FAQ

General questions

What are the minimum system requirements for using PassPrep?

PassPrep is designed to run on Microsoft Windows Vista, XP, or 2000. It should also run on Windows ME and 98, but compatibility with these operating systems is not assured. Other requirements: 256 MB of memory, 25 MB free disk space, and a screen display of 800x600 (1024x780 or higher recommended). An internet connection is necessary for product activation and for downloading. A CDROM drive is necessary to install the CD-delivered versions. An installed web browser (such as Windows Explorer, Firefox, etc.) is required for the HomeBase component.

What is PassPrep used for?

PassPrep began as an exam preparation aid, but users and schools have found it so comprehensive that it has become equally popular as a pre-license supplement.

Why choose PassPrep?

The test databases in PassPrep are extensive and comprehensive, covering all topics that are covered in a pre-license class as well as all topics that are tested on a state license exam. PassPrep allows you to create an endless variety of your own customized tests. It provides immediate feedback and useful, authoritative explanations. Plus, it includes study guides, glossaries, and math reviews.

How does PassPrep differ from other exam prep products?

Extent of coverage, quality and relevance of questions, quality of explanations, references to state statues and regulations and coverage of the latest real estate laws-all are superior in PassPrep. Then there are our easily accessible study guides, math formularies, glossaries, and avenue to the internet without leaving the program. These are just a few of the features we believe provide you with a value you can't get elsewhere.

Can I access the internet from within PassPrep?

Yes. The Homebase component of PassPrep is an internal website that links you to the outside world of the internet. Visit the state real estate commission's website, for instance, check on licensing requirements, and return to PassPrep without leaving the program.

How long have you been in the business of real estate education?

We have been in the business in one way or another for over thirty years. Our experience includes teaching, brokerage, real estate school operation and administration, book and course authoring, custom seminar development, and expertise ranging from appraisal to finance to commercial-investment to international real estate to residential brokerage and buyer brokerage.

Does PassPrep replace classroom study?

PassPrep is an adjunct to schools. It is a pre-license supplement as well as a pre-test practice program.

What's included in the package?

PassPrep state-specific products contain: database of national questions; database of state-specific questions; database of math questions; three simulation exams; test engine with capability to choose topics and subcategories, customize test features, and create innumerable tests; state study guide; math formulary with formulas and examples; national 'cram cards"; two real estate glossaries; built-in calculator; internal orientation website with access to all study aids. The national product contains only the national portions of the database and study guides. The math product contains only math questions, math formulary, and internal website components. PassPrep Math is unnecessary if you are ordering one of the other PassPrep products.

How do your exams relate to the state exam?

For our state-specific PassPrep, we have studied the information provided by the state and the testing agency concerning statutes and regulations covered and relative weighting of topics included in the test. Our questions are similar in style and difficulty to state exam questions, and the length of our simulation tests is the same as that of the state test.

What is the process of getting licensed?

Check your state's requirements through the state website link provided on PassPrep's HomeBase. The procedure in most states is:
1) successfully complete required pre-license courses of the specified number of hours-may be in a classroom or online, depending on the state
2) apply to take the state licensing exam and pay the necessary fees
3) pass the state exam according to the state's requirements
4) apply for the license and pay any required fees.

Is there a national license?

No. All real estate licenses are state-specific, although states usually have reciprocal arrangements with certain other states. But all state license exams include a large component of laws and practices that are common to all states ('national" material). Thus, to prepare for a licensing exam in any state it is necessary to study national as well as state material.

Is there a typical real estate license exam?

No. Exams vary from state to state and from exam to exam. The real estate commission or other regulatory authority distributes outlines of what will be covered on the state exam with requirements and suggestions for study.

Why is PassPrep necessary?

Review, practice, and exposure to a wide range of questions and topics is the best way to prepare for a test as well as succeed in a pre-license course. Review, prepare, succeed!

How to use PassPrep

What do I do first?

Click the PassPrep desktop icon to start the program. Then click the Homebase button to go to the internal orientation website, or click the down arrow on the Select a Test window to begin the test program.

What are the differences between the exam mode, study mode, and flashcard mode?

In exam mode, you can choose the number of questions you want in a test, but you cannot select topics or modify settings. As you answer questions, you proceed directly from one question to the next without receiving feedback about your answers until the test is ended. In study mode, you have a choice of topics as well as the number of questions, you can modify other settings, and you receive immediate feedback, with explanations, after each answer. Flashcard mode, when used with a multiple-choice test, shows you the question as a flashcard, with no choice of answers visible. Formulate your answer and then turn over (click) the card to see the correct answer. When used with a Flashword vocabulary test, the flashcard shows a definition, and you try to identify the term that is being defined.

Can I select the topics I want to be tested on?

Yes. First you must select a test from the drop-down list. Then by clicking on the Select a Topic button, you can choose questions from the subcategories within the selected test. Select each topic you want, and click the single right arrow button to move the selected topics into the right-hand 'Use These" box or use the double right arrow to select all the topics. Remove topics you don't want in the test by using the single and double left arrows to move them out of the 'Use These" box. When you have finished selecting topics, chose the number of questions you want from the topics and click Apply. Then select settings or launch the test.

Can I design the size of a test?

Yes. Select a number you can reasonably expect to complete in a session.

Can I take a test with or without explanations?

Yes. Settings allow you to customize how PassPrep presents your tests. You can set PassPrep to show explanations only when you answer incorrectly, instead of for every question, or only when you have completed all the questions. You can also choose to have PassPrep make a test on the selected topics using only questions you have not previously answered correctly. This allows you to work through an entire test or topic without having any repeated questions. Note that these settings are available for tests launched in Study Mode only.

Can I mark questions I want to skip and go back to them later?

Yes. Click the 'Do Later" check box and proceed to the next question. You can return to a marked question at any time via the Review Question button, or wait for PassPrep to present all the marked questions at the end of the test.

Can I exit a test, save it, and resume it later?

No. Once you end a test, it is erased from memory. However, you can return later, select the same test and topics, and, under the Select Settings option, choose to have only questions you have not previously answered correctly. In this way, you can continue without repeating the same questions until you have exhausted the topic.

Can I access the study guides while taking a test or without taking a test?

Yes, either way. Access the study guides from the test screen itself, or go to the HomeBase component before launching a test to access the study guides there.

Is there a self-guided orientation?

Yes. The HomeBase offers an orientation map with explanations of all PassPrep components, as well as direct access to study guides. Enter the HomeBase through the HomeBase button on the Start screen. If you are connected to the internet, you can also use one of the links provided or type a URL in the address window to go onto the internet from the HomeBase. Whenever you close the HomeBase browser window (by clicking the x in the upper right corner), you will return to the Start screen of PassPrep. Thus you can use HomeBase to access the study aids without needing to launch a test.

Is there vocabulary testing in PassPrep?

Yes. The vocabulary tests, called Flashwords, are set up as flashcards, not multiple-choice tests. There are over 350 vocabulary questions. When you select a Flashword test, launch it in the Flashcard Mode.

Are there ready-made tests that simulate state exams?

Yes. The three simulation exams have been carefully designed to reflect the number of questions and the mixture and weighting of topics that you will find on a state exam. We suggest you take these tests in Exam mode to approximate the real exam experience most closely.

Does PassPrep track and evaluate my learning progress?

Yes. The Test Score Report shows the name of the test just completed; your score as a percent of the number of questions in the test, compared with the presumed passing percentage for the state exam; your scores by category (topic) selected; and the questions you answered incorrectly or did not answer, with correct answers and rationales. This enables you to quantify your progress and track your strengths and weaknesses.

Does PassPrep provide a continuing progress record over time?

Yes. The performance record lists the names of the tests you have taken, the test mode (whether Study or Exam), and your score as a percent of the number of questions in the test. The performance history is maintained permanently, with new results added to the end.

Installation questions

Do I have to Install software?

The PassPrep program itself must be installed after downloading. No additional special software is needed to run PassPrep.

How does product activation work?

During the installation process, the PassPrep installer contacts our activation server on the internet. You enter your activation code according to instructions, the server sends a code back to your computer, and the installation process completes. No further internet connection is required.

Why have product activation?

Product activation has developed as a technology to protect intellectual property against theft. For licensed products such as software, it is currently the only effective protection. We hope our customers will understand and forgive the small inconvenience it causes them.

I purchased PassPrep eight months ago but I'm just getting around to installing it now. The installation program will not work. What's wrong?

Activation codes expire after six months. The program, once installed, is yours to use for as long as you want. Please install and activate your new purchase in a timely fashion.

When I try to install the program I get an error message that says "Page Not Found" or "Page Cannot be Displayed." What's up?

A 'Page Not Found" or 'Page Cannot Be Displayed" message indicates that PassPrep has been denied access to the internet during the activation and installation procedure. This is almost always the result of firewall settings on your computer. The solution is to temporarily turn off any and all firewalls. See Disabling firewalls [link to Installation Help page, Disabling Firewalls section] on the Installation Help page of this website.

When I try to install the program I get an error message that says 'Unable to generate Activation Code.' what am I doing wrong?

An 'Unable to generate Activation Code" message indicates that our activation server does not recognize the activation code you have entered on the Activation Code screen. Either your code is invalid (expired, or already used up), or you have made a mistake entering it. Please try entering it again, and if the problem persists, contact us.

Do I need to be connected to the internet to use the program?

The internet connection is required only during installation and activation. However, if you want to access web pages from PassPrep's HomeBase page, you will need to be connected.