How I got an A on the EXCELSIOR Anatomy Physiology Exam in 2 weeks study!

Nursing Students Excelsior

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This is one of the best feelings I have ever felt in life. I not only passed the notorious A&P exam. I got an A! I almost cried when I found out my score... since I registered for this exam and left only 2 weeks study time when also I work full time at a research company. I was extremely overwhelmed at the amount of information that I needed to cram in just 14 days. (10 of which I was working from 8am - 5pm in a highly challenging and high stress working environment, coming home drained) The amount of stress I felt was worse than any stress I had experienced in college so far. I had also taken a 2 year break from college so I was not used to having a study load.

Here's what I did:

1. Rented the Martini book from Amazon.com rentals

2. paid $20 for the MyStudyGuide101 helper

3. Printed only the study guide pages (less than 200 pages) and put in a binder.

4. Wrote a schedule of what I needed to study and when I could dedicate time

5. Went on youtube.com to ANATOMYGMC channel and watched a video class on each section, and took notes/made flashcards/drew pictures. This was crucial.

6. AFTER watching each video - I went though the same info in MSG101 and highlighted/made more flash cards/re-worked the info into my head.

7. Once all the chapters were covered, (11 days) I went to the official Pearson Site for review--- http://wps.aw.com/bc_martini_fap_8_oa/93/23991/6141951.cw/-/t/index.html

8. I looked over all the tutorials (2 min each) and labeling exercises, and more importantly I took the chapter practice tests. These tests have similar questions to the exam.

9. Any questions I got wrong, I corrected in my mind by making a flashcard.

10. Day before exam - spend all day reviewing flashcards and notes/pictures I drew

I was exhausted and miserable for those 2 weeks. I almost ruined my relationships and was cranky, and even studied to the point of making myself sick. (not recommended)

Here was my schedule generally:

Week 1

M-F: 4 hours each night 6pm-10pm (2 chapter videos, and 1 hour SG101 per chapter vid)

Sat/Sun (8 to 9 hours of study, 3 or 4 chapter videos, and 1 hour of SG101 for each)

Week 2

M-F: 4 hours each night 6pm-10pm (2 chapter videos, and 1 hour SG101 per chapter vid)

Sat/Sun (8 to 9 hours of study, Pearson website, practice tests, flashcards)

DO NOT FORGET TO EAT and hydrate. I had no time to cook or clean so I ordered thin crust veggie pizzas (not too bad for you) and drank meal replacements. Some days I forgot to eat... and started feeling very sick. I was miserable, and am lucky to have supportive friends and family that reminded me that I could do this.

I would recommend arranging the full 15 weeks to study, but for those who don't have the luxury of time - it's possible to pass this test. Hope this helped.

Tammy

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

@leahf - The "MSG101" you reference is SG101 (studygroup101.com) and it sounds like you have that already.

That Pearson link is associated with the textbook. If you have the textbook, there are usually supplemental materials available with information printed inside the book cover.

Good luck!

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Does excelsior a&p and any of their nursing courses transfer to a traditional nursing program? I maybe transferring from ec to a traditional school.

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On 5/7/2014 at 3:04 AM, Tamkin said:

This is one of the best feelings I have ever felt in life. I not only passed the notorious A&P exam. I got an A! I almost cried when I found out my score... since I registered for this exam and left only 2 weeks study time when also I work full time at a research company. I was extremely overwhelmed at the amount of information that I needed to cram in just 14 days. (10 of which I was working from 8am - 5pm in a highly challenging and high stress working environment, coming home drained) The amount of stress I felt was worse than any stress I had experienced in college so far. I had also taken a 2 year break from college so I was not used to having a study load.

Here's what I did:

1. Rented the Martini book from Amazon.com rentals

2. paid $20 for the MyStudyGuide101 helper

3. Printed only the study guide pages (less than 200 pages) and put in a binder.

4. Wrote a schedule of what I needed to study and when I could dedicate time

5. Went on Youtube.com to ANATOMYGMC channel and watched a video class on each section, and took notes/made flashcards/drew pictures. This was crucial.

6. AFTER watching each video - I went though the same info in MSG101 and highlighted/made more flash cards/re-worked the info into my head.

7. Once all the chapters were covered, (11 days) I went to the official Pearson Site for review--- http://wps.aw.com/bc_martini_fap_8_oa/93/23991/6141951.cw/-/t/index.html

8. I looked over all the tutorials (2 min each) and labeling exercises, and more importantly I took the chapter practice tests. These tests have similar questions to the exam.

9. Any questions I got wrong, I corrected in my mind by making a flashcard.

10. Day before exam - spend all day reviewing flashcards and notes/pictures I drew

I was exhausted and miserable for those 2 weeks. I almost ruined my relationships and was cranky, and even studied to the point of making myself sick. (not recommended)

Here was my schedule generally:

Week 1

M-F: 4 hours each night 6pm-10pm (2 chapter videos, and 1 hour SG101 per chapter vid)

Sat/Sun (8 to 9 hours of study, 3 or 4 chapter videos, and 1 hour of SG101 for each)

Week 2

M-F: 4 hours each night 6pm-10pm (2 chapter videos, and 1 hour SG101 per chapter vid)

Sat/Sun (8 to 9 hours of study, Pearson website, practice tests, flashcards)

DO NOT FORGET TO EAT and hydrate. I had no time to cook or clean so I ordered thin crust veggie pizzas (not too bad for you) and drank meal replacements. Some days I forgot to eat... and started feeling very sick. I was miserable, and am lucky to have supportive friends and family that reminded me that I could do this.

I would recommend arranging the full 15 weeks to study, but for those who don't have the luxury of time - it's possible to pass this test. Hope this helped.

Tammy

Hi, your post is kind of motivating. Haha. That’s amazing. Do u think 8 week session solely for AP1 is doable? I do not work and would be able to study on a full time basis. But I do not have Biology and Chemistry foundation knowledge at all. Thank you

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Specializes in student.

I know this is an older post....I was reading through all the replies and it looks like people were getting in the 70% range and getting an A on the exam by credit. I took Practice test A and got an 87%. I need a B on the test for credit to transfer so I can start my program in August and they need the grades mid August.

I was planning to take the exam mid July, but there is a weird blackout date and they couldn't give me the date that testing will resume. So my options are to take the exam by June 29 (1 week from now) or wait until the week of July 6 to find out when they will resume the testing.

So, is the general concensus that the exam seems to be graded on a curve and everyone scores higher than they were doing on practice exams?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

That was my experience when I went through it back in 2010. I failed the practice exams miserably. It is no secret that I am not a fan of the sciences. But I landed a B on the A & P exam. Of course, I had to study for a month to get it.?

I wouldn’t recommend taking this exam lightly, though. I was sure I had failed it.?

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Specializes in student.

Thanks for the reply BSNbeDONE. I have been taking notes and studying since March and really hitting it hard for the last month or so. I got paranoid after taking the one practice test, I did get an 87% on it, but it was really tough. And with the weird time crunch, just made it all worse.

1
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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

If your practice scores are in the 80s, I believe you are in line with getting an A on the real thing.

Looking back, I studied for 23 days. I wanted to get the test done before Thanksgiving (before family arrived for the holidays and had a chance to interrupt my study plan). Right after, I met my goal of slaying Microbiology before the Christmas holidays.

The practice scores are designed to gauge your readiness for the actual test. But only you know for sure. Take your time; but don’t wait until you start second-guessing and over-analyzing.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Paramedic.

Does anyone have any focus notes of the exam?

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