have you passed the EPPP?

[Rivi]

I pretty much bombed all the practice tests, and passed the EPPP with flying colors on my first try. I think the majority of my success came from the cramming in the two weeks prior to the exam date. It was just like studying for multiple choice tests in undergrad.

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[wandergirl]

Hey, just took the EPPP today, passed with a 696/90. My final practice exam on Academic Review was a 85.

A few thoughts/tips on the EPPP... If not too burdensome, try to take it before you are looking for jobs (e.g., early on post-doc) - you'll feel good having it done when you are going on interviews. If your internship or post-doc provides educational funds, take advantage. Find out what they cover (materials, online study subscription, exam fees) and use what you can. If internship will pay your exam fees, it is probably worth taking it while on internship which I think you can do through certain states.

As far as study materials, I was really happy with the AATBS books which I borrowed, and I ended up finding a deal for Academic Review online for $99 for one month (I'd suggest getting on their mailing list, because they are often having sales). You can buy a subscription and wait to activate it. The online studying felt much more efficient than using offline old tests because the scoring and rationale is much easier, plus you can study by domain. I also bought the EPPP flash cards app for android for $30 and I think it is worthwhile. Whatever your preferred materials they will probably be sufficient though. Like I heard repeatedly, my score on the EPPP was significantly higher than on my practice tests. I think you can predictably pass by the studying regularly (e.g. 2 hours every other day for 2-3 months) or the take a week off right before method (which I did).

Finally, a scheduling tip: I wanted to schedule the exam pretty quickly, but all the good times were blocked off. I figured times would start to open up as people panic and reschedule. There is a rescheduling fee of $90, but it doesn't apply more than 30 days in advance. So I scheduled about 6 weeks out, and then kept an eye on openings, and I was able to reschedule to an earlier date without a fee.

 

[pavlove]

Hey, just took the EPPP today, passed with a 696/90. My final practice exam on Academic Review was a 85.

thanks for sharing your experience! I have also been using the Academic Review online study system and have been scoring between 80-90 on the mock exams. Here's hoping I can update with similar results after I take the exam next week...

 

[wandergirl]

thanks for sharing your experience! I have also been using the Academic Review online study system and have been scoring between 80-90 on the mock exams. Here's hoping I can update with similar results after I take the exam next week...

You're doing awesome! I was pretty confident going in. There was still a lot of material I didn't know as well as I would have liked, and as I've posted elsewhere at least 1/3 of the questions I had to guess, but usually between two choices. I imagine a lot of them were the trial questions.

 

[DrMikeP]

Anyone have preferences for the review materials? The ones I know of are Academic Review, AATBS, and PsychPrep...

Opinions are welcome.

I found a study quite a few years ago that evaluated the materials. Academic Review had a pass rate of 1 point or so higher than others. Closely following was AATBS and then others. Study hard and you can pass it. I used AR and ~90% of everything on the test was covered in their books or online test questions. When I took it the pass rate was over 70%, so it's hard but really not that hard if you put in the effort.

 

[InYourHead]

I have been trying to study for the past several months, and hope to take the test in the next month or so. Right now, my practice tests scores on AATBS are right where I'm told they should be (65-70%) across several tests. However, I feel like I know absolutely nothing, as in- I can point to certain topics and realize that I absolutely do not know them (e.g., stats tests, I/O theorists). Did others have this experience? Did anyone score well on practice tests and then not actually pass the real things?

Any advice you have would be much appreciated it!

 

[restingbeachface]

I felt the same way, even studying seriously since February. I thought I couldn't remember anything. I used TestMaster, flashcards, the books, and other practice exams that were passed down that were super old. I took so many exams, and only passed a few of them- my highest was a 72% on a first attempt and 85% on retakes. I was typically scoring between 66 - 69%. I found the AATBS tests much harder than the EPPP . For me, really studying the wrong answers, as in reading the rationale as well as the section of the book and taking notes, was super helpful. When I sat for the test I recognized/knew much more than I thought I did. I took it on Friday and passed with a good margin, over 600. I can't speak for you, but I swore I couldn't remember anything I studied but when I took the test I was much more confident in what I knew on the test.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I felt the same way, even studying seriously since February. I thought I couldn't remember anything. I used TestMaster, flashcards, the books, and other practice exams that were passed down that were super old. I took so many exams, and only passed a few of them- my highest was a 72% on a first attempt and 85% on retakes. I was typically scoring between 66 - 69%. I found the AATBS tests much harder than the EPPP . For me, really studying the wrong answers, as in reading the rationale as well as the section of the book and taking notes, was super helpful. When I sat for the test I recognized/knew much more than I thought I did. I took it on Friday and passed with a good margin, over 600. I can't speak for you, but I swore I couldn't remember anything I studied but when I took the test I was much more confident in what I knew on the test.

Seconded. Taking practice tests and then reviewing all the answers (even the ones I got right, as the explanations often provided information about the other answers that I may not have remembered from studying) probably made up 1/3 to 1/2 of my studying, particularly as I got closer to the exam.

 

[InYourHead]

Has anyone here taken the 2006 ASPPB Retired Questions Test? I have had several people tell me that it was within 2-3 points of their actual EPPP score. Has anyone else had this experience? I just took it and scored well, but still feel like I know absolutely nothing! AHHHH!!!!

 

[G Costanza]

Has anyone here taken the 2006 ASPPB Retired Questions Test? I have had several people tell me that it was within 2-3 points of their actual EPPP score. Has anyone else had this experience? I just took it and scored well, but still feel like I know absolutely nothing! AHHHH!!!!

I have a copy of the retired questions and did about 100 of them the day before the EPPP. I probably missed about eight questions and felt very confident about my responses. The EPPP was significantly more difficult for me to the point where I assumed I had failed it (I did not). That could be a function of the AATBS materials I used as I do not think they prepared me well at all. The AATBS books did not cover about 1/3 of the EPPP questions I encountered but did cover the 100 questions I reviewed in the retired questions booklet.

I don't mean to scare you, I just don't think the retired questions are anything close to the real thing and I would not use it as a comparison.

 

[pavlove]

thanks for sharing your experience! I have also been using the Academic Review online study system and have been scoring between 80-90 on the mock exams. Here's hoping I can update with similar results after I take the exam next week...

Updating to add that I passed the EPPP this morning (woohoo!). My mock exams on AR were consistently high 80s-low 90s, with my EPPP scaled score coming in at 654. Felt like a lot of the content on the actual exam was not present in my study materials, but it's possible that I was noticing all of the experimental items. At any rate, happy to be done! And now, on to the next hoop....

 

[psychstudent5]

This is a very good post.

Most of the people I know have taken the EPPP prior to the new DSM-V. I received AATBS study books from a friend, but the materials are from 2008 and 2009. Are these materials too old to use as study materials? I am concerned about some or most of the information being out of date for the test.

 

[LETSGONYR]

This is a very good post.

Most of the people I know have taken the EPPP prior to the new DSM-V. I received AATBS study books from a friend, but the materials are from 2008 and 2009. Are these materials too old to use as study materials? I am concerned about some or most of the information being out of date for the test.

You'll be fine.

Most of the content areas (I/O, stats, social psych, multicultural, test construction, etc.) are unaffected by the switch from the DSM-IV to the DSM-5, so the materials would not have changed. And for the other sections... for the vast majority of disorders the diagnostic criteria are the same, although there are obviously a few exceptions (e.g., ASD, age of onset of ADHD). I took the test soon after the switch to the DSM-5, and there were literally 0 questions that were DSM-5 specific or required knowledge of the updated diagnostic criteria.

 

[463951]

I have a copy of the retired questions and did about 100 of them the day before the EPPP. I probably missed about eight questions and felt very confident about my responses. The EPPP was significantly more difficult for me to the point where I assumed I had failed it (I did not). That could be a function of the AATBS materials I used as I do not think they prepared me well at all. The AATBS books did not cover about 1/3 of the EPPP questions I encountered but did cover the 100 questions I reviewed in the retired questions booklet.

I don't mean to scare you, I just don't think the retired questions are anything close to the real thing and I would not use it as a comparison.

This makes me nervous. I am taking the EPPP in a month, and have been using AATBS materials to study. Any suggestions?

 

[G Costanza]

This makes me nervous. I am taking the EPPP in a month, and have been using AATBS materials to study. Any suggestions?

It's hard to say if my experience was isolated or the norm. I did not study as much as other people I know but I felt like I knew a lot of the material. I did not study assessment or stats much at all. My EPPP had a lot of assessment and stats and almost no IO or family therapy (topics that were supposed to be "popular" according to AATBS). I think if you study everything and you don't get much test anxiety, I imagine you'll be fine with the materials you have. If you wanted to supplement it with some materials from another company like PsychPrep or Academic Review, I would expect you will be more prepared.

Side note- I have some AATBS flash cards that I'd be willing to sell for $60 if anyone is interested. Just PM me.

 

[DrMikeP]

This makes me nervous. I am taking the EPPP in a month, and have been using AATBS materials to study. Any suggestions?

The study I read found aatbs to be only slightly below AR in pass rates, that was 10yrs ago but wouldn't worry.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[bts2017]

Does anyone have thoughts about primarily using practice exams to prepare for the EPPP? I am planning to take old practice tests and make notes on everything I am unfamiliar with, and then use academic review's online program for the 30 days before I take the exam, again focusing on practice tests and explanations. Plus the EPPP psych prep flashcards. I am afraid to start reading the books and taking notes on the content because I feel like I could do that forever and it might not be super helpful..

 

[foreverbull]

Does anyone have thoughts about primarily using practice exams to prepare for the EPPP? I am planning to take old practice tests and make notes on everything I am unfamiliar with, and then use academic review's online program for the 30 days before I take the exam, again focusing on practice tests and explanations. Plus the EPPP psych prep flashcards. I am afraid to start reading the books and taking notes on the content because I feel like I could do that forever and it might not be super helpful..

Practice tests are very helpful...I'd say they are crucial for knowing if you've mastered the content, but I don't know enough to say that they're all you need. I asked a similar question prior to taking the EPPP, but no one who exclusively took practice tests (with no reading) responded...I think those folks are few and far between. Having said that, a few folks mentioned that they crammed hard for a month and passed.
I found that the reading process itself covered things that weren't asked in practice tests but showed up on the EPPP and was the main part of my study process. If you're going to go the 30-day cramming route, I'd make sure to read every content area ebook from Academic Review for the 30 days and re-test yourself periodically with the practice tests to make sure you're improving after you read. Given the price of the 30 day package, though, you could get used reading materials for cheaper, although not the online access, of course. It's all about personal preference!

This thread might be relevant for you: Psych Prep vs Academic Review EPPP Practice Tests...

 

[singasongofjoy]

I took a few practice tests, but not all that many. I found the reading and note-taking to be helpful. I had the aatbs study books, made notes on chart paper of things I didn't remember so well, hung chart paper on the walls (my whole house was wallpapered with EPPP notes, lol) and would just walk around my house studying the chart papers whenever I had a few minutes to kill, e.g., while eating breakfast in the morning. So you say you don't think reading books and taking notes would be helpful but I found it superhelpful because it was a more organized way to get info into my brain versus taking the exams where the content/qeustions are all mixed together.