CPCU® or AINS® exams are difficult enough that you definitely should not “wing it.” You are far more likely to succeed if you come up with a solid plan for tackling the material, so today’s post will show you how to make an effective study plan.

Ace your AINS® & CPCU® exams with the help of our study materials!

#1: Decide when you will take your exam

When you register for your exam with The Institutes, you will be asked to select which test window you want to take your exam during. The exam windows are essentially two months on, one month off:

• January 15 to March 15
• April 15 to June 15
• July 15 to September 15
• October 15 to December 15

There isn’t necessarily a better or worse testing window, but some things you might want to consider include:

• Can you sign up before the start of the window to qualify for the early bird registration discount?
• Has The Institutes announced that they are going to update the course edition soon?

#2: Backwards plan your timeline

Once you know what date you want to take your exam, get out a calendar and decide how much time you can devote each week to reading and studying. Treat each study session as a committed appointment and write them into your personal calendar, just like you would any other appointment. This makes it far more likely that you will stick to your “appointment” and study as planned.

If this is your very first exam, a good starting rule of thumb is to allot yourself three hours per chapter, and then add an extra week or two after you’ve gotten through all the chapters so that you can review everything one more time and also to account for unexpected study schedule changes. As you progress through your journey, you can use move away from these guidelines if you learn that a different time table is better for you.

Some other planning tips:

• Don’t assume every chapter is roughly the same size. Be sure to flip through the book and allot more time for longer chapters or subject areas that you think might be particularly challenging for you.
• For each chapter, give yourself enough time to read/watch the content, do practice quizzes, and go back to re-review trickier concepts.
• Don’t feel pressured to follow anyone else’s timeline. Some people have no other obligations to worry about, while others have families and other professional commitments. This is your journey and no one else’s.
• The CPCU Candidates Facebook group has tons of members are always willing to share their previous experience with a particular course. Feel free to post asking what other people though were the trickiest areas that you should spend extra time on.
• Use our free Study Plan Generator to help you map out a plan for your entire designation. To get this handy tool and tracker worksheet, sign up below!

Ace your AINS® & CPCU® exams with the help of our study materials!

#3: Don’t forget the shipping time for your study materials

If you purchased a textbook from someone, don’t forget to account for the appropriate amount of shipping time, or just wait until you get your materials to make your study plan.

Our online study programs and study guides are provided instantly, so you can start your studies as soon as you buy them!

#4: Follow the study plan!

Now that you have a plan, follow through with it! Be diligent, and try not to let anything derail you from your final goal. Having a study plan actually makes your goal more achievable because you can take it one actionable step at a time. Instead of the loftier goal of “I have to learn everything and pass this exam,” you can focus on just one step, like “I have to read for the hour I allotted myself today.”

You should periodically reassess to see if you need to change your plan. You might realize you are taking longer than you thought would need to get through a section, or you might be blazing through the material faster than you anticipated. Either way, the plan should be adaptable. The main purpose is to break up your overall goal to pass into bite-size, manageable chunks of time.

Ace your AINS® & CPCU® exams with the help of our study materials!