Give yourself a chance to pass
Make sure that you know the material. You’re taking a multiple-choice exam, so the correct answer is in front of you. If you use the real estate study aid properly, you’ll recognize the answer.
Is your goal to learn the material or to pass? Learning is great, but you cannot use what you learned if you do not pass.
Question & Answer Techniques
- First go through the entire exam; answer ones that are extremely easy for you. Ones that are a bit more difficult you will come back to.
When you take the test, look at the answers first. Do not choose and answer what you have never heard of. Eliminate obviously wrong answers and work backwards to the right one. You may be able to eliminate only one or two of the options. Even so, you’ve raised your odds from 1 in 4 to 2 or even 3 in 4, and that’s a big improvement.
- Don’t dwell on a question you can’t answer. As you work through the real estate exam, skip over the questions you don’t know the answer to. Don’t waste time on questions you’re struggling with until you’ve answered all the easy ones. For example, if you find math difficult, skip the math problems until after you finish the rest of the exam. Occasionally, the answer to an earlier question is revealed in a later question.
Prioritize the Exam Questions
Don’t let a question beat you more than once. If you spend too much time and energy working on it, puzzling over it or worrying about a few difficult test questions, it may affect your mental alertness and ability to concentrate. That might cause you to miss questions you would otherwise have answered correctly. If you run out of time and energy by the time you get to the last question, try to take an educated guess.
Trust in the Real Estate Exam material you have been studying
As a general rule, once you’ve answered a test question, don’t change your answer, even if you’re unsure of the answer you selected. Statistics show that you are much more likely to change an answer from correct to incorrect instead of the reverse. Unless you’re absolutely certain you marked the wrong answer, resist the temptation to change it. Don’t be afraid to select the same options several times in a row.
- If according to your best judgment, the answer to four or five consecutive questions is “A,” then mark your answers accordingly. This can and does happen. Don’t keep score as you go along. This might discourage you and affect your overall performance examination. Don’t compete with other applicants. You’re given plenty of time to complete the exam and you should use as much of it as you need. Don’t worry if other examinees finish before you do. Many students who finish quickly fail.
Improve your odds when you guess
Regardless of how thoroughly you prepare, there will be some questions on the Real Estate Exam that you don’t know the answer to, so you’ll have to guess. There are some rules to follow that will increase the odds of guessing correctly. If you’re guessing, follow these guidelines:
1. If two of the test answer options are opposites, choose one of those two.
2. If one of the test answer options is noticeably longer than the others, choose that one.
3. If two of the four test answers are almost identical, choose the longer one.
- Pay attention to words like ALWAYS, NEVER, or EXCEPT. Few things in life are “always” or “never.” Greet these words with suspicion. The word “except” can turn a exam question around, and when you see the word in either the question or one or more of the answers, make a mental note of it.
- General terms such as “most,” “some,” and “usually” are more likely to be found in a correct answer.
If you’ve never heard of the answer before and you have been studying and you do not recognize the answer, then do not choose that option. - Answer every question, even if you’re guessing. Unanswered questions are marked wrong. There is no penalty for guessing.
Real Estate Broker Exam Tips
- There will be exam questions you’re absolutely certain you answered correctly. Unfortunately, there will be others you’re not so sure of. When the stakes are so high, it’s easy to get discouraged. The best way to handle this is to attack each and every real estate test question as if it were the only question on the real estate exam. Don’t keep fretting about question 42 when you’re answering number 50. You’re going to miss some questions, that’s ok, you don’t need to have a perfect score to pass.
- Keep it simple! Chances are you have some experience in real estate. However all of the knowledge you have acquired may not be relevant to you real estate brokers exam. As you are preparing for the exam, focus on what it is you need to pass and do not get caught up with the rest. Remember your goal is to pass so you can apply all the great knowledge as a Licensed Real Estate Broker. So do not overanalyze, do not spend endless time debating information or getting angry over laws you think should be changed, just pass your Brokers exam and keep it simple.
Make sure you’re ready prior to your exam date
Don’t make things more difficult by overlooking any of the following:
1. Don’t lose or forget your real estate exam registration documents.
2. Put your paperwork in an obvious place, such as the glove compartment of the car you’ll be driving to the exam site.
3. Make sure you have the right type of calculator and that you understand how to use it. The calculator should be as simple as possible.
4. Fill your car with gas the day before the Real Estate exam. Avoid frantically looking for a service station just before you’re scheduled to take the Real Estate exam.
5. Know where the exam site is. Go on a trial visit to the location, if necessary.
6. Get a good night’s sleep the night before the exam.
7. Don’t take the exam on an empty stomach.
8. Keep a miscellaneous fact sheet with any details that you have trouble remembering from one day to the next. For instance, if you can’t remember the number of feet in a mile, write it down on your fact sheet. But don’t overdo it. Don’t use more than one sheet of paper, and include only the most important facts. Study your fact sheet right before entering the exam room so the information will be fresh in your mind when the test starts.
