PhD/PsyD Failed EPPP

[Shadow1]

I recently took the EPPP and completely bombed it. I studied for a good length of time and felt pretty good going into the exam, which is why I was stunned to learn I did so badly. I have not mentioned my score because of the embarrassment, so let’s just say it wasn’t close. One problem I had was running out of time, so I had to rush at the end, but I don’t think it would have made a difference in my score. I did not anticipate having that problem since I was able to complete all my practice exams with more than enough time to spare. I’m starting to pull myself out of my depressed state, and am trying to develop a plan for moving forward, which brings me to my questions for anyone willing to offer advice/opinion.

The materials I used to study with were Academic Review written materials from 2006 that were handed down to me. I also purchased AATBS flash cards dated 2014 at a discounted rate. I want to know people’s opinion about the written materials and being 11 years old. Do I need to update the written materials or am I good using what I have? Comparing with the flashcards it looks like the information has not changed that much. I also had a trial version of the Academic Review online program, so I was able to compare the materials I had with the online version and it looked exactly the same. Any advice is much appreciated thank you.

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[WisNeuro]

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/failed-eppp-not-what.597270/
https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/failed-eppp.1206181/

 

[AppsAintNoThang]

I recently took the EPPP and completely bombed it. I studied for a good length of time and felt pretty good going into the exam, which is why I was stunned to learn I did so badly. I have not mentioned my score because of the embarrassment, so let’s just say it wasn’t close. One problem I had was running out of time, so I had to rush at the end, but I don’t think it would have made a difference in my score. I did not anticipate having that problem since I was able to complete all my practice exams with more than enough time to spare. I’m starting to pull myself out of my depressed state, and am trying to develop a plan for moving forward, which brings me to my questions for anyone willing to offer advice/opinion.

The materials I used to study with were Academic Review written materials from 2006 that were handed down to me. I also purchased AATBS flash cards dated 2014 at a discounted rate. I want to know people’s opinion about the written materials and being 11 years old. Do I need to update the written materials or am I good using what I have? Comparing with the flashcards it looks like the information has not changed that much. I also had a trial version of the Academic Review online program, so I was able to compare the materials I had with the online version and it looked exactly the same. Any advice is much appreciated thank you.

What were you getting on the old AR practice tests? Most people seem to get a lot out of doing as many practice tests as possible. Check out the threads WisNeuro posted for sure. Lots of information in them.

 

[Shadow1]

What were you getting on the old AR practice tests? Most people seem to get a lot out of doing as many practice tests as possible. Check out the threads WisNeuro posted for sure. Lots of information in them.

I used the written materials from AR (2006) to study along with the flash cards I purchased online. I purchased a trial version (30 days i believe) of the AR online program, so I could do practice tests ONLY. I was able to take about seven or eight practice tests during that time frame and my scores ranged from 66 to 72 percent. The last one I took, which about three days before the test I scored a 70%. Based on the information listed in the threads from WiseNeuro, I'm thinking I'm good with information I have. I just need to really get into the manuals more so than I did previously and do more practice exams. At the same time, I just feel really really lost with this whole process.

 

[Lyra33]

I took mine at the end of December and passed. I used materials from 2015 (AATBS). Did you only use practice tests from AR? The advice I've always been given has been to try using tests from different companies to get a variety of questions. I don't know if you know anyone who has access to some of the audiorecordings, but I would listen to those when driving or doing things around the house and found those helpful as an added opportunity for study. I'd also check out the threads recommended above, as I used those for suggestions as well!

 

[DrLLIL]

I recently took the EPPP and completely bombed it. I studied for a good length of time and felt pretty good going into the exam, which is why I was stunned to learn I did so badly. I have not mentioned my score because of the embarrassment, so let’s just say it wasn’t close. One problem I had was running out of time, so I had to rush at the end, but I don’t think it would have made a difference in my score. I did not anticipate having that problem since I was able to complete all my practice exams with more than enough time to spare. I’m starting to pull myself out of my depressed state, and am trying to develop a plan for moving forward, which brings me to my questions for anyone willing to offer advice/opinion.

The materials I used to study with were Academic Review written materials from 2006 that were handed down to me. I also purchased AATBS flash cards dated 2014 at a discounted rate. I want to know people’s opinion about the written materials and being 11 years old. Do I need to update the written materials or am I good using what I have? Comparing with the flashcards it looks like the information has not changed that much. I also had a trial version of the Academic Review online program, so I was able to compare the materials I had with the online version and it looked exactly the same. Any advice is much appreciated thank you.

I totally hear you. I took the exam and scored a 470 and was devastated. I took it yesterday and passed with room to spare. I used the AATBS books and online exams. The test sucks and is so ambiguous but I was scoring consistently in the mid 60s and low 70s on the practice exams and passed. Remember, you CAN AND WILL pass this beast. Get back on the horse. Once you've passed, it's all over with. Good good luck to you!!

 

[Shadow1]

I totally hear you. I took the exam and scored a 470 and was devastated. I took it yesterday and passed with room to spare. I used the AATBS books and online exams. The test sucks and is so ambiguous but I was scoring consistently in the mid 60s and low 70s on the practice exams and passed. Remember, you CAN AND WILL pass this beast. Get back on the horse. Once you've passed, it's all over with. Good good luck to you!!

Thanks for the vote of confidence, and to the others that replied and posted the threads above. I've already gotten back on the horse (as the saying goes) and am going back over the domain's one at a time filling in blank areas and focusing on concepts I may not given much attention or overlooked.

 

[guacamole77]

Sorry to hear you didn't pass. I passed a few weeks ago with psychprep and academic review materials from 2013. My friend brought the brand new psychprep and it was literally identical to mine, except for the DSM V section.

I found the psychprep materials to be the most relevant and helpful for the real test. I used the academic review to just supplement more information on topics in the psychprep that were harder for me. I am selling my materials for $100 if you are interested.

 

[foreverbull]

You might be one of the unlucky ones who got a harder version of the EPPP, which is scored more leniently, but the difficulty of the questions might have shaken your confidence enough to hurt your overall performance, perhaps? Especially given your different experiences on practice exams vs. the Eppp.
I'd say keep taking practice tests, invest in some other used materials possibly (psychprep, audio cds, etc) and remind yourself that it's meant to be hard but don't let it shake your confidence in your knowledge base! You might need to make sure you are addressing anxieties on the test day more strategically.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Study more and study different. Focus on fluency as well as accuracy (can be aided by studying in the same format/modality as the exam). If you're weak in one specific area, try to master 50% or so of the content and be reasonably familiar with the rest (vs. trying to master all content area and only being sorta proficient with all of it). If there's a question on standard celebration charts, choose "b" (or maybe that's just for the BCBA exam).

 

[singasongofjoy]

Other tips - in general, avoid answers that are "always" or "never." And study harder for the areas you know comprise a greater percentage of the content on the test. I used ClinicalABA's strategy of starting with those and working towards relative mastery (80% or better) and then worked my way down to the topics that were less frequently represented. For those that were not strengths (e.g., IO), I didn't really try too hard to learn new material but went for the ~50% mark, focusing on strengthening the concepts I was already familiar with, and just being kind of vaguely familiar with the rest, because doing well in other domains will make up for an area or two of weakness (just don't let those areas include ethics or others taht make up a big chunk). And make use of the flagged answers. Answer every question in case you run out of time, but flag those you want to come back to. That way you will at least make sure you've got every question answered even if you don't have time to go back and debate over all of the questions at the end. And remember your first guess is probably most likely to be correct (unless you consistently pick "always" or "never" answers!) I found it helpful to make myself take a couple of breaks during the actual testing just to walk around and clear my head- hard to focus nonstop staring at a computer for that long. Like others, I also found the audio to be helpful - even though it's not the way I learn most efficiently, it was helpful just because of sheer repitiion - listened to it every time I was in the car- one section at a time over and over until I felt like I "got" everything on that one. Good luck!!

 

[debs4ever]

so this was 1st attempt ano I feel very defeated. I only scored a 460. Based on that score, does anyone have any feedback for how much more studying I might need? I've only used Psychprep, but find that I've taken the practice tests so much, that I'm getting a lot of the answers right, but only because I've seen the questions so many times.

I'm not sure if it's a more content or test taking issue at this point, but I'd love feedback!

 

[WisNeuro]

PhD/PsyD - Failed EPPP
Failed EPPP
Failed EPPP, not what?

There are a billion of these threads with the same exact info.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Mod Note: Merged into the most recent thread on this topic to facilitate access to prior posts and information.

 

[debs4ever]

Due to a lot of big life events, my studying strategy became quite derailed and I've been doing less hours per week over a longer time-span (i.e.: 1.5 years). Obviously a bad plan and my failing is a sobering reality of how I need to dedicate more time per week.

I'm shooting for 20 hrs or week and retake in February.

I was also only doing practice tests these last few months.