EPPP fail

[deleted1197395]

Hi everyone,

I recently took the EPPP and scored 455, which was quite disheartening. Despite feeling exhausted, I'm still determined to continue. I studied for 3-4 months using Psych Prep and passed their final exam. I also used AATBS, scoring 64% on the final exam, and received 71% on retired questions.

In terms of my performance, I did really well in ethics and assessment/diagnosis, but I struggled with statistics and the biological bases of behavior. I felt confident during the exam and genuinely thought I had passed.

I'm seeking guidance and support and have a few questions:

1. Can you recommend some good tutors or other study programs?
2. What should I be focusing on more?
3. How many questions did I miss by?

Thank you! I'm hopeful that the second time around will be better.

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[PsyDr]

My opinions:

1) The VAST majority of EPPP fails are due to anxiety. You are decent enough in standardized tests to get into a doctoral program. You are smart and diligent enough to pass 5 years of grad school. So....... Do the standard things to get over situational anxiety. Take a ton of practice tests in an environment that mimics the testing environment. Do NOT do practice tests at home. Use an unfamiliar computer if possible. Preferably in a library.

2) Study and practice basic test taking skills. This should be the second largest part of your work.

3) Take a TON of practice tests. This is the majority of your work. Do not study from the materials. Study from the TEST. Take tests, identify what you are missing, then refer to the prep materials.

4) Emphasize rote memorization. You only need to know the correct answer, not the underlying principles of the answer. Do I know why the pass rate of employee screenings must be X? No. But I still know that there is some BS number about that question.

 

[psyguy83]

Hi everyone,

I recently took the EPPP and scored 455, which was quite disheartening. Despite feeling exhausted, I'm still determined to continue. I studied for 3-4 months using Psych Prep and passed their final exam. I also used AATBS, scoring 64% on the final exam, and received 71% on retired questions.

In terms of my performance, I did really well in ethics and assessment/diagnosis, but I struggled with statistics and the biological bases of behavior. I felt confident during the exam and genuinely thought I had passed.

I'm seeking guidance and support and have a few questions:

1. Can you recommend some good tutors or other study programs?
2. What should I be focusing on more?
3. How many questions did I miss by?

Thank you! I'm hopeful that the second time around will be better.

I did the AATBS 3.5-month study plan and felt prepared/passed. That included timed, practiced tests each weekend for about 6 weeks before the test. I'd focus on practice tests, your weaknesses, and test-taking strategies (e.g., how do you eliminate choices and arrive at your final answer or guess). I think the last one is extremely important and underrated.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Practice exams were key for me. I had access to the AATBS practice exams through my fellowship, a retired exam, and another set of online exams I split w another fellow to work on pacing. Figuring out what the question is asking is half the battle. Once you can classify what KIND of question it is, then you can usually eliminate 1-2 answers off the top; rote memorization can help here too.

Anxiety management and time management were my two biggest challenges (bc ADHD & anxiety). Utilizing some breathing exercises and getting up every 30-45min to walk around, use the bathroom, etc. I actually failed my first time, a combination of being overwhelmed and I didn’t get my accommodations. No extra time and in w everyone. I didn’t get to answer the last 25-30 questions. I failed by 2-3 questions. If I randomly guessed on the last 30 questions I would have passed. I took it again and crushed it. I had enough extra time I could go back and add citations to the pharma questions they got wrong. I still hold a grudge against Prometrics for screwing me and refusing to refund my fee.

The EPPP is as much about keeping yourself calm and focused as it is about the material.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Second everything said above, especially reviewing test-taking strategies and just hammering away at practice tests; the latter was the biggest part of my studying (I think I took 7-8 practice exams maybe?).

 

[smalltownpsych]

I would think that you want to have higher scores on practice exams and agree that taking many of them are a good way to prepare. I set a goal of a consistent 80% on practice exams and the first test I took cold before prep was just under 70 from what I recall.

 

[ErinPsych]

I also fail EPPP with a score of 485, very close to 500, though. I don't know if I got the "hard" version of the test because almost all the questions are very long. A lot of questions about stats, diagnoses and ethics. It took me a longer time to go back and forth to read the questions. To be honest, there are many times I don't know what the questions asked about. I don't feel very confident over 50% of my answers. It ended up with leaving me 7 mins to review all my flagged questions. Another hard part is, the wording of the questions or the options is so weird, so weird that I did not see in any of my practice tests (Psych prep, retired questions or online EPPP practice test). The questions/options did not say a concept straightforward, but rather beat about the bush. I can narrow down 40% questions to 2 options. Sometimes I feel like none of the options is correct! I also would like to hear any suggestions on how I can prepare for the test.

 

[WisNeuro]

There is no "hard" version. There are generally equivalent versions, that include extra test questions that do not count towards your score.

 

[coffee&CBT]

I really recommend taking the SEEEPO prior to the test (there are two versions and you can take them at a testing center if you think that would help with anxiety). I also found that exposing myself to materials from multiple programs helped me (I used AATTBS and Prepjet). Take as many practice tests as you can...but I don't think it's a good idea to retake the same practice tests because increases in scores are more likely practice effects than actual learning. So I never "counted" my retakes as actual indications of my readiness. I wanted to see better scores on novel tests.

 

[jdawg2017]

Maybe not the best advice, but given that a large chunk of the EPPP material is fundamentally useless to our careers I opted for an intensive 8 week preparation instead of dragging the process out for 6+ months of prep like some folks have done. This ultimately is up to you and factors that may impact your ability to do this, like your work, home life, test anxiety, etc. but I found that essentially living and breathing EPPP prep for two months was the best approach for me. What I did was use the psych prep materials to review some concepts and take practice tests (this was given to me by my fellowship). I then also used the AATBS audio lectures and listened to them virtually constantly when not at work, such as when I was commuting or at the gym. If there was a concept I really didn’t know much about, I would look up some YouTube videos to see it explained a few different ways. I also attempted to link concepts to things coming up at work or in everyday life (e.g., at dinner my partner would mention a work conflict and I would bring up an I/O concept, much to her disdain 😂).

If you’ve failed you know from the printout what your weaker content areas are — hit those areas hard in your prep, and practice taking full length exams numerous times under as close to the typical test environment as you can simulate. There are no true “hard or easy forms” in terms of how the score pans out, as each form is normed against a sample. The percentage of content areas though is roughly consistent across all forms.

I also would recommend having at least an hour to review all of your answers, as I caught myself making several easy mistakes in reading the wording of questions.

 

[drtorichance77]

For reference, took the test two times about a year ago and passed the second time. I know a lot of people are saying to focus on test strategies, but in my experience what pushed me from missing the passing score by a few points to passing was focusing on the material rather than taking practice tests. I used PrepJet and just hammered the material. Good luck on your next attempt!

 

[smalltownpsych]

I also fail EPPP with a score of 485, very close to 500, though. I don't know if I got the "hard" version of the test because almost all the questions are very long. A lot of questions about stats, diagnoses and ethics. It took me a longer time to go back and forth to read the questions. To be honest, there are many times I don't know what the questions asked about. I don't feel very confident over 50% of my answers. It ended up with leaving me 7 mins to review all my flagged questions. Another hard part is, the wording of the questions or the options is so weird, so weird that I did not see in any of my practice tests (Psych prep, retired questions or online EPPP practice test). The questions/options did not say a concept straightforward, but rather beat about the bush. I can narrow down 40% questions to 2 options. Sometimes I feel like none of the options is correct! I also would like to hear any suggestions on how I can prepare for the test.

In addition to the content it is also a measure of verbal ability and being able to decode grammar precisely. That has always been a skill of mine so I am not sure how you go about improving that, but it does sound like that is part of your difficulty. Also, anxiety plays a role in performance and cognitive strategies to reduce anxiety and self-defeating perceptions can help alleviate that portion. I typically have never had anxiety about tests but the EPPP did spike mine regardless because the stakes were high.

 

[R. Matey]

I also would like to hear any suggestions on how I can prepare for the test.

OP, check out the EPPP thread. It's a pretty supportive place with a lot of suggestions for test preparation. I used Academic Review with some old PsychPrep and AATBS materials. Like other posters there and above, I basically eat, slept, and breathed the EPPP for about 2-3 months and did just fine.

 

[ErinPsych]

In addition to the content it is also a measure of verbal ability and being able to decode grammar precisely. That has always been a skill of mine so I am not sure how you go about improving that, but it does sound like that is part of your difficulty. Also, anxiety plays a role in performance and cognitive strategies to reduce anxiety and self-defeating perceptions can help alleviate that portion. I typically have never had anxiety about tests but the EPPP did spike mine regardless because the stakes were high.

I agree with the verbal ability. English is my 2nd or 3rd language. If the question is shorter, it will increase my chance of getting the right answer. However, the real EPPP questions are long and very confusing for me. I don't know how to improve this part.

 

[psych.meout]

In addition to the content it is also a measure of verbal ability and being able to decode grammar precisely. That has always been a skill of mine so I am not sure how you go about improving that, but it does sound like that is part of your difficulty. Also, anxiety plays a role in performance and cognitive strategies to reduce anxiety and self-defeating perceptions can help alleviate that portion. I typically have never had anxiety about tests but the EPPP did spike mine regardless because the stakes were high.

Maybe looking at some of the GRE verbal test study materials would help. It's been about a decade since I used them, but I distinctly remember there were strategies for decoding the written passages for the imprtant material and how to apply them to the answers in the format of most right/least wrong that the EPPP seems to be using as well.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I agree with the verbal ability. English is my 2nd or 3rd language. If the question is shorter, it will increase my chance of getting the right answer. However, the real EPPP questions are long and very confusing for me. I don't know how to improve this part.

I thought that language issues were playing a role. Decoding complex grammar is going to be more difficult for people with English not being the primary language. Might also be good to see if you can get extra time for the test because of that. Sounds like a reasonable accommodation to me. Maybe even take some type of course in English grammar so that you can build that skill. When I was young I had lots of practice with sentence structures in our English classes and honed our basic language skills and i credit this with helping me later in life with test taking. Although the younger we are, the more effective it can be, it’s still a skill that can continue to be improved throughout the life span. Good luck. 👍

 

[WisNeuro]

Do you know of any tutors for stats/test construction ? my program taught 4 full days over couple months period. Really need help in this. Thank you in advance.

You had 4 days of stats/test construction in your entire program? Are they APA-accredited? I do not know of any tutors personally. Generally, when prepping for the EPPP, this is review. If you lack the foundational knowledge in the first place, that makes things much harder. Have you bought any EPPP study materials yet?

 

[quickpsych]

Many good resources and test study materials out there. Like others here, definitely focus on practice tests.

I also found PsychPrep's audio guides really helpful and coupled them with AATBS practice quizzes and practice tests. I also had an app (which I don't recall unfortunately) that was free and hand hundreds of sample questions with explanations and "flash cards" for each one. Someone also gave me what was then about 10 year old Academic Review and AATBS paper study "books" that were somewhat helpful BUT my first time around I did more reading then practicing and did not pass. The second time around I did a lot more of the the practice quizzes and practice tests (AATBS has a great program where they pair practice quizzes and tests with modules before then guiding you to full practice tests) and I believe these were the difference between my first failure and my second success.

You can often find sales and promo codes on digital study programs like AATBS and PsychPrep offers. For me I found the PsychPrep audio materials great to listen to while driving or before bed, but found AATBS's online written materials and quizzes/practice tests (with modules) to be some of the best materials.

On understanding the format of the questions as well as deducing multiple choice possible answers when you aren't 100% sure, AABTS wrote a great blog on dialing in this strategy: Tips for Choosing the Best Answer on EPPP Questions

 

[PsyDr]

You had 4 days of stats/test construction in your entire program? Are they APA-accredited? I do not know of any tutors personally. Generally, when prepping for the EPPP, this is review. If you lack the foundational knowledge in the first place, that makes things much harder. Have you bought any EPPP study materials yet?

Don't those online schools have periodic "in person" days, that last around this period of time?

 

[WisNeuro]

Don't those online schools have periodic "in person" days, that last around this period of time?

Is this a Walden/Fielding thing?

 

[PsyDr]

Is this a Walden/Fielding thing?

Dunno. I was reading about the entire "Kansas missile silo lsd lab" case, and stripper is ABD at Capella. She mentioned something about in person days.

I've never heard of any program offering anything for 4 days, so I was making some educated guesses.

 

[WisNeuro]

yes. not APA accredited. 12/27/24 failed exam for 6th time. score 370. prior range has been 350-455. stats/test construction miss all. hoped not need to pass, however, does not appear so. Yes have bought study materials (ATTBS) - currently at a loss how to move forward; urgency w/3rd exam coming soon- if unable to pass 2025 will surrender goal. ATTBS does have videos on this domain, yet need extra help to dialogue/understand.



I think we are off track no? asked if know of any tutor. Thank y

Not really, as it is directly relevant to know where the baseline is. Most people need some refresher stuff here and there, and that's where some of the commercial offerings can be of help. But, unfortunately, in this situation, there is no real foundation present. A tutor not really what is needed here, years of foundational knowledge and the practical application of that knowledge are. We don't need a tutor here, we'd need someone to teach you several doctoral level courses.

 

[PsychPsychBaby]

To answer your question, OP, I've heard good things about this EPPP tutoring site from a friend who used it: EPPP Tutor | Dr. David’s EPPP Tutoring Service

She was specifically tutored by Dr. Ashley Frederick and said that as she was amazing, and that she found good views about the company on Reddit. I personally can't vouch for any of this, but that's what my friend said.

Also, if you're needing to learn some basic foundational skills, UpWork is an option to look for a tutor on content-specific things (e.g. statistics). YouTube can also have some decent videos, too, depending on what you need.

Edit - looks like OP deleted their profile, but still replying in case this helps someone else!

 

[BendDontBreak]

To answer your question, OP, I've heard good things about this EPPP tutoring site from a friend who used it: EPPP Tutor | Dr. David’s EPPP Tutoring Service

She was specifically tutored by Dr. Ashley Frederick and said that as she was amazing, and that she found good views about the company on Reddit. I personally can't vouch for any of this, but that's what my friend said.

Also, if you're needing to learn some basic foundational skills, UpWork is an option to look for a tutor on content-specific things (e.g. statistics). YouTube can also have some decent videos, too, depending on what you need.

Edit - looks like OP deleted their profile, but still replying in case this helps someone else!

Thanks for adding this! It *is* helpful. 🙂