# Best way to prepare for a civil service police examination (April 2015)



## probvi11 (Dec 27, 2014)

Hello everybody,

I'm new to this forum and I would like some input in how to successfully prepare for the upcoming civil service police test. There are a lot of people on this forum who have a lot more experience with these tests. This is my first test and I'm currently a full time student. Yet, I thought it wouldn't hurt to take this police examination for practice and see where my current strengths and weaknesses are. I want to start preparing as early as possible using any suitable review materials out there before I go back to school. I should note that this is my first time I'm taking a test like this.

If you have any recommendations how to prepare and score well (90 or above) please let me know. Please include any study materials such as study guides or courses you found useful. To start off I thought of buying a police exam prep book from amazon but I'm not sure how relevant the information is going to be for the upcoming civil service test.

I would appreciate any help on this front and good luck to anyone who will take this particular test.


----------



## Pvt. Cowboy (Jan 26, 2005)

Hello newbie... Let me start by helping you out. 

Step one: Find branch of military that interests you.

Step two: Enlist. 

Step three: Enjoy veterans preference, enabling you to get hired.

If you decided you want to skip all these steps, you'll need to score a 100, or 99, and even then, the veterans will be placed in the hiring pool ahead of you. 

Lastly... Prepare another career path, in the event you never get hired. Trust me, it happens. 

Alternate advice: Get the hell out of this state. They're hiring all over the south and the west. 

Cowboy's personal advice: Los Angeles Police Department. 

End of advice.


----------



## Edmizer1 (Aug 27, 2006)

Pvt. Cowboy said:


> Hello newbie... Let me start by helping you out.
> 
> Step one: Find branch of military that interests you.
> 
> ...


This is the absolute truth.


----------



## pahapoika (Nov 5, 2006)

Haven't taken a test in something like 15 yrs so take it for what it's worth ( and it might not be much )

If your in school i'm guessing your doing allot of reading and that's what the test is. Lots of reading and answering multiple questions that all look the same, but the wrong answers have buzz words like "always", never", etc

There was a memory portion in the beginning of the test and while it's important to remember license plates, street names,time of day, etc they will throw a curve ball and ask what the number on the bus was driving by or something benign like that.

Don't worry about people leaving early. I never know what's up with that . Just skip the stuff that baffles you and move on leaving a few minutes at the end of the test to go over the tough ones. Just guess if you have to.

Good nights sleep, breakfast, comfortable clothes,etc

Good Luck and if you really want to get on take Cowboy's advice and do your hitch in the service


----------



## Pvt. Cowboy (Jan 26, 2005)

pahapoika said:


> Haven't taken a test in something like 15 yrs so take it for what it's worth ( and it might not be much )
> 
> If your in school i'm guessing your doing allot of reading and that's what the test is. Lots of reading and answering multiple questions that all look the same, but the wrong answers have buzz words like "always", never", etc
> 
> ...


Your 15 years shows... 

They don't ask anything memory related. It's all 10th grade reading comp, math, and grammar.

It's the personality profile that absolutely fucks you every single time.

"How many times have you had an aggressive verbal altercation with a co-worker? How many times have you called in sick, even though you weren't sick? Do you prefer to work in groups, or alone?"

Fucking. Bullshit.


----------



## pahapoika (Nov 5, 2006)

Pvt. Cowboy said:


> Your 15 years shows...
> 
> They don't ask anything memory related. It's all 10th grade reading comp, math, and grammar.
> 
> ...


Jesus, i am an old bastard 
*
"don't be as stupid as I was and move to a different city within a year before the CS test"*

Forgot about the old "residency" thing.


----------



## Any1hiring (Aug 16, 2014)

woodyd said:


> http://www.hanrahanconsulting.com/
> Haven't used him personally but have heard GREAT things from people who have. Hopefully he'll do another entrance exam seminar this year.
> Best advice- don't be as stupid as I was and move to a different city within a year before the CS test, therefore leaving you with no residency preference in any town . Yeah, no veterans preference and no residency preference this year? Maybe 2017 will be my year


Totally agree I used him last test got a 97 but with no veterans status and a white male still haven't gotten hired. Good luck and don't give up. Oh and he usually puts an ad on Craig's list for classes a couple months before the test.


----------



## Pats1616 (Jan 24, 2012)

Take your time on the test. The answers are obvious if you take time to read through the question. I scored a 10 when they had the foolish banding scores and then scored 100 which ultimately got me hired. On those personality question always strongly agree or strongly disagree. That worked best for me at least. Good luck and keep testing. It's a marathon


----------



## Bloodhound (May 20, 2010)

Pats1616 said:


> On those personality question always strongly agree or strongly disagree.


That right there is the most important part.


----------



## felony (Oct 24, 2014)

There isn't anyway to prepare for the test. I honestly don't know how they make their numerical scoring, with 200 personality questions and 10 scenario based questions. The CS test is a joke and a reason why many agencies are ditching CS. I have seen departments hire fat bodies and duds, just because they couldn't find a reason to bypass them. My department made me take a written test, PAT with cooper standards and oral board, just to get a offer for the BI.

The PAT test for the MPTC academy is a joke. Make it be cooper standards like the rest of the nation and have actual PT requirements for the academy. I would not get admitted to my academy if I did not pass cooper 12 min.29 sec for the mile and a half run or better, right out of the gate. I have seen some tubs in Boylston and Plymouth, become student officers with a 16 minute 1.5 mile run times. Pathetic!


----------



## DeltaTango27 (Jul 14, 2010)

I agree with the above.....I get asked all the time on how to prepare for the CS exam and I just tell them there really isn't. There are study exams for other types of the police exams offered in other states, but none that I have seen in the past that would be helpful. Just have to go in and take a swing and hope for the best....it's not a hard exam just gotta go in and take your time.


----------

