A Guide to the Week Before Your PEP Exam

(Posted September 2025)

Through discussions we have had with CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) module writers, a common theme for the week before a PEP exam is to cram, cram, cram. This is not the most effective way to be successful on your PEP module final exam and will lead to higher stress for you.

Schedule

PEP exams are typically mid-week. Let’s assume your PEP exam is on a Thursday. Here is a sample schedule for the week prior to the exam:

Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
Light technical review or practice MCQs (1-2 hours, including debrief)	Write a practice case, mark and debrief	Day off	Light technical review (1-2 hours)	Evening off	Review your exam strategy and case approach (no more than 30 minutes)	Exam day

The goal of this week is to wind down your studies and be ready to write the exam with a fresh and clear mind. Let’s walk through each day of the schedule:

Friday

On the Friday evening prior to your exam (assuming you are working), we recommend you decide whether you would like to do some light technical review on some of your weaker areas or practice some MCQs. In either case, we would recommend spending no more than 1-2 hours on this. Remember, the goal is to wind down, so you do not want to be tackling new topics or stressing yourself out.

If you choose technical review, focus on the more commonly tested topics for your PEP module. Avoid looking for “new” technical topics or complex technical topics. The goal for this evening is to gain confidence that you are strong with the key technical topics you need to know.

If you choose to practice MCQs, do not spend 2 hours writing MCQs just to mark them and walk away. That does not help to boost your confidence or enhance your learning. Instead, be sure that you fully debrief each MCQ you attempt to get the maximum learning from that practice. In other words, ensure you understand why one option is correct and why the other options are incorrect.

Saturday

Take a half day on the weekend before the exam to write a practice case. Be sure that you mark and debrief this case to maximize your learning before the exam. Your debrief should focus on ensuring you understand how to achieve Competent on each assessment opportunity. Then take the rest of the day off.

Sunday

You should also take a full day off on the weekend before your exam. A day off is a day off. That means no technical review, no practicing MCQs, no reviewing your notes, and no writing a practice case. You need to arrive at the exam fresh and rested. Take the time to get some exercise and fresh air, spend time with friends or family, and get lots of rest so you are ready for the week ahead.

Monday

Spend 1-2 hours doing light technical review of the most commonly tested topics for your PEP module. Do not make the mistake of “grazing” for obscure technical topics at this point in the process. Few things induce stress more than tripping across a weird topic in the last few days before your PEP module final exam. You have worked hard and have learned 90–95% of the technical that you need to know. Accept the fact that you cannot know everything that could be tested.

Tuesday

Take the evening off on Tuesday. If you are working, make sure you are not trying to put in double duty this week between work and studying. If you are prone to stress and worry before an exam, we recommend making some plans during your evenings off this week, so you have plenty of fun activities to keep you distracted.

Wednesday

The only exam-related thing you should do on Wednesday is a short review of your exam strategy and case approach. Visualize each step to make sure that you know how you will tackle both the MCQ portion and the case portion of the exam. Then ensure you get a good night’s sleep, so you are well rested.