Top 5 Reasons People Fail Real Estate Exam

24 March 2022

I have been preparing students for the Real Estate licensing exam for several years now.  I am constantly rewarded by students who come through my course, pass their exams on the first try, and begin selling houses.

My biggest concern, however, is those students who cannot seem to pass.  There are, of course, multiple reasons why this occurs, but my goal is to have all students who are willing to work for it pass their exams on the first try. 

One common error is that many students have no idea what it takes to pass.  The KJMETHOD seeks to combat that.  Rather than having students continually take and fail their state exam, which often leads to spending thousands of dollars, KJMETHOD seeks to give students the exact tools necessary to pass.

My system leads the student module by module to the exam information necessary to pass the exam.  No more perusing the internet to learn different topics.  A KJMETHOD student should never have to leave the website inasmuch as all necessary information for the NATIONAL PORTION is contained within it. 

This article will share the top 5 reasons people fail the real estate exam multiple times.

1. Procrastination

The most common excuse given by test takers for failing the real estate exam is that they need more time to study or that they are waiting to take the state exam. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Students will never be more prepared than they are at the end of the course.  At KJMETHOD, we encourage students to learn the material while in class, and take their school test immediately so that they can move onto their state exam.  That is when the material will be the freshest.

2. Not adhering to a Consistent Study Plan

Despite what you’ve heard, the real estate exam is not easy.  It requires that students stick to a consistent study plan.  Too many students pick up the material and then put it down, only to come back to it a month later.  The failure to consistently stay on top of the material will lead to failure.

3. Insufficiently prepared, inadequate, or outdated study materials

This is most evident in online classes.  Many online classes only do a good job on the national portion of the exam.  Students don’t acknowledge this deficiency by adding appropriate state content materials to their study plan.  Further, many materials do not lead the students in a comprehensive fashion.  Due to this failure, students often find themselves attempting to “plug” holes through various content from the internet, which may be incorrect.

Any school or prep course should provide materials adequate enough for students to pass without having to leave that school’s or prep course’s materials.  At KJMETHOD, we guarantee that anything necessary will be contained within the coursework.

4. Not maximizing study time

Study time should be used for study time.  It should be dedicated to studying only.  No distractions, no phone calls, no internet, a quiet room, and sitting at a desk are all good suggestions.  A student must also learn to reverse engineer their state’s exam.  For example, I am in GA and we have 152 questions over 4 hours.  Therefore, a student should only take 1.57 seconds per test question on average.  Every student should know the exact content and number of questions that will be on their exam.  This is often published in the state’s outline.

5. Being anxious before taking tests

People who attend real estate school come from various backgrounds and educational levels. However, some people aren't good test-takers.  This isn’t any reflection on how a person will do as an agent. 

The keys to reducing anxiety:

1. Over study so that trick questions are not an issue
2. Pack necessary items the night before
3. Get a good night’s sleep before the exam
4. Get up earlier than normal and read a newspaper or do some exercise to get your brain moving.
5. Get to the test center early
6. Take several deep breaths before you start and tell yourself something positive.
7. Understand that the first couple of questions will be tough to get through due to nervousness.  Skip those and come back to them.
8. Continue answering questions, you will get to some easy ones.
9. You should be smooth sailing by now.
10. Go back to the ones you skipped