So you saw the word “Failed”. And let me tell you, it’s a shitty feeling. If you’re like me, you cried, a lot. You questioned why you even took this exam in the first place. You may have even said “why am I even in this field?” (Me from my failing in May 2016.)
And then you got up… you wiped your tears away, and said “I will not let this exam defeat me. I am not defined by the word ‘Failed’. I will slay the beast, once and for all.” You got right back up and studied again. And we are all so proud of you.
I get it. I saw the word “Failed” four times. It’s a terrible feeling knowing that your studying didn’t pay off. It sucks seeing your score — even if you were 2 points away from passing, it doesn’t mean anything. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen to many people.
Let me tell you something. I was minorly upset the first time I failed but was determined to pass the second time. The second time I failed, but I was so happy that I improved by so many points (because I actually studied the second time…imagine that?). The third time I was disappointed, I cried some, but then I went at it again.
Then the fourth time happened. I studied by writing concepts and writing them out to make it relatable to me. While I did improve once more, I nearly gave up after seeing that dreaded word again. I spent an entire day saying all of the expletives in my vocabulary. I cried out “Why am I in the field if I’m just a failure?” I was beyond upset at this point.
After my day of being upset, I wiped my tears away and started studying like a crazy person. If I wasn’t doing 1:1 ABA therapy with a client, I was on the Rogue board. I was in Zooms hosted by Sarah (I highly recommend her for a tutor!), and I was hosting some of my own with my study group. I met up with a co-therapist of mine to go over one of the BAS exams because we were looking at questions we got right/wrong.
The day before the exam I had a mild panic attack over a question I wrote wrong, and Corrie (another amazing tutor!) talked me off a ledge. After talking with her and getting clarification, I put a response to one of my questions, watched RuPaul’s Drag Race for a couple of hours, took a bath, and then got back into my final hosted Zoom session for the August exam.
I went into the exam: head up, purse first, smile on like I was Mr. Pearson himself. Took the exam in 3 and a half hours with 3 breaks (took 1 break per hour). Was anticipating results towards the end of September, and then boom… Passed.
Multi-Test Takers: I know there’s many of you out there. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP! I know it sucks seeing that dreaded F-word, but you WILL pass this exam. I had to change my study habits up COMPLETELY to get there.
No matter what, know that we have your back. We will support you through this process. Do not let this exam defeat you, and remember: you WILL pass.
All My Love,
Michelle
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Wow! Thank you for this awesome post! I am studying for my 3rd attempt at this god for saken exam and I am trying to completely change the way I study. Your story gives me hope 🙂