Feel so crushed walking out of NPTE test

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Sophiberry

Sophiberry

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I felt pretty good walking in. I scored 68, 71, 71 on my o,Sullivan tests. 70 and 77 on scorebuilders. I was under the impression that I should be fine. I sooooo regret that I didn't buy the PEAT exams.
Somehow I felt the actual test is harder than the osullivan test. I marked all first 10 question into the test. I feel that the questions are even more trickier and confusing. I constantly finding myself running out of time to think things through.
Is this normal? Does anyone else feel the same way? (Smoke is coming from top of my head). The following week this going to be extremely loooong.
*end of rant*
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it was hard
 
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I'm only a lowly SPT but all of my friends and acquaintances who've taken it -- whether it was last year or ten years ago -- have said they walked out of there feeling like crap. (With the exception of two of the biggest egos I've encountered, who walked out thinking they nailed it.)

Don't worry until there's something to worry about.
 
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I might be the outlier here, but the test questions on the PEAT seemed very representative of the NPTE. In fact, scorebuilders tests were almost worthless in comparison. Scorebuilders was testing rote knowledge most of the time and reviewing those tests was only helpful to identify areas I needed to study more. The PEAT exams gave me a good idea of the types of questions that would be on the test. In general, they were 2nd or 3rd order questions examining clinical reasoning. I can't comment on O'Sulllivan because I didn't use it.

I didn't think the test was easy, but it wasn't overly hard. Here's hoping we all passed. Do we get an email when the score report is ready?
 
Lol, now I'm really kicking my self for not getting the PEAT. You are right about scorebuilder too. I guess I need to calm down, there is nothing I can do at this point.
 
I used the O'Sullivan and PEAT to prepare....still fell like it punched me in the face. Everyone in my class that I spoke to said that they didn't feel great about it.
 
Dont worry i know you are just going to pass. I heard same think from everyone.. But they all pass end of it. But for me its same sotry to try again...LOL
 
Yeah it was VERY hard. I bought both PEAT exams and while it was more similar to them than anything else I had taken, I thought it was very tough.
 
For those of you that have taken the PEAT...

I graduate in December and would really like to take the NPTE in October. My state allows for this, provided our school will allow it. We asked to director and he responded that if we get a 90% on the PEAT, then they would consider letting us take the NPTE in October.

Is this really doable? 90% sounds outrageous. What do you guys thing, should I even bother trying, cause trying consists of a LOT of studying in the middle of my current clinical rotation....
 
wrennywren said:
For those of you that have taken the PEAT...

I graduate in December and would really like to take the NPTE in October. My state allows for this, provided our school will allow it. We asked to director and he responded that if we get a 90% on the PEAT, then they would consider letting us take the NPTE in October.

Is this really doable? 90% sounds outrageous. What do you guys thing, should I even bother trying, cause trying consists of a LOT of studying in the middle of my current clinical rotation....
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Speaking only from my own experience, I passed the boards just fine but came nowhere near 90% on the PEAT. Somewhere in the 70s seemed pretty typical among friends too. I'd guess your director has unrealistic expectations or it's a sneaky way of not letting students test early, but I'm guessing it's the former.
 
callmecrazy said:
Speaking only from my own experience, I passed the boards just fine but came nowhere near 90% on the PEAT. Somewhere in the 70s seemed pretty typical among friends too. I'd guess your director has unrealistic expectations or it's a sneaky way of not letting students test early, but I'm guessing it's the former.
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Honestly? I'm guessing it's the latter. He told us he didn't want any of us taking it early. We (half the class would like to take it early) drafted a nice letter listing the advantages of being able to take it early. His counter was the 90% on the PEAT.

I honestly feel that he should just say no to allowing us if that's what he feels. Telling us we need to get a 90% seems crazy and most of us have given up the thought of taking it early. That makes me sad, cause I really wanted to have the test done before I graduated. Does anyone know of someone who has gotten that high?
 
I felt the exact same way, I started crying the second I got in my car! I'm freaking out BIG time. I did similarly on the practice exams - did everything I could to be calm the day before and morning of the exam and walked in feeling ok. I felt like the practice exams were completely different from the practice exams and I took 10! I'm trying not to freak out completely but its not exactly easy :-( I guess we will see this week.
 
Wow, I am so glad that I am not the only one who thought the exam was hard. I walked out of there feeling so drained! And I did pretty well on the practice exams (mid-70s on osullivan, a little higher on PEAT). I am hoping that the result will be a good one. Last I heard the earliest we can find out is Wednesday, so here's hoping for a speedy 2 days!
 
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does anyone know how to check to see if you passed on the fsbpt website?
 
If you want to find out on Wednesday July 31, you have to pay $55 and visit this website. https://pt.fsbpt.net/spa/IndScoreReport/

If you don't mind waiting another week, until the following Wednesday, then a free score report will be available under "Status of my Request".
 
nickdpt said:
If you want to find out on Wednesday July 31, you have to pay $55 and visit this website. https://pt.fsbpt.net/spa/IndScoreReport/

If you don't mind waiting another week, until the following Wednesday, then a free score report will be available under "Status of my Request".
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Seriously. Pay the $55. Don't be a cheapskate. Put yourself out of misery. Wait a week or pay something you can make in an hour doing PRN. Just do it.

Sidenote-I had to take my NPTE two years ago a few hours from my house. Wanted to cry driving home(im a guy), stopped at wendys and ate $13 worth of food, stopped at a gas station and picked up a 12 pack of beer(optional)...walked in the door and told my parents not to bother me. Drank the nerve and anxiety off, woke up at 7am, checked my score on my phone, and proceeded to jump around my house and screaming that I had finally done it.
You do as you please, but this worked for me.:)
 
I'm wondering about the turn around for license, specifically in Oregon. I had thought, though I can't find a source, that scores released 5 business days and then license available 2 days after that. Would like to know when I'll be able to start work as my job is just waiting for my license to come through. Anyone know?
 
i second the question about the turn around for the license...anybody care to share their experience?
 
Not too sure about Oregon. Every state is different. Smaller states with less applicants for licensure and decent staff may issue quickly. Conversely, larger states with more applicants may take some time. When I sat for the exam five years ago, I took the test, felt the same way most here do, went to work the next day with a bit of a hangover, and the Board office called me personally on the day after and told me to come get my license. Granted, the license was for practice in a fly-over state.
 
I feel very similar. I took both PEATs... though similar, I felt the actual test was way harder. I feel very uneasy about the results.

As for the 90% on the PEAT, that sounds pretty outrageous.
I was scoring around 75-80% on Scorebuilders, 65% with O'Sullivan, and 80% with PEAT.

Yet, went out that test having marked about every question. Sigh. Hoping for the best.

Good luck to you all, as well!
 
One more day!!!! I'm going to check first thing after waking up!
 
Sophiberry said:
One more day!!!! I'm going to check first thing after waking up!
Click to expand...

It's probably a long-shot, but I'm staying up and checking at midnight :D:D
I really have no idea how it works, but I don't have anything to do tomorrow...so why not?
 
Hey The results are out and can't thank God enough I passed :)
 
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Don't pay for anything yet. My results are posted but I took it Tuesday. A classmate who tested Wednesday has not been posted. I'm sure results will trickle in through the night. Good luck, but if I passed that butt rapist of a test then I'm sure you all did too.
 
I second that you shouldn't pay. It is posted in "status of my request" and I took it on Wednesday. Praise God I passed! Good luck to everyone else.
 
PppppppppASSed. I couldn't sleep last night! Keep waking up every hour. Finally end of torture. Good luck to everyone else.
 
Congrats to all of you who passed the exam and welcome to the profession as licensed physical therapists!:thumbup:
 
Congrats to everyone as scores are being revealed! What a relief! :)
 
Passed!!! Not that I care that much, but do we get an opportunity to see what our score was?
 
Hi everyone

I'm a non-american student of Physical Therapy. I took the NPTE on April and again on July, but unfortunately I didn't pass. I felt that the July test went pretty good but still I didn't pass. I really don't know what else I need to do to pass. I studied by "Review and Study Guide" (O'Sullivan), "Score Builders- Study Guide" (Scott Giles),"Physical Rehabilitation" (O'Sullivan) and "Differential Diagnosis for Physical Therapists" (Goodman Snyder). For this last exam I also bought the PEAT which I got 60 on the first exam and 64 on the second. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Or strategies? I live in Fishkill (NY), if anyone wants to get together to study for the October exam feel free to ask.

Thank you
 
Yikes. You have all of the major books etc that most people consult when studying. Do you know what area/s you tend to be the weakest in? Is part of the problem related to a language barrier?

I remember reading that pass rates for foreign students are very low, so I'm sure you're not alone. Good luck
 
I think that the language isn't the greatest barrier. In the country where I studied, physical therapy is a little different and I wasn't prepared in college to a national exam to take my license. I don't know yet the results of July's test, but I think that I need some tricks or strategies to study better and finally pass.
 
Hi I am a foreign trained PT too and cleared my exam on second attempt.I had joined an online course called Therapy exam prep.They tell you how to analyze a question well.
I feel as a foreign trained PT its not the material but we dnt know how to handle questions.You can have a look at their website and see if it works out for you.It did for me...:)...
All the best...
 
Hi can someone please guide me what is the next step after pro metric has reported that I have Passed.do I have to contact the board to which I applied or they will send some info themselves..
Thanks.
 
31612013 said:
Hi everyone

I'm a non-american student of Physical Therapy. I took the NPTE on April and again on July, but unfortunately I didn't pass. I felt that the July test went pretty good but still I didn't pass. I really don't know what else I need to do to pass. I studied by "Review and Study Guide" (O'Sullivan), "Score Builders- Study Guide" (Scott Giles),"Physical Rehabilitation" (O'Sullivan) and "Differential Diagnosis for Physical Therapists" (Goodman Snyder). For this last exam I also bought the PEAT which I got 60 on the first exam and 64 on the second. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Or strategies? I live in Fishkill (NY), if anyone wants to get together to study for the October exam feel free to ask.

Thank you
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I am sorry to hear about your situation. I don't know if my approach will work for you but I just passed the July NPTE on the first attempt. Since you have already read all the books it might work. I took the first Score Builders exam at the beginning to see where I was and where I needed to be. I scored 76. That was the only practice exam I took. I also did not try the PEAT. I used O'Sullivan and Score Builders exam prep books, mainly O'Sullivan since her questions are more challenging. I spent the next two weeks just going through the remaining 5 practice exam analyzing questions and processing rationales. When I go through the questions, I try to answer each before looking at the options. Then I looked at both correct and incorrect answers. I analyze why each was correct and if not, under what circumstances they would be correct. If I wasn't clear on the rationale they gave, I read the topic in the textbook to give me a better understanding. If I was wrong I would read the question again to see if I truly understood the question in the first place. In my opinion, the NPTE is not as much about knowledge as it is about being a critical thinker and knowing what would be your best course of action in a real clinical setting. The one liner questions are bonuses. I think if you understand anatomy and physiology, mechanism of injuries, how tissues heal and know contraindications and precautions you can select the correct answers most of the time. Then I spent another week going through pathologies at the end of each section in O'sullivan. After the first 400 questions I was already thinking like the tester and was often answering the questions correctly before looking at the options. When I took the actual exam I thought it was a cake walk.
 
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mann81 said:
Hi can someone please guide me what is the next step after pro metric has reported that I have Passed.do I have to contact the board to which I applied or they will send some info themselves..
Thanks.
Click to expand...

You should receive your license in the mail, but that may take some time. The actual turn around time for getting licensed seems to vary a lot state by state.

In most states you can search for yourself in the state health professional licensing database and see your license number there before you receive official confirmation in the mail. The databases are how employers and the public verify that you are a licensed PT. Hope that helps!
 
31612013 said:
Hi everyone

I'm a non-american student of Physical Therapy. I took the NPTE on April and again on July, but unfortunately I didn't pass. I felt that the July test went pretty good but still I didn't pass. I really don't know what else I need to do to pass. I studied by "Review and Study Guide" (O'Sullivan), "Score Builders- Study Guide" (Scott Giles),"Physical Rehabilitation" (O'Sullivan) and "Differential Diagnosis for Physical Therapists" (Goodman Snyder). For this last exam I also bought the PEAT which I got 60 on the first exam and 64 on the second. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Or strategies? I live in Fishkill (NY), if anyone wants to get together to study for the October exam feel free to ask.

Thank you
Click to expand...

I agree with the earlier posts. Take practice tests as much as possible: there's 6 combined with Scorebuilders and O'Sullivan as you probably know and 2 with PEAT which is a good purchase. More importantly, go through each question and rationalize the correct and incorrect answers. Dissect each question to know the in's-and-outs of all possible options and the stem of the question completely. I imagine that's the next step in your studying since you've gone over most of the material in the study guides. Wishing you the best of luck.
 
NewDPT31 said:
Seriously. Pay the $55. Don't be a cheapskate. Put yourself out of misery. Wait a week or pay something you can make in an hour doing PRN. Just do it.

Sidenote-I had to take my NPTE two years ago a few hours from my house. Wanted to cry driving home(im a guy), stopped at wendys and ate $13 worth of food, stopped at a gas station and picked up a 12 pack of beer(optional)...walked in the door and told my parents not to bother me. Drank the nerve and anxiety off, woke up at 7am, checked my score on my phone, and proceeded to jump around my house and screaming that I had finally done it.
You do as you please, but this worked for me.:)
Click to expand...

Haha. This sounds exactly like what I'd do in about a year... :thumbup:
 
Has anyone ever taken the 9day Therapy team review course? If so, how was it?
 
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