Finally passed GTS after two attempts — here's what actually worked

by rachel_s 486 views3 replies
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rachel_sOP
May 27, 2026

Okay so I just got my results back this morning and I passed with a 78. I honestly cried a little because I failed by four points the first time and spent the last six weeks convinced I was going to fail again. If you're in the same boat, keep reading.

First attempt I went in pretty confident after reading through the official study guide once and doing maybe 10 hours of prep total. Big mistake. The actual exam has a lot of scenario-based questions that trip you up if you've only memorized definitions. What made the difference the second time was drilling with a GTS practice test almost every day — I'd do 20-30 questions, review every single wrong answer, and figure out WHY I got it wrong, not just what the right answer was. That sounds obvious but I wasn't doing it before.

A few exam tips that specifically helped me: don't rush the situational judgment questions, they're designed to have two "good" answers and you need to pick the BEST one. Also, the technical content around safety standards was heavier than I expected — probably 20% of my exam. Budget extra time there if that's not your background.

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lisa.prep
May 27, 2026
Congrats! This is really encouraging. I'm scheduled for mine in three weeks and the scenario questions are exactly what's stressing me out. I've been using flashcards for the terminology but I think you're right that I need to switch to full practice tests. How many full-length ones did you end up doing before you felt ready? Also did you find any particular topic areas that showed up more than you expected?
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Mike_T
May 28, 2026
The point about reviewing WHY you got something wrong is so underrated. I did the same thing for my last cert exam and it completely changed how I retained information. Passive reading just doesn't stick. Also +1 on the safety standards — I remember thinking during my exam that I was glad I'd spent extra time there because there were definitely more of those questions than the prep materials implied there would be.
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Kevin O.
May 28, 2026
Six weeks of dedicated prep after a near-miss takes real discipline. Well done. For anyone starting from scratch, I'd say the GTS study guide is a solid foundation but don't treat it as sufficient on its own — you need to practice applying the concepts under timed conditions before test day.

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