Exam Day Strategies

Preparation is one key to approaching your exam day with confidence. Below are three things we want you to be mindful of as you prepare for the CFP® exam.

Understand Multiple-Choice Exams

Remember, the CFP® exam is multiple choice. You should always consider the following when answering questions:

1. Read the entire question before you look at the possible answers.
2. Come up with the answer in your head before looking at the possible answers; this way, the choices given on the test won’t distract you from focusing on the question.
3. Read all the choices before choosing your answer to select the best one.
4. Eliminate answers you know are not correct.
5. There is no guessing penalty, so it’s always best to take an educated guess if you are uncertain of the answer.
6. Don’t keep changing your answer; usually your first choice is the right one, unless you misread the question.
7. Go through the exam and answer the questions you know first. Mark the others for review and then return to those you skipped. This will ensure that you don’t lose time by focusing on questions that cause uncertainty.

 Plan Your Exam Day: The Basics

• You can manage exam day anxiety by having a schedule. From getting proper sleep to planning your travel to the test center, make sure you have a clear itinerary and plan for the day.
• Map routes to the test center in advance and practice driving there a week before your scheduled appointment.
• Plan to arrive at the testing center 30 minutes in advance of your scheduled appointment time.
• Review check-in procedures for the test center.
• Understand the center’s rules and requirements. Identify how your appointment time will be allocated to specific activities so you know what to expect on exam day.
• Do not neglect your health and personal well-being prior to the exam. Continue your social and recreational activities and take breaks throughout the course of your study.
• Don’t forget to get a good night’s sleep the evening before your testing appointment. Part of managing test-related anxiety effectively comes from budgeting sufficient time to cover the material and time for adequate rest.

Test Drive the Test Center Experience

Want access to the test center in advance? Prometric offers you the opportunity to take a 30-minute “dry run” prior to your exam (during available appointment times). The program, Test Drive, costs $30 and allows you to walk through, on a practice basis, all check-in and testing center procedures including ID confirmation, documentation checking, image capture, seating, tutorial, a generic sample test, a survey of the experience, an end-of-test report and check-out.

While Test Drive will not necessarily represent the look, feel or content of your particular exam, it will allow you to experience samples of question types that you might encounter on the actual exam.

Schedule a Test Drive appointment in the same manner as you would an actual exam. Or, we have developed a tutorial that gives you an opportunity to become familiar with the Prometric test center environment and the test delivery software.