Preparing for the ABGC Certification Examination: 4 Day-of Test Taking Tips

I have taken the ABGC Certification Exam twice. The first time, I had questions that I left unanswered. I realized that the strategies I used when taking practice exams weren’t effective for the actual exam. I adjusted and was victorious my second time.

Here are a few of the strategies I employed that helped me succeed when taking the ABGC Certification Examination (a.k.a. the “genetic counseling boards”).

4 Considerations When Taking the Genetic Counseling Board Exam

1. Positive Self-Talk

I incorporated positive self-talk and shut down negative thoughts weeks before the exam. “You got this” was my mantra. As I was preparing for my second exam, I knew to expect questions that might make me feel clueless. So let me tell you now, there might be things on your exam that you have never heard of. It’s the fifth stage of the Kubler-Ross grief model, but the first thing you must do here: accept. Accept that you will not know everything, and do not dwell on what you don’t know. Remind yourself that there is a lot that you do know.

2. Marking Questions

You can mark questions during the exam, and maybe you’ve tested this if you’ve taken the official ABGC practice exam. Only mark the questions that you want to look at a second time as you don’t want to spend unnecessary time at the end to review questions that you don’t need to review again.

The second time, I answered every single question. Even questions that took additional time (e.g., Bayes). I marked questions by asking myself this: “If I look at this question again in an hour, do I think that my answer will change?” If the answer was “no,” then I didn’t mark the question and continued. Similarly, for questions that I was completely clueless about, I chose my best answer and said: “I don’t know how to answer this question, do I think that looking at it later will increase the chance that I can answer it?” Again, if the answer was “no,” I took an educated guess, didn’t mark the question and continued. If I answered “yes,” I selected my best answer, but marked the question before continuing. I used self talk again: “Welp! I don’t know how to answer this question! Oh well!” and “Wow! I totally know the answer to this question! Woohoo!”

3. Breaks

I didn’t take a break during my first exam and tried to do this during the second. I stopped at the 100th question, and an hour later. Do what feels best for you. I ate something during one break and used the bathroom during the other. This little bit of separation helped me clear my mind and it felt nice to not stare at a computer screen for a few minutes.

Please be aware that any break that you take during your exam will decrease the overall testing time. You are required to go through the same security protocol as when you were first admitted to your testing station.

4. Wrapping Up

After I completed the exam, I went back over my questions, beginning by reviewing my marked questions. If I couldn’t reason a better answer to a question, I unmarked the question and continued. I only changed answers if I had a solid reason to. Otherwise, I trusted that I was sharper, more focused and less fatigued when I answered the question initially.

Employing these strategies helped me succeed during my second exam, and they might help you too! Plan for what you’re going to do after and stick to it regardless of the outcome. You’ve got this!