Jacqueline Kyo Thomas
If you're reading this guide right now, chances are you're at the start of a great milestone in your professional journey: Preparing for your real estate salesperson exam. That's quite the endeavor, isn't it?
Acing this exam will open up a world of opportunities, including the promise of a fulfilling career in the real estate industry.
But let's face it: it also presents a challenge. No exam is fun but the real estate exam can be a real beast. The exam includes a variety of complex concepts that you must master to prove you know real estate. But don’t worry. It's a challenge that many have faced, and conquered!
The best way to pass the exam is to make a study plan. With the right study plan, you can train your brain, shore up weak areas, and navigate the real estate salesperson exam with confidence and ease.
This guide will provide you with top-notch study tips, strategies, and a roadmap to help you conquer the real estate salesperson exam. We have years of experience mentoring thousands of students, and our course and study plan have consistently proven to be effective. We’ve helped our students not only pass the real estate salesperson exam but also excel in their subsequent real estate careers. And you’re next.
From assembling your study materials to creating an effective study plan, we've got you covered. So, take a deep breath. You're not alone in this. Let's dive in!
Preparing to Study: What to Do First
Here’s what to do before you dive into the textbooks and notecards.
Take a Pre-Licensing Course
Before you pass go and before you collect your first $200 dollars, you will need to take a pre-licensing course.
As a future real estate professional, taking a pre-licensing course isn't just beneficial. It's also a legal requirement. But not all pre-licensure real estate courses are created equal, which is why we recommend the Freedom Trail Realty School.
With Freedom Trail Realty School, you're not just meeting a legal requirement—you're investing in top-tier real estate education. The school's comprehensive course material aligns perfectly with what you'll need to know to get licensed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Furthermore, our course is delivered in a format that is engaging and easy to understand.
The school's experienced professionals are committed to helping you grasp even the most complex real estate concepts. Their goal is to empower you with the knowledge and confidence you need to pass your exam on the first try. Plus, Freedom Trail Realty School’s commitment to students extends beyond the classroom, with a host of resources and support to help you excel.
Learn more about Freedom Trail Realty School's pre-licensing course here.
Understand the Importance of a Study Plan
Why a study plan? Why not wing it since you’re pretty confident that you already know the information?
Well, imagine trying to build a house without blueprints or take a road trip without a map. You're likely to make a lot of wrong turns and waste precious time and resources. A study plan is like a roadmap that can provide direction on what to study and in what order. It helps you navigate all of the information you’ve learned about real estate. It plots a course to the most important milestones on the exam.
And just as a roadmap can help travelers avoid obstacles or roadblocks, a study plan can help identify challenging topics ahead of time.
If you wouldn’t set out on a road trip without a map, you shouldn’t attempt to take the real estate salesperson exam without a study plan. Otherwise, you could end up lost and unprepared.
Having a well-structured study plan is a game-changer. It will help you stay organized, track your progress, and ensure you cover all the necessary material.
Gather Your Study Materials
1. The Course Study Guide
The key to passing your real estate salesperson exam is to utilize a course study guide.
If you take your pre-licensure course with us, we’ll give you a downloadable, 120-page course study guide that includes everything you need to know to pass your real estate salesperson exam. You’ll find everything from important laws to vocabulary terms to practice tests in this comprehensive study guide.
Whether you take advantage of our course study guide, or make your own, you definitely need one.
For students utilizing our study guide, we recommend that you first read it from cover to cover to get a comprehensive overview of the material. Use this first read to identify areas that are completely new or seem challenging. We recommend printing it out and highlighting these areas.
After you’ve read it through once, read it again. This time take notes, highlight key points, and create flashcards for vocabulary terms. Then use the practice tests to measure your understanding and identify areas for further study.
If you take our pre-licensure course, you will also have access to class recordings and whiteboard notes.
Class recordings allow you to review any sections of the course that you found challenging the first time around. Watching them after taking the course may deepen your understanding of certain topics.
Whiteboard notes summarize key points from the lectures and highlight important topics that are likely to show up on the exam.
2. 3x5 Index Cards
Flashcards are a tried-and-true study method that aids with retention and quick recall. Use 3x5 notecards, or digital platforms like Quizlet, to create flashcards for real estate vocabulary terms, key concepts, and laws. Practice these flashcards regularly, mix them up, and review them with friends or study partners to solidify your memory.
3. Notebook
Grab a spiral-bound notebook and do the brain inventory technique.
The "brain inventory" technique encourages active recall and helps identify areas where your understanding may be less than comprehensive.
To begin, select a concept or topic that you've been studying. Without referring to your notes or study materials, write down everything you know about this topic. This might include key points, related terms, notable exceptions, and so on. You're essentially creating a "brain dump" of your current understanding. The act of retrieving this information without any prompts or clues helps reinforce your memory and improves recall.
Once you've written down everything you can remember, it's time for the second phase of the brain inventory. Now, you compare what you've written with your study materials and notes from your live classes. This comparison allows you to clearly see where your current understanding aligns with the material and where it deviates or falls short.
Look for gaps in your knowledge. Are there key concepts, facts, or relationships you didn't mention in your brain inventory? Pay special attention to any areas where your understanding is incorrect or incomplete. These are the topics you'll want to focus on in your future study sessions.
This process is beneficial because it helps to highlight the areas where you're less confident or where your understanding is not as robust. By knowing what you don't know, you can efficiently target your studies and make better progress.
Design Your Own Study Plan
Everyone’s study plan will be different because we all have unique strengths and weaknesses. You may know more about topic A than topic B, which means you’ll need to devote more of your study time to topic B.
An effective study plan needs to be personalized, taking into account your unique learning style, schedule, and study preferences. Here are some steps to design a personalized study plan:
Understand Your Learning Style
This is huge, so we’ll spend a little extra time on this one.
Different people absorb information in different ways. Some people are visual learners, others are auditory learners, and then others are kinesthetic learners. Knowing your learning style can help you choose the most effective study methods.
If you're a visual learner, you tend to learn best when information is represented in diagrams or images. During your study sessions, try incorporating tools like mind maps, flowcharts, or infographics. When reviewing a topic, for example, you might create a mind map, with the main idea in the center and related points branching off. You can also use highlighters and colored pens to organize and categorize your notes since color coding can help you remember information more effectively.
Auditory learners process information most effectively when they hear it. If you’re an auditory learner, consider listening to class videos and lectures. You can also read your notes aloud or verbally explain concepts to a friend or family member.
As a kinesthetic learner, you learn best when you can use a hands-on approach. You might find it helpful to walk around while reading your notes, or even acting out scenarios to better understand concepts. For example, when learning about the process of showing a home to potential buyers, consider setting up a pretend scenario and walk through the process. Also, try to make your study sessions interactive by using physical flashcards which will allow you to actively engage with the material.
Evaluate Your Schedule
Take a close look at your weekly schedule. Find the times when you have the highest energy levels and are least likely to be disturbed. Those are the best times to schedule your study sessions.
Set Clear Goals
What are you hoping to achieve by the end of each study session, by the end of the week, or by the end of the month? Breaking down your overall study goal into smaller, manageable goals can make studying less overwhelming and more rewarding. For example, if your exam is scheduled for a month away, you may set weekly goals for four key topics you want to master. Then, create a daily goal for what sub-topic you want to focus on.
Being able to meet goals each day and each week will give you a sense of accomplishment and confidence.
Be sure to monitor your progress at the end of each study session to see how well your study plan is working. Are you meeting your study goals? Do you find yourself dreading study sessions or looking forward to them? If something isn't working, don't be afraid to change it.
Include Variety
Studying the same material the same way all the time can get boring. Mix it up by using different study methods, studying in different places, or even switching between subjects during a single study session. This can make studying more interesting and help you maintain your motivation.
Incorporate Breaks
Our brains aren't designed to focus intensely for hours on end. Breaks can actually help you process and remember information better. The Pomodoro Technique, which involves studying for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break, can be a good method to use.
Final Thoughts
Remember, the best study plan is the one that works for you. It should make studying easier, not harder. Don't be afraid to tweak and refine your plan until you find what works best.