
 
i started flashcard-ing today...overwhelming! *le sigh*
 
Forget the study materials etc...take all the tests and study/memorize the results. You will be fine
 
stigmata said:
Forget the study materials etc...take all the tests and study/memorize the results. You will be fine
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98% of people from my program pass first try so i'm not worried. Out of all the hurdles and comps we go through i heard from our alumni that this is one of the easiest and by far easier than comps. Of course you have to study to pass, but i'm least concerned over it.
 
stigmata said:
Forget the study materials etc...take all the tests and study/memorize the results. You will be fine
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im mostly making my flashcards from the practice exams...but for somethings that i feel i need to understand better, im going to the study materials. the act of writing them seems to be cramming stuff into the memory banks pretty good.

does anyone have a source for more practice exams? im burning through them about once a week.
 
edieb said:
I have been studying for the EPPP for 7 (yes, 7) months using Academic Review. Here are some things I would recommend to cut your study time down:

1 - As you go through a content area, make notecards and REVIEW them fairly often. This is BY FAR the best advice I can give you.

You will find that as soon as you learn one content area and start another one, retroactive interference will ensue. Thus, you will forget the original material you learned.

What I am doing, is I have 5 stacks of notecards. Each day, M-F, I take different stack and review it during lunch at work. At night, I only cover new material (which means more notecards added to the stacks).

2 - Read the books and read them many times. The first time through you just master the basic concepts. It take many repetitions, however, to understand the subtle concepts and how things connect with each other.

3- Realize that some of the practice test questions, at least the AR ones, are ridiculously hard. Ignore those because nobody will get them right. For example, I had a few asking about what type of antidepressant was in some new transdermal patch; who knows and who really cares?
Click to expand...

YOU better care. I just took the test and there were MANY questions related to medication for specific populations. I was also overwhelmed by the amount of multicultural info it required. WHY would a test for a generalist license include XX questions related to multicultural theory and practice?!?! GAMES GAMES GAMES. the licensing boards are playing games.
 
drmarshall said:
WHY would a test for a generalist license include XX questions related to multicultural theory and practice?!?! GAMES GAMES GAMES. the licensing boards are playing games.
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Because, presumably, you not just see what people in your practice.
 
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