I've been lurking on this forum for months while studying and I finally have good news to share: I passed my ABCN - American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology on the first try!
Quick background: I've been in mental health & psychology for about 3 years but this was my first time taking a formal certification. I was honestly terrified because I kept hearing how hard the written portion was.
Here's what made the biggest difference for me:
- Practice tests, practice tests, practice tests. I did at least 3-4 full practice exams in the final two weeks. The questions on PracticeTestGeeks were surprisingly close to the real thing.
- Focus on your weak areas. After each practice test I'd note which topics I missed and do a targeted review. For me it was terminology and regulations — both showed up heavily on the real exam.
- Don't memorize — understand the reasoning. The ABCN exam loves scenario-based questions. If you understand WHY a procedure is done, you can answer questions you've never seen before.
Total study time was about 6 weeks, roughly 1.5 hours per day. Happy to answer any questions!
If you're looking for a starting point, the free abcn credential requirements is worth trying — the questions closely match what you'll see on test day.
Thanks for this post — bookmarking it for motivation when I hit a wall during studying. The point about understanding reasoning over memorizing is huge. I started doing that recently and my practice test scores jumped about 12 points.
Congratulations!! This is so encouraging. Can I ask — how many practice tests did you take total before the real exam? I'm about 3 weeks out and trying to figure out how much more practice I need.
The 6-week timeline is almost exactly what my instructor recommended too. I'm currently at week 4 and feeling decent about the ABCN - American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology material but AP - Advanced Placement topics are still shaky. Did you find the practice tests here covered both subjects pretty thoroughly?
I also passed using a similar approach! The scenario-based questions are where most people struggle. One tip I'd add: read the entire question before looking at the answers. It sounds obvious but under exam pressure you start scanning for keywords and miss the nuance.
Related Discussions
- Are eppp and mcat keyboard shortcuts the same question I keep getting wrong on EPPP practice tests6 replies
- "Bachelor of arts in psychology" — how important is this for the BAPSY exam?6 replies
- "PSYCHOLOGY" — how important is this for the PSYCHOLOGY exam?5 replies
- Failed the ASPPB — what to do differently the second time5 replies
- Best free resources for SIOP prep — what's actually worth your time5 replies