It's seven days until your exam. You've been studying for weeks, maybe months. Your desk is covered with practice tests, sticky notes, and highlighted study guides. And now you're wondering: Am I ready? Should I cram more content? What if I'm forgetting something crucial?
Here's what most test-takers don't realize: what you do in this final week matters as much as all the studying that came before. Not because you'll learn massive amounts of new content—you won't. But because how you prepare your mind and body for test day determines whether you can access everything you've already learned.
Test-takers who knew the material have fallen apart on exam day because they approached this last week wrong. And test-takers who felt underprepared have walked in confident and focused because they used these seven days strategically.
This isn't about cramming. It's about optimizing.
Take inventory and make a realistic plan. This is your last chance to identify and address weak areas, but you need to be strategic—there's not enough time to relearn everything.
Take a full-length practice test if you haven't done one recently. The full 170-question, four-hour experience shows you where you stand and what needs attention.
Review results for patterns. Don't just count wrong answers. Are you missing questions in specific content areas? Making the same types of errors across topics? Running out of time or second-guessing yourself?
Make two lists:
Content gaps – Specific topics where you're consistently missing questions. Defense mechanisms, group development stages, mandatory reporting nuances. Write down no more than five topics.
Test-taking patterns – Errors that aren't about content knowledge. Rushing and misreading questions? Changing correct answers to wrong ones? Spending too long on certain question types?
Skip the panic about everything you don't know. You've been studying for weeks. You know more than you think you do.
Mindset check: Anxiety is normal. The goal isn't to eliminate it—it's to ensure it doesn't interfere with performance. If your inner voice says "I'm going to fail" or "I should have studied more," acknowledge the thought and refocus on what you're doing right now.
Address your specific weak areas from yesterday's assessment. Strengthen them by reviewing the most commonly tested aspects, not by trying to learn everything about each topic.
For each topic on your content gaps list, spend 30-45 minutes:
Reviewing key concepts – Read through study materials, but think about how this content shows up in questions. What are they really asking when they test this topic?
Doing practice questions – Complete 10-15 questions on this specific topic. After each question, whether right or wrong, ask: What was this testing? What would make someone choose each wrong answer? What clue pointed to the correct one?
Writing a summary – One page in your own words. Not comprehensive coverage—just key distinctions, what gets tested most often, what you need to remember.
Example: If defense mechanisms keep tripping you up, don't memorize all 30+ mechanisms. Focus on the most frequent: projection, displacement, sublimation, rationalization, denial, regression. For each, write a clear example and how you'd recognize it in a question.
Skip new content. If you haven't studied something at all yet, it's not going to be the difference between passing and failing.
Energy management: Your brain needs rest to consolidate learning. Study in focused 45-minute blocks with real breaks between. Walk, eat, step away from the material.
Connect concepts across content areas and practice application. The ASWB doesn't test topics in isolation—questions blend content areas.
Do 50-75 mixed-topic practice questions under timed conditions. Practice the thought process you'll use on exam day:
Look for questions that combine multiple concepts. These are closer to what you'll see on the actual exam—they test integration, not isolated recall.
Don't dwell on missed questions. Review them and understand why you missed them, but don't let one or two tough questions convince you that you're not ready. The exam includes questions that most people miss.
Confidence building: By now patterns should emerge. Questions start to feel familiar even when scenarios are new. Trust that recognition.
Work on test-taking strategies from your patterns list. Content knowledge gets you partway to passing. Test-taking skills get you the rest of the way.
Choose your biggest test-taking challenge and address it:
If you rush and misread questions: Do 20 questions with this rule—read each question stem twice before looking at answer options. Train yourself to catch qualifiers like FIRST, BEST, MOST, or negative words like EXCEPT or NOT.
If you second-guess and change answers: Do 30 questions and mark every time you want to change an answer. After finishing, check: were first instincts right or were changes improvements? Most test-takers find their first instinct is correct more often.
If you get stuck on hard questions: Practice skip-and-return. Do a section where you immediately skip any question without an obvious answer. Answer everything you're confident about first, then return to difficult ones.
If you run out of time: Do a timed 85-question section (half the exam). You have 120 minutes—roughly 85 seconds per question. Practice moving at that pace.
Practical prep: Start thinking about exam day logistics. What time is your appointment? How long to get there? What will you wear (comfortable clothes in layers)? What will you eat? Having these details settled removes decisions you'd otherwise make under stress.
Review your most difficult content one more time and fill remaining small gaps. You're not learning new material—you're solidifying what you've studied.
Review missed questions from practice tests. Look only at what you got wrong. For each: Do you understand why you missed this? Could you explain the correct answer to someone else?
Make a one-page cheat sheet of concepts that still feel shaky. Not for test day—you can't bring it with you. For tonight and tomorrow. The act of deciding what's important enough to include helps cement it in memory.
For consistently confusing content, find a different way to engage with it:
Review wrong answers from recent practice tests, but don't get lost in them. Understand the reasoning, note what you'll do differently, move on.
Don't take another full practice test. You're too close to exam day. A bad score now would tank your confidence without time to meaningfully improve. A good score won't change your preparation.
Sleep matters starting tonight. Your brain consolidates memories during sleep. Everything you're reviewing today will be processed tonight while you rest.
Review high-yield concepts and shift into the right mindset for test day. The heavy studying is over.
Spend 2-3 hours maximum on light review:
Mental preparation:
Visualization practice: Spend 10 minutes visualizing yourself taking the exam successfully. You're calm, reading questions carefully, choosing answers confidently. You encounter difficult questions and handle them without panic. You finish with time to review.
Plan your test day: Write out your schedule. What time will you wake up? What will you eat? When will you leave? What will you do during your 10-minute break?
Gather your materials: Two forms of ID (check ASWB requirements), confirmation email, directions to the test center. Put everything in one place.
Don't do intensive studying. If you don't know it by now, cramming won't help. It'll exhaust you and increase anxiety.
Energy management: Do something that helps you relax. Go for a run, watch a show, spend time with friends. Your body and mind need to recover before test day.
Very light review, exam logistics, and serious rest. This is not a study day. This is a preparation day.
Morning (if you must study):
Limit yourself to one hour maximum. Review your cheat sheet, skim the exam content outline, or do 10-15 easy practice questions. That's it. Better option: Take the morning off completely.
Afternoon:
Physical preparation:
Logistical preparation:
Mental preparation:
Evening:
Eat a normal dinner—something familiar that won't upset your stomach. Avoid anything too heavy or greasy.
Do something relaxing that has nothing to do with the exam. Your brain needs a break from exam mode.
Go to bed at a reasonable time. Not super early (you'll just lie awake), but not late either. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep.
If you can't sleep, don't panic. Lying quietly and resting is still restorative. Don't pick up your phone to study. Just rest.
Morning routine:
Wake up early enough to not rush. Rushing creates anxiety.
Eat a good breakfast with protein and complex carbs—something that will sustain you through four hours. Eggs and toast, oatmeal with nuts, a protein smoothie.
Drink water or coffee if that's your normal routine. Not the day to triple your caffeine intake.
Dress in layers. Test centers vary in temperature. Bring a sweater or jacket you can remove.
Arrive 30 minutes early. Buffer time for traffic, parking, or getting lost. You'll check in, put your belongings in a locker, and have a few minutes to breathe.
The mental game:
As you drive to the test center, your mind will probably try to quiz you. "Do I remember the difference between validity and reliability?" "What are the stages of group development again?"
You don't need to review. You know this. Instead, repeat: "I've prepared. I know the material. I'm ready for this."
In the testing room:
Pay attention to the tutorial even if you've done practice tests—it reminds you how the software works.
When the exam starts, read the first question carefully. Don't rush. You have time.
Your strategy:
When you hit a hard question: Everyone encounters questions they're not sure about. The exam includes experimental questions. Some questions are meant to be difficult. Skip it, flag it, come back later.
After the first 85 questions: Take the 10-minute break. Use the bathroom, drink water, eat your snack. Move your body. Don't think about questions you just answered. Reset for the second half.
When you finish: You'll take a brief survey, then see your score. Pass or fail, right there on the screen.
If you pass: Congratulations. Your score report will go to your licensing board within a few weeks. Take the rest of the day to celebrate.
If you don't pass: Many competent social workers don't pass on the first attempt. The exam doesn't measure your worth or your ability to be a good social worker—it measures performance on one test on one day.
You'll get a breakdown showing which content areas you scored well in and which need work. Use that information to create a study plan. You can retake the exam after 90 days (or sooner if you're within 10 points and your state allows waivers).
Test-takers who retake often do better because they've eliminated the unknowns. You know what the exam feels like now. You know what to focus on.
This last week isn't about becoming a different test-taker. It's about showing up as your best, most prepared self.
You've been studying. You've been doing practice questions. You've been learning this material for years—in your MSW program, in supervised experience, in focused exam prep. The knowledge is there.
This week is about accessing it under pressure. That means protecting your confidence, managing your energy, and trusting your preparation.
Test-takers fail the ASWB for three main reasons: they don't know enough content, they can't apply content to questions, or anxiety interferes with performance. If you've been studying consistently, you've addressed the first two. This week is about managing the third.
Everything in this guide is designed to walk you into that exam room calm, confident, and ready. Not because you know every possible thing they could ask—nobody does. But because you know enough, you've practiced enough, and you trust yourself enough to handle whatever shows up.
Seven days from now, you'll have taken the exam. The waiting will be over.
Right now, prepare well, rest well, and show up ready. score report will go to your licensing board and you'll get your official results within a few weeks. Take the rest of the day to celebrate. You've earned it.
If you don't pass: This isn't the end. Many competent social workers don't pass on the first attempt. The exam doesn't measure your worth or your ability to be a good social worker—it measures your performance on one test on one day.
You'll get a breakdown showing which content areas you scored well in and which need more work. Use that information to create a study plan. You can retake the exam after 90 days (or sooner if you're within 10 points and your state allows waivers).
You learned something from this attempt. You know what the exam feels like now. You know what to focus on. Students who retake often do better because they've eliminated the unknowns.
This last week isn't about becoming a different test-taker. It's about showing up as your best, most prepared self.
You've been studying. You've been doing practice questions. You've been learning this material for years—first in your MSW program, then in your supervised experience, now in focused exam prep. The knowledge is there.
This week is about accessing it under pressure. That means protecting your confidence, managing your energy, and trusting your preparation.
Students fail the ASWB for three main reasons: they don't know enough content, they can't apply content to questions, or their anxiety interferes with performance. If you've been studying consistently, you've addressed the first two. This week is about managing the third.
Everything in this guide is designed to walk you into that exam room calm, confident, and ready. Not because you know every possible thing they could ask—nobody does. But because you know enough, you've practiced enough, and you trust yourself enough to handle whatever shows up.
Seven days from now, you'll have taken the exam. The waiting will be over. You'll know your result.
Right now, your job is to prepare well, rest well, and show up ready.
You've got this.
Right now, get SWTP's online practice exams at a reduced price. Just $39. Get additional savings when buying more than one exam at a time-- less than $30 per exam!
Keep going till you pass. Extensions are free.
To receive our free study guide and get started!