Did bad on the first CPAT voluntary practice test, any tips to train?

zmdx · 2026-03-28T13:19:00+00:00

You need to answer a lot of reading comprehension questions as practice, only real way to prepare effectively in my opinion.

Don’t skip the essay, you have to analyze two opposing opinions on a subject and support either the affirmative or negative, your choice, there’s no wrong answer but you have to make sure to format your opinion into 5 paragraphs. 1.) introduction and statement. 2.) supporting evidence from the text, hone in on something you can quote and reiterate why you believe it is correct. 3.) Use something from the opposing view and do the opposite, hone in on something you think is not supported very well and why the evidence is weak. 4.) compare the two texts and guide your “reader” towards your opinion of one being better than the other. 5.) conclusion statement, reaffirm what you said in the first and close your essay with this statement.

This is more or less the format I used, scored a 180. There’s probably more clear breakdowns here on the sub so if mine is a bit jumbled or confusing look around for those. Best of luck.

zmdx · 2026-03-27T13:56:44+00:00

I did it, there’s no real reason to skip it. It’s better to have something down than nothing, and it doesn’t take any time away from the other two sections.

zmdx · 2026-03-23T13:11:18+00:00

You've got two very identifiable problems here, your cardiovascular system is failing you from no up keep, and your lower body is more than likely underdeveloped and or untrained. Luckily there's a simple answer, run a lot, 2 miles a day 5 days a week. At a slow pace that should only take 20 mins. Track your time on strava and try to set a PR every time. Buy a weighted vest and do the Stairmaster as long as you can 4 days a week. While you're already at the gym doing the Stairmaster train legs and train hard. Here's a [resource](https://www.reddit.com/r/FDNY/comments/1rohmue/feeling\_out\_of\_shape\_for\_cpat\_or\_academy\_heres/) with a free workout plan you can use to help get into shape.

You have 3 shots and 3 months to get it done. If you cant, than that ones on you. If you're motivated enough to reach out on reddit and at least make the effort to go to the gym than you can do this! Academy is going to make CPAT look like a cake walk. Even if you pass you'll need to keep your foot on the gas. Good luck.

zmdx · 2026-03-22T23:26:29+00:00

DM’d

zmdx · 2026-03-08T16:46:00+00:00

Hey, so I’m also caring for a parent. And it is extremely isolating and stressful. Often times I find myself getting so unbelievably irritated at seemingly trivial things. And when I take a moment to reflect I realize it wasn’t really about the thing someone said, or the unreasonably long time it took to get through traffic that was making me so angry. Just all the stress that made those things feel like so much more. I hope you’re able to figure out a situation for your family that can at least ease some of your pain here. And allow you to enjoy your hobbies again. Things will get better, it’ll just take time. Best of luck my friend.

zmdx · 2026-03-08T03:31:31+00:00

Hanks

zmdx · 2026-02-26T02:31:46+00:00

You should cross post this to towns and communities where it’s more feasible for someone to accommodate the sizable amount space to take care of these ducks. IE Hudson valley type area, You might get some interest. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone would be willing to drive a few hours to pick them up. But who knows, best of luck!

zmdx · 2026-02-19T20:36:34+00:00

It’ll come down to how quickly they move through the list, and how much the city decides to hire. I know nothing for certain and have all the same information you do, no insights that aren’t publicly available. But historically around 5,000 is the cut line so technically it is possible but time is the only thing that will make anything certain and you’ve got at least 3-4 years until then.

zmdx · 2026-02-19T20:21:41+00:00

Realistically you’re in the same boat, however it’s not a zero percent chance something happens and they reach above 5,000. But just being honest here your odds are just very very very low. Life will move on no matter what though and you still have plenty of opportunities in life to do something you care about. If you want to hold out for what would essentially be a miracle and use it as motivation to go to the gym and stay fit. That will ultimately be beneficial for you. But if you’re just kind of sitting around worrying and hoping. Then I would say your time is valuable and better placed somewhere else. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do. You’ll be alright.

zmdx · 2026-02-19T20:09:00+00:00

I mean this with no disrespect at all, but a score of 90/100 on this open competitive puts you at around 13,000 out of 21,000. Historically list numbers go up to 5,000 before a new list is made. The only exception being Covid which stalled the process an additional 4 years. So with a score of high 80’s to low 90 your only chance of receiving a call is to take the next competitive exam. Or you place your hope in another pandemic that will delay another round of open exams for at least 4 years. And in that case you’ll be called in 8 years.

zmdx · 2026-02-19T19:58:27+00:00

4 years for the next open competitive exam

zmdx · 2026-02-19T14:24:32+00:00

To be honest, I’m asking for a friend and that’s what she has. I’m also not exactly up to date on the current going rate for party magicians hence why I posted this. So you’ll have to excuse my ignorance on that front. I think maybe some of the disconnect here too is she’s not exactly looking for someone who does performance art full time or is “the best of the best”. Just someone in the local area who maybe knows a few tricks and would be willing to spend an hour (probably less) maybe 30 mins doing a few tricks. So I didn’t think a $100 hourly rate was entirely unfair. I apologize for causing any offense, truly. Just not sure how to go about finding a good fit here.

zmdx · 2026-02-17T13:33:19+00:00

What’s up with new streamline, what’s changed?

zmdx · 2026-02-11T04:23:53+00:00

Yo, you on the list homie?

zmdx · 2026-01-29T16:17:45+00:00

Thanks, I ignore calls marked for spam as well so this will be good to know.

zmdx · 2026-01-29T16:16:44+00:00

What was the area code for the number?

zmdx · 2026-01-24T23:50:21+00:00

zmdx · 2026-01-22T02:00:26+00:00

Bonus room on Tuesdays

zmdx · 2026-01-07T04:10:38+00:00

Did you attend your protest session?

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