Failed ICVA by 3 points — what should I change?

Quick data point: I spent 5 weeks studying, 1-3 hours a day, and passed with a 77%.

The section on ICVA exam took me the longest to feel confident about. Eventually I just drilled practice questions until I could answer them without hesitation.

What testing center did you end up booking? Some of them have much shorter wait times than others right now.

Great discussion here. One thing I'd add that hasn't come up: sleep the night before is genuinely more important than one more study session. I went in fully rested for my ICVA and felt sharper on the exam prep questions than I expected. Don't underestimate recovery time.

For anyone finding this thread later: the ICVA is passable with consistent effort, even working full time. I studied 55 minutes a day for 9 weeks. The icva - international council for veterinary assessment canine internal medicine questions and answers kept me honest about where my gaps were instead of just drilling things I already knew.

Ugh, 3 points is brutal — I've been there. I was also working full-time while studying and honestly the application questions wrecked me too because I'd squeeze in reading on lunch breaks but never had long enough sessions to actually practice applying the concepts. What helped me the most was switching from passive reading to doing practice questions in short bursts, even just 10 minutes at a time. I found free icva continuing education and professional development questions that I could knock out between meetings and it was way more effective than trying to read through notes when I was half-asleep after work.

For the application stuff specifically, don't just check if you got it right — read why the wrong answers are wrong. That clicked for me way more than re-reading the same material. You're clearly close, so it's probably just a few specific areas where your knowledge isn't translating to scenarios yet. You've got this on the retake.