Passing NPTE Jan 2015

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I

imallama

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
56
Reaction score
5
Studying sucks. My practice test scores still suck. Feeling defeated.

Anybody else have trouble remembering everything you've gone over...and not doing well on practice tests? Taking PT Final Exam course, hopefully it'll help.

Tips or tricks? I tend to get caught up with memorization, then get lost in details, and then freeze up or get information mixed up in my head on all my tests.

:(
Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Imallama,

Did you take the NPTE in October? If you didn't, I think you're being too hard on yourself.

My personal experience went as follows: started studying VERY leisurely on last internship (2 months before the October NPTE), about 30 minutes of skimming things I thought I needed to cover most once a day MAX. I think that was a waste of those few weeks I spent doing that.
I then took the TherapyEd course when I returned from internship and created a study plan based on the 7 weeks I had left until the NPTE. I also purchased the PT Final Exam study guide, practice test, Score Builders book, and the TherapyEd book. From then on, taking as many tests as possible to identify my weakness was most important. The best I ever did on the TherapyEd tests was 64% (3 days before the NPTE). I WAS SWEATING....I made flashcards for EVERY problem I missed on EVERY TEST I took (a total of 5 tests).
I noticed on my practice tests I did way worse after the 1st hour, so endurance was a problem. So I practiced completing test problems for 5 hours straight to improve, and it worked.
Scored a 644 with 4 weeks of moderate studying 1-2 hours a day, then hard studying and writing out flashcards/pathways/tables/charts/lists over the 2 weeks leading up to the NPTE.

The best thing you can do is identify your weakness, and looks like you've been sucessfull with that :). Once you do, there is no easy way to pound it in to your head except by learning in the best way you know how.

Test, test, re-test. read it, write it, explain it to someone else.

Best of Luck,

cristianoparisi
[email protected]
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Hi everyone,

Like a lot of ppl on this forum list I didn't know where to post this...so i thought i just post it here and if it helps at least one person out there than I will feel good about this. I failed the NPTE twice. And for anybody out there that has done this its a huge blow to your ego. I than took a couple months off from studying just to recoup and get away from from it all, i was lucky enough to find a part time job in the mean time so I could at least stay afloat monetarily. I re-evaluated everything I did and how I looked at things with respect to PT.

Some ppl I know have had a lot of success with scorebuilders(original book i was using) but most ppl switched over to o'sullivan(book I used on the third attempt) IN MY OPINION scorebuilders was not sufficient enough to pass this exam. I basically threw that book out after the second fail and studied the o'sullivan exclusively. I also took the course offered which was somewhere around $300. It was well worth it! They give you hints and ways of learning concepts a lot easier in the prep class. Worth every penny and the long drive to the school where it was being held.

I was narrowly failing on my first 2 attempts. A 594 both times. After using o'sullivan I ripped that test! scored a 674.

Buy the 2 PEAT exams (passing score seems to be around a 142/200), osullivan was hard (passing score 135/200), these exams will give you a good idea of how you are doing. The first and second o'sullivan exams in my opinion were a lot easier than the 3rd. If you decide to stick to scorebuilders you need to get atleast above a 75-76% on those test.

Again, scorebuilders is a great book. And i'm sure if you study it to a tee you can pass, i narrowly failed each time i studied it. But o'sullivan got me over that hump.

Anyways hope this helps atleast one person on the upcoming exam

Cheers
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I studied O'Sullivan, Scorebuilders, PEAT, and BenchPrep.
They are all pretty different so it's hard to say what was better than the other, and probably the combination of the 4 helped me pass.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Yes, this is going to be my first attempt at it. I'm currently using O'Sullivan, Scorebuilders, and taking the PT Final Exam course. My practice test scores continue to be low, however. I've taken a total of 4 tests and am still in the 50-60% range. So...yeah, I'm pretty worried. Trying to keep up with the course assignments is tough, and going through to analyze what I got right/wrong on the practice tests is something I'm making sure to do as well (by making notecards mainly).

Sigh. I'm really hoping to pass it on the first time but the way things are going, I fear I may have to defer to April (although I really don't want to.)
 
Hey guys,

I graduate in May and I plan on taking the test in April. At our school we have an exam prep course (basically we are required to pass the "practice" test or the final exam in order to graduate). I just came out of the Scorebuilders 2 day course this past weekend and I feel like it was kind of hard. Maybe this is because my last internship was inpatient rehab where I really didn't use any of my PT skills besides bed mobility and patient education (I mean... in all honesty).

Anyway, I have the score builders book, and after reading numerous threads, I feel like I made a mistake with this text and I should have the O'Sullivan one? Can anyone confirm or deny this for me? I'm not opposed to getting it but I feel like I just wasted my money on the score builders one now...
 
I can't offer much assistance in the way of knowledge for Scorebuilders but I studied the O'Sullivan book only (no lecture notes, nothing else) and passed on the first try.

What I can offer is that when I went to a course for O'Sullivan I did awful on the practice exams (30-40% right). The classes are designed to get you used to the questions - after you study from the book and take the PEAT you will end up doing better on it. Class scared the hell out of me but it all turned out fine.
 
Well, the good news is for January you still have a chunk of time. I think what you might want to ask yourself is how you got this far. You made it through PT school! That was really hard! What study strategies did you use? For me, I had to ask myself questions, make them up, write the answers down in a notebook and then go over them again and again until i get them right at least twice. I haven't passed yet as I am taking it in January but I plan to with notecards. I am making them not just for the answers I get wrong on practice tests but also relevant subjects in the academic review sections, anything that might come up. The problem with just making notecards related to questions you get wrong is that the questions are specific and another question on the same topic might look totally different. Also, take time to relax and unwind.
 
CristianoParese said:
Imallama,

Did you take the NPTE in October? If you didn't, I think you're being too hard on yourself.

My personal experience went as follows: started studying VERY leisurely on last internship (2 months before the October NPTE), about 30 minutes of skimming things I thought I needed to cover most once a day MAX. I think that was a waste of those few weeks I spent doing that.
I then took the TherapyEd course when I returned from internship and created a study plan based on the 7 weeks I had left until the NPTE. I also purchased the PT Final Exam study guide, practice test, Score Builders book, and the TherapyEd book. From then on, taking as many tests as possible to identify my weakness was most important. The best I ever did on the TherapyEd tests was 64% (3 days before the NPTE). I WAS SWEATING....I made flashcards for EVERY problem I missed on EVERY TEST I took (a total of 5 tests).
I noticed on my practice tests I did way worse after the 1st hour, so endurance was a problem. So I practiced completing test problems for 5 hours straight to improve, and it worked.
Scored a 644 with 4 weeks of moderate studying 1-2 hours a day, then hard studying and writing out flashcards/pathways/tables/charts/lists over the 2 weeks leading up to the NPTE.

The best thing you can do is identify your weakness, and looks like you've been sucessfull with that :). Once you do, there is no easy way to pound it in to your head except by learning in the best way you know how.

Test, test, re-test. read it, write it, explain it to someone else.

Best of Luck,

cristianoparisi
[email protected]
Click to expand...
hi.. did the Scorebuilders book help? do you still have the book?
 
Gonna take the jan 2015 exam few days from now still feeling not ready .first time to take it.Gonna travel from the Philippines to Glenadale CA to take the exam.Im pretty worried :(
 
Welp, test is 8 days away. Pretty nerve wrecking just thinking about it. I've taken a few more tests and the PEAT's. Did ok on them, but now I'm somewhat worried because I read that the actual NPTE is much more difficult than the PEAT, whereas my buddy told me that they're about the same level of difficulty. Does anybody have any experience with that? I've taken a total of 7 practice tests and am planning to take another one this week.

I still feel like I have so much left to cover but not enough time.
 
imallama said:
Welp, test is 8 days away. Pretty nerve wrecking just thinking about it. I've taken a few more tests and the PEAT's. Did ok on them, but now I'm somewhat worried because I read that the actual NPTE is much more difficult than the PEAT, whereas my buddy told me that they're about the same level of difficulty. Does anybody have any experience with that? I've taken a total of 7 practice tests and am planning to take another one this week.

I still feel like I have so much left to cover but not enough time.
Click to expand...
it depends on how much u have scored on the practice tests .. i think being nervous before exam is a normal phenomenon.. so don't just let that fear overcome you.. for how long have u been preparing for the exam?
 
I gave the ofOct npte and didn't pass although i had passed with a wide margin on the peats...now I'm trying again for January...fingers crossed :(
 
Members don't see this ad :)
vforvictory said:
I gave the ofOct npte and didn't pass although i had passed with a wide margin on the peats...now I'm trying again for January...fingers crossed :(
Click to expand...

Was that the first time you took the boards/PEAT's? How did you study? In terms of taking the peats, did you take it in a way that mimic'd the NPTE? That is alarming to hear because the PEAT's are supposedly a pretty fair evaluation of if you'll pass or not, and doing better on the PEAT's was something that had been keeping me motivated.
 
pink purple said:
it depends on how much u have scored on the practice tests .. i think being nervous before exam is a normal phenomenon.. so don't just let that fear overcome you.. for how long have u been preparing for the exam?
Click to expand...

Since October, so 4 months now.
 
imallama said:
Was that the first time you took the boards/PEAT's? How did you study? In terms of taking the peats, did you take it in a way that mimic'd the NPTE? That is alarming to hear because the PEAT's are supposedly a pretty fair evaluation of if you'll pass or not, and doing better on the PEAT's was something that had been keeping me motivated.
Click to expand...
Yes it was the first time i gave either the peats or the npte...but i think it also depends on each person. In my case, I do get super nervous before any test, so if that doesn't happen with you, you should be good. Although, in all honesty, I did think the actual npte was a bit tougher than the peats. And yes, I did give it in exam conditions.
 
vforvictory said:
Yes it was the first time i gave either the peats or the npte...but i think it also depends on each person. In my case, I do get super nervous before any test, so if that doesn't happen with you, you should be good. Although, in all honesty, I did think the actual npte was a bit tougher than the peats. And yes, I did give it in exam conditions.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I usually do get a bit nervous before tests as well. I have a bad habit of questioning myself and switching answers, which in the end just messes me up even further. With these practice tests, I've been working on not questioning myself as much and just sticking with one answer. I had heard most people consider the NPTE tougher because there is more pressure on you vs. a practice test, which makes sense, but still, it's nerve wrecking. Are you foreign trained or US trained?
 
imallama said:
Yeah, I usually do get a bit nervous before tests as well. I have a bad habit of questioning myself and switching answers, which in the end just messes me up even further. With these practice tests, I've been working on not questioning myself as much and just sticking with one answer. I had heard most people consider the NPTE tougher because there is more pressure on you vs. a practice test, which makes sense, but still, it's nerve wrecking. Are you foreign trained or US trained?
Click to expand...
Yes questioning yourself
imallama said:
Yeah, I usually do get a bit nervous before tests as well. I have a bad habit of questioning myself and switching answers, which in the end just messes me up even further. With these practice tests, I've been working on not questioning myself as much and just sticking with one answer. I had heard most people consider the NPTE tougher because there is more pressure on you vs. a practice test, which makes sense, but still, it's nerve wrecking. Are you foreign trained or US trained?
Click to expand...
It is nerve wrecking! I just hope things go good in Jan for both of us. I'm foreign trained by the way :)
 
vforvictory said:
Yes questioning yourself

It is nerve wrecking! I just hope things go good in Jan for both of us. I'm foreign trained by the way :)
Click to expand...

Yeah. Hm, interesting. I just talked to a few buddies of mine who took the boards last year and didn't pass, and they said the PEAT is about the same level of difficulty. They said they didn't pass the PEAT and barely missed the cut off for passing the boards, so I guess it's really just a toss up.

Oh well, good luck to you this time around. 5 more days! Yikes.
 
imallama said:
Yeah. Hm, interesting. I just talked to a few buddies of mine who took the boards last year and didn't pass, and they said the PEAT is about the same level of difficulty. They said they didn't pass the PEAT and barely missed the cut off for passing the boards, so I guess it's really just a toss up.

Oh well, good luck to you this time around. 5 more days! Yikes.
Click to expand...
Nooo...don't remind me! Fingers crossed!
 
And we have to wait a whole week for the results??!!! Torture!
 
It was brutal. It may be longer. Some people didn't take the exam yesterday due to prometric center closing due to weather in the northeast area :(
 
I just checked the status of my request. I passed!!!!
Good luck to everyone.
 
Congrats man, and welcome to the newly licensed club.
 
imallama said:
Studying sucks. My practice test scores still suck. Feeling defeated.

Anybody else have trouble remembering everything you've gone over...and not doing well on practice tests? Taking PT Final Exam course, hopefully it'll help.

Tips or tricks? I tend to get caught up with memorization, then get lost in details, and then freeze up or get information mixed up in my head on all my tests.

:(
Click to expand...
PT final Exam course sucks. Will crane is a good person, but the course is not value for money.
I felt cheated with them , He charged 500 $ for giving one hr lecture on every saturday for 4 saturdays. SO 500 $ for 4 hrs. ???? Not worthy . What benefit can we get in 1 hr. That is not value for money.
For doing assignments , we dont need to pay him 500$. Its already there available for public on how to do assignments and following a pattern

Lot of TA's are unprepared . One of the TA told me Dont ask me too many questions or for chat sessions , I am not being paid that much to help you. That was shocking.
In my group There were 20 students on watsapp and Only 2 passed.

There were total of 110 students in one class but only 25 passed in january 2015 and those are the ones who wrote review. One of the student who passed told me that Will Forced him to write a review on the page. My friend told me that He did not feel like giving too much credit to this class but I was forced to write.
 
guys please tell me from where to study topics like Chest conditions and gait? Sullivan or Kisner?
 
Sullivan sucks, it has nothing to do with the realy exam. I made a big mistake and wasted about 6 months reading all the teoretical stuff. I recommend Giles, but most of infor you can find online medical resourses.
 
Can anyone shed some light on the difference between the O'Sullivan 2015 versus 2014? I'm looking to take the exam in Jan 2015. Is there that much of a difference?
 
I took the July 2015 npte and failed with a 590, which was a huge devestation for me. I also used scorebuilders first and am now switching to osullivan. What course are you referring to when you said, " I also took the course offered which was somewhere around $300. It was well worth it! They give you hints and ways of learning concepts a lot easier in the prep class. Worth every penny and the long drive to the school where it was being held."
 
britneymarie said:
I took the July 2015 npte and failed with a 590, which was a huge devestation for me. I also used scorebuilders first and am now switching to osullivan. What course are you referring to when you said, " I also took the course offered which was somewhere around $300. It was well worth it! They give you hints and ways of learning concepts a lot easier in the prep class. Worth every penny and the long drive to the school where it was being held."
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm going to be honest here, either scorebuilders or O'Sullivan alone should be able to help you pass the exam. Run through your study habits with me, including how many weeks you studied, hours per day, schedule, and how you addressed each system. I can help you discover what went wrong.

The NPTE is a fair exam, and you have to admit, what it was asking was not that difficult.
 
britneymarie said:
I took the July 2015 npte and failed with a 590, which was a huge devestation for me. I also used scorebuilders first and am now switching to osullivan. What course are you referring to when you said, " I also took the course offered which was somewhere around $300. It was well worth it! They give you hints and ways of learning concepts a lot easier in the prep class. Worth every penny and the long drive to the school where it was being held."
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your situation! Dont give up!! I recommend taking AS MANY as practice exams as possible. Purchase the PEAT from FSBPT and take those as well, they are most like the actual exam. Also online advantage from scorebuilders may help as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

I
NPTE study resources
Replies
0
Views
939
itssammi66
I
F
  • Poll
When are you taking the NPTE and How do you plan to study for it? +
Replies
0
Views
873
FunkyMonkeyTom
F
Awee9044
NPTE Final Frontier Group Discount
Replies
0
Views
853
Awee9044
Awee9044
P
NPTE Prep
Replies
1
Views
1K
ya1
Y
X
  • Question
NPTE January 2022
Replies
1
Views
2K
futurecoloradopt
F
Top