You’ve spent hours, days, and even weeks preparing for your real estate exam. The pressure of passing can feel overwhelming. Ensuring you’re taking the right steps before your test is essential to feeling confident and prepared on the day of your exam. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of tips to help you conquer your pre-licensing exam.
1) Flash cards are a must
A large portion of your test will rely heavily on your knowledge of vocabulary terms. Using digital flashcard websites or apps such as Quizlet or Ankiapp can help you study on the go. IAR also has resources available for purchase that are in alignment with your pre-license curriculum if you’d prefer to purchase flashcards in physical format.
Quizlet
· Free with limited options in both app (iOS and Android and desktop format).
· Quizlet offers shareable flashcards, what they call “study sets.”
· They also support speech-to-text to help make inputting your new “study set” even faster.
· An additional helpful feature is that you can add images to help you in your memorization.
AnkiApp
· Free and fully featured in both app (iOS and Android and desktop format.
· Formatting in colored text, bullet lists
· Create cards from photos on your phone
· Dashboard to see your progress
· Night mode that is easy on your eyes
2) Find a study buddy
Working together with a study buddy can help make your studying more efficient, less isolated, and help you to retain more information. So rally up a classmate from your pre-licensing courses, a cooperative spouse, or a friend. This individual can help encourage you and push you when the going gets tough. A classmate may have a helpful trick to remember certain vocabulary terms, you can compare notes and help quiz one another.
Studyusa.com states “When you study in a group, you tend to retain more information. This is because you paraphrase your notes and put the information in your own words rather than reading from a textbook. It’s very similar to teaching the others in your group, which leads to retaining the information better.”
3) Talk to someone who recently took the exam
The test evolves slowly and changes with new laws and developments within the industry. Make a point to find a classmate or newer agent that has recently taken the exam. They can be a great resource for insight on what to expect on the test, what they found to be difficult, and provide details on how to better study for the exam.
4) Don't Cram
The more you cram, the less you’ll retain. Focus on studying 2-4 hours per day, breaking up sessions to help make your studying time less overwhelming. Research shows that shorter study sessions are more effective in small chunks of time. Instead of cramming a 10-hour study session, it is much more effectiveto break out into shorter 30 minutes sessions over time. This is because your brain is better at converting the information into synapses in your brain in short, repeated sessions. It is shown that cramming the night before an exam can result in reduced memory, reasoning, and ultimately lower scores.
5) Go with the flow
There are a few things to keep in mind to keep a positive and relaxed mindset when preparing for your exam weeks and days prior..
Better sleep = better grades:
“Students who sleep better enjoy better grades, recall, and overall increased academic performance. For maximum performance, you should sleep well for at least a week leading up to your exam”; according to the Sleep Foundation.
Recognize anxiety:
It is important to recognize and acknowledge exam anxiety. Noticing the first signs of stress and anxiety can be key to working through the negative feelings that may arise around taking the test. Try combating the sources of stress by taking note, and thinking through each thought, and determining if it is a valid concern. At times having an outside point of view or encouragement can help ease nerves.
Accept the outcome:
At the end of the day, your attitude will have a big impact on your success. Going into the test with a positive attitude no matter the outcome can make a difference in your confidence. So remember It may be easy to feel stressed about passing the exam but consider the worst-case scenario…you retake the exam.
Resources:
https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/how-does-the-brain-learn-best-10-smart-studying-strategies/
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/school-and-sleep/final-exams-and-sleep
https://www.studyusa.com/en/a/1980/better-to-study-alone-or-in-a-group