EPPP Study

[stressedbrain]

Is 1 month (15-20 hours per week) enough time to pass the EPPP exam? What have your experiences been in terms of the time you put in to study vs the scores you received?

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[WisNeuro]

Is 1 month (15-20 hours per week) enough time to pass the EPPP exam? What have your experiences been in terms of the time you put in to study vs the scores you received?

Depends on you. How much have you studied for previous big tests/exams and done well? Some of us can get by on a couple weeks of studying, but some people need a few months.

 

[borne_before]

Maybe, but i'd suggest paying for AATBS.

 

[R. Matey]

OP, check out the EPPP thread.

 

[futureapppsy2]

OP, check out the EPPP thread.

@stressedbrain , this is the thread in question: EPPP practice test scores for those who passed

 

[neurotic_cow]

Maybe, but i'd suggest paying for AATBS.

I would second this.

 

[Futurephd101]

I just talked to a colleague of mine who mentioned they have had a difficult time passing and have taken them EPPP on multiple occasions with no luck. Her advice has been to not use the practice tests as a gauge for your readiness because the real test is nothing like the practice ones. This obviously has me freaking out because that is what I have been using. I’ve been getting 60s on my practice tests and just decided to schedule my exam in a month because I think by then I can get my scores up. I’m also listening to the audio, using AATBS, PrepJet, and AR (all handed down to me) in addition to the practice tests. What are others thoughts on the concept of not using practice tests as a gauge for readiness?

 

[foreverbull]

I just talked to a colleague of mine who mentioned they have had a difficult time passing and have taken them EPPP on multiple occasions with no luck. Her advice has been to not use the practice tests as a gauge for your readiness because the real test is nothing like the practice ones. This obviously has me freaking out because that is what I have been using. I’ve been getting 60s on my practice tests and just decided to schedule my exam in a month because I think by then I can get my scores up. I’m also listening to the audio, using AATBS, PrepJet, and AR (all handed down to me) in addition to the practice tests. What are others thoughts on the concept of not using practice tests as a gauge for readiness?

That’s a tough question. I was told by a former supervisor that practice tests were critical in preparing you. I wasn’t super concerned with the scores per se, but just acclimating to different questions in different content areas and improving over time. I found practice tests to be very helpful just to practice the setting and test environment and engage my recall abilities. I don’t think I would’ve felt ready at all without any practice tests as benchmarks for increased learning. That doesn’t mean you have to get high scores on the practice tests to feel ready, though, as long as your scores are improving as you study—that is a more important factor than the raw scores, I think. Many folks say they get 60s and 70s on practice tests and pass the EPPP.

But yes, some forms of the EPPP will have extremely difficult questions, but the test is scaled differently to make it easier to pass with the harder forms. For some, this means that the questions will look completely different than practice test questions because they’ll assess more esoteric knowledge. Don’t forget there are also 50 test questions in there that won’t be scored because they’re experimental questions they threw in. Some folks find their version more straightforward, some find their version very challenging.

Try not to overthink it too much. I studied until I felt burned out with studying and my anxiety decreased to the point at which I lost interest in reviewing the materials yet again because I felt like I knew it well enough. That was when I knew I was ready. For some, that’s studying for 20-30 hours, 50 hours, or 100+. I hit my “I’m ready” point at 90 or so hours, but I may have overdone it because understudying would’ve been the bigger mistake there.

 

[Futurephd101]

That’s a tough question. I was told by a former supervisor that practice tests were critical in preparing you. I wasn’t super concerned with the scores per se, but just acclimating to different questions in different content areas and improving over time. I found practice tests to be very helpful just to practice the setting and test environment and engage my recall abilities. I don’t think I would’ve felt ready at all without any practice tests as benchmarks for increased learning. That doesn’t mean you have to get high scores on the practice tests to feel ready, though, as long as your scores are improving as you study—that is a more important factor than the raw scores, I think. Many folks say they get 60s and 70s on practice tests and pass the EPPP.

But yes, some forms of the EPPP will have extremely difficult questions, but the test is scaled differently to make it easier to pass with the harder forms. For some, this means that the questions will look completely different than practice test questions because they’ll assess more esoteric knowledge. Don’t forget there are also 50 test questions in there that won’t be scored because they’re experimental questions they threw in. Some folks find their version more straightforward, some find their version very challenging.

Try not to overthink it too much. I studied until I felt burned out with studying and my anxiety decreased to the point at which I lost interest in reviewing the materials yet again because I felt like I knew it well enough. That was when I knew I was ready. For some, that’s studying for 20-30 hours, 50 hours, or 100+. I hit my “I’m ready” point at 90 or so hours, but I may have overdone it because understudying would’ve been the bigger mistake there.

Thanks for your reply. That is helpful to know. I completely get the feeling of being burned out from studying. I have been trying to take a practice exam every week and I’m getting in the high 60s now (way better improvement than the 50s I was at a month ago) and have still a few weeks left of studying. But I’m over it all. I am wanting to be done with it all!

 

[psychtrauma]

Totaly understand the desire to have it be behind you and agree with what others have posted in here thus far. I think your personal headspace is a big part of this. I ended up working with an eppp tutor for assistance with study prep as well as learning difficult concepts (e.g., stats/test construction) in my final few weeks and that helped out a lot. Personally a big fan of using practice tests, but we all learn in different ways. Best of luck with your final preparations!

 

[Cantab109]

I'm echoing what others have said, but I would say one month is probably not enough. If you had the AATBS program and were super dedicated maybe 6 weeks is fine. 8 is better though. It's not impossible, particularly depending on your grad training, etc, but I would want to allow for the inevitable week of frustration and backslide/panic before being able to regroup and focus, as well as taking off a weekend or so before the exam to relax. I just feel like a straight month of 20 hours a week is already tight, adding to that the stress you would be walking into the exam with seems tough.

 

[bluecolourskies]

My friend passed with a 510 and two months of studying but theres people in my study group who have taken it 3,4,5 times….I’m trying not to freak and like to think I will be like my friend

 

[PsychedOut2291]

Maybe, but i'd suggest paying for AATBS.

AATBS is ridiculously expensive though.

 

[borne_before]

AATBS is ridiculously expensive though.

But 100% worth it.

 

[Cantab109]

AATBS is both crazy expensive and worth it. There are potentially ways to reduce cost though- some internship sites provide AATBS for free, some provide funds, and you could always share a subscription for AATBS if you plan to only study for two months. (On an aside, AATBS does seem to prey on the nerves of test takers and it's insane that they charge that much, but I suppose I've just gotten used to just being completely taken advantage of across so many steps of grad school).

 

[JustNoticing]

I just talked to a colleague of mine who mentioned they have had a difficult time passing and have taken them EPPP on multiple occasions with no luck. Her advice has been to not use the practice tests as a gauge for your readiness because the real test is nothing like the practice ones. This obviously has me freaking out because that is what I have been using. I’ve been getting 60s on my practice tests and just decided to schedule my exam in a month because I think by then I can get my scores up. I’m also listening to the audio, using AATBS, PrepJet, and AR (all handed down to me) in addition to the practice tests. What are others thoughts on the concept of not using practice tests as a gauge for readiness?

I felt the different practice tests were a reasonable gauge for myself and generally tested similar content in a similar way. I would say the actual test was easier than some practice tests I took. I think many on the main EPPP study thread have shared similar sentiments.

 

[bluecolourskies]

I felt the different practice tests were a reasonable gauge for myself and generally tested similar content in a similar way. I would say the actual test was easier than some practice tests I took. I think many on the main EPPP study thread have shared similar sentiments.

Can you please share what study tests you took?

 

[Milwaukee2]

I passed this month. I never broke 70 on a practice test.

 

[JustNoticing]

Can you please share what study tests you took?

A mix of academic review, psychprep, and the EPPP retired test questions