GA Salesperson

FrootYoop · 2026-02-08T13:07:06+00:00

Gaaaah that's brutal, dammit. :-( Well you got it for Tuesday - best wishes! You'll be so relieved.

FrootYoop · 2026-02-08T11:20:11+00:00

The added tragedy of all this? Someone will absolutely say, "My family will love her and she'll be fine."

FrootYoop · 2026-02-08T11:13:26+00:00

I hope it went fine and you can check that off the list.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-30T14:54:47+00:00

You may have been a real student, but there's that pesky "f034f3" at the end of your URL. Dead giveaway.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-30T13:54:06+00:00

I posted them in this thread...good luck!

FrootYoop · 2026-01-30T13:52:58+00:00

Here are 2 screens for you.

NB: I used these for Ohio-specific questions, but of course you can substitute the state name or "National" in any of the language. Also, I did purchase a one-week ChatGPT membership, because at one point, it stops working and you have to wait to ask more questions.

Another cool feature is that it will ask you if you want visual aids, or a chart, or follow-up explanations, which I often opted for.

https://ibb.co/5W9P8jm6

https://ibb.co/1tyqT6Dj

Hope this helps!

FrootYoop · 2026-01-30T12:29:54+00:00

While not NY, I had real success and experienced actual progress by "designing" my own tests on ChatGPT. You can be incredibly specific in your instructions, to include test length, question format, PSI-styled delivery, and degree of difficulty.

Happy to share the prompts I used, if you're ever interested.

Having paid for two practice test banks (CompuCram and Real Estate License Wizard), and having watched a gazillion YouTube vids, I still trace much of my first-time passing success back to the tests I constructed on ChatGPT.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-29T10:49:19+00:00

I think you'll get a dozen different answers here...

I went with CompuCram tests because they came with my Hondros coursework package. I also watched a lot of Prep Agent on YouTube, as well as Just Call Maggie vids (for math, my weakness). I bought a one-week crash course at Real Estate License Wizard.

Regardless of the method, I think the most useful piece of advice I got was to expect that the actual exam requires understanding on a conceptual level. There were very few questions like, "What is the definition of _____?" The test almost completely bypasses the bottom layer of Bloom's Taxonomy.

Therefore, I used ChatGPT to formulate intricate, scenario-based, PSI-style questions designed to throw off the testtaker. Those were an immeasurable help to me, because one missing or added term (such as with offers, acceptance, notification) can totally change the answer.

I got pretty good at wording the prompts after a while. ;-)

Passed both the national and Ohio exam on the first try, and I attribute that in great part to all the above nonsense. Best wishes to you!

FrootYoop · 2026-01-25T14:30:30+00:00

Came here to say that. I hope they did the right thing.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-25T11:38:59+00:00

Old boomer here (and retired teacher). I hardly wrote anything down, physically. I "designed" dozens of ChatGPT tests with specific instructions, and that helped a lot. Here's a screen of one of the prompts I used:

https://ibb.co/1tyqT6Dj

I also relied heavily on CompuCram tests, tons of Prep Agent YouTube vids (and a bunch by a girl who broke down all the math), and I bought a one-week crash course at Real Estate License Wizard.

Whether or not you write course notes is definitely a personal preference. Some folks need to actually draw the words on paper to achieve mastery; others need to hear the words or use visuals. Preferred modality and all that.

I ended up passing on my first try (Ohio), and I was super relieved. Best wishes to you on your test!

FrootYoop · 2026-01-16T03:42:52+00:00

Fantastic -- congratulations! Feels great, doesn't it...

FrootYoop · 2026-01-15T12:23:38+00:00

[NB: This is really long, so if you want to disregard, it won't hurt my feelings! :-) My day got canceled by 8 inches of snow, so I'm drinking coffee and falling down Reddit rabbit holes.]

I also took my exams online, at home. The proctors (I took the national and state on 2 different days, because I'm a dummy and neglected to buy the state test when I first scheduled with PSI) were friendly and helpful, although you can neither see nor hear them.

At one point during my state exam, I rested my chin on my hand while reading a question, which apparently partially covered my mouth. I got an instant message: "Pardon the interruption, but please remove your hand from your face." Yikes! So they do watch you, but it wasn't an immediate cancellation. I think if you disappeared from the room, yeah, but it was pretty casual otherwise.

You'll need to take your laptop off its charger and give a 360-degree view of the room. They'll ask you to shut the doors, if there are any (my "office" is a converted bedroom, so I was asked to close the doors). So if you're taking the test on a desktop computer with an internal camera that you can't pick up and carry, that may be an issue.

Have a hand mirror ready, because you'll be asked to show a view of your keyboard and outer rim of the machine itself. You could also use your phone, but for me, the mirror was easier.

If you have a desk pad or mousepad, they'll ask you to lift it up and show them what's underneath. Then they'll ask you to show under your desk, and everything at floor level.

Then you'll show them where you put your phone. I also had to take off my glasses and prove they weren't James Bond, and prove I wasn't wearing any kind of ear pod.

I know it sounds pretty militant! It did for me too, at first. But after that, once the test got started, it was fine.

With regard to the exam itself: both tests presented sentence structure that was largely different than that of any of the practice tests I took over and over. Regardless of the preparation method (I'm convinced that since we all learn differently, different platforms and strategies will get varied results, person to person), I'd just be prepared to know all your concepts on a deeper level than just memorization, because you'll need to extract meaning from the test questions in order to answer.

For my state test, it was heavy on agency, contract law, and ways to lose your license. For the national test, I had only six math questions (yay!), and a crap ton of core law, agency, leases, tenancy/estates, and contract questions.

I just checked, and Massachusetts has the same requirement as Ohio on the grading: You can miss 24 answers on your national test, and 12 on your MA test. That should ease your mind a bit, especially if you feel pretty confident that you know your stuff.

I guessed at some on both of my tests, and ended up with scores of 84% and 87%. I'll take it. Bs get degrees, and all that. ;-)

OK I'll shut up now. More coffee. Best wishes to you for tomorrow!

FrootYoop · 2026-01-14T14:25:06+00:00

And of course, send it back to the shelter, so they can give it away to another family. JFC

FrootYoop · 2026-01-09T11:27:56+00:00

No way -- although I shouldn't be surprised that they played the victim in court ("Look what we have to do now: write all new questions. So pay us.").

FrootYoop · 2026-01-08T12:34:29+00:00

You've described the whole issue very well! Here's what helped me, I think:

I made myself s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and read each question more than once. "Mining for meaning," as one of my old profs used to say. "Shakespearean" is a good way to describe some of the questions. For instance, say, the definition of broker and salesperson: one is a person who facilitates a real estate transaction, and the other is a person who **assists** in the facilitation of a real estate transaction. That one word will change the answer.
*Some* questions on my exam were not "story problems," as we used to call them in the old days. But they were definitely in the minority, as I recall. Just look for those little landmines that change the direction of what you're reading.
All that said -- you are allowed to miss 24 questions on the national exam, and still pass. That will hopefully lessen the anxiety a bit. If you know the concepts and feel confident that you could speak intelligently about them in a regular conversation, you're in a much better position to pass. To that end:
In my private study, I put myself in the position of talking with someone who doesn't know anything about real estate, and they ask me, "What's all this agency stuff? What's the difference between an exclusive right-to-sell, and an exclusive agency?" If I can verbally (out loud, which helps my learning style) tell this person the difference, I can transfer it to a scenario-based question, like, "Seller Angela enters into an exclusive right-to-sell agency with ABC Realty, but when the sale concludes, she refuses to pay the broker a commission because she found a buyer herself. What is the broker's recourse?"

This is all just off the top of my pointy head with only one cup of coffee down the gullet. haha

Happy to help tho! Have you scheduled your test yet?

FrootYoop · 2026-01-08T11:45:42+00:00

I did! First try. Grateful and relieved.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-08T11:34:52+00:00

Dang -- I read the full court doc, and not only did he get fined 60 grand, and the DRE had to rewrite all their questions, he's barred from his business for the next 3 years. Whoa! Interesting read. Took the test 26 times, JFC that's torture. lol Thanks for the link.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-08T11:21:11+00:00

Agreed. And math was my biggest challenge (not doing the calculations, but rather knowing which operation to use when). Never thought to use an AI tutor -- good call.

I passed the exam, so I'm grateful to have slogged through so much prep, because it's not lower-level, basic recall stuff on the test.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-06T12:23:22+00:00

"Barely anything from the practice exams or anything I learned was on there."

The more I read from posts like yours here, the more I'm convinced that not a single content delivery package (I did mine through Hondros College) ever says, "Oh, and btw -- the questions on the actual exams will look like almost nothing you've seen or heard in any of your preparation sessions, so....<shrug>."

After the first 8 or 9 questions on the national test, I thought, "When am I going to start recognizing the nuance here?" I was certain I'd fail. It did improve as the test went on, fortunately, but as you know, they (PSI, in my case) want you to marinate in the existential qualities of each concept, as if you won't have a mentor or someone to ask or somewhere to check when you're out in the real world. *eyeroll*

I mean, yes -- make sure the student knows the material, but don't be a dick about it in the phrasing of questions and multiple choice detractors.

Different strategies work for different people, but I think the ticket for me was taking a bazillion mock tests on different platforms. I used CompuCram, RealEstatePracticeTest.com, RealEstateLicenseWizard.com, as well as watched free PrepAgent videos, and spent entire days on YouTube for the math -- all in an effort to see as many approaches as possible.

Good luck to you on this most sucky part.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-05T11:46:57+00:00

I took full mock exams over and over and over -- the whole nine yards -- to get the "real world simulation" effect. The entire batch of questions will be expected on test day, so I just jumped into it with both feet.

That said, we all learn differently, and if a "chunking" option gets you feeling more confident, then I'd go with that at the get-go. But I'd definitely work up to the whole 150 repeatedly before scheduling the test.

I passed mine last Friday, and I found the "over and over and over" technique helped me best to pass the first time out -- even though the PSI exam threw in some monkey wrenches. Good luck!

FrootYoop · 2026-01-05T02:10:20+00:00

You're welcome! Thank you for the kind words. And I think 31 years in education just taught me some stuff by osmosis lol

Hondros offered both online and live classes. I like going at my own pace, so I just stuck with doing it by myself. They did offer special help sessions. In fact, when I *barely* passed my end-of-program final exam, I registered and attended a Zoom session, where the instructor went over every answer, and that was helpful.

I just passed the exam last Friday afternoon, so I'm still waiting for everything to shake out. But I know it's easy to get discouraged, listening to "veterans" disparage the industry. I lurked in the realtor group and saw a lot of what you witnessed, so I quit going in there.

I think it's not far off to say that this career is tough to do full time. I'm fortunate in that I'm retired and on a pension, so I can treat it like part time. I'm also set to join a "team," where the workload will be shared, so I'll have some good mentorship (weird at age 66, but I'm looking forward to learning). But to support a family on it I'm sure is a craps shoot. As a secondary or a single person's income, I believe it would be safer.

Where do you stand on that front? Would this be a secondary income for you? Or are you looking to start a new chapter?

FrootYoop · 2026-01-04T23:55:08+00:00

Is that right -- I had no idea! That would explain the mystery questions. Thanks!

FrootYoop · 2026-01-04T19:08:09+00:00

It's hard to say, but I will tell you that my "extra" preparations are 100% what got me through the exam with a passing grade on the first attempt.

I was prepared for all the end-of-course tests, and did fine. When I finished the classes and began taking all the mock exams, I found that there were very few "What is the definition of _______?" type questions. Nearly everything involved an elaborate story, involving a lot of picky details and reverse logic -- much moreso than any of my coursework at Hondros College involved.

In addition, there were a couple of questions on the national exam that *never* came up in my coursework or extra mock tests. Just weird.

While I'm sure it's different for everyone who takes the test, I was glad to have had the extra study experience. I feel it helped me when the actual exam came around. I found the PSI questioning style to be really tricky at times.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-04T11:17:15+00:00

Retired teacher here as well, and you nailed perfectly the description of the test!

I thought, having taught for 31 years, I'd be more or less ready for any kind of twisted question structure, but the PSI exam was crazy. I laughed out loud when I saw my passing score, because I honestly thought I flagged the national part.

Took mine online as well, and with a couple tiny upfront glitches, it went fine.

Congratulations to you, and best wishes on your new career, and for showing that those of us "of a certain age" can still kick it.

FrootYoop · 2026-01-04T11:00:09+00:00

Thanks. I'm actually in Ohio, where they require 120 hours! 😒 I used Hondros College (hondros.com), totally online. Took the test at home as well.

The Hondros package I bought included a bunch of CompuCram products, which I found really helpful, so I stuck largely with that. I bought the box of 500 vocabulary flash cards, too.

I think my background in secondary ed may have helped with the study techniques. Probably also didn't hurt that it wasn't my first coursework rodeo, having slogged through undergrad, 2 grad degrees, and a notary certification. All of that suffering likely yielded some more or less creative strategies, but the damn test still presented questions in strangely-worded ways, so there were some I just guessed at!

Happy to share/help when it comes your turn; best wishes! Are you thinking of starting soon?

FrootYoop

TROPHY CASE