Schedule to Study for the NPTE
How do I plan to study for the NPTE? What is the best study plan? How do I make sure I pass without also going crazy? These are all questions you might be asking yourself, and we’ve got you covered right here!
How much time do you need to study for the NPTE?
The schedule will be dependent on how much time you have to study for the exam. In my opinion, 2 months is more than enough time to study for the NPTE. (Unless you weren’t a great student…more on that later.) I think any longer than 8-10 weeks, and the anxiety starts to get to you.
In my case I started studying during the quarantine since there was a long period of time where we were waiting to start our last clinical internship. So I studied for about one month in May. This included taking one of the PEATs and reviewing my answers which was a slow process. I think we were all a little distracted during quarantine!
During that month I was also able to do a lot of the Cardiopulm chapter in Scorebuilders.
After our last internship, we graduated August 1, and I was taking the exam on October 27. So that left almost 3 full months to study for the NPTE. I was also working at that time, but since we didn’t have school anymore, that left me to mostly focus on the NPTE.
For me, 3 months was too much time. I didn’t need to go as in depth as I did, I didn’t need to stress myself out as much as I did, and looking back, some of that time would honestly, for me, have been better spent working.
However, every student and every situation is different. Some people were not great students. Some people are not great test takers. Some people have a difficult time remembering things they have studied. On the other hand, many people were great students, do super well on tests, and have photographic memories. You know yourself best, and you can adapt your schedule to the amount of time you have, and the amount of time you need.
Does it matter what score you get on the NPTE?
The NPTE is pass/fail. To get licensed it doesn’t matter what score you get, as long as you pass. I personally don’t think it is worth going for a perfect score or anything like that, as probably no one will see your score and probably no one would even care.
So with that being said, here is what I would do if I could do it again.
Just to give you an idea, I consider myself a decent student, and a good test-taker, but a little prone to distraction and definitely a tendency to do too many things in life at one time (school, work, side projects, friends, family).
Assumptions this plan is based on
This plan is assuming that
- you were a semi-decent student and took school seriously.
- you already know test-taking strategies like process of elimination, getting rid of similar answers, how to handle questions with the words “not” or “least likely”, etc.
- you are able to retain information studied over two months relatively well
- you are able to devote most of the day to studying for the NPTE 6 days a week for 8 weeks
If any of the above do not apply to you, you can adjust this plan accordingly. You might need a little more time if you have other obligations or if you have more information you don’t remember from school. You know yourself best 🙂 Take your first PEAT score and go from there.
The Plan to study for the NPTE
This plan is based on having 8 weeks to study for the NPTE for most of the day, 6 days a week. It is based on using the resources I recommend in my post on Resources to Study for the NPTE.
Notes on the resources to the study for the NPTE
Scorebuilders
In the book I used, chapters 4-9 were the ones that contained the physical therapy information. Chapters 1-3 were about the test, so unless you need or want to know the intimate details of the test , I wouldn’t read those but use them as a reference if I had a question like, what percent of questions are MSK. So the first 3 chapters are not included here in the study plan. The last 3 chapters are the practice test answers, which are included in the study plan.
Here I am including Chapters 4-9. Feel free to do those in any order you prefer. I would recommend starting with the subject you know the least about. That way you have time to review and don’t feel stressed as your test date approaches.
Practice Tests
When you take the practice tests, I recommend understanding each and every answer. If the test mentions something you have never heard of, or need to brush up on, I would usually search it on the internet. This is a double-edged sword though, since it often led me off down the rabbit hole and 30 minutes later I’m reading the biography of Kisner & Colby. True story, that did happen to me lol. However, that is just how I approach things, I like to know the whole story around something.
You don’t have to take it to the extreme like I did, but I do recommend looking up on the internet or in your textbooks things on the practice tests, or in the study book, that you don’t know.
Keep a list of things you don’t know
As you are studying, keep a list of things you didn’t know or want to review. For me, I had both a list in a notebook and a folder of screenshots on my computer. I would take a screenshot of any useful diagram or chart, and then I would review the images in that folder. More on other study tips in my post on Strategies to study for the NPTE.
Week 1
Day 1: Take one of the PEAT exams. Follow the practice test strategies I outline in my strategies post.
Day 2: Review all answers from PEAT exam
Day 3: Scorebuilders chapter 4. I wrote chapter 4, but please pick any one of the chapters from Ch 4-9. Pick the chapter you didn’t do as well on the PEAT, or the one you feel least sure about (MSK, neuro, cardiopulm, etc.)
Day 4: Scorebuilders chapter 4
Day 5: Scorebuilders chapter 4
Day 6: Finish the chapter if you haven’t. Review your list of things you didn’t know from this week
Every day: Listen to at least 1 Kyle Rice podcast while exercising/driving/whatever
Week 2
Day 1: Take one of the Scorebuilders exams
Day 2: Review all answers from Scorebuilders exam
Day 3: Scorebuilders chapter 5 – (or pick any one of the chapters from Ch 4-9.)
Day 4: Scorebuilders chapter 5
Day 5: Scorebuilders chapter 5
Day 6: Finish the chapter if you haven’t. Review your list of things you didn’t know from this week
Every day: Listen to at least 1 Kyle Rice podcast while exercising/driving/whatever
Week 3
Day 1: Take one of the Scorebuilders exams
Day 2: Review all answers from Scorebuilders exam
Day 3: Scorebuilders chapter 6 – (or pick any one of the chapters from Ch 4-9.)
Day 4: Scorebuilders chapter 6
Day 5: Scorebuilders chapter 6
Day 6: Finish the chapter if you haven’t. Review your list of things you didn’t know from this week. Read some Kyle Rice PDFs.
Every day: Listen to at least 1 Kyle Rice podcast while exercising/driving/whatever
Week 4
Day 1: Take one of the Scorebuilders exams
Day 2: Review all answers from Scorebuilders exam
Day 3: Scorebuilders chapter 7 – (or pick any one of the chapters from Ch 4-9.)
Day 4: Scorebuilders chapter 7
Day 5: Scorebuilders chapter 7
Day 6: Finish the chapter if you haven’t. Review your list of things you didn’t know from this week. Read some Kyle Rice PDFs.
Every day: Listen to at least 1 Kyle Rice podcast while exercising/driving/whatever
Week 5
Day 1: Take one of the Therapy Ed exams
Day 2: Review all answers from Therapy Ed exam
Day 3: Scorebuilders chapter 8 – (or pick any one of the chapters from Ch 4-9.)
Day 4: Scorebuilders chapter 8
Day 5: Scorebuilders chapter 8
Day 6: Finish the chapter if you haven’t. Review your list of things you didn’t know from this week. Read some Kyle Rice PDFs.
Every day: Listen to at least 1 Kyle Rice podcast while exercising/driving/whatever
Week 6
Day 1: Take one of the Therapy Ed exams
Day 2: Review all answers from Therapy Ed exam
Day 3: Scorebuilders chapter 9 – (or pick any one of the chapters from Ch 4-9.)
Day 4: Scorebuilders chapter 9
Day 5: Scorebuilders chapter 9
Day 6: Finish the chapter if you haven’t. Review your list of things you didn’t know from this week. Read some Kyle Rice PDFs.
Every day: Listen to at least 1 Kyle Rice podcast while exercising/driving/whatever
Week 7
Day 1: Take one of the Therapy Ed exams
Day 2: Review all answers from Therapy Ed exam
Day 3: If you are backed up in the Scorebuilders book, finish up chapters 4-9. If you finished them, go back and read your highlights this week.
Day 4: Finish/review Scorebuilders Ch 4-9
Day 5: Finish/review Scorebuilders Ch 4-9
Day 6: Review your list of things you didn’t know from this week. Review your choice of Kyle Rice PDFs.
Every day: Listen to at least 1 Kyle Rice podcast while exercising/driving/whatever
Week 8
Day 1: Take the other PEAT exam
Day 2: Review all answers from PEAT exam
Day 3-6: This is your time to review. You should by now know super well what you don’t know, or what you would like to review at the end. For me it was things like the lung volumes chart, or the Rancho Los Amigos scale – things that needed a lot of memorization.
Every day: Center your mind and try to relax. Listen to some focusing music as you exercise. Stay focused and confident.
Day before the NPTE exam
- Make sure you have the address correct and mapped up in your GPS. Save the test center’s number to your phone in case God forbid there was a ton of traffic or something crazy happens
- Think about what time you need to leave and plan to leave 30-60 minutes before that.
- Pack your snacks/water
- Pack a sweatshirt
- Make sure you have your ID
- Make sure you know all the rules of the place like no jewelry etc.
Day of the NPTE exam
- Go for a nice walk or do some light exercise.
- Listen to some positive music (I was legit listening to gospel music on the way there)
- If you get there early, listen to music, go to the bathroom, eat a snack, stroll down the hallway. I like to stare out a window lol. Don’t scroll your phone.
- Stay confident. You got this.
So there you have it! That would be my ideal NPTE study schedule. That’s what I would do if I could go back knowing what I know now. Adjust to suit your personal needs, and let me know how it goes!