The Ultimate Guide to taking the NPTE
So you’re planning to take the National Physical Therapy Exam? Here’s the ultimate guide to taking the NPTE to help you crush this test!
This guide contains:
✏️ Registering for the NPTE
✏️ Prep Courses
✏️ Study Tools
✏️ Test Day
✏️ How I Studied for the NPTE
*All underlined text are hyperlinked – click on the text to open the link to that particular website. Some discount codes are provided where you can get a discount on that particular website and I receive a small commission. There is no pressure to use the discount codes!
Registering for the NPTE
Whether you’re on your last clinical rotation or you’re about to graduate from PT school, you’re probably thinking of when and where you’re going to take the National Physical Therapy Exam. Passing this exam (a score of at least 600/800) along with graduating from an accredited PT program will allow you to become a licensed physical therapist!
This exam contains 250 questions (5 sections, 50 questions in each section). One section is experimental (not scored), but you won’t know which section this is. You have 5 hours to take the exam, and there are scheduled breaks between the sections that you can utilize.
Before registering, make sure you know:
- Which test date you want to register for (only 5 test dates are available annually – COVID changed this so there’s some additional dates that have been added)
- Which test location/city you want to go to (tests are conducted at Prometric testing centers)
- How you’re going to pay for the exam fees
- If/when you want to take your jurisprudence exam (law exam for PTs depending on the state you want to practice in – not all states require an exam)
Here are some links to help you with that:
- FSBPT: dates and deadlines
- FSBPT: exam registration and payment information
- FSBPT: registration process
Tips:
- Typically, people study for 8-12 wks before the exam, so you want to select a test date according to how long you want to study
- Pick a Prometric location that is close to you, so you don’t have a long commute before a long test (this will also minimize the chance of traffic changing your estimated time of arrival at the test center)
- Exam fees are hefty and have to be paid at the time of registration; Prometric testing center fees are also required when signing up for a testing center and date and are separate from the NPTE test fee
- Check to see if your state requires a separate jurisprudence exam to practice in your state – be sure that you’re taking the NPTE and jurisprudence exam in the state that you want to practice in
- Many people take the jurisprudence exam before the NPTE, but taking it after the NPTE is also fine (personally I took it after the NPTE because my window of studying for the NPTE was small)
- Sign up for these exams as soon as possible because seats fill up fast
- (extra tip that is not directly related to the NPTE) apply for a PT license (on Breeze for CA residents) BEFORE you take the NPTE so that you’ll be ready to work after you pass the exam because the license processing takes ~60 days
Registering for the NPTE:
- Go to https://www.fsbpt.org/ and sign in (you may already have an account due to your school purchasing the PEAT practice exam(s) for you)
- Register for the exam and pay the fees
- You’ll then receive an Authorization to Test Letter via email
- Register for your exam through Prometric (link should be in your email or go to https://www.prometric.com/fsbpt)
- Pay for Prometric fees and select a test center, date, and time
Prep Courses
Now that you’re registered and ready to start studying, there’s an abundance of options to choose from in regards to HOW you’re going to study. Many people utilize NPTE prep courses, books, podcasts, and other tools throughout their studies.
Before you decide if you’re going to pay for a prep course or what course to take, reflect on:
- How much time you have to study before the exam
- How much time you have to study during the week
- What kind of learner you are
- What your budget is for prep materials
There are a variety of prep courses to choose from – some more popular than others. Here are a few and an overview of each:
*see each individual website for more information
NPTE Final Frontier – $149-$820
>> Probably one of the most popular courses that people take to study for the NPTE (I did the Independent Study Bundle and highly recommend it!)
- They have 3 options available: Full Live Course, Independent Study Bundle, Audio Bundle
- All courses include: 9 months of unlimited access, updated content for each cohort, recordings for all live classes, full practice exams, detailed study timetable
- You can purchase extra practice exams from their website as well if you just want more practice to build your test-taking stamina
- Full Live Course: really great if you need more structure and scheduled classes to keep you focused to learn the material
- Independent Study Bundle: probably the best option if you want to have more freedom in what material you need to review and how you want to study, but you are still provided with the same content as the full live course
- Audio Bundle: this package is more for people who are auditory learners and just need to review key concepts
*you can get 10% off your Final Frontier purchase by using my discount code “studywithanspt“
Scorebuilders Base Camp – $65-$130
>> This course is another one that many people recommend!
- There are 2 options: standard (30 days), annual (365 days), and lifetime (unlimited) along with 30, 60, or 90 day extensions that can be purchased additionally
- The course is split up into 5 different “peaks” or topics that you navigate through with assignments, pre-recorded videos, and exams to supplement the content lectures
- “Arena” is a game built into the program where you can play solo or challenge others to answer content questions and test your knowledge
PT Final Exam – $49-$997
>> I’ve heard good things about this course as well!
- There are multiple options to choose from: VIP NPTE Online Review Course, PT Independent Study Course, PT Crash Course, and various independent courses for specialty topics
- Depending on the course you purchase, you can receive: practice exams, video recordings of live lectures, content study guides, workbooks, and practice questions
- VIP NPTE Online Review Course: the ideal option for those of you who need synchronous/asynchronous lectures to learn about all of the key concepts on the NPTE
- PT Independent Study Course: this course is geared towards those who want more freedom in how and when to study but still need the materials and resources necessary to review the content
- PT Crash Course: this course contains a few lectures about the big 3 topics on the exam (MSK, CP, and Neuro) so it would be most beneficial for those who just need to review those topics but already have a good understanding of the concepts
PT Hustle – $997-$2997
>> Known for his NPTE podcast, Kyle Rice helps many struggling students pass the exam with his intensive courses
- The options provided are: Live Coaching Program, Independent Prep Program, and NPTE Pass System
- Depending on the course you purchase, you can receive access to: cheat sheets, eBooks, pre-recorded lectures, support groups, mini practice tests, and help directly from Coach K himself
- Live Coaching Program: definitely the one to choose if you are really struggling with the material and need one-on-one mentorship
- Independent Prep Program: this program targets students who require some structure in their plan but are able to study independently
- NPTE Pass System: if you have a great understanding of the material but the actual test-taking part is what you really need help on, this is the one for you
If you think that you don’t really need a full course to study, that’s fine! Many students actually just purchase prep books and study off of those independently without a structured course.
Most popular prep books:
Therapy Ed – $90
- An in-depth review textbook on all the concepts needed to ace the NPTE
- Includes 3 online practice exams with score reports and answer explanations
- Information is presented in bullet point format with lots of details
Scorebuilders – $90
- A review textbook filled with condensed diagrams and tables to make studying for the NPTE concepts easier
- Includes 3 online practice exams with answer explanations
- Information is presented in paragraphs, graphs, and tables
*from personal experience, I find Therapy Ed to be more helpful due to the wealth of information provided and the exams, which tend to be harder than the actual NPTE. The Scorebuilders book, while more visually appealing, has practice questions and exams that are not comparable to the actual NPTE questions. To see me flip through both books and compare them, check out my NPTE story highlight on my Instagram
Tips on practice exams:
- Take a full practice exam BEFORE you start studying or creating your study plan – you can use this as a diagnostic test so figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are
- Make sure you take multiple practice exams throughout the time you study for this test – this way you can build your test-taking stamina and see which areas your still ned to work on
- The PEAT is probably the most accurate practice exam that you can take, so make sure you take one about 1 week before you take the official NPTE
- Some exams are harder than others so don’t be too discouraged if you’re almost or borderline passing
- When you take these practice exams, try to simulate the real test-taking environment (at least for the last couple practice exams)
- quiet environment
- take the practice exam at the same time your actual test is scheduled
- take the breaks when they’re scheduled (and not when they’re not scheduled)
- no food or drinks during the test
- wear a mask (if you’re taking the test during COVID times like I did)
- wear earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones (which are provided at the testing center)
- don’t look at your phone or any other distractions
- After taking the practice exams, go over ALL the questions – the ones you got correct and incorrect
Study Tools
Besides prep courses, there are many other tools you can use to supplement your studying! Depending on what kind of learner you are, you can utilize different resources to better retain the information.
If you need organization and structure to stay focused:
- I made this Google sheets template for those of you who want more control of your study plan and are using resources (like Therapy Ed or Scorebuilders) to review content! I also provide some tips on organizing your study plan!
🗓 Notion
- This is my favorite way to keep everything organized in one place; you can design your own page that will help you stay on track
- Here are some templates: https://techpp.com/2021/04/13/notion-templates-for-students/
If you retain information better through audio:
- Kyle Rice (Coach K) talks about practice questions and their answer explanations in each episode
*I highly recommend this one!
- Host Jimmy McKay goes over sample NPTE questions and answers in his podcast
- He also has guest speakers on his show
- Will Crane tests his audience with sample test questions and explains the answers in his podcast
If you are a visual learner:
- My website has free downloadable PDFs of different PT concepts, ranging from MSK to peds
- These guys are great at explaining and showing different MSK concepts and exam techniques
If you learn best by testing yourself:
- On my website, I’ve made mini quizzes based off of my QOTD on my Instagram story. These are all categorized by topic, but I also added an option at the bottom that will create a quiz with 20 random questions from all of the questions on my website!
- This website is a great resource for those of you who like using practice questions to retain information. They have a variety of questions and case studies that are very beneficial for people preparing for the NPTE!
*you can get 25% off of your subscription on learningphysiotherapy.com with my discount code “VAL25“!
- This free app provides NPTE practice questions daily for you to test your knowledge! They also provide answer explanations! If you purchase the paid version of this app, there are many other features that you can utilize, including creating your own exams!
- This free app by Scorebuilders is another way to get daily practice questions! Along with answer explanations, this app also shows the percentage of people who select each answer choice. You can track your progress through the built in calendar as well!
Test Day
To prepare for the big day, there’s a few things to keep in mind.
Before test day, make sure you:
- Double check the time and date of your exam
- Have both identification documents
- Check the commute from your house to the test center (specifically at the same time and day of the week you’re going to drive to your test)
- Visit the test center so that you won’t get lost on test day
On test day, make sure you:
- Had you a good night’s sleep (~7-8 hours)
- PLAN to arrive to the testing site 45 min – 1 hour early (basically to be prepared if anything goes wrong – traffic, waking up late, etc)
- Bring all of the necessary identification (2 forms)
- Pack water and a snack (lockers will be provided so you can put all your stuff in there during the exam)
- Wear comfortable clothes (bring a jacket just in case it gets cold)
After test day, make sure you:
- CELEBRATE!! You’ve finished one of the most important tests in your life, so now’s the time to recognize that milestone!
- Relax! Results won’t be released until about 2 weeks after your exam, so try not to stress about how you think you did
How I Studied for the NPTE
Now that I’ve talked about a bunch of options you have when studying for this test, here’s a brief summary of how I personally studied.
- I used my NPTE study plan template to plan out what I was going to study each day
- I read through the Therapy Ed prep book and the Therapy Ed course manual (basically a condensed version of the prep book that came with the Therapy Ed course my program paid for) to review concepts
- I used the NPTE Final Frontier Independent Study – I watched/took notes on all of the lectures and did some of the readings
- I listened to all of the podcast episodes of the NPTE Clinical Files on long drives
- I used the PT365 app for their QOTD
- I created my own questions for the QOTDs posted on my Instagram stories (which are all now on my website in the form of 10 question quizzes)
- I made my own study guides for key concepts, scales, diagrams
This is what worked for me personally, but I’ve heard really good things about all the resources I listed in this blog post!
I hope this ultimate guide to taking the NPTE has been helpful for you! Now go ace that exam!
