Finally passed my CPCC exam after two attempts — here's what worked

by Chloe W. 462 views3 replies
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Chloe W.OP
May 27, 2026

I just got my results back yesterday and I finally passed the CPCC exam on my second attempt. Honestly, I was pretty devastated after failing the first time because I thought I'd studied enough, but I was completely wrong about what "enough" actually meant for this one. The first time around I scored a 68 when you need a 75 to pass, so I wasn't that far off, but it still stung.

What really turned things around for me was switching up my approach. Instead of just reading through the ICF competencies again, I actually started using a CPCC practice test to simulate the real exam experience. Doing timed practice runs changed everything — I realized I was spending way too long on the ethics scenarios and rushing through the coaching conversation questions at the end. Also grabbed a structured study guide that broke down the core competencies by domain, which helped me stop cramming everything into one giant review session.

For anyone else prepping right now, what resources have you found most useful? Especially curious if anyone has tips on the mentoring log documentation piece — that tripped me up more than the written portion.

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priya.test
May 28, 2026
This is so encouraging, thank you for sharing. I'm scheduled for mine in about six weeks and I'm starting to panic a little. My coach supervisor keeps telling me I'm ready but the written portion intimidates me. Did you find the actual exam questions were worded similarly to the practice questions you were doing? I've heard from some people that the real thing feels totally different and I'm trying to calibrate my expectations.
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lisa.prep
May 28, 2026
Congrats on passing! I took mine about four months ago and honestly the practice tests were the biggest game-changer for me too. I did about 3-4 timed sessions per week in the last month before my exam. The ethics questions are sneaky — they often have two answers that seem right, but you have to think about which one aligns most closely with the ICF Code of Ethics specifically. That distinction caught me off guard early on.
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David K.
May 28, 2026
The documentation piece was my nemesis too. Make sure your mentor coaching hours are logged with specific dates and session lengths — they actually verified mine pretty closely. Don't leave anything vague on those forms. Good luck to everyone still prepping, you've got this!

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