My testing experience.

During the last couple weeks of school, my internship seminar dedicated an entire 1.5 hour lecture to our ASWB licensing exam. Taking this exam and passing would give us our SSW license, and having that license opens up more job opportunities with better pay. It's also beneficial for graduate school application. I did not really know what to expect with the test, and the class discussion wasn't really beneficial ("Do you have any questions?" followed by long spurts of silence). The test was pretty expensive (over $200), and failing means having to pay that all over again to retake the test. I ordered the study guide, took the practice test, and then put my faith in my experience and education.

I was scheduled to take the test at 2 pm at the Salt Lake Community College, and showed up at 1:15. I was told to be signed in at 1:30 for the exam, and used the fifteen minutes prior to study the practice test some more. My stomach was churning, my brow sweating, and when I went to sign in, I was informed that I was the only person taking the test. This was kind of unexpected, but then I realized that I would be able to read the questions out loud, which helps a ton when I'm doing a really long test (this one was 170 questions). We're allotted four hours to take the test, and the study guide suggested taking as much of the four hours as I could stand. I ended up finishing the test in an hour, and spent another fifteen minutes reviewing my answers. We're required to get a 70 to pass, and I was told time and time again not to expect to get much higher than that. I read online several people complaining about having to take the test again because they were a couple points shy. A panic attack later, I finally hit the "quit" button to finish the exam. Because it was all on a computer, I was supposed to get the score as soon as I exited out of the test. Naturally, it's not that easy. A survey popped up about my testing experience. Dripping in sweat, I zipped through the survey and finally got to the last page.

PASSED.

Holy freak. What a relief. In spite of my speed and anxiety, I still managed to get an 84. Hot dang!

Now, if I could just find a job...