Realistic Timeline for EPPP Prep

[bcliff]

I'm considering taking the EPPP this Summer, so I can pass it before implementation of EPPP 2. Interested to hear how much time/effort folks have put into prepping for EPPP to assess the feasibility of prepping, taking, and passing it this Summer, while continuing to work full time. FWIW, I'm coming from a program with a high (~100%) EPPP pass rate.

Last I heard was that 01/01/20 was the earliest that implementation of EPPP 2 would occur, so I'm also open to using the Summer to prep with a plan to take EPPP in Fall 2019. My hope/understanding is that folks who pass EPPP before EPPP 2 will not be required to retake the exam.

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[WisNeuro]

Depends on your past history. How well do you do on MC tests? I put in a good 2-3 weeks after postdoc work days with AR materials and old tests and did fine. But, I've always been a good test taker and also went to a program with a 10+year 100% pass rate.

 

[StellaB]

Yeah, I'm with WisNeuro on this one - it really depends on how well you do with MC tests. This test is a mile wide and an inch deep - you don't need to really understand a lot of the concepts in depth, but you do need to have broad familiarity with a variety of topics within psych (many of which are not specific to clinical psych). I studied for about two months, ~ 5 weeks intensively, and judging by my score it was overkill. Almost all of my studying was just taking hand-me-down practice tests and reviewing the answers. It was helpful to think about it as a game, and focus on MC strategy as well as content. YMMV, I love MC tests and do not get test anxiety.

 

[WisNeuro]

Also depends on how well you know certain things, like stats concepts and research methodology. That's a relative strong suit of mine, so I didn't need to really do any studying there, and all of the questions pertaining to that area were pretty easy on the actual test. So, after doing a practice test or two, see where your weak areas are, and just hit those hard, with just a quick refresher on areas you already know well.

 

[Cheetah89]

How far along in training are you required to be to take the test?

 

[WisNeuro]

How far along in training are you required to be to take the test?

Depends on the state where you are getting licensed.

 

[calimich]

I'm considering taking the EPPP this Summer, so I can pass it before implementation of EPPP 2. Interested to hear how much time/effort folks have put into prepping for EPPP to assess the feasibility of prepping, taking, and passing it this Summer, while continuing to work full time. FWIW, I'm coming from a program with a high (~100%) EPPP pass rate.

I devoted ~4 hrs every saturday morning for about 3 months, skipping a weekend here and there. I'd estimate around 40 hrs of studying. Most of it was based on hand me down tests, and then as the date got closer I purchased a 30 day subscription to psychprep's current online tests. Based on my score I was over prepared, but that's kinda how I'm wired.

 

[PsyDr]

IMO: most of the failures on the EPPP are either extreme test anxiety, overconfidence leading to not studying, not doing practice tests, prioritizing general life stuff over this step, or insanely bad education. This will be met with hostility.


I listened to some CDs on my commute on internship, read some second or third hand test prep materials,. But the majority of my study was just doing practice tests.

 

[WisNeuro]

IMO: most of the failures on the EPPP are either extreme test anxiety, overconfidence leading to not studying, not doing practice tests, prioritizing general life stuff over this step, or insanely bad education. This will be met with hostility.

There is a reason that many schools sit at about 90%+ pass rates, and some schools sit at about 50-70% pass rates on the EPPP.

 

[bcliff]

Thanks everyone. This is helpful. I generally do well with MC tests. I’ll start working on practice tests and go from there. Recommendations for particularly useful prep materials?

 

[WisNeuro]

It's been some years now, but I had some old tests and study chapters from AR that I used. Did the trick.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I also used AR (I think, it's been a little while) and found them adequate. I "studied" for about a month/month-and-a-half ahead of time, and then legitimately crammed for probably 2 weeks before the test. In hindsight, for me, I think a month or so of consistent but non-cramming study would've been sufficient.

Similar to PSYDR, I found the practice tests to be the most effective part of my study routine, so I took a good number of them (at least a half-dozen).

 

[Ollie123]

I spent about 2-3 months "prepping" but only intensively the last month. This turned out to be unbelievably massive overkill and I wish I studied less. I just read and reread hand-me-down AATBS books and took practice exams.

Its not a hard exam as these sorts of things go. I agree with PSYDR. Just know what works for you when it comes to studying and do that. I do know one person who got into trouble trying to study the way others told them they "should" rather than the way they had been doing it for the last 25 years. Though this is probably correlated with test anxiety. Only person I've met in real life who failed it.

 

[deleted343839]

The most helpful materials I used were hand-me-down AR study guides, but I also cobbled together some other materials including AATBS flash cards, freebie test exams (also AR, not sure if they still offer them?), etc. I studied off and on for about two months during postdoc, but buckled down during the few weeks leading up to the exam.

 

[MCParent]

I used practice tests, but divided them up into 50 Qs or so, coded for what I got wrong, and studied only that before I did the next slice. FYI I got a passing grade on the practice tests like 10% of the time and passed the real test with a nice margin. That experience seems to be consistent across test takers IMO.

 

[deleted106747]

I spent about 2-3 months "prepping" but only intensively the last month. This turned out to be unbelievably massive overkill and I wish I studied less. I just read and reread hand-me-down AATBS books and took practice exams.

Its not a hard exam as these sorts of things go. I agree with PSYDR. Just know what works for you when it comes to studying and do that. I do know one person who got into trouble trying to study the way others told them they "should" rather than the way they had been doing it for the last 25 years. Though this is probably correlated with test anxiety. Only person I've met in real life who failed it.

Same. I studied for six months, concentrated study the last three months. Way overkill. I should have done about a month of review, then taking tests.

 

[psych1420]

I’m an over-preparer, and tend to test decently well when I’m over-prepared. I used psychprep, which I really liked, and studied for aprox 3 months, around 2 hours per day during the week and longer on weekends. I passed by a large margin, but wouldn’t say I found the test easy by any means. This was largely accounted for by the fact that I’d estimate that only 50% of what I memorized actually showed up on the test and the rest felt like random psych trivia, which is annoying. In retrospect I probably should have studied notes for about 4-6 weeks and focused more on the tests. It’s really hard for me, personally, to study knowing I only need to get a 70%.

 

[cara susanna]

I was told that six weeks was a good amount of time, so that's what I did.

 

[proudvegan]

There is a reason that many schools sit at about 90%+ pass rates, and some schools sit at about 50-70% pass rates on the EPPP.

Sadly I came from a school with bad education.

I was told no more than 200 hours. I also prefer not to be working for a month before the test at least to give me time to ease my anxiety.

 

[WisNeuro]

Sadly I came from a school with bad education.

I was told no more than 200 hours. I also prefer not to be working for a month before the test at least to give me time to ease my anxiety.

Working some may actually help for those who tend to ruminate.

 

[aly cat]

I listened to PsychPrep CDs for a couple of months on my commute followed by 2-3 weeks of doing practice tests in "study mode" (a PsychPrep term that essentially means that you look up the right answer immediately after answering and do any additional reading you need to understand the concept before moving on to the next question). I did this for a couple of hours in the evenings while working full time. I'm a decent MC taker from a solid program and I passed with a sizable margin.

 

[LadyHalcyon]

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.asppb.net/resource/resmgr/eppp_/2017_Doctoral_Report.pdf

Check out to see your program's pass rates. I think 3 months is the most a person should study. I honestly think 8 weeks is sufficient, and possibly 4 weeks if you can devote 15 to 20 hours per week.

 

[bcliff]

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.asppb.net/resource/resmgr/eppp_/2017_Doctoral_Report.pdf

Check out to see your program's pass rates. I think 3 months is the most a person should study. I honestly think 8 weeks is sufficient, and possibly 4 weeks if you can devote 15 to 20 hours per week.

Thanks for the link! My program's pass rate is 100% -- I can now officially remove the tilde

 

[LadyHalcyon]

That's reassuring. It's likely most of the info on the test, except for probably IO, will be info you covered before.

Thanks for the link! My program's pass rate is 100% -- I can now officially remove the tilde

 

[elDoctor1900]

I have recently been approved to sit for the EPPP. Does anyone have current study material available for sale?

Thank you all for your time.

 

[WisNeuro]

I have recently been approved to sit for the EPPP. Does anyone have current study material available for sale?

Thank you all for your time.

Ask in the classified section of the site.

 

[cara susanna]

I forgot to mention that, for myself, the suggestions of how many hours to study didn't really apply. I allotted myself so many hours per day with the best of intentions, but I'm a fast reader. I quickly found that I would feel overwhelmed and like I was trying to learn too much at one time if I forced myself to stick to the schedule. So instead I gave myself daily assignments by topic, and I passed on my first attempt. Basically, for me, it was quality over quantity.

 

[Xingfu]

I have recently been approved to sit for the EPPP. Does anyone have current study material available for sale?

Thank you all for your time.

Congrats on getting approved to sit for the EPPP! I passed the EPPP a few weeks ago and am selling my materials (i.e., 2019 AATBS books, 2019 AATBS online resources (expires August 23rd 2019 and includes self-paced workshops, audio files that you can download, section quizzes and 8 practice exams), 5 2010 Psychprep practice exams, and 5 2013 Academic Review practice exams). I'm also throwing in notes that I made myself in addition to other practice exams that I got for free from others. I used this mix of materials for about 2.5 months (started studying in February and had to take a one month break in March and wrote the test in May) and passed with 680. Please let me know if you're interested and I'm also super happy to throw in free coaching calls if you'd find that helpful! Price: $550 for everything or we can do piecemeal The AATBS package costed me $1129 + taxes and shipping. I bought the Psychprep and Academic Review practice exams from someone who recently passed the EPPP for $25 per exam. If interested, PM me. Thanks and good luck!!