I'd start with a couple of different review books. A review book tends to organize information in a concise manner for the reader and keeps you from being distracted by extraneous information or topics that you're not likely to see on the certification exam. If the information in the review book is something that you're not familiar with, I'd use a text book or my notes from school to clear the issue. A textbook is too comprehensive to use to study for your exam.

Many students feel that a review course is helpful in their preparation for the exam. This is an individual decision. The APEA review course is organized so that students review a quantity of information in a short period of time. The course is organized according to subject area. Another reason to take a review course is to improve test-taking skills. Important content points are driven home by lots of multiple choice practice questions in APEA's review course. Many students tell me that they've learned more in 2.5 days at the APEA review course than they did in 2 years of graduate school.

This is another individual decision because students have individual learning needs. The majority of students take the review course about 8 weeks before or after graduation. Some students want to take the course in close proximity to the time they will take the exam because this allows them to have recently completed a comprehensive review of all the material. Students feel like the information is "fresh" in their brain at the time they take the exam. Many students have told me that they felt the review course gave them "momentum" going into the exam. Another group of students prefers to take the review course within 4-12 months prior to graduation. Many students have told me that taking the review course at this time helped them to focus on what was important while they were still in school. They also learned a lot of clinical pearls during the review course that helped them as they completed their clinicals. The main disadvantage to taking the course at this time is that the student may actually learn lots of new information at the course instead of it being a thorough review. The main advantage is that it allows the student plenty of time to identify strong and weak points and study accordingly.

Generally, 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 students don't pass the exam on the first attempt. Don't despair, students have passed the certification exam without taking a review course! Students who take APEA's review course have a 98-99% pass rate on the exam on their first attempt. If a review course isn't in your budget or can't be fit into your time schedule, consider review course CDs. They are generally less expensive than a course and can be listened to repeatedly. Some students use CDs to study during school and take a review course too. The advantage of the APEA review course is that it helps students identify their strengths/weaknesses in exam content, learn to approach and answer multiple choice questions, and develop a study plan. The course is a real time saver because the information is organized in a concise manner to allow students to maximize study time.