If you’ve never taken one of the hundreds of prep courses available at in-person and online locations, then maybe you don’t know how the short-term courses can change lives, boost income, and make people more competitive in a tough job market. Exam prep classes, seminars, webinars, and one-on-one tutoring sessions are offered for hundreds of targeted purposes. A few of the people who take courses include plumbers, prospective teachers, medical students, law school candidates and graduates (for both the LSAT and bar exams), accountants who hope to become CPAs, and many more.
And while there are hundreds of individual courses that meet the definition, nearly all of them fit into one of five major categories, namely professional certification, school-related, vocational, GED, and self-improvement. Additionally, if you have not yet entered college sometimes these exams can help you determine readiness. Here’s more about the kinds of exam prep training you might want to take someday to advance your career, get a first job, earn a high school diploma, or become a qualified member of a trade.
College and Grad School
Perhaps more than half of all such training programs are designed for prospective college and grad school students. Keep in mind that in addition to gaining admission to an educational institution, you’ll need to cover the cost of tuition and fees. People who want the chance to focus on their studies regularly turn to private education loans to pay for all the bills. It takes a lot to cover the cost of school, and private lenders make it easier to borrow as much as they need, get competitive interest rates, and take advantage of favorable loan terms.
But, after you cover the cost of school and get an undergraduate diploma, there’s a good chance you’ll need to take a test like the CPA exam, insurance tests, or a grad school admissions test to move on to the next rung of your career. Exam preparation classes are specially designed to get you over those hurdles, no matter what type of tests you face.
Professional Certification
Some college grads take the CPA (certified public accounting) test as a first step toward gaining a license to practice in the field. Likewise, nurses, doctors, physical therapists, engineers, dentists, and dozens of other professionals face the prospect of taking two sets of prep tests. The first helps them get ready for rigorous examinations like medical school admissions exams, dental school entrance testing, and more. The second hurdle for professionals comes after school is complete and they have to sit for qualifying tests like the bar, medical boards, and engineering certification levels.
Vocational
If you want to work as a plumber, firefighter, police officer, massage therapist, construction manager, licensed contractor, or any other vocation-specific job, be ready to sit for hours-long examinations that will be both challenging and stressful. For many test takers, the key to getting past this crucial milestone is a series of EP courses.
Self Improvement and GED
For adults who want to earn a high school equivalency diploma, a certificate of proficiency in a foreign language, or qualification to teach classes in art, karate, aerobics, dance, or similar subjects, taking an exam prep class online or in a classroom is usually the first step of the process.