Just took the test this Friday. There were some easy ones but most of the time I had to rely on comprehension and analysis to get me by. I’ve put all of it at the back of my head because I know it will get me even more anxious if I try check my answers. Right now I’m hoping and desperately praying that I passed. I left the center with mixed emotions, it wasn't so hard that i was sure i failed but it wasn't also so easy that I'm sure I passed. All my practice test had okay results, they weren’t particularly high but they were a little more than above the passing mark. I will post an update on all my practice tests once I receive my results.
PASSED in Tx! It was a nerve wracking waiting week but I just tried my best to be distracted, luckily we had a lot of small kitchen projects we were doing so that helped immensely in distracting me. Once you take the test, I would also highly encourage you to NOT check your answers, because that's just asking for more anxiety. I know sometimes it's unavoidable and especially during the first 2 days of waiting, I keep thinking about some of the questions and how I could've answered it correctly, but it made my anxiety worse. Whenever I start thinking of those negative thoughts I just had to physically distract myself. It's not the hardest exam, it's just that the questions aren't made where there is a definite correct answer, most of them you just have to rely on your best educated guess, and if you really master your basics, I'm sure you will do fine as long as you don't overthink it. Answer the questions at face value and don't try to add conditions that are not explicitly stated in the question.
With that said, I know that a lot of people find solace in looking through the practice tests and gauging themselves compared to others. That's fine, but just know that your practice tests don't define your knowledge and that if you failed it or don't do as well as you think you need to that it's a good representation of how you are going to do in the exam. I've seen some results where they failed most if not all the practice tests yet still pass the exam. I would say just take it as a guide in order to figure out which area you need to polish. It also is good practice to help hone your concentration and how to properly manage your time, because 5hours answering questions is not short and definitely quite taxing. I thought that adrenaline rush would push me through but it didn't help me long enough, lol. I ended up feeling really tired and sleepy around the 3rd and 4th set where I literally had to take a 5min break and close my eyes just to refresh my brain. Fortunately, I had good time management and I never really felt like I was running out of time.
So without further ado, these are my results from my practice tests: according to the order I took it:
SB1: 140/200 (70%)
SB2: 156/200 (78%)
SB3: 150/200 (75%)
Peat practice: 150/200 (scaled: 624)
TE1: 137/200 (69%)
TE2: 161/200 (81%)
TE3: 143/200 (72%) - the hardest out of all the exams, SB and Peat included.
Peat retired: 147/200 (scaled: 624)
As you can see, my results weren't the highest and the results actually fluctuated, I did well in some areas and then would decline in others. And that's okay, I took it as a basis on what I needed to focus on and really studied why I was wrong on some areas and also studied all the questions I got correct. That's very important because sometimes, you get the correct answers on a question you only relied on testmanship and best educated guess. I took all those tests 2weeks before my exam, it was brutal (and something I would not recommend especially if you get overwhelmed easy) because I did one practice exam every day and studied the rationale within that day or the next day. I took the last peat retired probably 3 days before my actual test, I was honestly disappointed by my results at the retired because I thought I aced it, and by that time, I should've aced it already being it was so close to my actual test. But then I figured it out, The therapyed exams were really hard especially the 3rd set and i had to really think about the answers, so when it came to the last peat, I ended up overthinking some of the questions. When I was going through my answers, I thought "Why would you answer that? The question was so simple!". And so taking my test, I had to constantly remind myself not to overthink it, and that if I truly am not sure about the answer, just answer according to my gut feeling, because most of the time, they were correct, I just always changed the answer to a choice that I felt was "rational".
The reason why I took all the practice tests so close to my actual exam is because I focused on all the basic stuffs first. I also wanted to help hone my concentration so it would hopefully transfer to my test day. I mastered the modules that were given to me and tried to really master the basic anatomy, physiology. I never bothered taking the practice question as a "baseline" because that's a waste of good practice questions, you don't "need" to know how much you know before you study, what matters is how much you know by the time you take the test. It's also much easier to go through the rationales because all I needed to do is to quickly scan my notes and refresh my memory instead of studying every rationale the first time. Because if you do that, it will take you a long time to finish one test and probably won't be able to focus on simply just mastering it every time you encounter a question. It also disrupts my flow and rhythm if I have to study a different system every question. The peat is definitely a closer representation of the exam, so if you don't have the budget to buy every test, choose peat and focus on the questions and rationale. I really just bought therapyed so I could have another source of information. and I think the book was pretty spot on for all the information you need for the exam, doesn't offer the basics though, so again, I just use it to quickly check an information.
Hopefully, this helps someone out. Just know that you are trying your best every day, and all your hard work will eventually bear fruit, hopefully, it's sooner rather than later. After the exam, you will feel that you did not make it, but just as everyone said, it's highly possible that you feel like you flunked yet still pass and sometimes perform very well. I held that in my heart because I truly didn't know how I did. And even if you didn't make it, I wanna say that it's "okay", but of course it's not, you didn't study just to fail it. So, feel whatever you need to feel and reflect on the areas you feel like you could have done better. Then, buckle up and try again. It's gonna be hard, but all the heartaches will be worth it. Life has so many twists and turns and delays, the road may seem long and winding but just focus on what's in front of you and soon enough, you'll be exactly where you want to be. So, good luck, and congratulations to all the future Physical Therapists!
