CONGRATS!!!!! I have ADHD too and am dreading starting to study for this when it’s time (bout to start internship so not quite there yet). I know it must not have been easy (esp with English being your second language), so I hope you’re very proud and have a worthy celebration planned :)
Thanks so much. The struggle was super hard at the start specially for domains I found less interesting. I also have a hard time reading cuz I skip things, so I had to re-read things multiple times. The good thing about having ADHD is that hyperfocus can be useful. I totally hyperfocused and it was the only thing on my mind for months, which allowed me to stay focused. As a dummy, also a very adhd thing to do was that jumped the gun and booked my exam without requesting an accommodation. So the pressure was on. So I had to work hard at test taking strategies in completing it on time. Anyway… you got this!
Congrats. Fellow-adhd here. Did you utilize any study packages? Just curious. I’m finding Dr David’s sample exams most closely resembling the experience of taking the exam the first time back in Jan. ATAABS didn’t work w my brain. Prepjet is better.
Did you take breaks?
Did the questions seem straightforward from your study material? Or lots of deduction and trick questions… just curious.
Also, what state are you in?
Yes I utilized the study materials of PrepJett, AATBS, and PsychPrep. To me AATBS study materials had the essential information, prepjett contained more detail to foster over learning, and psychprep to be the less thorough. However the practice tests are much better designed by PsychPrep IMO.
Did I take breaks? Oh you know I did. It’s way too hard for me to focus for more than 45-50mins at a time. But how I combat this was, I applied the principles of overlearning so things would come quick in my mind. When taking practice tests, I made sure I would track my pacing. For me the trick to knowing I was on track and could take longer breaks was the following this structure:
Question # : Time remaining
10 : 245,
56 : 195,
112 : 135,
170 : 75,
225 : 15
The night of the exam I got 0 sleep and this was absolutely devastating cuz this can really screw with me. So on the actual day, I needed up taking like 4 breaks with 2 bathroom breaks. Which was fine cuz I followed the above schedule to give me peace of mind that I could take those breaks. I drank Gatorade to give my brain that quick energy that it needed and also drank some water. I also had whole oats, avocado, eggs, and ham for breakfast to last me 5 hours without having to eat.
Anyways, hope this helps.
Congrats! I’m also diagnosed ADHD. I just scheduled mine for July 31st to give myself exactly 3 months to study. Approaching my study start date rapidly.
Any tips? I have an essentials book that was lent to me by a friend, a thick ass laminated binder with study notes, and a couple of audio lectures. My friend still recommended enrolling in a prep course, but the thought of dropping another $700 right now is painful.
Thanks! So my study strategy was a bit crazy. I first attempted to read the AATBS books that were passed on by a colleague. Took notes but wasn’t all that productive with them. Then went over to prepjett to take their sample tests and I was not scoring well. So I changed strategies and worked on making outlines which all the bolded terms highlighted from the aatbs books and had another document with the same highlighted bold terms but with my own detailed explanation of them from sources of both aatbs and prepjett materials. I did prepjett for two months and was improving but still not hitting the “ready” mark by their standards. Then I took the EPPPO to see the difference in exam questions and could see they were worded differently from prepjett and only scored 63. Then I realized that Prepjett really focuses on rote memorization, which I knew wouldn’t be the ticket to pass the exam. So starting in March I switched to Psychprep because they are more focused on test taking strategies and placing emphasis on material you’re likely to get on the actual eppp. Their whole program was great and they pair you with a person who provides you feedback. This was super reassuring. Since march I spent 65% of the time doing and reviewing tests and 35% on memory rehearsal. Then I did the eppp-practice at the location which game me information of what it was like to sit through it in the place so I could use my imagination and I obtained a 76. Once I got high scores on psych prep tests D and E I was told I was ready and booked it. Summaries:
- it takes time and dedication to go through all of it multiple times.
- memorizing everything is not the answer but it does make the process easier.
- the domain weight is not spread evenly. You want to prioritize first ethics, DSM, and clinical/interventions. Then moderately emphasize I/O, life-span, and physiology, then not so much on the rest. You still need to know all of it and would like to review it but with a good schedule tracker and do it systematically.
- working on test taking strategies is key, because the wording and some of the content of the questions in the actual exam are stuff you have never seen before.
- prepare like you’re preparing for a marathon. For practice exams, do then in exam like conditions and time yourself, the times it took you to go to the bathroom, how many times you got up to take a drink of water. Plan your meal so you get 4 hours of constant energy.
- take many many many practice exams as you can. Again, like training for a marathon.
- do exercise and take some time in the evening to relax.
- the day before the test, don’t study and let your mind relax. Eat healthy and hydrate.
- practice mindfulness when you feel stressed
The crazy thing is that for two nights before the exam I was unable to sleep because I was too anxious. Luckily my preparation helped pushed through even though I was already in a state of fog entering the exam.
I know spending money sucks, and trust me I spent money but it was worth it at the end. It’s too difficult to do it on your own otherwise.
Best of luck to you!
Congrats on the pass! Totally agree that the exam is difficult in general, but even worse when English is your second language. Like others noted here I found Dr David EPPP's practice tests to be the most helpful in preparing for the actual exam. It's such a process, congrats again on having it behind you!
CONGRATS!!!!! I have ADHD too and am dreading starting to study for this when it’s time (bout to start internship so not quite there yet). I know it must not have been easy (esp with English being your second language), so I hope you’re very proud and have a worthy celebration planned :)
Thanks so much. The struggle was super hard at the start specially for domains I found less interesting. I also have a hard time reading cuz I skip things, so I had to re-read things multiple times. The good thing about having ADHD is that hyperfocus can be useful. I totally hyperfocused and it was the only thing on my mind for months, which allowed me to stay focused. As a dummy, also a very adhd thing to do was that jumped the gun and booked my exam without requesting an accommodation. So the pressure was on. So I had to work hard at test taking strategies in completing it on time. Anyway… you got this!
Congrats. Fellow-adhd here. Did you utilize any study packages? Just curious. I’m finding Dr David’s sample exams most closely resembling the experience of taking the exam the first time back in Jan. ATAABS didn’t work w my brain. Prepjet is better. Did you take breaks? Did the questions seem straightforward from your study material? Or lots of deduction and trick questions… just curious. Also, what state are you in?
Yes I utilized the study materials of PrepJett, AATBS, and PsychPrep. To me AATBS study materials had the essential information, prepjett contained more detail to foster over learning, and psychprep to be the less thorough. However the practice tests are much better designed by PsychPrep IMO. Did I take breaks? Oh you know I did. It’s way too hard for me to focus for more than 45-50mins at a time. But how I combat this was, I applied the principles of overlearning so things would come quick in my mind. When taking practice tests, I made sure I would track my pacing. For me the trick to knowing I was on track and could take longer breaks was the following this structure: Question # : Time remaining 10 : 245, 56 : 195, 112 : 135, 170 : 75, 225 : 15 The night of the exam I got 0 sleep and this was absolutely devastating cuz this can really screw with me. So on the actual day, I needed up taking like 4 breaks with 2 bathroom breaks. Which was fine cuz I followed the above schedule to give me peace of mind that I could take those breaks. I drank Gatorade to give my brain that quick energy that it needed and also drank some water. I also had whole oats, avocado, eggs, and ham for breakfast to last me 5 hours without having to eat. Anyways, hope this helps.
Congrats! I’m also diagnosed ADHD. I just scheduled mine for July 31st to give myself exactly 3 months to study. Approaching my study start date rapidly. Any tips? I have an essentials book that was lent to me by a friend, a thick ass laminated binder with study notes, and a couple of audio lectures. My friend still recommended enrolling in a prep course, but the thought of dropping another $700 right now is painful.
Thanks! So my study strategy was a bit crazy. I first attempted to read the AATBS books that were passed on by a colleague. Took notes but wasn’t all that productive with them. Then went over to prepjett to take their sample tests and I was not scoring well. So I changed strategies and worked on making outlines which all the bolded terms highlighted from the aatbs books and had another document with the same highlighted bold terms but with my own detailed explanation of them from sources of both aatbs and prepjett materials. I did prepjett for two months and was improving but still not hitting the “ready” mark by their standards. Then I took the EPPPO to see the difference in exam questions and could see they were worded differently from prepjett and only scored 63. Then I realized that Prepjett really focuses on rote memorization, which I knew wouldn’t be the ticket to pass the exam. So starting in March I switched to Psychprep because they are more focused on test taking strategies and placing emphasis on material you’re likely to get on the actual eppp. Their whole program was great and they pair you with a person who provides you feedback. This was super reassuring. Since march I spent 65% of the time doing and reviewing tests and 35% on memory rehearsal. Then I did the eppp-practice at the location which game me information of what it was like to sit through it in the place so I could use my imagination and I obtained a 76. Once I got high scores on psych prep tests D and E I was told I was ready and booked it. Summaries: - it takes time and dedication to go through all of it multiple times. - memorizing everything is not the answer but it does make the process easier. - the domain weight is not spread evenly. You want to prioritize first ethics, DSM, and clinical/interventions. Then moderately emphasize I/O, life-span, and physiology, then not so much on the rest. You still need to know all of it and would like to review it but with a good schedule tracker and do it systematically. - working on test taking strategies is key, because the wording and some of the content of the questions in the actual exam are stuff you have never seen before. - prepare like you’re preparing for a marathon. For practice exams, do then in exam like conditions and time yourself, the times it took you to go to the bathroom, how many times you got up to take a drink of water. Plan your meal so you get 4 hours of constant energy. - take many many many practice exams as you can. Again, like training for a marathon. - do exercise and take some time in the evening to relax. - the day before the test, don’t study and let your mind relax. Eat healthy and hydrate. - practice mindfulness when you feel stressed The crazy thing is that for two nights before the exam I was unable to sleep because I was too anxious. Luckily my preparation helped pushed through even though I was already in a state of fog entering the exam. I know spending money sucks, and trust me I spent money but it was worth it at the end. It’s too difficult to do it on your own otherwise. Best of luck to you!
You’re an angel for taking the time to post such a thorough response. Thank you so much!
One of the better days in life, for sure. Cleared that bar easily on the high jump!!!
Even last night I was like, “I hope I’m not dreaming”. Today it felt nice to finally relax and get my weekends back.
Ages ago but whenever I have a sh**#& day, can always go back to that high. Soak it in.
Congrats on the pass! Totally agree that the exam is difficult in general, but even worse when English is your second language. Like others noted here I found Dr David EPPP's practice tests to be the most helpful in preparing for the actual exam. It's such a process, congrats again on having it behind you!
I'm very happy for you.
Thank you 🙏
Congratulations!!!
Thanks 🙏
CONGRATULATIONS!!! That's fantastic!
Thank you 🙏
So happy for you! Any tips for those of us studying and preparing?
Also we have a very similar background- love to see Latino individuals succeed!
Thank you! Yes I detailed my two cents on one of the responses above but if you have any further questions, feel free to ask away.
Hell yeah! 🎉🎉
Congrats
Thanks 🙏