The FAR (Financial Accounting and Reporting) test is the hardest hurdle to clear on the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) Exam. FAR is a “number crunching” test that requires dozens of calculations. More calculations increase the risk of error, and that’s the challenge of FAR.

The good news is that with proper planning and the right CPA study tools, you can pass the FAR exam with flying colors. 

Read on to find out how…

TL;DR: What Are The Hardest Topics On The FAR CPA Exam?

• FAR is considered the hardest CPA section due to its scope and technical detail.
• Most difficult areas: governmental accounting, bonds, pensions, leases, deferred taxes, consolidations, revenue recognition, depreciation, accruals/deferrals, and cash flows.
• The key to success is to prioritize high-weight, high-difficulty topics; revisit them often in your study rotation.
• Use digital flashcards to strengthen recall of formulas, standards, and journal entries.

Why Is The FAR Exam So Hard?

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FAR requires the most hours of test prep time and covers the broadest range of test topics. 

The test includes GAAP accounting concepts for business, non-profits, and governments, plus financial reporting and transactions. With FAR’s massive scope and technical detail, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. 

However, knowing the most challenging areas upfront helps you focus. It’s all about spending more time on the most tested topics.

The 10 Toughest Topics On The FAR Exam

We compiled the 10 toughest topics based on CPA review provider data, AICPA blueprints, and feedback from candidates on forums. These topics consistently trip people up due to complexity, memorization load, or tricky application.

Ready? Here we go…

FAR Topic # 1: Governmental Accounting (GASB Standards)

To understand governmental accounting, you need to change your mindset. Businesses strive to generate profits. Government entities, however, use revenue sources to provide services to the public. CPA candidates need to set aside the profit motive when studying governmental accounting.

With that said, here are some key concepts.

Fund Accounting

You can visualize fund accounting by thinking of “buckets”, with each bucket filling a particular government need. 

Say, for example, that a state has a highway repair fund, and revenue is generated through highway tolls. The fund generates revenue from tolls and incurs expenses for highway maintenance and repairs. Toll fees are restricted, meaning that they can only be used for the highway repair fund.

A government entity can also generate unrestricted funds that can be used for any purpose.

Modified Accrual

Fund accounting uses the modified accrual basis of accounting. 

• Revenue is recognized when it is measurable and available. In this context, “available” means that funds can be collected within the current fiscal year or quickly after the fiscal year ends.
• Expenditures are recorded when a liability is incurred, and the liability will be paid from available funds.

The modified accrual basis focuses on revenue and expenditures in the current fiscal year.

With accrual accounting, revenue is recorded when it is earned, and expenses are posted when they are incurred to generate revenue. Notice that the term “available” is not used in the accrual accounting definition.

Journal Entries

Government funds record entries when revenue is collected and when expenditures are incurred and paid. Government entities don’t carry a retained earnings balance because no profits are generated. Any “excess funds” will eventually be expenditures to fund a particular service or goal.

Fund accounting is unusual. In fact, studying fund accounting may confuse you as you study financial (for-profit) accounting!  Keep the concepts straight by creating side-by-side comparison tables for fund accounting and financial accounting.

FAR Topic # 2: Bond Accounting

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Bond premiums and bond discounts can be a difficult topic, particularly for CPA candidates who have not taken many finance courses.

Bond Discount

Bonds are issued at par value. For this example, assume that IBM issues a $1,000 par value, AA-rated, 10-year bond with a 6% coupon rate. AA is the bond’s credit rating, and the owner will receive $60 in annual interest ($1,000 par value X 6% coupon rate).

If interest rates increase, new 10-year bonds of similar quality (AA) will be issued with higher coupon rates. The price of the existing 6% bond will decline (maybe to $980). After all, investors can earn a higher coupon rate by buying the new bonds. 

When the bond price declines, the security is selling at a discount.

Bond Premium

Okay: same scenario, but now interest rates decline. The 6% bond is more valuable because new bonds are issued with coupon rates less than 6%. The 6% bond increases in price and the bond sells at a premium (say $1,020).

To study effectively for bonds, use flashcards that list bond premiums, bond discounts, and whether the bond is priced above or below par.

FAR Topic # 3: Lease Accounting

Let’s start with the basics: A lessor leases an asset to a lessee. 

When you lease a car or a vacation home, the use is limited and the time period is relatively short. 

Other leases are for much longer periods, so long that the lessee “uses up” most of the value of the leased asset. Assume, for example, that a manufacturing company rents a piece of machinery that has a 10-year useful life. If the lease is for 9 years, most of the machine’s value is used up when the lease ends.

For most leases with a term of more than 12 months, a lessee recognizes a “right-of-use” (ROU) asset and a lease liability. The next step is to record the lease expense, and accountants have two choices:

• Finance lease: Separates expenses between interest expense and amortization expense. This format is similar to a mortgage loan. Each loan payment includes both interest and principal repayment.
• Operating lease: Post one entry for lease expense.

Five criteria determine if a lease is a finance lease:

1. Ownership transfer: Does ownership transfer to the lessee at the end of the lease term?
2. Purchase option: Is there a purchase option that the lessee is likely to exercise? In other words, is the option so attractive that the lessee can’t pass it up?
3. Lease term: Is the lease term a large portion of the asset’s remaining useful life? At least 75% of the asset’s life is a good guideline for this criteria.
4. Present value: Present value (PV) takes a stream of future payments and discounts them based on a discount (interest) rate. PV is a method to restate a stream of payments into current dollars. Does the present value of the lease payments equal or substantially exceed all of the asset’s fair value? Use 90% for this threshold.
5. Specialized asset: Some assets are so specialized that they don’t have any alternative uses at the end of the lease term. Is that true for this leased asset?

If the answer to any of the five criteria is “yes”, the lease is a finance lease.

Master the five criteria and measurement rules using flashcards.

FAR Topic # 4: Pension Benefits

Do you have a retirement plan through work? If you do, does the plan pay a fixed pension amount each month, or does the payment depend on investment performance?

You need to know the differences between the two types of pension plans: 

• Defined contribution plan: Most workers now have defined contribution plans. The employer is obligated to fund the pension plan with specific dollar amounts. The benefit paid to a retiree depends on the performance of the investments in the plan. With a defined contribution plan, the company’s liability ends once dollars are invested in the plan. 
• Defined benefit plan: Far fewer workers have defined benefit plans, because the employee is liable for the benefit payments at retirement. If the invested dollars are not enough to pay the pension liability, the employer must fund the difference. 

These components determine if a plan is properly funded:

• Plan contributions 
• Investment earnings 
• Fund expenses
• Withdrawals to pay retirees 

Write down the factors that increase the pension assets and those that decrease the balance, using flashcards

FAR Topic # 5: Deferred Taxes

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Deferred taxes exist because of accounting differences between book (accounting) income and tax income. 

As the name implies, a permanent difference means the tax calculation will always be different. The FAR exam spends more time on temporary differences, and the most tested example is depreciation expense.

Here’s an example: accounting income recognizes $1,000 in year one depreciation. The company uses an accelerated depreciation method for taxes and posts $1,600 on the tax return. What’s the impact?

• Income: The tax return has $600 more expenses in year one, and a lower income.
• Tax expense: If the tax rate is 20%, the tax return reports $120 ($600 X 20%) lower tax liability in year one.
• Future years: In a future year, the tax return will recognize less depreciation expense and more income. That’s because the accelerated method posts less depreciation expense in later years. 

Bottom line? The company has a deferred tax liability, or a higher tax liability in future years. A deferred tax asset is the opposite: The firm has a lower tax liability in a future year.

Set up the bullet points in flashcards for both deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities

FAR Topic # 6: Business Combinations 

A company with multiple subsidiaries will have each subsidiary create financial statements. If, for example, a builder has a new construction division and a renovation division, each division has financial statements.

Elimination Entries

A consolidation means that the financial statements are combined. What’s important here is that the consolidated financial statements only report transactions with third parties. Transactions between subsidiaries (or between a subsidiary and a parent company) are excluded.

Let’s say that the one division sold equipment to another division for a $5,000 gain. The impact is removed using an elimination entry in consolidation:

• The seller’s $5,000 gain is removed from income
• The buyer’s cost basis for the equipment is lowered by $5,000

Goodwill

Goodwill may be created when a company buys another business. If the purchase price is higher than the net fair value, the difference is recorded as goodwill. Net fair value refers to the fair value of assets less the fair value of liabilities.

If Coca-Cola bought PepsiCo and paid $1 million more than the fair value of PepsiCo’s assets and liabilities, Coca-Cola would record $1 million in goodwill.

Practice mini consolidation problems daily. This area is particularly challenging and requires more time.

FAR Topic # 7: Accrual And Deferral Entries

Accrual and deferral entries are posted to comply with the accrual method of accounting. 

The accrual method posts revenue when earned and expenses when incurred, regardless of when cash moves. This concept may seem strange, and many CPA candidates think revenue and expenses should be posted based on cash inflows and outflows.

Accrued Payroll

Assume that you owe workers $3,000 in payroll for the last week of December, but you won’t process payroll until January 5th of the following year. 

On 12/31, you debit payroll expense and credit accrued payroll $3,000. When you pay employees on January 5th, you debit (reduce) accrued payroll and credit cash $3,000.

These entries get the expense posted in the correct year.

Unearned (Deferred) Revenue

In this example, assume that a client pays you a $5,000 deposit for a home remodeling project. You debit cash and credit unearned revenue $5,000. When you complete the project, you debit (reduce) unearned revenue and credit revenue.

These entries post revenue in the period when earned.

Create flashcards that list a brief explanation of these frequently tested journal entries:

• Accrued payroll
• Unearned (deferred) revenue
• Prepaid expenses
• Interest earned (but not yet paid)

FAR Topic # 8: Revenue Recognition 

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A key accounting principle is consistency, and this is particularly important for revenue recognition. When you choose a method to post revenue, stick with it. Consistently recording revenue in the same way makes your financial statements comparable from one period to the next.

Accountants recognized revenue using a five-step model. To illustrate, assume that your firm sells $20,000 in software to a client, along with $5,000 of training.

• Identify the contract: The contract must have rights and obligations. 
• Identify performance obligations: You must deliver both software and training.
• Determine the transaction price: $25,000 total
• Allocate the transaction price: $20,000 software, $5,000 training.
• Recognize revenue when you complete a performance obligation: $20,000 in revenue when software is delivered, $5,000 in revenue when training is completed.

If you know a customer is not financially sound, you should delay recognizing revenue until paid in full. The conservative principle of accounting states that, when in doubt, delay posting revenue.

Make sure that you have a flashcard with the five criteria, and set up flashcards for different industries (retail, manufacturing, etc.)

FAR Topic # 9: Depreciation Methods

Depreciation expense accounts for the decline in value of tangible (physical) assets. 

The FAR text always asks questions about depreciation methods, and CPA candidates often miss one important fact: Total depreciation for an asset is the same, regardless of the depreciation method you use.

Say, for example, that you’re depreciating a $50,000 machine with no salvage value. At the end of the asset’s useful life, the total depreciation expense will be $50,000. An accelerated method recognizes more depreciation earlier and less later, but the total is $50,000.

Use flashcards that define these depreciation methods:

• Straight line
• Double-declining balance
• Units of production

FAR Topic # 10: Statement of Cash Flows

The statement of cash flows begins with the beginning cash balance from the prior month’s balance sheet. Next, cash inflows and outflows are assigned to one of three categories:

• Cash flows from operating activities: Day-to-day business operations (buying inventory, collecting customer payments, and processing payroll).
• Cash flows from investing activities: Cash activity generated from buying and selling assets.
• Cash flows from financing activities: Raising money to operate the business (stock or debt issuance) and repaying funds.

The ending cash balance should equal the cash balance in the balance sheet.

When you use the direct method to create the cash flow statement, you simply review cash transactions and assign them to the three categories above.

The indirect method only applies to cash flows from operations. The indirect method starts with net income from the income statement. You then review changes in the balance sheet and make adjustments to compute cash flows from operations.

Create a list of common cash flow statement entries, including:

• Interest income payments
• Repayment of a loan
• Cash received from a customer
• Cash paid to purchase equipment

 If you’re feeling overwhelmed after reading through these topics, you’re not alone. 

How To Prioritize These Topics In Your Study Plan

One of the biggest mistakes FAR candidates make is treating all topics as if they deserve the same amount of study time. They don’t. Some areas are tested heavily, others only lightly. Some require a mountain of memorization, while others just cover just a few key principles.

A smarter approach is to weight your study time to match the exam. Spend most of your hours on the high-difficulty, high-value topics (governmental accounting, pensions, business combinations), while giving less space to areas with fewer exam questions. This is called the Pareto principle: 80% of your results will come from mastering about 20% of the content.

Once you’ve identified your priorities, set up a rotation schedule so you’re constantly circling back to the toughest material. FAR has too much content to “do once and move on.” Revisiting topics at intervals keeps old knowledge fresh while you’re adding new layers. Digital flashcards help you automate this process, so you’re studying exactly what you need to study today.

And finally, don’t burn out on the hard stuff alone. Mix in easier or more familiar areas to give your brain a breather. That way, you keep momentum, avoid fatigue, and still make steady progress across the full breadth of the exam.

Are Flashcards a Good Study Tool for the FAR’s Hardest Topics?

Yes, flashcards, especially digital FAR flashcards, are a very effective study tool for the FAR’s hardest topics because they help you review and memorize exam information quickly. They’re especially helpful for the kind of dense material you need to recall instantly under exam pressure, such as standards, formulas, and journal entry rules.

Digital flashcard apps, like Quizlet or Brainscape, are especially effective for mastering FAR’s toughest content because they rely on three core learning principles: spaced repetition, active recall, and metacognition.

Spaced repetition means reviewing material at increasing intervals over time, rather than cramming it all at once. Your mind forgets 50% of the information you see for the first time, so it requires repeated exposure to commit it to memory. For example, if you’re memorizing a formula, you might see a card again the next day, then three days later, then a week later. Each time you recall it correctly, the gap between reviews gets longer. This timing is deliberate: your brain is challenged to retrieve the information just before it would normally forget it, which strengthens the memory far more effectively than rereading.

Active recall is about forcing yourself to pull the answer out of your memory, rather than recognizing it on the page. If a flashcard asks you to list the five lease classification criteria, you have to reconstruct them yourself before flipping the card. That mental struggle (even if you get it wrong) is what builds durable knowledge. Compare that to passively highlighting a textbook, which feels productive but doesn’t actually test whether you could recall the rule on exam day. Active recall helps you learn more than twice as quickly as passive study strategies.

Finally, metacognition is the skill of monitoring your own learning: in other words, knowing what you know and what you don’t. After each flashcard, you need to rate how well you knew that information, which improves your memory. By allowing you to provide instant feedback on your strengths and weaknesses, digital flashcards improve your self-awareness. This allows you to target your study time where it will have the most impact, instead of wasting hours reviewing concepts you’ve already mastered.

Together, these three principles make digital flashcards one of the most efficient study tools available. Plus, they take the guesswork out of wondering what to work on today, which improves study motivation. Simply open an app that uses a spaced repetition algorithm (such as Anki or Brainscape), and you can start studying straight away. By reducing the cognitive fatigue of working out what to study, your brain has more energy to focus on learning.

For FAR, where you need to juggle hundreds of standards, formulas, and exceptions, the combination of spaced repetition, active recall, and metacognition can mean the difference between a hazy recollection and a confident answer under exam pressure.

Getting Over The FAR Hurdle: Master The Monsters First

FAR is conquerable, especially if you tackle the toughest topics head-on. Focused study combined with digital flashcards leads to better retention and less overwhelm. Start reviewing the hardest topics now to make exam day feel easier. Yes, it’s a mountain of content, but all you need is a clear strategy and the right tools, and you’ll have a pathway to the top!

FAQs: What CPA Candidates Ask About FAR’s Difficulty

What’s The Hardest Section Of The CPA Exam?

Many say that FAR is the hardest section of the CPA exam due to the breadth and memorization load.

How Many Hours Should I Study For FAR?

Candidates typically require 150 to 200 hours of study for FAR, depending on their background.

Is FAR Harder Than REG/AUD/BEC?
For many, yes, FAR is more content-heavy than REG/AUD/BEC, although difficulty is subjective and depends on your previous experience.

What’s The Pass Rate For FAR?
Historically, the pass rate for FAR has been around 45 to 50%.

Should I Study FAR First Or Last?
It depends on your strategy. Many students study FAR first while their motivation is high.

How Do I Retain All The FAR Material?
The best way to retain all the FAR material is to combine study with spaced repetition flashcards and completing frequent practice problems.

References

Ebbinghaus, H. (1913). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-based learning: Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 157-163.

Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686-1693.

Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of habit in health behavior: Habit as cue-contingent automaticity. Health Psychology, 29(4), 374.

Sadler, P., & Good, E. (2006). The impact of self- and peer-grading on student learning. Educational Assessment, 11(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326977ea1101_1

So, you’ve decided to dive into the world of sake. Maybe you’re a wine professional who wants to update their knowledge to include this iconic Japanese beverage, or maybe you’ve got an impending trip to Japan for which you want to be prepared! Either way, the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification is a globally respected pathway to becoming a sensei of sake! (A Daiginjo Don! A Nigori Ninja! A Muroka Master! Okay, we’ll stop.)

Think of it as your backstage pass into the sake world: you’ll learn how it’s made, how to taste it properly, and how to tell your Junmai from your Futsushu (without feeling quite as confused as you probably do right now). The exam itself is beginner-friendly (we’ll explain the format in a moment), but it still requires a solid grasp of the basics if you want to pass confidently. Practice tastings are a must, and digital flashcards are your best friend for locking in tricky vocab and details.

And the best part? This credential is respected worldwide. Whether you’re in hospitality, retail, or just chasing a new passion, it’s a fantastic stepping stone to further study, and to elevating your next sushi night from “I’ll have the house sake” to “Actually, this Ginjo pairs perfectly with tuna nigiri”.

TL;DR: What We Cover In This WSET Level 1 Sake Guide

• What it is: An entry-level course designed for beginners, covering sake’s history, production, styles, and tasting.
• Why it matters: Internationally recognized, respected in the beverage industry, and a solid foundation for further certifications (like WSET Level 2 Sake).
• Exam format: 30 multiple-choice questions, 45 minutes, ~70% required to pass. Straightforward but requires solid knowledge of styles, production, and tasting.
• Key topics: Rice polishing, fermentation, Junmai vs. Ginjo vs. Daiginjo, tasting techniques, Japanese culture, and labeling/serving practices.
• Study tips: Use the official WSET materials, attend real tastings, keep a study schedule, and supplement with practice tests and sake communities.
• Digital flashcards: The fastest way to memorize key terms and concepts for the exam.
• Practice tests: Crucial for learning pacing, spotting weak areas, and getting comfortable with question style.
• Tasting practice: Develop your palate by trying a wide range of sake, experimenting with temperatures, and pairing with food.
• Common mistakes: Neglecting tasting practice, cramming instead of consistent study, and poor time management.
• Exam day: Bring ID, stay calm, manage your time, and trust your prep.
• After the exam: Consider WSET Level 2, workshops, or even sake sommelier certification if you want to go further.

What Is The WSET Level 1 Sake Certification?

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Think of the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification as your first pour into the world of sake. It’s an introductory course designed for anyone who’s curious about this centuries-old drink or looking to add a new credential to their beverage career.

In this course, you’ll explore sake’s history and culture, learn the key processes and ingredients used to make it, and start to appreciate just how many moving parts come together to create that crystal-clear pour in your cup.

The coursework is structured to be accessible and engaging, including a mixture of both theoretical lessons and practical tastings. This dual approach of classroom knowledge with hands-on tastings helps you to connect what you read with what you sip.

You’ll also practice sensory evaluation, identifying aromas and flavors until your palate starts to feel less like a guessing game and more like a finely-tuned instrument.

Here’s what you’ll cover along the way:

• Basic sake production (yes, rice polishing matters)
• Types of sake and what makes each one unique
• Tasting techniques to help you sip smarter
• Sake’s role in Japanese culture and daily life

By the end of the course, you'll have a solid grasp on these fundamental areas. That’s why this certification presents a solid foundation of skills for both casual enthusiasts and aspiring professionals.

Why Choose the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification?

What’s the point of taking on the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification instead of just sipping sake at your favorite bar and calling it “research”? 

Firstly, this certification is internationally recognized in the beverage industry. That means this credential carries weight whether you’re applying for bar jobs in Tokyo or managing a restaurant in New York (or just flexing your sake knowledge at a “braai” in Johannesburg).

Secondly, this course is deliberately designed to be approachable. You don’t need previous sommelier training or 6 months of experience as a brewer to get started. The WSET Level 1 introduces all the essential elements of sake production, from rice varieties to fermentation techniques.

Moreover, the WSET Level 1 course is designed for all experience levels. Whether you're a newbie or seasoned in beverage studies, you can do this course.

Key advantages of the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification include:

• An internationally recognized credential
• Comprehensive, beginner-friendly coverage of sake fundamentals
• A combination of theory and tasting (yum!)

Overall, this certification provides a solid foundation to learners from any background and opens doors to further opportunities in the sake industry.

What Are The Key Topics In The WSET Sake Level 1 Course?

The WSET Level 1 Sake Course offers a comprehensive introduction to the world of sake. It gives you the processes, flavors, and cultural context that make sake fascinating to drinkers all over the world.

One major focus is the sake production process. You'll learn about rice polishing, fermentation, and pressing. Then comes the style showcase. You’ll explore the characteristics of Junmai, Ginjo, and Daiginjo, among others. Recognizing these styles is vital for identifying different sakes by taste and aroma.

Tasting is an important part of the course. You'll be introduced to the techniques used for assessing sake's appearance, aroma, and palate. By engaging in practical tasting exercises, you’ll hone your sensory evaluation skills.

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The course also explores the cultural context of sake. You'll study its role in Japanese festivals and traditions, adding human stories to your theoretical and tasting knowledge.

Finally, you’ll tackle the practical stuff: sake labeling and serving techniques. You'll become familiar with terms found on labels and the importance of serving temperature. These skills will help you get the most out of every drop.

Key topics include:

• Sake production process
• Sake styles and characteristics
• Tasting techniques
• Sake in Japanese culture
• Labeling and serving practices

By the end, you’ll have a well-rounded foundation of knowledge that will help you appreciate sake fully and discuss it with confidence.

How Should I Prepare For The WSET Level 1 Sake Exam?

The most important thing to know about preparing for the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification is this: every single exam question comes straight from the official WSET textbook and tasting guide. That means your #1 job is to study those materials thoroughly, front to back. (Don’t get too distracted by external resources!)

Here’s the usual format: you’ll spend time working through the textbook on your own, then attend a one-day intensive review course during which you’ll spend six guided learning hours with a WSET course provider. At the very end of that course, you’ll sit the exam.

The classroom session is not where you should be learning everything for the first time. Instead, it’s your chance to clear up lingering questions, test your understanding, and reinforce what you’ve already studied.

So, your study strategy should look something like this:

• Work through the textbook in full before attending the review course. Highlight, take notes, and make sure you’re comfortable with all of the key concepts.
• Use digital flashcards (apps like Anki or Brainscape) alongside the textbook to really ingrain the fundamental Japanese terminology, production steps, and tasting vocabulary as you progress.

If you’ve ever tried to memorize Japanese words, rice varieties, or the difference between Junmai Ginjo and Daiginjo, you’ll know that your brain doesn’t just “hold on” to new info because you ask nicely. Sake study comes with a steep vocabulary curve: foreign terms, unfamiliar brewing steps, and flavor descriptors that don’t always have a neat English equivalent. Flashcards will help you memorize them much quicker.

• Make a list of weak areas or confusing concepts as you study. Bring these to the review course so you can ask targeted questions and leave with clarity.
• Take a practice test early on in your prep. You may not do very well because you haven’t gotten far with the material, but this is not about scoring a distinction. It’s about understanding the challenge you’re preparing for. How does the WSET like to ask/phrase questions? If you expose yourself to this early on, it’ll help you view the material through the eyes of the WSET examiners, which will keep your learning focused!
• Practice tasting regularly. No amount of reading can replace the experience of practicing detecting different aromas and flavors in real glasses of sake. Tasting deepens your understanding and makes the textbook come alive.

And finally, remember that sake is meant to be shared. Joining tastings, discussing your notes with other learners online, or simply exploring bottles with friends can make studying feel less like homework and more like an adventure.

What Are Some Sample WSET Level 1 Sake Exam Questions?

The WSET Level 1 Sake exam is a closed-book test of 30 multiple-choice questions. These questions test both your theoretical smarts and practical understanding of sake. They tend to cover key concepts such as production processes, sake types, and tasting techniques.

Practicing with sample questions can significantly boost your confidence. It helps you to understand the exam's format and the types of questions that may appear.

Here is a brief list of example questions you might encounter:

• What are the main ingredients used in sake production?
• Describe the aroma profile of Junmai sake.
• How does rice polishing affect sake flavor?
• What role does koji play in fermentation?
• Which sake style is most suitable for warm serving?

Your study schedule should include regular time for practice questions. As you get closer to the exam, you should move to full practice tests. These WSET Level 1 Sake flashcards come with a free practice exam.

How Can I Use WSET Level 1 Sake Practice Tests Effectively?

Practice tests are pivotal to your exam preparation. They provide a snapshot of your readiness and highlight areas needing improvement.

Begin by setting up a quiet space so you can mimic actual exam conditions. This helps you to practice time management and should reduce exam-day stress.

After each practice test, analyze your results. By identifying weak spots, you know what to focus on next. Work on those gaps in your knowledge until they become strengths.

Most importantly, make practice tests a regular habit in your study routine, not a one-off cram. The more consistently you practice for the test, the more confident you’ll feel on the big day.

Here are some tips for using practice tests effectively:

• Schedule regular practice sessions.
• Review incorrect answers to learn from mistakes.
• Track your progress over time.
• Mimic exam conditions for each test.
• Use tests to identify patterns in question types.

How Do I Develop My Palate For The Exam?

A keen palate is essential for the WSET Level 1 Sake exam. Sake tasting involves identifying subtle differences in flavor and aroma. But where should you begin?

Start by exploring a wide range of sake styles. This exposure helps you distinguish between styles like Junmai, Ginjo, and Daiginjo. The more varieties you taste, the easier it becomes to spot the little details that help you recognize each drink’s personality.

When you sit down with a glass, focus on the full tasting process: appearance, aroma, and flavor. Pay attention to unique characteristics and how they change over time. Then, practice describing what you taste using the right terminology. This skill is vital both for the exam and for discussing sake confidently in real life.

Here are some tips to enhance your sake tasting skills:

• Attend tastings or join local groups.
• Keep a detailed tasting journal.
• Discuss findings with fellow sake enthusiasts.
• Experiment with sake at different temperatures.
• Pair sake with foods to observe flavor interactions.

Remember, developing your palate is like training a muscle: it takes time and practice. Engaging in regular tastings will deepen your understanding of sake's complexities. The more you taste, the better you’ll be prepared when exam day arrives.

What are Common Mistakes and How Can I Avoid Them?

Even the most enthusiastic sake fans can trip up on their way to certification. Luckily, most of these mistakes are easy to spot and even easier to fix once you know them.

Mistake #1: Skipping the tasting practice. Reading about Junmai and Ginjo is one thing, but until you’ve actually sipped them side by side, those differences won’t truly stick. Tasting is the heart of this exam, so don’t treat it as optional.

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Mistake #2: Underestimating the time commitment. Many students assume Level 1 will be a breeze and treat the textbook like light bedtime reading. But remember: this isn’t just English vocabulary. You’re learning a whole set of Japanese terms, technical processes, and flavor descriptors that may be completely unfamiliar. That takes more time than most people expect, especially if it’s been years since you last studied for an exam. The key is to plan ahead and give yourself enough time to ingrain the material. Use tasting sessions to bring the words to life, and practice exams to test whether the knowledge is actually sticking.

To avoid these pitfalls, keep it simple:

• Balance your study time between reading, tasting, and practice exams.
• Invest enough time early to properly learn and retain the textbook content.
• Review past exam questions to be familiar with the format.

Understanding these common errors and how to avoid them increases your chances of success. Think of it like brewing sake: patience, balance, and steady effort give the best results.

What Should I Expect on Exam Day?

Some WSET Level 1 Sake courses are delivered in a one-day intensive class, immediately followed by the exam. However, other courses are spread out over as long as four weeks, allowing you to book the exam separately at a date that suits you. Either way, the moment of the exam can be tense, but knowing what to expect can ease your nerves.

The exam itself is a 45-minute, multiple-choice test that assesses your theoretical knowledge of sake. Nothing sneaky or surprising, just a straightforward check that you’re familiar with the material in the coursebook.

If you’re booking an intensive course, this means that you want to start studying a few weeks beforehand. This helps you to pass the exam and allows you to get the most out of the course. You should then be settled in and switched on for the exam.

If you’re booking your exam separately from the course, here are some tips to help you on the day:

• Arrive early. Plan your route and leave plenty of time. If you’re taking the exam online, check your internet connection early and make sure you won’t be disturbed.
• Bring the essentials: You’ll need a valid ID  and writing tools.
• Make time for one last review: Flip through your study notes or your flashcards to warm up before the exam.

With the right preparation, you can approach the exam with confidence.

What Happens After the Exam? Next Steps and Further Sake Certifications

via GIPHY

Once the exam is behind you, you’re officially on the path from sake curious to sake connoisseur. If you pass, celebrate (with an expertly chosen bottle), then think about your next step. If you'd like to broaden your sake expertise or specialize further, you have a few options:

• Enroll in the WSET Level 2 Sake course.
• Attend sake workshops or tastings for more practical knowledge (and fun).
• Join sake communities online and in the real world.

And if you’re feeling truly ambitious, there is a whole world of advanced certifications, including the path to becoming a certified sake sommelier. Each step expands your knowledge, your appreciation, and your bragging rights as the go-to sake guru in your circle.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sake Certification

Is The WSET Level 1 Sake Certification Hard?

The WSET Level 1 Sake Certification is an entry-level exam meant for beginners, so as long as you study the core material and practice tasting, it should not be particularly hard.

How Long Does It Take To Prepare For The WSET Level 1 Sake Certification?

Most people prepare in a couple of weeks with regular short study sessions. Consistency matters more than cramming.

Do I Need To Know Japanese To Pass The WSET Level 1 Sake Certification?

No. You’ll learn some Japanese terms for sake styles and labels, but no language fluency is required.

What Score Do I Need To Pass The WSET Level 1 Sake Certification?

You’ll need about 70% (21 out of 30 questions) to pass the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification.

Conclusion: Start Your Path to Sake Mastery Today

By now, you’ve swirled through the essentials of the WSET Level 1 Sake Certification, from how it’s made to how to sip it like a pro. The only thing left is to take that first step and start preparing.

With steady study, regular tastings, and the right prep tools (digital flashcards and practice exams), you’ll soon find yourself dropping words like Junmai Daiginjo into casual conversation without breaking a sweat.

So, take a deep breath, pour yourself a glass, and picture exam day: calm, confident, and ready to show off everything you’ve learned. From there, who knows? Maybe Level 2. Maybe a life as a sake sommelier. Maybe just being that friend who always orders the perfect bottle.

Your sake journey is waiting. Kanpai to the first step!

Additional Reading

• 5 Questions to Ask Your Sommelier so You Can Sound Smart
• Cheers to WSET beer! Brainscape is the first study app to support the new WSET beer certifications
• What’s the difference between the CMS sommelier levels and WSET wine certifications?

References

Ebbinghaus, H. (1913). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686-1693.

Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-based learning: Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 157-163.

Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of habit in health behavior: Habit as cue-contingent automaticity. Health Psychology, 29(4), 374.

So, you’ve decided to take the Enrolled Agent exam. That means you’re ready to level up your tax credentials, open more professional doors, and maybe even bump up your billable rate. But first, there’s the small matter of conquering three separate exam parts covering the densest tax content you’ll ever see outside of an IRS audit.

That’s why we wrote this Enrolled Agent exam study guide! In it, we’ll walk you through exactly what’s on the exam, how long you should study for, and the smartest ways to lock in the knowledge you’ll need to pass. These are practical EA exam study tips for professionals with no time to waste.

First, let’s break down exactly what you’re up against, how to approach it strategically, and the proven tools that will make you feel ready on exam day.

TL;DR: Your EA Exam Success Plan in a Nutshell

• The EA exam has three parts: Individuals, Businesses, and Representation/Procedures. Each section presents 100 multiple-choice questions, which need to be completed in a total of 3.5 hours. You can take these sections in any order.
• Most candidates need 80 to 120 hours per part. Part 2 typically requires the most time.
• Build a daily habit with specific goals for each week. The best way to pass the EA exam is consistency, not cramming.
• Digital flashcards that break down the dense content tested by the Enrolled Agent exam are a powerful and efficient way to make fast progress.
• Why flashcards work: they tap into the way your brain is wired to learn to help you do so much more efficiently. Pre-made flashcards for the EA exam also break down the content you need to know, saving you the dozens of hours it would take to do it yourself.
• Replace idle phone time with micro-study sessions to add precious extra minutes of learning per day.
• Practice under timed conditions and review mistakes immediately.
• Take care of your health: sleep, hydration, exercise, and stress management are as important as the content.

What’s on the Enrolled Agent Exam? (And How Is It Structured?)

The EA exam is made up of three separate computer-based tests administered by Prometric:

1. Part 1: Individual Tax. Deductions, credits, and filing statuses. Heavy focus on Form 1040 and related schedules.
2. Part 2: Business Tax. The toughest section for many. Business entity rules, depreciation, payroll taxes, and more.
3. Part 3: Representation, Practices, and Procedures. IRS ethics, Circular 230, penalties, and client representation.

Each part has 100 multiple-choice questions and a time limit of 3.5 hours per part. You need to score 105 out of a possible 130 marks to pass each section.

You can take the parts in any order, and each part has its own rhythm and difficulty. 

How Long Should You Study for the EA Exam?

Most candidates spend 80 to 120 hours per part, depending on their prior tax law experience, familiarity with exam-style questions, and how much time they have available for study.

Everyone’s schedule looks a little different, so your EA preparation plan should match your availability and goals. Here are a few examples of study plans you can follow, depending on how much time you have before test day and how intensively you want to study:

• Full exam in 3 months: around 2 hours per day
• One part in 4–6 weeks: around 1.5 hours per day
• Light schedule: 6 months or more of 30 minutes per day.

Insider tip: Don’t underestimate Part 2 of the EA exam. Even seasoned tax professionals can be caught off guard by the sheer detail, tricky exceptions, and breadth of topics it covers. You’ll be tested on everything from business entity rules to complex depreciation methods, so it’s not enough to “kind of” know the material. Give this section extra study time in your plan, review it in smaller chunks, and use targeted tools like flashcards to keep those intricate rules fresh in your memory. That extra attention now can save you from a retake later.

What’s the Smartest Way to Study for the EA Exam?

Here are 6 tips on how to study for the EA exam:

1. Build a Study Strategy and Stick To It

Think of your prep like a tax season schedule: everything runs smoother when you plan ahead. Break the EA exam content into manageable daily and weekly goals, and reserve the final 1–2 weeks for a focused top-to-bottom review. Protect this time like it’s billable hours for a paying client.

It’s easy to let study time fall by the wayside when the demands of life and work get in the way, but to pass this exam, you need to treat it like a part-time job.

2. Make Studying a Daily Habit

Your brain loves routine. Studying every day, even for a short time, tells your memory systems, “Hey, this matters.” Even just thirty minutes a day will take you much further than a caffeine-fueled weekend cram.

3. Practice Under Exam Conditions

Simulate the real thing with timed practice tests. In other words, when you take a practice exam, set a timer so that you can work on your pacing. The last thing you want is to run out of time on the exam. This kind of “real-time” practice will help you avoid that. 

Additionally, review every mistake the same day so that the right answer sticks. You may even want to create flashcards for the concepts you have trouble with so that you can drill yourself on them until you turn your weaknesses into strengths.

4. Find Your Study Community

Connect with other EA candidates on Reddit, Facebook, or local meetups for encouragement, tips, and fresh resources. Just steer clear of threads that spiral into panic. You want motivation and insider tips, not existential dread!

5. Manage Your Mind and Your Body

Tax law is complex enough without brain fog. Make daily movement, proper hydration, and real sleep non-negotiable. You’ll feel sharper, calmer, and more confident walking into the exam. 

(Seriously, this is something that so many learners completely neglect in the weeks leading up to a major exam. They think: “I’ll sleep when it’s over” or “I’ll get back into the gym afterwards.” But good physical health plays a crucial role in good cognitive health. You’ll learn faster, remember for longer, and have better motivation if you’re getting the right sleep, nutrition, exercise, and hydration.

6. Use Digital Flashcards For Efficient Studying

Digital flashcards are one of the most powerful supplemental tools for Enrolled Agent exam preparation. From nuanced deductions in Part 1 to intricate depreciation rules in Part 2 and the fine print of IRS ethics in Part 3, it’s not enough to passively read your course material and hope it sticks. You need a way to repeatedly engage with the most testable concepts until they’re second nature and ready for any question the IRS throws at you.

So why are digital flashcards so effective? It comes down to two proven learning techniques: active recall and spaced repetition.

Spaced repetition: Your brain is constantly deciding which memories to keep and which to let fade. If you review a concept too soon after first learning it, your brain thinks, “I already know this,” and the repetition doesn’t strengthen the memory much. Wait too long, and you’ll have forgotten most of it, forcing you to relearn from scratch.

Spaced repetition hits the sweet spot by only showing you flashcards within your ideal learning zone. By reviewing each flashcard just when you were about to forget it, the memory is reactivated, reinforcing the neural connections, and pushing it deeper into long-term storage.

Active recall takes it a step further. Instead of passively recognizing an answer (like in a multiple-choice question), you have to retrieve it from memory without any cues. This is a much more demanding mental process, and that’s why it’s also far more effective for building strong, durable knowledge. 

Every time you try to recall the answer before flipping over the card, you’re engaging your brain’s retrieval pathways and making sure you’ll recall the information when you really need it.

Digital flashcard apps, like Quizlet or Brainscape, combine these techniques automatically. They keep track of your confidence rating for each card, showing you harder material more often and easier material less, so your time is always spent where it matters most.

They’re not a replacement for your EA test prep materials: they’re a complement to them, ensuring that you deeply ingrain the content as you progress, so that you never forget it.

How to Master Each Part of the EA Exam

Part 1: Individuals

Think of this as your “people tax” section. You’ll be living in the world of deductions, credits, and filing statuses: the bread and butter of individual returns. You’ll need to get very cozy with Form 1040 and its trusty sidekicks, Schedules A, B, C, and E. Work through examples until you could fill one out in your sleep (although we don’t recommend sleep-filing in real life).

Common traps? Forgetting the quirky little rules about dependents, or mixing up how retirement accounts are taxed. These are the kinds of details that can trip you up if you’ve been out of the individual tax loop for a while.

Part 2: Businesses

Here’s where even experienced tax pros sometimes break a sweat. On Reddit, you’ll often see Part 2 nicknamed “The Beast,” and for good reason. You’ll need to know your business entities inside and out, from S-corps and partnerships to their rules, quirks, and filing requirements.

You’ll also be tested on depreciation methods, business deductions, and payroll taxes. The challenge isn’t just memorizing definitions, but really understanding the logic behind them so you can apply the rules in different contexts. Use digital flashcards to lock in all the details, then practice applying your knowledge to the practical scenarios in practice exams.

Part 3: Representation, Practices, and Procedures

Many candidates breathe a sigh of relief when they get here. Part 3 is often considered the “easiest” of the three. But “easy” is relative. It’s still packed with detail-heavy content, from IRS ethics rules and Circular 230 to penalty structures and client representation rights.

The beauty of Part 3 is that it’s a fantastic confidence booster if you’ve prepped well. The rules are very learnable, and because they’re so clear-cut, you can lock them down with consistent flashcard practice. By the time you’re reviewing Circular 230, you might actually find yourself thinking, “Hey, I’ve got this.” And that’s a great mindset to carry into exam day.

Week Before the Exam: Quick Checklist

• Shift from learning to reviewing. Revisit any flagged flashcards.
• Take one or two full-length, timed practice tests.
• Confirm your test center logistics. Where is the center? What are the rules? What ID do you need to pack?
• Prioritize rest over cramming. Your biggest friend on exam day is a good night’s sleep.

EA Exam Day Tips

• Know your appointment details inside and out. Double-check your test date, time, and location a day or two before. If you’re testing in person, map your route and give yourself plenty of buffer time for traffic or parking. If you’re testing remotely, run a quick tech check to make sure your internet, webcam, and ID are ready to go.
• Eat something brain-friendly beforehand. Go for a balanced breakfast or snack that fuels you without making you sluggish. Think eggs with whole-grain toast, yogurt with berries, or oatmeal with nuts. Avoid the heavy diner breakfast or the mid-morning sugar crash that comes from a pastry and a giant latte.
• Stay calm with breathing or visualization. Even seasoned tax pros get test-day jitters. Before the exam starts (and before each section, as needed), close your eyes, take a few slow breaths, and visualize yourself moving confidently through each question. It sounds cheesy, but your brain responds well to calm, positive cues.
• Pace yourself like a pro. Don’t get bogged down by one tricky question. Mark it, move on, and come back later with a clear head. This keeps your momentum going and ensures you don’t run out of time.

Enrolled Agent Study Guide: Concluding Thoughts

You’ve now got the roadmap, from avoiding the most common traps to making every study minute count. The hard part isn’t knowing what to do anymore. It’s just about showing up every day and following the plan. 

• Start early to avoid cramming
• Break your study materials down into achievable daily goals
• Use flashcards to ingrain and retain the facts as you progress through your course materials
• Take as many practice tests as you can (and set a timer to recreate real exam conditions)
• Look after your body (sleep, nutrition, exercise, etc.) and your brain will be your ally, not your enemy

So take a deep breath. Picture yourself walking into the exam knowing you’ve done the work, confident you can handle whatever the IRS throws your way!

Free Resources for EA Exam Prep

• How to Become an Enrolled Agent
• Complete EA Video Playlist
• Free EA Multiple-Choice Questions

References

Enrolled agents: Frequently asked questions. Internal Revenue Service. (n.d.). https://www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/enrolled-agents/enrolled-agents-frequently-asked-questions 

Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686-1693.

Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-based learning: Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 157-163.

McLeod, S. (2024) Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, Simply Psychology - Vygotsky’s Zone Of Proximal Development. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/zone-of-proximal-development.html

If you’re preparing to take an AWS certification exam, congratulations! You’re stepping up to learn one of the most valuable skills in today’s tech industry. AWS powers significant parts of the internet, and having an AWS certification can open doors to better roles, more pay, and projects that actually excite you.

The tricky part is figuring out how to prepare in a way that fits your life. Most people who enroll for an AWS certification already have a busy job, family commitments, or a to-do list that could fill a small novel. This AWS study guide is designed to help you create a focused, realistic plan that works for you.

We will look at how to choose the right certification, AWS exam tips to pass with less stress, the best study tools for learning the content quickly, and how to use powerful study methods backed by cognitive science to learn faster (and retain for longer).

Let’s dive in!

TL;DR: AWS Study Guide Highlights

• Choose the AWS certification level that matches your current skills and your future career goals.
• AWS exam tips: know that AWS exams focus on real-world scenarios and best-fit solutions, not just facts.
• Build a realistic AWS certification study plan that combines courses, reading, flashcards, and practice tests.
• AWS digital flashcards are your best tool for quickly retaining the knowledge you need to answer the more complex questions posed by AWS exams.
• Take practice exams early so you can identify your knowledge weaknesses and get used to AWS-style questions.
• Learn the core service categories: compute, storage, networking, security, and billing.
• Be consistent. Short, daily study sessions are more effective than long cram sessions.
• On exam day, manage your time, flag tricky questions, and keep calm.

Why Should You Get AWS Certified?

An AWS certification shows that you understand the tools, services, and thinking behind the most widely used cloud platform in the world. That credibility can lead to promotions, career changes, or a salary bump. It also compels you to learn in a structured way, so that you come to understand how cloud services fit together. 

AWS certifications include:

• Foundational (2): Cloud Practitioner, AI Practitioner
• Associate (5): Solutions Architect – Associate, Developer, SysOps Administrator – Associate, Machine Learning Engineer – Associate, Data Engineer – Associate
• Professional (2): Solutions Architect Professional, DevOps Engineer Professional
• Specialty (3): Security Specialty, Advanced Networking Specialty, Machine Learning Specialty

Which AWS Certification Should You Start With?

AWS offers four main certification levels, each designed for a different stage of your cloud journey:

1. Foundational: Think of this as your AWS 101. It’s perfect for people who are brand-new to cloud computing, or for non-technical roles (like project managers or sales teams) who need to “speak cloud” but not necessarily get their hands dirty with deep technical work. The exam covers core AWS services, the shared responsibility model, and general cloud concepts. (Exam format: 65 questions, 90 minutes)
2. Associate: This is the next step up, aimed at those who already have some hands-on AWS experience or a technical background. These certifications start to test how well you can apply cloud concepts in real-world situations, such as designing secure architectures or deploying applications. (Exam format: 65 questions, 130 minutes)
3. Professional: These are for seasoned cloud professionals who live and breathe AWS. Expect complex, multi-step scenario questions that require you to make trade-offs between cost, performance, and security. If Associate-level exams are a sprint, Professional-level ones are more like a marathon. (Exam format: 75 questions, 180 minutes)
4. Specialty: These focus on deep technical knowledge in specific areas. They are a great option if you already work in a niche field and want to prove your expertise to employers or clients. (Exam format: 65 questions, 170 minutes)

If you’re just starting out, the Cloud Practitioner or AI Practitioner exam is a safe and confidence-building first step. It will give you the language and concepts you need to tackle more advanced certifications later. On the other hand, if you have some technical background (or are impatient to get into the “meat” of AWS architecture), you might start with the Solutions Architect Associate.

What Makes AWS Exams Challenging (and How Can You Beat Them)?

AWS exams are not about rote memorization. You will face:

• Scenario-based questions where you have to choose the best solution among several correct ones.
• Integration questions that test how services work together.
• Time pressure with long, detailed question stems.

To prepare effectively, it helps to start thinking like an AWS solutions architect. That means approaching each question as if you were designing a real system for a real client, weighing up cost, performance, security, and scalability.

For example, imagine you’re asked about storing terabytes of archival data at the lowest possible cost. You’d need to know the differences between Amazon S3 Standard, S3 Glacier, and perhaps even S3 Glacier Deep Archive. Each service has its own pricing model, retrieval time, and ideal use case. An architect’s job is to pick the one that balances budget with business needs.

This is exactly the kind of decision-making you’ll face on the exam. 

Pro Tip: it helps to break all of this complex information down into bite-sized flashcards that go beyond simple dry definitions but also present mini-scenarios, training you to quickly recognise the “best fit” answer under exam conditions. (You can find flashcards like that here.)

Over time, this style of practice strengthens both your recall and your instincts, so that when the real test throws a tricky question at you, your brain is already in problem-solving mode.

What’s the Smartest Way to Study for an AWS Certification Exam?

A good AWS certification study plan blends different resources and study techniques so you’re building (and reinforcing) knowledge from multiple angles. 

Start by getting your study materials in order. Many learners choose a structured course from a trusted provider like Digital Cloud Training, which specializes in AWS exam prep and produces content that reflects the latest changes to the platform. Begin with a high-level overview of the AWS landscape using videos, whitepapers, or service summaries. 

Once you’ve got the big picture, start drilling the core concepts with flashcards. Whether you make them yourself or find a flashcard app that offers already-made flashcard sets, the idea is to use these alongside your course material so you can reinforce each concept as you encounter it. Importantly, choose a flashcard app that has spaced repetition baked into its study algorithm, like Brainscape or Anki.

Spaced repetition is a study method that delivers concepts at a frequency that matches your unique strengths and weaknesses: more often if you don’t know a concept well and less often if you do. This not only drills you on your weak areas, quickly turning them into strengths, but also ensures that you don’t waste any unnecessary time on reviewing content you already know well.

Take practice exams early and repeat them regularly. This will help you spot weak areas, get used to AWS-style questions, and build your timing strategy. AWS exam prep providers like DCT offer free practice questions you can use to benchmark your progress and target your revision effectively.

Finally, make sure you’re covering the core categories that appear across all exams: compute (EC2, Lambda), storage (S3, EBS), networking (VPC, Route 53), security (IAM, KMS), and billing. Most people spend 30 to 60 hours preparing for Associate-level exams and over 100 hours for Professional or Specialty certifications, so pace yourself with a realistic schedule and stick to it.

Why Use Flashcards for AWS Exam Prep?

Digital flashcards are a great tool for AWS exam prep because the exams demand precise recall: the exact name of a service and what it does, which pricing model fits a given scenario, the right CLI command syntax, service limits and defaults, SLA numbers, and the difference between a region and an Availability Zone. 

Skimming whitepapers or watching a video lecture can feel productive, but those details fade quickly without structured review. You need repeated, targeted engagement with the most testable concepts until you can retrieve them fast, even under exam pressure.

This is where flashcards (preferably digital and with a built-in spaced repetition algorithm) come in. Flashcards are perfect for swiftly learning (and remembering):

• Service names and purposes
• Pricing models (on-demand vs reserved vs spot)
• CLI commands
• Limits, SLAs, regions vs AZs, and other key specs

So why do digital flashcards work so well? Two proven learning techniques do the heavy lifting: spaced repetition and active recall.

Spaced repetition: Your memory is selective. Review a topic too soon and your brain decides it is already stored; review it too late and you are relearning from scratch. Brainscape’s spaced repetition algorithm finds the sweet spot, resurfacing each card right before you are likely to forget it. This timing optimizes learning efficiency.

After each review, you rate your confidence, which adjusts the schedule. Harder cards come back more often, while easier ones return less often, so you spend the bulk of your time on what needs the most work. Over time, the “forgetting curve” flattens, and those details start to feel automatic.

Active recall: You see the prompt, such as, “What’s the cheapest storage class for long-term archives with hours-level retrieval?” and must produce the answer before flipping the card. That mental effort strengthens the neural pathways you’ll rely on when you are facing a 65-question clock.

Flashcards blend these cognitive science techniques automatically, zeroing in on your weak areas so that every minute of study delivers maximum return. By automating the decision process behind what to study, you can put more mental energy into learning, which in turn makes you more likely to study.

How Should You Structure Your AWS Study Plan?

A smart AWS study plan helps you build your knowledge layer by layer. Here’s how a six-week schedule might look in real life:

Weeks 1–2: Build your foundation. Start with videos, diagrams, and service overviews to get familiar with the AWS landscape. Think of this as learning the “map” before you start memorizing the street names. Watch tutorials, read AWS whitepapers at a high level, and jot down any terms or acronyms that pop up repeatedly. These will likely be core to your exam.

Weeks 3–4: Deepen your understanding and add active practice with flashcards. Now that you’ve got the big picture, it’s time to start drilling. Begin your flashcard study sessions to reinforce key facts, and take your first practice test to see where you stand. Don’t stress if the score isn’t perfect. This is just your diagnostic. Use the results to identify weak areas, then prioritize those in your flashcard reviews and reading.

Weeks 5–6: Put yourself to the test and troubleshoot weak spots. Shift your focus to high-priority topics and any stubborn problem areas. Keep taking practice exams to refine your timing and question-reading skills, and maintain your daily flashcard routine. This is also a good time to review AWS Well-Architected Pillars and common service integrations, since these often show up in scenario-based questions.

Weeks 7–8: Refine and review. Use these final weeks for a concentrated review of your flashcards and AWS documentation. Go over the Well-Architected Framework, read any last-minute notes, and make sure you can explain core services out loud without looking them up.

Use daily review sessions with flashcards to keep your knowledge active and fresh. Even 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference.

How Do You Know You’re Ready for the AWS Exam?

You will know you are ready when you:

• Score consistently above 80% on practice tests.
• Can explain core services (such as EC2, S3, or IAM) in your own words, without looking at notes.
• Understand the AWS Well-Architected Framework and can apply its pillars to example scenarios.

Can You Pass Without AWS Experience?

Yes, you can absolutely pass an AWS certification without prior hands-on experience if you study well and use the right resources like flashcards and practice tests. The key is to follow a structured, deliberate study plan that builds both your knowledge and your ability to apply it under exam conditions.

Start by choosing a reputable AWS course that clearly explains the services, best practices, and exam domains in a logical order. Pair that with scenario-based flashcards so you’re not just memorizing definitions, but actively learning how to apply concepts in realistic situations.

Practice exams are your third essential tool. They prepare you for the question style, time pressure, and tricky “best fit” answers AWS loves to use. Review every wrong answer until you can explain why the correct one is best, then revisit that topic in your flashcards until it sticks.

If you’ve never worked with AWS before, this mix of structured learning, active recall, and exam-style practice will help you bridge the gap between theory and experience, so you can walk into test day feeling confident and prepared.

Test Day Strategy: What to Expect and How to Stay Focused

AWS exams are proctored, which means you’ll either sit for them in person at a testing center or take them online under remote supervision. Both formats have their quirks: 

• At a testing center, you’ll have to store personal items in a locker and follow strict rules about breaks. 
• For an online proctored exam, you’ll need a quiet, private space, a stable internet connection, and a working webcam, and you’ll be monitored the whole time.

Expect 65 to 75 questions, most of which are multiple-choice or multiple-response, with about 130 minutes to complete the test. That gives you roughly two minutes per question, so pace yourself. If you hit a tricky one that’s eating up time, use the “flag” feature to mark it and move on. You can come back later once you’ve knocked out the easier ones.

Your mindset on test day matters as much as your knowledge. Stick to a familiar pre-exam routine: get a good night’s sleep, eat a balanced breakfast, and give yourself time to settle in before the clock starts.

Remember: AWS doesn’t expect perfection. Even top scorers guess on a few questions. Focus on doing your best with the ones you know, make smart guesses on the rest, and keep your cool from start to finish.

Final Thoughts: Your AWS Study Plan Starts Now

You’ve got your map for success, from picking the right certification to building a study routine that actually sticks. The hard part isn’t figuring out what to do anymore. It’s simply showing up every day and following the plan you’ve built.

So, take a deep breath. Picture yourself sitting down for the exam, calm and ready, knowing you’ve already practiced for every scenario AWS might throw your way, even if it involves a service with a name like Glue or Snowball. And when that passing score hits your inbox, you’ll be giving your past self a silent high-five for every coffee-break quiz, bus-ride review, and late-night flashcard session instead of another scroll through social media.

You got this—good luck!

Free Resources for AWS Exam Prep

• Free AWS Practice Questions
• The Top 15 AWS Services You Need to Know
• Free AWS Projects Guide to Build Real Cloud Skills

References

Ebbinghaus, H. (1913). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

Explore all AWS certification exams | Validate AWS Cloud Skills | AWS. (n.d.). https://aws.amazon.com/certification/exams/ 

Job, V., Dweck, C. S., & Walton, G. M. (2010). Ego depletion—Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686-1693.

Lally, P., & Gardner, B. (2013). Promoting habit formation. Health Psychology Review, 7(sup1), S137-S158.

Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of habit in health behavior: Habit as cue-contingent automaticity. Health Psychology, 29(4), 374.

We are heading into a future in which AI assistants play an integral role in elevating our ability to operate intelligently and efficiently. If you’re not learning how to use it now, in school or college, then you are shorting yourself an essential skill, not just for academic but professional performance, too.

AI tools for students just have to be used correctly and with self-restraint, especially if you are paying $30-100k a year for a degree! Without AI literacy, even without any personal use, you also become vulnerable to its manipulations around you.

How do you do this? Use AI as a tool, not a solution; in other words, use it throughout the learning process to assist (and elevate) your own cognitive abilities rather than replace them. When used correctly, AI-powered platforms are valuable resources that save time and enhance productivity without replacing human interaction and critical thinking. The best AI users don't just look for instant answers, but prompt the AI to provide personalized learning experiences. 

This will give you all of the efficiency benefits of AI, without compromising the quality of your education or your ability to engage with complex concepts.

With that said, here are seven tips for using AI-powered tools in school or college responsibly:

TL;DR Seven Tips For Students Using AI Tools

1. Use AI as a sounding board. Bounce ideas off a chatbot to improve your outlines and thinking, but do the actual work yourself.
2. Use AI like a search engine. Ask complex questions and get synthesized answers, but always double-check the facts.
3. Use AI to make flashcards. Speed up study prep by turning notes, PDFs, or textbook images into digital flashcards with tools like Brainscape.
4. Use AI as an editor. Get help improving grammar, tone, or structure without letting AI rewrite your entire paper.
5. Use AI as a tutor. Ask for tailored explanations to suit your learning style, but verify important concepts elsewhere.
6. Use AI as a secretary. Let it build schedules, study plans, or to-do lists so you can focus more on learning and less on logistics.
7. Don’t blindly trust AI. AIs can make stuff up. Always fact-check, especially on academic work or anything with real-world stakes.

Tip # 1 For Using AI In School: Use AI Tools As A Sounding Board

After you come up with ideas for a project, essay, or assignment, use a chatbot as a really smart friend you cannot annoy, no matter how many questions you ask! List your ideas or submit your outlines and ask which one is most applicable to the topic, or even which one would fit best with the teacher’s guidelines. Then continue your work independently.

The key here is asking AI tools to help you improve upon the conclusions you have already thought about, or identify those you haven’t, thereby preventing it from doing all the work for you.

You can even ask it to identify the gaps or shortcomings in your approach, based on your personal learning style. (As with all chatbots, the best AI prompts are specific. The more detailed your prompt, the better the learning experience you’ll get.)

Struggling to get started? AI tools for students can help you overcome writer's block by brainstorming ideas and giving you a direct plan of action to write your first sentence. You won't learn anything if you ask it to generate essays from start to finish, but it's a valuable tool for giving you outlines and structure within which to write.

Whether you're working on research papers or creative projects, you need to do the work yourself to develop your writing skills, but sometimes that little push to get started makes all the difference.

Tip # 2 For Using AI In School: Use AI Tools As A Search Engine 

Think of a chatbot like a smarter, more human search engine. Without having to narrow your complex queries down to just a few keywords, you can brain dump your thoughts and poorly-phrased questions into the prompt box, and it will (most likely) understand what you’re asking for.

This is especially useful when your question deserves a more sophisticated answer, such as “How do I write an email to my professor about X?” or “My teacher told us to use APA formatting: what does that mean?”

Furthermore, the best AI tools can analyze vast amounts of input data. An AI assistant such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini enables students to unpack complex concepts by giving them concrete answers, key points, and examples, or even suggesting a direct plan of action. Unlike Google and other traditional search engines, which tend to regurgitate a bunch of ads, sponsored links, and useless fluff paid for by the highest bidder, AI connects students with clean, direct, synthesized responses.

But using AI tools as search engines goes beyond getting just one right answer. They can also help you find a range of resources. For example, if you’re doing a literature review or conducting in-depth research, AI tools for students can suggest relevant academic papers, point you to lesser-known research projects, or recommend databases you might not have considered.

From college students working on in-depth assignments to adults looking to conduct thorough research beyond their usual sources, AI tools can help you expand your horizons and consider possibilities you didn’t even know existed. Just bear in mind that the best AI users go beyond instant answers and dig deeper.

Tip # 3 For Using AI In School: Use AI Tools To Create Flashcards For You 

You know how I said more and more companies are integrating AI assistants into their systems, software, and processes? Flashcard study apps like Quizlet and Brainscape are no different. 

For starters, flashcards are one of the most efficient ways to learn a large volume of information in a short amount of time because they work with our brain’s natural wiring to make learning faster, easier, and more likely to stick.

The downside is that making flashcards from study notes can be quite time-consuming. No one likes repetitive tasks! But the best AI tools for students remove the grind so that you can maximize your time spent actively learning.

Brainscape's new AI tools allow students to supply a prompt to create flashcards for any subject. For example, I asked it to create 20 flashcards on warbler species found in North America:

Within seconds, I had 20 accurate flashcards on the different kinds of warblers that breed in or migrate through North America. This can be replicated in any subject, so long as you carefully read through each flashcard for accuracy. (Anyone who uses chatbots will know that they occasionally make stuff up! More on this in tip # 7.)

You can also use Brainscape’s AI tools for students to “summarize from text”, or you can upload lists of vocabulary terms or any content written in a flashcard format, and it will turn your work into flashcards in seconds. 

You can even use this valuable tool to create digital flashcards from text (Microsoft Word docs, PDFs, etc.) and images of textbook pages or lecture notes, automatically distilling down all of that content into neat, punchy study assets that will help you study so much more efficiently. Check out our guides on how to convert your any study asset into flashcards with AI.

Remember that you can string multiple AI tools together for maximum efficiency! For example, you could use Notta or Gemini for note-taking, then input that document into Brainscape's AI tools to instantly turn a lecture into flashcards.

Brainscape is just one of many study apps actively integrating AI tools into its functionality to make our learning experience easier, without compromising our education. Make sure you research the tools at your disposal and use them!

Tip # 4 For Using AI In School: Use AI As An Editor

The great thing about the computational intelligence of AI-powered tools is their ability to store, sift through, and organize a bunch of data. When something is as complex as a language, this data analysis can be extremely helpful for improving your language skills because the best AI tools understand grammar, spelling, and appropriate word choice.

After you have written an essay or assignment, you can ask AI tools such as DeepSeek or ChatGPT “Please point out all my spelling and grammar mistakes”, or “Evaluate this paper to see if it matches my teacher’s rubric” or even “How can I improve the following text to be more accessible and inclusive of people of all genders, cultures, and abilities?”

The best AI tools for students can help you with language learning by pointing out errors in your writing or suggesting valuable insights, such as natural-sounding ways to express yourself in a foreign language. If you want to hear a conversation come to life, you can use audio and video generation tools to listen to the target language and practice your pronunciation.

Many online word processing tools for students integrate AI tools for editing, even in their free versions. For example, Google Docs integrates auto-complete functions into its user interface, as well as additional tools such as checking spelling and grammar. (Additionally, it provides advanced features for planning the structure of documents.)

Plus, there are AI-powered tools like Grammarly that integrate AI analysis into their recommendations to correct grammar and spelling mistakes. By evaluating what you have already written, AI tools can give you suggestions on what you can improve without actually interrupting the important work of human thought. These continue to function within web browsers, so you can add these powerful tools as an additional layer of tailored support within Google Docs.

Additionally, AI tools can help you improve your coding skills by providing a safe platform to experiment while receiving steady feedback from an editor. You can ask an AI to give you a specific challenge, then try to write code to solve the puzzle. After receiving feedback, you can try again or ask for a slightly harder challenge. This learning process offers personalized tutoring through a constant feedback loop, helping you to improve your coding while learning at your own pace.

Tip # 5 For Using AI In School: Use AI Tools As A Tutor

It can be frustrating when you struggle with a concept that your teacher, friends, and fifteen YouTube videos have tried explaining to you several times already.

This is where AI’s ability to answer questions for personalized learning experiences can be put to enormous advantage. If you have trouble understanding key concepts, ask AI tutors to teach you the information in a way that is tailored to your learning style and level of comprehension.

For example, “I understand how a neuron works, but I do not understand how neurotransmitters fit into the process. Can you please explain it to me?” or “I am trying to remember the different stages of the cell cycle, can you create a mnemonic that includes the information from these notes?” Paste your notes into the prompt box along with your query. You can even ask some chatbots to explain concepts from a YouTube video.

You can then give the chatbot feedback on what made sense to you and what didn’t. The best AI tools for students will learn your preferences and become more tailored to individual learning styles over time.

You don't necessarily need to pay for AI tutors as a standalone service. Even the free version of ChatGPT has the capacity to answer questions on complex topics. The only limit to your personalized learning experiences is how specifically you request the ideal tailored support for your learning style. AI tutors, even among the most common chatbots, are able to structure information in a way that suits you.

For college students struggling to take in yet another chunk of information after a long day of stretching their attention span, AI tutors are a powerful tool. They can turn explanations into engaging presentations in whatever style of entertainment is requested, while still making sure to cover all the important concepts. From Character.ai to Claude, you can ask for a tailored explanation in the style of your favorite fictional character or celebrity. Add some appropriate Star Wars background music, and you could suddenly feel like you're learning your course materials from Master Yoda.

That said, while it’s unlikely an AI assistant would hallucinate about well-known complex topics, it’s still good practice to verify its explanation. Once you’ve digested the AI’s version of events, reread your textbook, consult a web search, or check in with human teachers to make sure the information is accurate. Rather than treating AI tutors as a standalone learning experience, the best AI users utilize them more reliably by shifting back and forth between trusted sources and AI, double-checking every time. More on this in Tip # 7.

Tip # 6 For Using AI In School: Use AI Tools As A Secretary

Scheduling school work, personal time, and arranging activities with friends can consume precious cognitive load and create anxiety. A lot of students become overwhelmed with how many assignments they have, but still want to prioritize time for exercise and social time. This often leads to procrastination. 

By using AI as a personal secretary, however, you can, in seconds, create weekly assignments, exams, or study planners that are tailored to your workload, thereby taking any guesswork or stress out of the equation. (You can also use Brainscape’s free, pre-made study/exam countdown templates to plan your life!) The best AI tools for students to improve their organization allow learners to focus their energy on studying instead of planning when to study.

For example, you could list the assignments you have for a week with their due dates, as well as an estimation of how long each one will take you. Then, list the personal tasks you want to include (gym, Spanish lessons, hair appointment) and any plans with friends. The chatbot has the ability to prioritize tasks and form a plan for you to have the most productive week possible.

As well as task management, AI tools can save time through note-taking, summarizing course materials, and taking care of administrative tasks.

Again, the more detailed and specific you are with your prompts, the better the recommendations AI will come up with. Every time you adjust and calibrate the AI to serve you better, you provide it with a learning experience that will optimize its capacity to help you in the long run. Many tools, such as ChatGPT, retain the memories of all past conversations with a user, eventually developing into the best AI just for you.

Tip # 7 For Using AI In School: Don’t Believe Everything AI Tools Tell You!

Even the best AI tools are notorious for making mistakes because they are sifting through the largest body of information in human history—the World Wide Web—and not all that information is accurate anyway.

They're able to analyze vast amounts of data, but not all the information at their disposal is accurate. They're looking at every lie told on the internet, not just your course materials. Think of trying to figure out instant answers to every historical debate, scientific discussion, and political argument at the press of a button.

For this reason, it is risky for both your academic standing and sanity to believe everything an AI assistant tells you. AI tools randomly generate citations that don’t exist because their goal is to compile information for the most relevant result, not the most accurate. 

The same goes for AI-generated search engine results. AI Google searches have advised people to eat a rock every day and add glue to their cheese, or even argued that their neighbor is an extraterrestrial!

It's worth noting that AIs have different strengths. Math problems are a key area where even the best AIs may fail. While ChatGPT and Claude might be the best tools for students to gather an explanation of important concepts within their math curriculum, they may make errors when asked to solve actual problems. 

A question as simple as counting the number of letters in a word may trip them up. In this case, there are other tools that are designed for math problems, such as Wolfram Alpha. Remember that even the best AI tools are not the only programs available, and that familiarizing yourself with a wide range of specialized software allows students to select the best tools for the task at hand.

Getting accustomed to misinformation and the instant gratification of AI’s automation can erode your patience, intelligence, and judgment. By becoming aware of its advantages and minimizing your overdependence, you can use AI tools to supercharge your intelligence. 

All good things have their limits. 

Advice For Teachers On Managing AI In The Classroom

AI is here to stay. It has helped improve the efficiency of countless industries (even if that means taking jobs) and will continue to present significant leaps as the technology improves. 

When it comes to our education, however, we need to make sure that AI tools are not taking over our jobs as students, nor, more importantly, as thinkers. We're not looking for instant answers that remove all thinking from our learning.

Instead, it’s your challenge to learn how to use the best AI tools for students to make you a more efficient learner, without atrophying your intelligence, motivation, and work ethic. 

Teachers have an important role in this learning process. Some teachers’ best AI practices come from a strict parental perspective, completely banning technology in the classroom. However, going back to writing essays in bluebooks only hurts students and their ability to eventually assimilate with a workforce that is already using this technology.

Educators who embrace AI, teach students how to use it effectively, and enforce AI disclosures are much more likely to succeed. Permit the use of AI tools for students, but be clear on what that means and where the line exists between it being a tool and a full solution, and that it should not be crossed.

For example, students need to understand the difference between AI tools for note-taking and asking them to provide direct answers to assignments, generate essays, or write entire research papers.

Students of all ages do have a natural sense of ethics. Involve them in discussions and allow them to explain why it might be helpful for a visual art student to use AI for real-time suggestions while painting an artwork, but an utterly pointless exercise to replace this process with one-click image generation. 

The best AI tools for students can write essays, but everyone from elementary to college students and even adult learners will learn more by treating the AI as a helper that can answer questions, but not replace their role as a writer. As always, fostering engagement with ethical questions is more productive than handing down rules.

Maintain the feedback loop between teachers, students, and classmates by always pairing AI usage with human interaction and other tools. For example, students can check their AI-generated notes and summaries with each other or verify AI-generated explanations with their teachers. 

By thinking critically about their user interactions and noticing what kind of queries they ask of AI tools, students can use them as valuable resources that help them to be more aware of their individual learning styles. Regular metacognitive conversations about the impact of these programs on their learning experience will allow both teachers and students to identify which are the best AI tools for each task.

In other words, don’t let your students fool you, and don’t let your students be fooled. Learn AI literacy (even if it has to be together), and set up safeguards so students are learning by completing their own, original work. The best AI learning experience enhances learning without replacing the joy of effort and progress.

A Final Note on Using AI in Education

Ultimately, the future of education requires a shared understanding between students and teachers regarding AI. Students need to take responsibility for using AI tools wisely and honestly, using this technology to enhance their learning instead of replacing it. 

Meanwhile, teachers need to guide this process by providing learners with helpful boundaries and modeling responsible AI use. 

By working together, both students and teachers can enjoy the benefits of AI without compromising academic integrity or critical thinking. The goal isn’t to keep up with technology. It’s the same goal as always: to become better learners and teachers, using whatever tools are available.

Additional Reading

• Is the use of AI in education making us dumber?
• How to Convert a YouTube Video to Flashcards with AI
• Top 10 EdTech Blogs You Should Know

We've all been there: one crazy day and boom… your study streak is gone. "Nooooooo!"

But despair no longer. Brainscape understands that sometimes "life happens", so we've created a new Streak Revival tool to help undo the occasional boo-boo.

As of our latest mobile app update, Brainscape Pro users can now restore a broken streak for up to 2 days per month. Whether you were traveling, sick, or just needed a breather, you can now bounce back without guilt.

Check out our mobile app update

This hack helps you combat that feeling of wanting to totally give up after just one slip-up.  The literal scientific term for this is the “What the Hell Effect”, and Brainscape's Streak Revival tool can help you overcome it so you can keep marching toward your learning goals.

(And if you want to atone for the missed day, you can always put in two short study sessions instead of one.)

👀 The best parts of our streak improvements:

• Revive a broken streak up to two days a month
• Personalized milestone messages as your streak grows
• Better reminders to avoid losing your streak in the first place
• A record of your longest streak ever, right in your metrics screen

Learn more about our streak revival feature.

Other things were working on this year

• TTS (text-to-speech) on mobile app: Hasta la vista to having to be looking at your phone to study!
• Q/A reversal on web: Flip the script so that you’re shown the answer side of your flashcards first and are challenged to recall the question for even deeper learning.
• Better card and deck organization in the mobile app: Copy, move, reorder, & more!
• Continued web study algorithm updates to make your study experience in Brainscape as easy, efficient, and painless as possible.

Remember that we prioritize many Brainscape features based on your feedback, so be sure to suggest your ideas in our Feature Request Forum.

🎓 New Certified Flashcards You’ll Want to Check Out

We’ve been busy expanding our library of high-quality, exam-ready Certified Collections. So whatever you’re studying, there’s probably something new for you. Recent additions and overhauls include:

🗳️ Political Science 101 – Perfect for learners diving into government, policy, and more
💬 Vocab Builder – Freshly revamped to sharpen your word game for tests and daily brilliance
💊 NAPLEX Top Drugs – Know your meds, ace your boards
🧠 GRE Psychology & Vocabulary – Two new tools for future grad students
📈 CFP® & CPA® – Finance pros, we got you
🏛️ Real Property Law (1L) – All the rules, none of the panic.
🖥️ CISSP & CCNA – IT cert prep = upgraded
🩺 Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) – Nail the essentials
🍔 ServSafe Exams – For food safety exam confidence
🏋️ CrossFit Lingo & Concepts – Because gains ≠ guesswork

Whether you’re hitting the books or the gym, Brainscape has you covered.

🔍 Browse all Certified Collections

🧠 Brainscape vs. the Attention Span Crisis

TikTok. Push notifications. Two-second video cuts. The average human focus span has shrunk to 47 seconds... but not for Brainscape users.

In this video, our CEO Andrew, reveals how students are actually studying longer than ever using Brainscape. Thanks to a few clever design choices backed by learning science.

🎥 Watch the full video to learn how Brainscape helps you train your brain to focus longer and learn faster. Want to join the discussion about this topic check out our latest Linkedin post. 

📌 Tips of the Month

💡 Consistency beats cramming Studying in short bursts more often helps your brain retain information better. Just 15 focused minutes a day can do more than 2 hours of last-minute cramming.

🔥 Use streak reminders to build the habit Turn on daily streak notifications to keep your study momentum going. A gentle nudge can make all the difference in sticking to your routine. 

Academy article to check out

The 7 Features of Highly-Effective Flashcards: The essential tenets to help you make beautiful, succinct flashcards for faster, more frictionless learning.

Say “Hi!” to Brainscape’s Sales Manager, Justin Gallagher 

If you hear a cheerful little chime echoing from the Brainscape sales department, odds are it’s Justin Gallagher triumphantly checking something off his Microsoft To Do list. As our Group Sales Lead, Justin is equal parts customer caretaker and strategic closer. His favorite accomplishment? Growing our Group Sales Partner base by over 20% for two years in a row. (Hey that’s our favorite accomplishment of yours too, Justin!)

But Justin’s not just chasing KPIs. He’s raising the bar for how we support our partners after the ink is dry and elevating the client experience to true partnerships. When asked what he wishes more people realized about Brainscape, he says it’s what a wide-open universe our product is. “Everyone I meet has expertise in something worth sharing, and flashcards are the perfect medium for it.”

We’ll take that as a pitch for your upcoming Marvel trivia flashcards, Justin!

So you’ve decided to become the person who knows what to do when someone yells, “Is there a doctor in the house?” (even though you’re not a doctor and definitely don’t want that kind of pressure). Good news: you don’t need to have a medical degree to offer potentially life-saving care for a huge spectrum of emergencies. You just need a first aid certificate. And we’re here to walk you through exactly how to get one!

Whether it's to boost your resume, meet workplace safety requirements, or give yourself peace of mind should an emergency arise as a parent, teacher, or guardian, first aid certification is one of the most empowering competencies you can earn. Let’s break down everything you need to know about first aid certification programs, as well as a nifty study tool that makes crushing the theory portion of the certification a total cake walk.

What are First Aid Basics & Who Needs Them?

First aid basics are the kinds of emergency care you administer or protocols you follow before the real medical professionals arrive, like the EMTs or paramedics. We’re talking about simple, yet potentially lifesaving skills like CPR training (cardiopulmonary resuscitation if you're fancy), stopping bleeding, and what to do if someone’s choking, burned, having an allergic reaction, or physically injured (and more).

It’s not magic. It’s not even medicine. It’s just clear, calm, practical help that can genuinely save lives.

And who needs this knowledge of first aid basics?

Well, aside from literally everyone, there are some specific groups who may be required (or strongly encouraged) to get certified:

• Parents and guardians
• Teachers
• Childcare providers
• Healthcare providers
• Coaches and fitness instructors
• Construction and industrial workers
• Lifeguards
• Flight attendants
• Outdoor guides
• Human beings with other human beings in their life

That last one? That’s probably you. Everyone should learn the essential skills needed to assist in common medical emergencies.

In short: if you’re wondering how to get first aid certificate credentials to help others (or meet the job requirements), this guide’s for you.

Why Is First Aid Certification Important?

Getting certified in first aid is fundamentally about learning how to act when someone gets sick, injured, or physically compromised. With a valid first aid certificate, you:

• Are prepared to assist in real-life emergencies
• Learn how to avoid making situations worse
• Help reduce the severity of injuries
• Can make a lifesaving difference while first responders are en route
• Meet workplace health and safety requirements
• Nod knowingly when someone attempts to perform CPR in a film

Taking a first aid class is a small investment of time and energy with the greatest potential reward: saving lives. Think of it as unlocking a real-life superpower, minus the cape (unless you’re into that).

Beyond individual benefit, first aid certification ensures communities are safer, workplaces are more compliant, and you’re legally protected in many jurisdictions. In some cases, completing a first aid certification program might even reduce liability for employers, so everybody wins.

How Do I Obtain My First Aid Certificate?

Step 1: Choose the Right Certification Course

Not all first aid courses are created equal. The one you need depends on your goals, job requirements, and how deep you want to go in the realm of emergency medical services.

The most common options include:

• Basic First Aid: Covers general emergencies like cuts, burns, fainting, etc.
• CPR/AED: Teaches you how to perform CPR and use an automated external defibrillator
• Pediatric First Aid Certificate: Essential for childcare workers or parents
• Workplace First Aid Certificate: Tailored for specific industries and often required by law

Some first aid training courses combine CPR certification with first aid in one training session, which is great if you want to be extra-prepared. There is a range of other courses that complement first aid, such as safety and evacuation training specific to a particular workplace. For example, if you work as a clinic receptionist in a building full of healthcare professionals, you might need to learn a range of protocols for different situations. Check what your employer or state requires and make sure the training materials cover those requirements before you book anything.

Step 2: Choose a Recognized Provider

You want training from someone legit. Look for courses from nationally recognized organizations like:

• The International or American Red Cross
• American Heart Association
• National Safety Council
• St. John Ambulance
• Your local health department or workplace training program

Importantly, make sure the course is OSHA-compliant if you're doing it for work.

Most first aid courses offer options for both in-person training and blended learning courses (online + in-person), depending on your location and the provider. Just know that if you complete first aid training online, your course will typically not be accepted for first aid certification without the addition of an in-person skills component. Online training doesn't cover practical knowledge, such as CPR training. 

This makes sense, right? You can learn the rules of basketball from ChatGPT but you won't be able to play until you get onto an actual court!

Step 3: Study for the Theory Portion Using a Flashcard App

Even though most first aid training is hands-on, there’s usually a written or online knowledge test involved. That means you need to understand the why behind each emergency action, not just how to do it.

And this is where that nifty study tool I mentioned in the introduction comes in!

Digital flashcards.

It's flashcards, just digitized (so, on your phone and laptop). You may have used flashcards in school, but digital flashcards are next-level efficient for learning all the theory you could get tested on in any basic first aid program as efficiently and painlessly as humanly possible.

The best flashcard app for the job is Brainscape because we've already broken down all of the testable knowledge content into a collection of expert-curated first aid flashcards, which you can start studying right away.

These First Aid flashcards are designed to help you learn twice as fast using a study tactic called spaced repetition. In fact, there's a whole elegant science to the way Brainscape works (<– and you can learn more here), but to summarize it all, the web and mobile app empowers you to:

• Study in short, focused bursts
• Track your progress
• Build long-term memory
• Quiz yourself on the go
• Feel confident heading into your first aid certification course (or real-world emergencies)

No more blanking on the steps of CPR just because you read it once a week ago. With Brainscape, you’ll actually remember what to do in emergency situations, and why.

Step 4: Attend the Course and Practice Your Skills

This is where the fun begins. During your first aid course, you’ll get hands-on practice in things like:

• Performing chest compressions on a mannequin
• Bandaging wounds
• Responding to mock emergencies
• Using an AED correctly
• Training to stay calm while everyone else freaks out

It’s interactive, useful, and often surprisingly fun (especially if you enjoy fake blood and plastic limbs).

Instructors will walk you through real-life scenarios and give you a chance to try your skills in a safe, supportive environment. Some first aid training providers even simulate group disaster drills for realism.

Step 5: Pass Your Assessment and Get Certified!

Most first aid certification courses end with a short written test and a practical skills assessment. Don’t worry! If you’ve been paying attention during training (and studying with Brainscape), you’ll crush it.

Upon completion, you’ll receive your first aid certification, which is usually valid for at least two years, depending on the provider and course type.

Some certificates are digital; others are physical. Either way, you can add it to your resume, share it with your employer, and rest easy knowing you’ve got a valuable life skill under your belt.

FAQ on Getting First Aid Certified

What is Basic First Aid & Who Needs It?

Basic first aid is immediate care given in an emergency before professional help arrives. Everyone benefits from knowing it, but this training is especially important for educators, caregivers, fitness trainers, and workplace safety professionals.

Why is First Aid Certification Important?

Certification ensures you’re prepared to respond effectively in emergency situations, meet job requirements, and provide basic treatment with confidence and skill.

Do First Aid Certificates Expire?

Yes, first aid certificates do expire and must be renewed to keep your skills up to date and aligned with the latest guidelines. The usual validity period is 2 years for CPR and 2–3 years for most general first aid training. Annual first aid recertification may be needed for certain industries or roles.

Can I Learn First Aid Online?

Yes (and no). You can learn first aid online, but in order to be certified (and actually competent in performing the protocols), you'll need in-person, hands-on training. High-quality training requires practical demonstrations, such as learning how to provide CPR and AED operation.

What Should I Do if My First Aid Certification Expires?

If your certification has expired, don’t panic. You won’t have to start from scratch, since continuing education credits are typically recognized. Most providers offer abbreviated first aid recertification courses that are quicker and more affordable than taking the full class again. There are multiple training options for recertification, including online courses. Just make sure you renew your first aid certification before your current one lapses, so you’re always ready to respond!

Final Thoughts: Get Certified, Stay Ready, Be Awesome

Now that you know how to get your first aid certification, the only thing left to do is… well, go get it!

Becoming certified isn’t just a checkbox. It’s a decision to be someone who shows up when things go wrong. Someone who knows how to help instead of panicking. Someone who, in the face of a twisted limb, a panicking parent, or a collapsed person, takes a deep breath and says, “I got this.” You're the one who is fully prepared to respond before the first responders.

And if you want a secret weapon to help you retain all the knowledge you'll learn in a first aid class and pass your certification with flying colors, you'll have Brainscape in your corner!

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The NAPLEX is the final boss in the video game of pharmacy school. It’s the last obstacle between pharmacy students and the professional life you’ve been grinding toward for years: that future where you get to finally put all that knowledge to practical use.

And yes, sometimes that means helping someone pick the right stool softener. But more often, it means being the calming expert in the chaos. Pharmacy graduates know exactly how to counsel a nervous parent, dose a life-saving med, or catch a drug interaction that even the prescriber missed. This is important work.

So if you’re feeling nervous, good. That means you care. And the great news is, you can crush this exam! With the right advice, a steady mindset, and a powerful study weapon to master all that drug knowledge as efficiently and painlessly as possible (which we’ll talk about soon), you'll be well on your way to embarking upon your career as a licensed pharmacist.

This article will walk pharmacy students through how to study for the NAPLEX exam, how to know when you’re ready, and how to retain what you learn. We'll also explore the fundamental study tools and other resources you'll need to pass this exam (and any future exams you might face).

So, if this is your graduation year, this is the study guide that'll get you to the finish line.

What's the Best Way to Study For NAPLEX Success?

With 225 questions, the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination covers a lot of ground. But here’s the good news: you don’t need to get 100% correct answers. It's a minimum competency exam, so it requires you to exceed a scaled score of 75.

You do, however, need to know the most commonly prescribed medications, mechanisms of action, infectious diseases, side effects, contraindications, black box warnings, common drug interactions, and math. As such, a good NAPLEX study plan typically includes:

• A thorough review of all the clinical content knowledge
• A metric ton of exam questions (and answers so that you can identify your weaknesses)
• Studying using active recall learning tactics (not just passive reading)
• Targeted review of math calculation questions
• Simulated practice exams
• Time for self-care, which includes good exercise, sleep, and nutrition, so that your brain can operate optimally.

Your NAPLEX study schedule doesn’t need to look like a math PhD. But it does need to be consistent. Typically, you should start studying for 3–5 hours per day for at least 6–8 weeks. Any less and you’re cramming. Any more and you’re probably spiraling.

Choose your exam date, book in a testing site, then plan backward from there. (Oh, and as you're putting this schedule together, make use of our helpful study planners and exam countdown templates. They're free and totally customizable.)

And don’t fall for the “I’ll just read the RxPrep book cover to cover” trap. That book is a beast. It’s a great resource, yes, but trying to memorize it like a bedtime story is a one-way ticket to burnout. You need to systematically ingrain the knowledge as you progress through your materials. (More on how you can do that in a bit...)

Instead, break your days into focused chunks. For example:

• 1 hour of clinical review
• 1 hour of calculations practice
• 1 hour of flashcard review
• 1 hour of practice questions
• 30 minutes of cry-laughing while watching pharmacy TikToks

(Side note: That last one’s optional. But deeply healing.)

How Should I Incorporate NAPLEX Practice Tests and Simulations?

It’s one thing to sit down and stare at your textbook. It’s another thing to actually know if your brain is absorbing anything… besides the caffeine you’re throwing back harder than beer at a college party.

Practice exams tell you the truth.

The Pre-NAPLEX is a good place to start. It’s a 100-question test released by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), made up of real (retired) NAPLEX questions. You can only take it twice, and it’s not cheap, but it gives you helpful information on how you’d score on the real NAPLEX. Think of it as your clinical reality check. The ultimate way to prepare.

Beyond that, make sure you’re regularly taking full-length practice tests under timed conditions. Set a timer, close your notes, and go. The goal is to simulate the real test-day experience, complete with numb buttocks and existential dread.

Each time you take a practice test, track your scores across the different topic areas. Are you bombing oncology questions? Still confused about renal dose adjustments? Can’t remember how to calculate mEq from mg? Next question, please!

This is your signal to double down.

At the same time, do not ignore the questions you get right. Review those too. Because sometimes you guess. And sometimes you get lucky. Either way, luck is not a viable NAPLEX strategy.

Now let’s talk about mental prep for a second. On the day of the test, your job isn’t to feel perfectly prepared. Your job is to be reasonably calm, reasonably rested, and equipped with enough knowledge to face whatever the NAPLEX gods throw at you.

Bring your ID. Bring your appointment confirmation. Eat a real breakfast. And remind yourself: You’ve done the work. You belong here. Worst-case scenario? You get a question on some obscure details you’ve never seen before. That's fine! You can get a question wrong (or several) and still pass the NAPLEX.

Now let’s talk about the fastest way to deeply ingrain all of the essential drugs knowledge you’re likely to come across on the NAPLEX.

Your Secret Study Weapon: Digital NAPLEX Flashcards

Your brain forgets things. Constantly. It’s not your fault. It’s biology. But it means that just reading notes or watching review videos isn’t enough.

What you need is to use study tactics that exercise your powers of active recall and apply them on a spaced repetition schedule. (This is the science behind how our brains were designed to remember information: through repetition and through perceived importance.)

You need to be forced repeatedly to pull information out of your brain, from scratch. That’s how long-term memory is built. It’s how we go from “I think lisinopril does something with the kidneys?” to “ACE inhibitors decrease angiotensin II and cause vasodilation, which reduces blood pressure, and yes, they can cause hyperkalemia. Final answer.”

This is where an adaptive flashcard app like Brainscape comes in.

Based on decades of cognitive science research, Brainscape’s NAPLEX flashcards are an expert-curated and vetted study system that systematically drills you on the high-yield drug knowledge you need for exam day.

Each flashcard in Brainscape’s system uses spaced repetition to keep resurfacing the NAPLEX concepts you almost know but are on the verge of forgetting. You rate your confidence after each card. Then the algorithm prioritizes the concepts you struggle with most. Over time, this laser focus helps you master the essential drugs tested in the NAPLEX while spending less time on the ones you’ve already nailed.

The result? Learning TWICE as fast. And passing the exam.

Here’s what else you get:

• A fully mobile-friendly app so you can study anywhere, anytime: on rounds, between patients, in the bathroom during a 12-hour shift.
• Synced progress across mobile and desktop, so you can pick up right where you left off and start studying as quickly and as painlessly as humanly possible.
• Built-in progress tracking, so you know exactly what percentage of the content you've mastered and how much time you have left until you're ready to take the exam.
• Fully flexible learning that adapts to your own study schedule. Helpful, right?

And if you're thinking, “That sounds great, but I’ve already started making my own flashcards,” that's great. But here’s the thing: your time is precious. And Brainscape's flashcards are created by experts who have already done all the work of distilling down the essential drugs you need to know. Why waste hours reinventing the wheel (or worse, accidentally reinforcing wrong info)?

Brainscape is the ultimate study weapon to lock in your weak areas, retain key drug knowledge, and cut your study time significantly.

Don’t just hope for a good score. Train for it. Fight for it. Flashcard your way to glory and pass the NAPLEX on your first attempt.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Should I Create a NAPLEX Study Schedule?

Begin your NAPLEX prep about 6–8 weeks before your test date. Plan for 3–5 hours of study time each day, broken into focused blocks that target different skills: practice questions, flashcard review, clinical content, and pharmacy math calculations. Use a calendar or study planner (see a sample of Brainscape's free ones below) to map out your daily goals and weekly milestones. Aim to review high-yield topics first, then cycle back to weaker areas using active recall and spaced repetition. Include full-length practice exams every 1–2 weeks to track progress. And don’t forget rest days! Sustainable consistency is more effective than burnout-inducing marathons.

What is the Pre-NAPLEX?

The Pre-NAPLEX is a 100-question timed practice test from NABP using real retired questions. It's an important part of how you prepare for the real NAPLEX because it allows you to determine your strengths and weaknesses (and therefore what you should be focusing your review on), while also getting a feel for how the NAPLEX assesses your pharmacy knowledge.

How Can I Manage Test-Day Stress?

Start the night before! Pack your ID and test confirmation, lay out your outfit, prepare your breakfast and snacks plan, and set multiple alarms. Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep. Even if you’re restless, lying down helps your brain rest. Eat a balanced breakfast with protein and complex carbs, and arrive early to give yourself plenty of time to adjust to the test center.

Once you’re there, remind yourself that you’ve done the work! Remember every day of practice exams, flashcards, and clinical review. You’ve put in the hours. You are prepared. If panic creeps in, acknowledge the emotion neutrally, without judgment. For example, you could tell yourself: “I’m nervous because this matters to me.” Then remind yourself again of the mammoth job you’ve done in preparing for this exam.

What Are Tips for Passing NAPLEX on the First Attempt?

Start studying early, focus on your weak areas, master calculations, and take full-length practice exams like the Pre-NAPLEX. Confidence comes from being prepared. Study content knowledge more efficiently with digital flashcards, like Brainscape.

How is the NAPLEX Exam Administered?

It’s a computer-based test at a Pearson VUE testing center. Bring your ID, follow instructions, and show them what you learned in pharmacy school! The National Boards of Pharmacy has a thorough guide to NAPLEX test day information.

When Should I Start Studying For The NAPLEX Exam?

As soon as your finals are behind you, you should start to prepare to take the NAPLEX. The earlier you do, the more confident you’ll feel walking into the test center. A typical NAPLEX study schedule requires at least 6-8 weeks of 3-5 hours per day.

Final Thoughts on How to Study For NAPLEX Exam Success

The NAPLEX asks for your competence, confidence, and a deep command of the knowledge you’ll use every day as a pharmacist. You’re about to become a human chemical dispenser. That means knowing your meds, understanding their impact, and taking that responsibility seriously. It’s about investing time every day into studying smarter with flashcards, practicing math, reviewing clinical chapters, and preparing for residency interviews, even when you’d rather be sitting back with a coffee and the latest reading list from your journal club.

The best study method is one that empowers you to learn as efficiently as possible, as painlessly and sustainably as possible. Practice tests keep you honest. Flashcards keep you sharp. And Brainscape? We’re your ride-or-die study buddy. The one who doesn’t let you skip exam prep even though you might really want to.

So, if you're ready, let’s turn “aspiring pharmacist” into just “pharmacist”!

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If you’re passionate about education, edtech, or just love a good success story, here’s a milestone worth celebrating: Brainscape has officially partnered with Instructing.com, one of the biggest names in PMP® exam preparation, to co-create a world-class set of adaptive flashcards for project management professionals.

And while that’s great news for PMP candidates (because the exam is brutal), the bigger story is what this means for the future of learning, Because at its core, this collaboration is a demonstration of what can happen when two educational powerhouses combine their strengths.

Instructing.com, led by Joseph Phillips, a trusted and experienced PMP instructor, brings decades of exam-specific expertise. Brainscape brings the engine: a smart, adaptive flashcard app for web and mobile that’s scientifically optimized for fast learning and long-term retention. The result? A best-in-class flashcard collection that makes it faster and easier to learn the core concepts of project management.

The Fruits of Collaboration: An Expert-curated PMP Study Weapon

The PMP® exam is hard. Like, 180 questions in 230 minutes hard. Like, "hope you like scenario-based questions that test your theoretical knowledge and your ability to manage chaos under pressure" hard.

The collaboration between Brainscape and Instructing.com, however, provides the world’s most efficient learning system for ingraining and retaining all the foundational content for this exam.

These PMP flashcards:

• Cover all essential concepts and terminology in the PMP Exam Content Outline (ECO) and other widely-used test prep resources like the PMBOK Guide.
• Break down complex ideas into a Q&A format easy for bite-sized study sessions and fast digestion.
• Use spaced repetition and other proven cognitive science learning principles to help users understand and retain information fast.
• Empower students to study on the go: anytime, anywhere, and on any device… even offline, if they download their flashcards beforehand.
• Adapt in real time to attack a learner’s unique weaknesses, while saving them time on reviewing the facts they already know well.

This makes Brainscape’s and Instructing.com’s PMP flashcards a powerful study tool to permanently retain the concepts taught by whichever instructional materials or review courses a candidate is taking.

What Does This Mean For Future Partners?

While this news is obviously exciting for project management students, it also serves as a call to other educators, publishers, and institutions: this is what’s possible when you partner with Brainscape.

Whether you’re teaching an academic course, a licensing exam, or a professional certification, our platform is built to support scalable, science-backed learning.

Here are just some of the benefits of our flashcards:

• Whatever the course content, our flashcards include everything you need and nothing you don't. We break down a course into individual memorizable components, with no fluff and no filler.
• They're organized in a logical, layered progression that mirrors how people actually learn.
• They're customizable, trackable, and automatically synced across web and mobile.
• They give users hard stats on your progress, including estimated time to mastery.

If you have great educational content and want to turn it into a powerful, efficient study experience, we want to hear from you. (Check out this video on how Brainscape can combine your expertise with AI and our smart study platform to accomplish this…)

About Brainscape and Instructing.com

Brainscape is a smart flashcards app trusted by millions of learners to study everything from languages to licensing exams. We’re backed by cognitive science, built for busy people, and proud to be freakishly efficient at helping you learn and remember whatever is important to you and integral to your goals.

Instructing.com, led by PMP trainer extraordinaire Joseph Phillips, is one of the most respected and trusted names in project management education. With over a million students and a teaching style that makes complex concepts feel simple, they're the perfect partner to bring our PMP flashcards to life.

YouTube videos are packed with truly valuable educational content. Whether it’s a science lecture, language lesson, or certification prep video, chances are you’ve found yourself thinking, “I wish I could just make flashcards from this.”

Now you can.

Brainscape’s AI flashcard maker helps you turn long-form video content into clean, effective flashcards. All you need is the transcript of the video. Our AI will take care of the rest, instantly breaking it down into bite-sized Q&A flashcards for fast, efficient studying.

Here’s how to go from YouTube video to flashcards in seconds! (Oh, and by the way: the same process applies to podcasts, too!)

Why Create Flashcards from a Video?

Videos are great for watching and listening, but not so great for memorizing. If you’re trying to study for a test or remember key concepts, you need something more active and structured than passive viewing.

Brainscape lets you:

• Turn the spoken content of a video into text-based flashcards (same for podcasts).
• Use AI to extract the most important ideas and reformat them into a Q&A format.
• Study using spaced repetition, which helps you retain knowledge long-term.

If you’ve ever searched for a video to flashcards converter, this is the best way to make it happen.

Step 1: Get the Transcript of Your YouTube Video

Before you can generate flashcards, you’ll need to extract the transcript of the video. Luckily, this is super easy using YouTube’s built-in features.

On Desktop (YouTube Web)

1. Open the YouTube video you want flashcards for.
2. In the description below the video, click on “...more”.

3. Scroll aaaaall the way to the bottom of the description until you see “Transcript”. Click on “Show Transcript”.

4. A transcript panel will open on the right side of the screen next to the YouTube video.

5. From here, you can highlight and copy the full transcript and head on over to Brainscape (next step).

On Mobile (YouTube App)

The steps are pretty much the same in the YouTube app…

1. Open the video in the YouTube app.
2. Tap the “...more” link in the description below the video.
3. Scroll down until you see “Show Transcript”—tap it.
4. Copy the transcript text from there!

Note: Not all videos have transcripts enabled. If the transcript option isn’t available, try using a desktop browser or you may have to find a different video with captions enabled.

Step 2: Paste the Text Into Brainscape’s AI

1. If you don’t have Brainscape, go to the website and create an account. (You can also do all of these things in Brainscape’s mobile app but since your PDF files are probably on your computer, we’ll focus on how to do this on the web. It’s basically the same anyway.)
2. On your dashboard hit the “+” sign and create a new class. (I’ve made ‘Biology 101’ in the screenshot below.)
3. Add a new flashcard deck to your class. (I’ve called mine ‘Microscopic squigglies’ because that’s what biology is about, right?)

4. Click “add cards” to your new deck and you’ll be asked whether you’d like to add flashcards manually (i.e. type them out) or use Brainscape’s AI-powered tools to generate them instantly (see below). 

5. To convert a YouTube video to flashcards, choose “Summarize From Content” and you’ll see the following…

6. Choose “Paste Text” and paste the text you’ve just copied from the YouTube or podcast transcript into the window provided. 
7. Finally, click “Analyze” and Brainscape’s magical little AI gremlins will scan all the text you’ve pasted into the window and instantly create a set of flashcards based on the most important concepts, definitions, questions, and facts.

In other words, you’ve just transformed a wall of spoken content into clean, efficient flashcards you can actually study! This is the simplest way to create flashcards with video audio content: just copy and paste.

Step 3: Review Your Flashcards and Customize

After you’ve converted the YouTube video to flashcards, you’ll be prompted to review and refine them. You can:

• Edit wording for clarity
• Add examples or context in the “footnotes” section
• Delete anything you don’t need
• Reorder cards as needed
• Organize flashcards into decks
• Add image and audio files to enrich the learning experience
• Format the text with bold and italics for emphasis

You’re not stuck with whatever Brainscape’s AI flashcard maker gives you. You have full control over what your final flashcards look like!

Step 4: Add Images Manually (Optional)

If you want to include visuals from the video (for example, a diagram or process shown on screen), you can do that manually.

Here’s how:

1. Pause the video at the right time and take a screenshot.
2. Open the relevant flashcard in your deck.
3. Drag the screenshot into the card’s answer field or tap the image icon in the top right corner of the flashcard question or answer (see image below).

4. Once it’s uploaded, add any explanation or context in the caption below.

This way, you get the best of both worlds: the structure and clarity of text flashcards, plus the visual memory support of key images from the video.

Step 5: Study with Spaced Repetition

Bonus: Not Just YouTube Videos

Brainscape’s AI generator works with way more than just YouTube video and podcast transcripts. You can also convert:

• Plain pasted text or Word to flashcards
• PowerPoint presentations to flashcards
• Photos of written notes or textbooks to flashcards
• Excel and other spreadsheet files to flashcards
• …with more file types on the way

Whatever format your study content comes in, Brainscape can help you learn it so much faster.

Conclusion: Video to Flashcards Made Simple

Brainscape makes it easy to convert video to flashcards by transforming YouTube (and podcast) transcripts into study-ready content. Just copy the transcript, paste it into the AI tool, and let Brainscape’s AI flashcard maker work its magic. In just a few clicks, you’ll have a personalized set of flashcards you can study anytime, anywhere.

Try it now and turn your favorite video lessons and podcasts into long-term knowledge!

Have an Excel spreadsheet full of terminology and definitions? A .csv file packed with juicy nuggets of info? Or maybe hundreds of Q&A pairs from your training course or lecture notes?

Instead of retyping every item into a flashcard app, you can easily convert your Excel spreadsheet to flashcards in just a few clicks using Brainscape’s AI flashcard generator. Brainscape helps you import your spreadsheet, clean up the formatting, and turn it into beautiful flashcards you can edit and study on any device. 

Here’s how to go from Excel to flashcards in seconds…

Why Create Flashcards from an Excel Spreadsheet?

Many students, instructors, professionals, and lifelong learners already organize study content in spreadsheets. But reviewing data row by row is probably the least engaging and efficient way to actually ingrain and retain that information.

With Brainscape, you can:

• Upload any standard spreadsheet format (.xlsx, .csv, .ods, .tsv, Google Sheets)
• Instantly generate flashcards using AI formatting assistance
• Study your flashcards using spaced repetition to accelerate retention
• Study on mobile or desktop with seamless sync

If you’re wondering how to make custom flashcards from Excel spreadsheets, you’re in the right place! Here’s a step-by-step…

Step 1: Format Your Spreadsheet for Flashcard Import

To get the best results, your spreadsheet should follow a simple format:

• Two columns only
• Column 1: Questions or prompts
• Column 2: Answers or explanations
• One flashcard per row

If you’re asking yourself “How do I create flashcards in Excel?”, this is the cleanest and fastest method. Think of your sheet like a deck outline. Each row becomes a flashcard, with Column A containing the information on the “question side” of the flashcard and Column B, the content on the “answer side”.

If you’re using additional columns or custom formatting (such as tags or multiple card fields), advanced users may refer to our Help Center article on importing multi-field flashcards.

Step 2: Choose the “Import/Paste” Method in Brainscape

1. If you don’t have Brainscape, go to the website and create an account. (You can also do all of these things in Brainscape’s mobile app but since your spreadsheets are probably on your computer, we’ll focus on how to do this on the web. It’s basically the same anyway.)
2. On your dashboard hit the “+” sign and create a new class. (I’ve made ‘Biology 101’ in the screenshot below.)
3. Add a new flashcard deck to your class. (I’ve called mine ‘Microscopic squigglies’ because that’s what biology is about, right?)

4. Click “add cards” to your new deck and you’ll be asked whether you’d like to add flashcards manually (i.e. type them out) or use Brainscape’s AI-powered tools to generate them instantly (see below). 

5. To convert Excel to flashcards, choose “Import/Paste Flashcards” and you’ll see the following…

6. Now, if you have an .xlsx, .ods, .tsv, or .csv file, choose “Upload File” and follow the prompts…
7. But if you’re using Google Sheets, go into your sheet, copy the two columns of data, select “Paste Text”, paste it in the pop-up window, and select “analyze”.
8. From there, Brainscape’s AI will automatically detect the Q&A structure, clean up any messy formatting, and generate flashcards from your spreadsheet.

It’s that simple!

Step 3: Review and Refine your Flashcards

Once the flashcards are generated, you can review and edit them directly in the Brainscape editor. Now’s your chance to take B- flashcards and make them A+ awesome by:

• Rewording questions in your own voice
• Adding further explanation in the form of footnotes or clarifications
• Enhancing with images and even audio files
• Adding new cards manually
• Organizing your flashcards into different decks 

Whether you’re studying for an exam or preparing training content, Brainscape’s advanced flashcard authoring tools allow you to create powerful, engaging, and effective flashcards that are customized to your learning goals.

Step 4: Study Smarter with Spaced Repetition

Now that your custom flashcards are ready, you can start studying! Brainscape uses spaced repetition—and a suite of other cognitive science learning principles—to attack your knowledge weaknesses, while saving you time on studying flashcards you already know well.

The more you study, the more the system learns what you need to see next. This makes it far more effective than reviewing spreadsheets or static quiz lists in Excel.

No matter where you are, your spreadsheet or Excel-based study flashcards are just a tap away!

Bonus: Not Just Excel Spreadsheets

Brainscape’s AI generator works with way more than just spreadsheets. You can also convert:

• Plain pasted text or Word to flashcards
• PowerPoint presentations to flashcards
• PDF to flashcards
• Photos of written notes or textbooks to flashcards
• Podcast or YouTube video transcripts to flashcards
• …with more file types on the way!

Whatever format your study content comes in, Brainscape can help you learn it faster.

Conclusion: Excel to Flashcards Made Simple

Brainscape makes it incredibly easy to convert Excel to flashcards using a clean two-column format and our AI-powered import system. S o, whether you’re working from a training database, a course study guide, or your own organized notes, Brainscape turns your spreadsheet into a high-performance educational tool.

PDF documents: lecturers and instructors love them which is why so many instructional materials come in PDF file format. But because these docs aren’t editable, condensing them into digestible study notes and flashcards can be a total pain in the butt. 

Thankfully, with the help of Brainscape’s AI, you can cut through the clutter and turn only the most important parts of your PDF into flashcards.

Brainscape’s AI flashcard generator gives you full control over what you convert and how you study it. Instead of uploading an entire PDF and crossing your fingers like in other apps, you choose only the content that matters and Brainscape turns it into clean, concise flashcards in seconds.

Here’s how to do it.

Why Convert a PDF into Flashcards?

PDFs are great for storing dense study material: textbooks, syllabi, lecture notes, study guides, and more. But those walls of text need to be broken down into more digestible facts if your poor brain stands a chance of remembering them!

Brainscape helps you:

• Skip irrelevant intros, footers, captions, and copyright blur
• Convert only the most useful content from your PDFs
• Turn long-form or list-based info into flashcards in seconds
• Study smarter using spaced repetition

So instead of rereading or highlighting a PDF endlessly, you’ll have a deck of smart flashcards covering exactly the information you need to crush your next test or exam.

Step 1: Open Your PDF and Select Your Content

For starters, don’t upload the PDF file to Brainscape. You need to tell the AI which information you want “flashcardized”. You do this by:

• Skimming your PDF to find the relevant section you want to study, and
• Copying the text from that section.

You can do this with:

• Vocab or term-definition lists
• Lecture handouts
• Long explanations or textbook summaries
• Practice question-and-answer content

You can literally just copy the text: no need to format it or stitch it together.

Step 2: Paste the Text Into Brainscape’s AI

1. If you don’t have Brainscape, go to the website and create an account. (You can also do all of these things in Brainscape’s mobile app but since your PDF files are probably on your computer, we’ll focus on how to do this on the web. It’s basically the same anyway.)
2. On your dashboard hit the “+” sign and create a new class. (I’ve made ‘Biology 101’ in the screenshot below.)
3. Add a new flashcard deck to your class. (I’ve called mine ‘Microscopic squigglies’ because that’s what biology is about, right?)

Click “add cards” to your new deck and you’ll be asked whether you’d like to add flashcards manually (i.e. type them out) or use Brainscape’s AI-powered tools to generate them instantly (see below). 

5. To convert a PDF to flashcards, choose “Summarize From Content” and you’ll see the following…

6. Choose “Paste Text” and paste the text you’ve just copied from your PDF file into the window provided. Now you can toggle between your PDF document and Brainscape, copying the snippets of information you want and pasting it into Brainscape. 
7. Once you’ve gleaned all the information you need from your PDF, click “Analyze” and Brainscape’s magical little AI gremlins will scan all the text you’ve pasted into the window and instantly create a set of flashcards based on the most important concepts, definitions, questions, and facts.

It’s that simple.

Step 3: Review and Edit Your Flashcards

Once your flashcards have been generated, Brainscape will display them as a fully editable deck. Now you can:

• Edit or improve any flashcard
• Add further explanation in the form of footnotes or clarifications
• Enhance with images and even audio
• Reword questions in your own voice
• Add new cards manually
• Organize your flashcards into different decks 

This ensures your flashcards are customized exactly for your study goals, and are rich with context and media to keep you engaged and learn as efficiently as possible.

Step 4: Add Images from Your PDF (Optional)

Got diagrams, charts, or tables in your PDF? While you can’t “copy-and-paste” those into the text box, you can easily manually add these to your flashcards simply by downloading them to your PC and then uploading them to the relevant flashcard question or answer side.

Here’s how:

1. Copy the image from your PDF (either download it or grab a screenshot of it).
2. Open the Brainscape flashcard editor.
3. Create or navigate to the flashcard you’d like to add the image to.
4. Drag and drop the image to the side (Q or A) of the flashcard you want.
5. Alternatively, click the image icon in the top right corner of the flashcard and choose the image from there (see screenshot below).

This gives you full control over how your images are arranged in your flashcards, ensuring that they’re as useful and accurate as possible.

(P.S. Automatic image occlusion is coming soon!)

FAQ: Making Flashcards from PDFs

Can I upload a full PDF into Brainscape?

Nope. Unlike other AI apps that turn PDFs into flashcards (including all the irrelevant stuff you don’t want), Brainscape gives you full control. You copy/paste only the content you want to study. That said, we’re working on a direct PDF to flashcard conversion tool but when you consider the time you’d spend deleting irrelevant flashcards, it’s probably more efficient to do it this way anyway!

What if I want to include images from the PDF?

You can manually paste images into flashcards, one at a time. This lets you optimize how each visual card looks, without the chaos of auto-generated errors.

Do I need a Pro subscription to convert AI to flashcards in Brainscape?

Yes—Brainscape Pro is required to use AI to generate flashcards from pasted PDF content. (Somebody’s gotta pay for all this awesomeness!) But you can manually make and study as many flashcards in Brainscape as you like, for free, forever!

Can I add long-form content or summaries to Brainscape’s AI?

Absolutely! Just use the “Summarize” option when pasting in content that’s not a list or Q&A format. Otherwise, use “Import list/Q&A”.

Bonus: Turn More Than Just PDFs into Flashcards

Brainscape’s AI generator works with way more than just PDF files. You can also convert:

• Plain pasted text or Word to flashcards
• PowerPoint presentations to flashcards
• Photos of written notes or textbooks to flashcards
• Podcast or YouTube video transcripts to flashcards
• Excel or other spreadsheet files to flashcards
• …with more file types on the way

Whatever format your study content comes in, Brainscape can help you learn it faster.

Conclusion: Converting a PDF to Flashcards

PDFs are packed with essential knowledge, but it’s simply not packaged well for studying and memorization. Brainscape’s AI flashcard generator lets you turn only the key parts of a PDF into powerful study assets, skipping all the formatting noise and focusing on what matters.

So, whether you're tackling textbook chapters, lecture handouts, or study guides, this is the fastest way to create awesome digital flashcards… and actually retain what you’re reading.

Your brain (and your scroll finger) will thank you.

Exam day is finally here. And since you’re probably already stressed, the last thing you want is to get tripped up by something as simple as forgetting your ID or getting lost on the way to the venue.

This guide will walk you through exactly what to bring to the PMP® exam, how to prepare for breaks, and what small things can make a big difference to your focus, comfort, and performance. Consider this your Project Professionals' packing list (minus the spreadsheets).

Your Study Partner in PMP® Prep: Brainscape + Instructing.com

Before we get into your testing session packing list, let us quickly introduce ourselves: We're Brainscape, the creators of a smart, adaptive flashcard app built on the science of spaced repetition. We’ve teamed up with Instructing.com—one of the top names in PMP prep—to build a comprehensive and fully aligned PMP flashcard collection that helps you master every concept on the exam.

Every flashcard is crafted to help Project Professionals retain and apply what matters most, so you walk into the exam with confidence and walk out with three new letters after your name.

Now that you know who we are and why we know a thing or two about the demands of the PMP exam, let's get into what you should bring to the PMP exam...

What Types of Identification Must I Bring to the PMP Exam?

To sit for the Project Management Exam, you’ll need to bring unexpired, government-issued identification. Passports, driver’s licenses, military IDs, or national ID cards are all acceptable identifications (It might be a good idea to bring a secondary identification document just in case.) As long as they include your photo, signature, and full name, which should match the name on your exam registration.

Expired ID? No exam, sorry. It’s that simple. Double-check the expiration date before exam day, and maybe triple-check it if you're the anxious type. If your ID doesn’t meet PMI’s requirements, you won’t be allowed to take the test, which means you’ll forfeit your exam fee.

What Should You Wear on PMP Exam Day?

Comfortable clothes are essential. Think layers, especially if your testing center has unpredictable air conditioning. A hoodie you can slip off, or a scarf that doubles as a comfort object? Approved.

Avoid clothes and accessories that rustle, squeak, jangle, or make noise when you move. (Be considerate of your fellow test takers!) Keep your attire cozy, non-distracting, and test-day ready. It’s not a job interview, so there's no need to get all dolled up.

If you really want to simulate actual test conditions, complete a practice exam in the outfit you intend to wear. You never know whether a rustling jacket or an overly tight cardigan cramps your style until you have to sit through an entire exam wearing it.

What Should You Bring to the PMP Exam Center?

No need to bring your own tools or calculators. You’ll just have to check them into a locker anyway. At in-person testing centers, you’ll typically be given:

• An on-screen calculator
• An on-screen whiteboard (or in rare cases, a physical one)
• Scratch paper, pencils, erasable boards, and markers
• Noise-cancelling headphones, if requested

That’s about it. In terms of optional personal items for comfort, you might consider bringing:

• A sweater or extra layer in case it’s cold
• Water bottle and a snack (for breaks only!)
• Lip balm and Kleenex in case the air-conditioned environment triggers your allergies or makes your lips dry

Oh, yeah! And maybe a couple of mantras or calming techniques to keep a relaxed mind.

Importantly, whatever personal items you decide will have to be stowed away in the testing center's lockers.

How Should You Prepare for PMP Exam Breaks?

You are entitled to two 5-10 minute breaks, one after the first 60 questions and another after the first 120 questions. This is your window to reset, hydrate, refuel, and pop a couple of squats to get the blood flowing. 

Pack something light and energizing to eat, like fruit, nuts, or a granola bar. Water bottles are allowed, but only during the break. Hydrate before the exam, but not so much that you need to take a "bio break" after 15 minutes.

What Logistical Factors Should You Consider Before the PMP Exam?

Navigating to the Examination Center

Do a trial run to the examination center on the same day, at the same time a week or two before your exam. So, for example, if your exam is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 AM, drive or commute to the actual testing center on Tuesday morning the week before for 8:30 (to give yourself a little leeway).

The reason for this is so that you know exactly how and how long it takes you to get there. No nasty surprises. If you simply don't have time for this, then at least research the route, transit, and parking options well beforehand.

Planning Your Arrival Time

Arrive 30 minutes early. Not 10. Not two. It gives you time to check in, breathe, use the bathroom, and "get in the zone". Late arrivals = disqualification. (No refunds!)

Last-Minute Checklist

• Unexpired, government-issued identification
• Exam confirmation email
• Water/snack
• Brainscape-powered confidence!

Tell Me More About This Brainscape-Powered Confidence

If you’re prepping for the PMP Exam and haven’t heard of Brainscape yet, welcome to the ultimate study weapon! We’re here to make your study experience faster, smarter, and more focused.

Brainscape is a web and mobile flashcard platform built on spaced repetition and cognitive science. Our PMP flashcards were developed in partnership with one of the most trusted names in project management education, Instructing.com, and are closely aligned with the PMP Exam Content Outline. Every flashcard is scientifically optimized to help you master the concepts that matter the most!

You rate your confidence after each flashcard, and Brainscape’s algorithm determines exactly which concept you see next. That means you spend less time on what you already know and more time reinforcing your weak spots. It’s like a custom cheat sheet that actually trains your brain. Plus, it calculates the time you take to memorize concepts and displays how much time you have left to study.

If you're serious about passing the project manager exam (and not just surviving it), then Brainscape is the ultimate study weapon.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is required to take the Project Management exam?

A valid government-issued ID, an approved application, and an exam scheduling confirmation. Plus, nerves of steel.

What ID do you need for the PMP exam?

A non-expired, government-issued photo ID that matches your registration details exactly.

What should I wear to the PMP exam?

Comfortable layers. Aim for silent, cozy, and adaptable. You never know if the testing room will feel like a freezer.

Can you bring paper to the PMP exam?

Nope. Paper is not allowed. You’ll use an on-screen whiteboard for notes and calculations.

Final Thoughts on What You Should Bring to the PMP Exam

The PMP Exam is a big deal, but getting ready for your actual examination doesn’t have to be.

A little prep goes a long way. Knowing what to bring, how to dress, and when to arrive means one less thing to stress about. And while you're getting your checklist together, don’t forget the most powerful tool you can bring into that testing center: confidence backed by great study habits.

Brainscape’s PMP flashcards are designed to help you get there. Whether you're weeks into your prep or down to the wire, there's still time to train your brain to think like a project pro.

Now, go pack your ID, grab a snack for each break, and crush this thing. And if you’re in doubt at all, refer to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) exam-day guidelines here.

Additional Reading:

• How Hard is the PMP Exam?
• How Long is the PMP Exam?
• How Much Does the PMP Exam Cost?

Disclaimer: Brainscape and Instructing.com are not affiliated in any way with the Project Management Institute. The advice we provide in this guide is based on the information presented on the PMI website.

Whether you’re just beginning your PMP^® course or staring down the final stretch before exam day, you’ve probably got a few burning questions: How long is the PMP exam? How is it structured? How many breaks do I get? How should I manage my time across 180 questions? How long should I study for the PMP? And how much time do I need for project management training? 

This article answers all of those questions and more. We’ll break down the exact exam format, how much time you’ll have, what types of questions to expect, and how to mentally prepare for long-haul computer-based tests.

If you’ve accumulated the hours of project management experience and are planning to take the PMP soon, you’re in the right place!

But First… Who Are We?

We're Brainscape, a smart flashcards app. We've worked with a leader in the field of PMP exam prep, Instructing.com, to create a comprehensive, accurate set of PMP flashcards that every exam candidate should use to ingrain and retain the crucial concepts necessary to answer the more complex questions on the real exam.

These PMP flashcards are designed to help you ingrain the core project management concepts you’ll need to answer the complex scenario-based questions that the PMP exam is known for.

We also asked the Instructing.com team for their best advice on managing the PMP exam itself: everything from timing strategy to what to expect in the testing center.

Here’s what they shared…

Why is it Important to Understand the PMP Exam Duration and Structure?

Because time is money—and running out of it mid-exam is a one-way ticket to Stressville.

Understanding how long the PMP^Ⓡ certification exam is and how it’s structured helps you prepare better, practice more efficiently, and keep your cool when the clock starts ticking.

But it also does something else that’s just as critical: it helps you build a realistic, sustainable study strategy. Knowing what the exam demands gives you a clear target to work toward: 180 questions, three domains, and nearly four hours of focus. That means you can break your prep into smaller, consistent sessions that actually fit around your work, life, and whatever projects you’re already juggling. 

No all-nighters. No burnout. Just steady progress.

How Long Is the PMP Exam?

Total Time Allocated

The PMP exam time limit is 230 minutes (3 hours and 50 minutes). Nearly four hours might seem like a long exam, but in comparison with your hundreds of hours of project management experience, this is a very short window in which to assess you. During this time, you’ll be answering 180 questions, so you’ve got roughly 76 seconds per question to read, analyze, and answer. Tick-tock!

Exam Sections and Timing

The PMP exam is broken into three parts, with each section containing about 60 questions. You’ll have a total of 230 minutes (3 hours and 50 minutes) to complete all 180 questions.

You’ll be offered a 10-minute optional break after finishing Section 1 and again after finishing Section 2. Once you begin the next section, there’s no going back to review previous answers. So double-check your responses and flagged questions before moving on.

While the time isn’t divided strictly by section, it’s a good idea to aim for about 60 minutes per section, giving yourself a 10-minute cushion for review and breaks.

Scheduled Breaks

You’ll get two 10-minute breaks during the exam. The first one happens after you answer and review the first 60 questions. The second break becomes available after 120 questions. Use them wisely: stretch, hydrate, or do a little victory dance. Whatever gets you energized to re-enter the fray!

What Is the Structure of the PMP Exam?

Number of Questions

You’ll face 180 questions total. Don’t worry! Not all of them count. Some are experimental questions that the Project Management Institute is testing out. You won’t know which ones those are, so prepare to answer every question with full effort.

Types of Questions

Expect a mix: multiple choice, multiple response, matching, hotspot, and fill-in-the-blank. Most are scenario-based, so you’ll need to apply your knowledge, not just regurgitate definitions.

Use of Scratch Paper and Calculator

You’ll be given an on-screen whiteboard and calculator. If you're testing in person, you might get actual scratch paper, depending on the testing center’s policy. Either way, don’t expect a full art set, but you should have enough blank space to sketch out your brainwork.

Why do you need a whiteboard or scratch paper? Because many PMP questions involve calculations, flowcharts, or process mapping. Jotting down key formulas, drawing timelines, or sketching out decision trees can be incredibly helpful in working through the more complex scenario-based questions.

Whether digital or physical, make sure you’re comfortable using a simple workspace to externalize your thinking, especially under timed conditions.

How Long Should You Study for the PMP Exam?

Recommended Study Timeline

Most project management professionals recommend dedicating 2 to 3 months of consistent, focused study time to prepare for the PMP exam. That might sound like a lot, but remember: you’re not just memorizing facts. You’re learning to apply decades of project management experience across a range of tricky, real-world scenarios.

How long you study will depend on your background, your work schedule, and how familiar you already are with the Project Management Institute’s way of thinking. But here’s a rough breakdown of how your timeline might look:

• Weeks 1–2: Get familiar with the Exam Content Outline (ECO), take a diagnostic quiz, and set your study plan.
• Weeks 3–8: Deep-dive into each exam domain using structured coursework, flashcards, and real-world examples.
• Weeks 9–10: Focus on practice exams, review weak spots, and refine your understanding of tricky concepts.
• Weeks 11–12: Ramp up your review, simulate test conditions, and sharpen your time-management skills.

Whatever timeline you choose, the key is deliberate practice: not just reading but reviewing, recalling, and applying.

Enter Brainscape, the adaptive web and mobile flashcard platform designed to make your study time ridiculously efficient. Brainscape’s PMP flashcards are aligned with the official PMP^® Exam Content Outline (ECO) and were co-created with Instructing.com, one of the most trusted names in PMP prep.

Here’s how it works: Brainscape delivers content in a bite-sized Q&A format, leveraging multiple cognitive science tactics to help you learn as efficiently and painlessly as humanly possible. You rate your confidence after each flashcard, and the system uses that feedback to show you the right cards at the right intervals so you (1) drill yourself on your weaknesses and (2) save time reviewing what you already know. It’s like having a personal study coach that lives in your pocket.

You can study on the go with our synced mobile and web flashcards. Only have two minutes between meetings? That’s enough time to knock out some flashcards. Brainscape’s flashcards are designed for the busy lifestyle of project management professionals.

If you're serious about passing the PMP exam, practicing with real-style questions, and internalizing key concepts, Brainscape is your ultimate study weapon.

How Can I Manage My Time Effectively on PMP Exam Day?

You’ve got 230 minutes to answer 180 questions, which gives you roughly 76 seconds per question. Don’t spend five minutes locked in battle with a tricky question. If you're stuck, mark it, move on, and come back later with fresh eyes. Use your first pass to rack up easy wins and build confidence, and then revisit the more complex questions.

Read Carefully. Then Answer.

Rushing through a question just to save time can backfire. Instead, read each question carefully, understand what it’s actually asking, and then deliver a clear, targeted response based on your exam study and project management experience. Many candidates waste precious time second-guessing or over-explaining. If you pause and plan your approach, your answers will be sharper and faster. (No rambling required!)

Utilize Scheduled Breaks Wisely

You’ll get two scheduled 10-minute breaks after the first and second blocks of 60 questions. Take them. Get up, stretch, hydrate, and breathe. These short reset windows can help you re-center your focus and finish strong, especially in that final push.

Set Yourself Up for Success Before Exam Day

Whether you’re testing online or in person, plan to arrive (or log in) at least 30 minutes early. This gives you time to check in, settle your nerves, and troubleshoot any unexpected tech or travel issues. If you’re going to a test center, consider practicing the commute the day before at the same time as your test in order to avoid surprises like construction delays or parking drama.

What Happens If You Need to Retake the PMP Exam?

You can take the PMP exam up to three times within one year of your application approval. If you don’t pass after three tries, you’ll need to wait a year before applying again.

If you don’t pass on the first attempt, take it as a learning opportunity. Pinpoint your weak spots, double down with Brainscape’s flashcards, and attack it again. Many people pass on the second go, especially with better insight and a smarter plan.

How Long is the PMP Exam FAQ

Can I pass the PMP exam in 10 days?

It might be possible if you already have 10+ years of experience as a project manager, as well as a lot of good luck! However, we do NOT advise you to take this exam after only 10 days of studying! You need time to ingrain the facts and to answer PMP exam questions on practice tests. While it might be possible in rare cases, we encourage you to take at least 2 months to prepare for this exam. Remember that this is a stepping stone in a longer-term journey. To maintain this accreditation, you’ll need to complete Professional Development Units each year.

What is the pass rate for the PMP exam?

The Project Management Institute doesn’t publish an official passing score, but it’s estimated to be around 60–70% for first-time test takers. Just like every other situation in your project management career, preparation makes all the difference.

Can I pass the PMP exam in 3 weeks?

Maybe, but it’s not likely! The usual recommended preparation time for project management certification is closer to 3 months, so condensing that into 3 weeks would involve an extreme time commitment and capacity to absorb information at four times the recommended pace.

Final Thoughts: Plan Your Time, Pass with Confidence

So, how long is the PMP certification exam? Long enough to test your skills, but not too long to master with a good strategy.

With 230 minutes on the clock and a sea of scenario-based questions ahead, time management is key, not just on test day but from day one of your study plan.

Brainscape’s PMP flashcards are your ultimate study weapon: aligned with the Exam Content Outline, designed by experts, and powered by science. Whether you’ve got ten weeks or ten days, we’ll help you make every minute count.

Start studying smarter today, and walk into that exam with confidence (and maybe even a little swagger).

Additional Reading:

• How Hard is the PMP Exam?
• How Much Does the PMP Exam Cost?
• What Should You Bring to the PMP Exam?

Disclaimer: Brainscape and Instructing.com are not affiliated in any way with the Project Management Institute. The advice we provide in this guide is based on the information presented on the PMI website.

If you’re here, you’re probably deep into your PMP^® certification journey and ready to get practical. You’ve wrapped your head around the project management principles, you know the value of a career in project management, and now you’re asking the real question: How much does the PMP exam cost? What expenses should you plan for? And how can you make sure every dollar, and study hour, is well spent?

This article breaks down the PMP exam fee, training expenses, certification fees, and membership fees and perks, so you can budget for the entire certification process. Whether you're pricing out your study timeline or preparing for a reimbursement conversation with your employer, we’ve got you covered.

But first…

The Ultimate Study Weapon for your Project Management Education

Hi! In case you were wondering, we’re Brainscape, an adaptive web and mobile flashcards app built on a bedrock of cognitive science research into how humans are fundamentally hardwired to learn. (We obsess over this so that we can build a study system that helps you learn as fast and as painlessly as humanly possible!)

We've partnered with one of the most trusted leaders in project management certification training, Instructing.com, to create a comprehensive set of flashcards specifically for the PMP exam, which is closely aligned with the PMI Exam Content Outline and other widely-used PMP test prep materials, like the PMBOK. 

These flashcards will help you efficiently ingrain and retain the enormous volume of content, terms, and definitions you need to know to crush the PMP exam. 

But you've got questions about cost! And we've got answers...

In this guide, we’ll share insights on PMP exam pricing from the team at Instructing.com, so you get expert advice alongside financial clarity.

Let's get to it.

What Are the PMP Exam Fees?

The current PMP exam fee for Project Management Institute (PMI) members is $405, and for Non-PMI Members, it’s $655. PMI membership itself costs $164/year, which means if you plan to take the certification exam, joining PMI first can save you money.

What Do the PMP Examination Fees Cover?

This exam cost includes one attempt at the exam and access to PMI’s digital resources.

What Are the PMP Re-examination Costs?

Didn’t pass the first time? 

You can retake the exam up to two more times within your eligibility year. The certification exam fee for a re-test is $275 for PMI members and $375 for non-members. 

What Are the PMP Renewal Fees?

The PMP certification is valid for three years. To maintain your credential, you’ll need to earn 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) and pay a renewal fee: $60 for members and $150 for non-members. Not exactly pocket change, but still far more affordable than restarting the entire process.

(Please note that these costs are valid at the time of writing in 2025. We advise you to check out the Project Management Institute's website for real-time estimates on PMP exam costs.)

What Are the Benefits of PMI Membership?

Joining PMI isn’t just about saving money on PMP certification costs (although that’s a nice perk). It also unlocks a wide range of resources to boost your project management education.

PMI membership saves on the initial exam cost, re-takes, and certification renewal. If you're even halfway serious about becoming a certified Project Manager, this one’s a no-brainer.

Members also get access to a global community—many of them experienced certification holders—who can support your growth and open doors to new career opportunities. This is not even to mention a wealth of discounts and benefits to enhance your daily work life.

What Additional Expenses Should You Expect for PMP Preparation?

The PMP exam fee is just the start.

Many candidates enroll in formal training, which can cost well over $2,000 depending on the provider. Then, you’ll definitely want access to practice exams and question banks. These are essential. Realistic practice exams not only test your knowledge but also help you practice your time management skills.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective PMP training bundle, here’s what we suggest.

Instructing.com’s PMP Power Pack offers a complete suite of PMP training materials, masterclasses, and practice questions for $199. This comprehensive package includes all the required training hours for PMP exam eligibility and with 12 full-length mock exams, you’ll be fully equipped to walk into your exam with confidence. Brainscape Pro, which will help you ingrain the necessary terminology super efficiently, costs as little as $7.99/month and covers the essential PMP foundational knowledge you need to know. 

Together, you're looking at less than $250 for the study materials you need to pass the PMP exam, which is less than the exam fee!

What Are the Refund Policies & Cancellation Processes?

You can request a refund within 30 days of payment if you haven’t scheduled or taken the exam. PMI will retain a $100 processing fee.

Canceling or rescheduling? Here’s what the PMI website says:

• More than 30 days in advance: free reschedule or cancellation.
• Within 30 days: $70 fee applies.
• Within 48 hours: no changes or refunds allowed.

(Please refer to the Project Management Institute's website for up-to-date information on their refund policies.)

What is the Annual Salary of a Project Manager?

The annual salary of a project manager varies tremendously based on several factors, such as industry, geographic location, level of experience, and whether one holds a PMP certification. 

For example, project managers in the IT industry often earn higher salaries compared to those in non-technical fields. Salaries are generally higher in urban areas with a high cost of living or in regions with a strong demand for skilled project management professionals.

Holding a PMP certification often results in a significant annual salary boost. Certified project managers can earn between 16% and 30% more than their non-certified peers, reflecting both their enhanced skills and the recognition the certification carries.

Finally, experience matters:

• Entry-level average salary: $60K–$80K
• Experienced PMs: $90K–$120K+
• With PMP® certification: 16–30% average salary boost

This bump reflects not only your knowledge but the credibility that comes with being a PMP certification holder!

Final Thoughts on PMP Exam Costs

Is the PMP certification worth the cost?

Absolutely. While the PMP exam fee and related expenses may seem steep upfront, the returns—both financial and professional—can be enormous. You’ll gain access to higher salaries, more career opportunities, and a respected place in the global project management community.

It’s not just a credential—it’s a project management career accelerator.

From exam costs to certification renewal, it pays to plan ahead. Even better? Study smarter.

Brainscape’s PMP flashcards are the most efficient way to prep—backed by science and designed to maximize every minute. No overpriced boot camps. No wasted weekends. Just the knowledge you need to study quickly and painlessly, and pass the PMP exam the first time around.

If you’re ready to invest in yourself, choose the tools that get you results. Get started with Brainscape today and turn your certification costs into a career milestone.

Additional Reading…

• How Hard is the PMP Exam?
• How Long is the PMP Exam?
• What Should You Bring to the PMP Exam?

Disclaimer: Brainscape and Instructing.com are not affiliated in any way with the Project Management Institute. The advice we provide in this guide is based on the information presented on the PMI website.