Georgia Pre-license education - what Atlanta area schools do you prefer?

Question

I'm searching for a school in the Atlanta/Marietta area to get my pre-license education in the classroom. Does anyone have a preference? I'm looking at Barney Fletcher and they seem to have a nice program. I'm also looking for a weekend program.

Joel Owens · Answer

I do not know the test setup now. It's been over a decade for me since taking it.

There usually is a national section and a state section for Q & A.

The benefits of in-class is that previous students come in and tell the instructor what types of questions are on the most recently used state tests. While the test are ever changing this helps the instructor focus on the "red flag" areas likely to be on the next state test.

In school you take a mid-term test and then the final. You then go take the state exam if you passed the in class first.

At Barnes and Noble there used to be a state and national AMP book. It would have national questions not usually learned in the class.

The test is usually multiple choice with a clear right and a wrong answer out of 4 selections. Some people are great at taking tests and others freak out. I am the type where I can look at something 15 minutes before the test and almost get a 100 and then dump the info when I leave.

A strategy I employ is that on the state agents exam I would select the answers I knew 100% first. Then after getting through all the questions you can go back to the ones not answered. I went to the next group where out of 4 answers I had it narrowed down to 2. Most of the time a question later on would eliminate the 2nd option so I then knew to go back for the answer by process of elimination. The last questions unanswered were the ones after doing all of that it was still a guess between 2 answers and eliminating 2 others so I had a 50/50 shot of being right. If you take a test this way by process of elimination you should help your scores greatly.

Please remember you do not learn much with the agent course for real estate. 90% of it you will never likely use again. You learn the trade when you get out there and start doing.

Now the benefit to online is you can take the class at your pace and plow through it quicker. The downside is you do not get in class training and you do not have an idea of what might be on the next state test for sections to focus and study on.

In GA after 3 years actively licensed and in good standing you can go for your brokers license. You can take the test earlier within 2 years I believe but not get the active brokers license until 3 years.

The test for the brokers license was much tougher at least when I took it then the agents. The brokers will be a storyline format where you read a question in a long paragraph form that is situational. You then have about 4 weighted options. The difference is in the agents test there is only one answer.

In the brokers test there is the best answer, second best, bad answer, and worst answer. The points given can range from a negative 2 to a positive 2. Based on your answer another paragraph opens up with more choice. At the end of it all if your weighted average is above a certain level you pass. Lot's of crazy questions and I am glad I passed that one.

This whole process might have changed as the agent test I took going on about 11 years ago and the brokers going on 8 years.

Hope it helps.

Dan Cotter · Answer

Eric, did you pick one? I plan to get a real estate license relatively soon, probably after earning my urban planning credential (AICP). One of my colleagues at work did the online real estate pre-license course through GIRE and liked it. He recommended also getting the book AND also doing their optional cram session.

Personally, I tried the Coldwell Banker online course and found it to be incredibly tedious clicking through the endless series of slides and questions, and not being able to progress at your own pace (being forced to answer the same questions multiple times, etc.). Then my work schedule got nuts, I didn't have time to study, and the course expired. It probably didn't help that I got sick of the online interface, either.

So the "flexible" online option is actually only so flexible. Be prepared that it is a commitment, and you will need to study pretty diligently to finish before the course expires. This is coming from someone with a masters degree, so trust me, I'm not just lazy. Personally, the social pressure of going to classes would force me to make it a priority, and I think I'd enjoy the classroom setting more anyway.

I think weekend-only courses are hard to find, because it would take so long. Did you find one that looks good?

Eric Decker · Answer

Thank you @Gordon T! I appreciate your information and feedback. It's a tough call to decide between online (for the flexibility) or the classroom where you get personalized instruction which I've heard is more beneficial.

Gordon T. · Answer

Lucky for me Texas is a reciprocal state so my license transferred here when I moved. Although I don't have personal experience with them, one of my guys did not like his experience with Barney Fletcher. He ended up changing and going with the one that Georgia MLS offered. I think his biggest issue was the way the instructor taught and that is a variable that can be different when you take the class.

If you decide to do it all online, I used mckissock and was pleased with them.

Hope it works out for you @Eric Decker and welcome to the boards!

If you decide to do it all online, I used mckissock and was pleased with them.

Hope it works out for you @Eric Decker and welcome to the boards!

Georgia Pre-license education - what Atlanta area schools do you prefer?

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