You Are One Of The Lucky Ones
Very, very few people will tell you about the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) early in your graduate school career. Even fewer will stress the importance of this last crucial hurdle on your journey to become a licensed psychologist. Perhaps other psychologists feel that you are too busy right now to worry about an examination that will not take place until after you graduate. Perhaps, like a trauma victim who has been through a painful stressor, they have blissfully blocked it out of their memory. Most psychology graduate students are only vaguely aware of this distant looming hurdle. Or they dismiss it, as being too far away to worry about right now. Nothing could be a bigger mistake.But you may now count yourself among the lucky ones. You now know about the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. You know of its importance. You know that it is waiting for you, up ahead, lurking just around the corner. A corner that you one day, sooner than you think, will be turning.
You are, I realize, busy. You are busy with classwork, comprehensive exams, internships, a dissertation or research project. Maybe you are busy with an assistanceship; working on your professor's research project.
Your professors will not tell you about the examination either. If they do, they are not likely to stress its importance. Why? Well, for one thing, it does not affect them. It does not affect your classwork, your assistanceship, their research, or whether or not you graduate. It only affects you, my unlicensed friend. Long after you are no longer their responsibility.
Be An EPPP Exam Early Preparer
Become an early preparer. Study now for the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology. You will avoid many of the costly aspects of the exam. You will have a better idea what to expect on the exam. You will be able to focus your study efforts now, while you are still in graduate school, on the topics that the test requires you to know, while the topics are fresh in your mind. You will have a road map to follow in determining which elective classes to enroll in. You will have a better understanding of which psychology topics are really important to know. You will be prepared for the psychology content areas required by the exam. You will be able to learn and practice the advanced test-taking strategies required to pass the exam. Many of these test-taking strategies will benefit you in your graduate school education as well. By being already prepared, you will be less stressed by the examination process. By starting early you will be able to collect study materials gradually, thus spreading out their costs. By being an early preparer you will be ready to take the exam at the earliest opportunity allowed by your local psychology board. This will greatly limit your downtime after graduation. As an early preparer you will be able to get licensed as a psychologist sooner, and truly get started in your career. This will allow you to earn a decent income sooner. Be wise, be an early preparer for the Examination For Professional Practice In Psychology (EPPP).Next Article: When To Begin Studying For The EPPP Exam: Part 4
