I passed the Standard Written Exam this week, on my first try after studying for 4 months. I worked full time for half that time, and 1/2 time for the other half to give myself more time to study. The TDC program is excellent for getting ready for the test. It really helped me a lot. I'm in my late 50's (with mild age-related memory decline) and don't have prior academic experience in human services prior to the MSW program at SJSU. I purchased a competitor's package also. I found both packages useful. The competitor's package provided in-person classes, which I got a lot out of. Also, they provided written material that goes into a lot more depth than TDC's on the clinical subjects. With my learning style, and experience, I need to know more depth and context in order for the material to make sense, so I'm glad I bought both packages. However, if I could just afford one of the two, I would have chosen TDC. The competitor's package provides way too much information and I felt overwhelmed trying to learn it. The competitor's test bank was getting me confused (much of what they ask is not on my real test). Luckily, Amanda's package gave me a simple plan to follow, and gave just what I needed to know to pass the test. I went through the program twice, and did the practice and mock tests at least twice. One of the high points was Angelic, from TDC. She was my coach. She was excellent. I only had a few interactions with her, but she saved me from getting hung up on the theories and kept me from becoming demoralized by keeping me focused and encouraged. I plan to use the TDC package for Exam #2 also.
LCSW