Tips for Taking Your State Real Estate Exam

Tips for Taking Your State Real Estate Exam

by Tina McAllister

When you're taking real estate licensing classes, either online or in person, you know that in the end, your real estate career won't become a reality until you pass the state real state exam. So it's important that you prepare and go into the exam knowing what to expect.

The first place to start is your real estate school. There should be some sort of exam preparation offered to students. It may be online tutorials or practice test questions. But you want to start with your school and any free exam help that is being offered. Your State Real Estate Department may also have a test guide with sample questions and answers (or the testing company they contract with will have such a guide).

There are online tutor sessions you can find (for a fee, of course). And you can have family or friends give you "pop quizzes" from study exams you can find online. Just be sure to use the exam questions pertinent to your state.

It's important not to get psyched out. Don't let anyone tell you how difficult or how easy the exam is. Some people are natural-born test-takers, and that's great! But not everyone is that fortunate.

If you have the option of taking a "test exam" before the real deal, jump on it! There is no need to go into the state exam blind. It's a great way to relieve some of the anxiety you may have before taking the state exam. Knowing what to expect is half the battle.

Much of the test will likely be multiple choice. When you read the test instructions, determine whether you will be penalized for "guessing" an answer. Meaning, is it better for you to leave something blank and unanswered if you don't know the correct answer? Or is it better to just select an answer and hope that you have deduced the correct one? Typically, most tests are scored in a manner where you might as well guess, because an unanswered question will be a wrong answer and therefore hurt your score. If this is the case, just read the question and try to rule out answers you know are wrong and then pick the best possible answer from what you have left. Some other tips:
--- Positive answers are more likely than negative answers
--- Read the question first and try to come up with the correct answer before reading the answer choices, then see which answer fits with what you came up with
--- Don't skip around as it wastes precious time
--- Beware of absolutes such as "always" or "never" - these are rarely correct
--- Don't over-analyze the questions - take them at face value