Free six-week study schedule
Six-week Illinois real estate exam study plan
Build the week around returning to older material, applying new rules and correcting misses. The five-page printable gives six topic phases and shows how the final rehearsal week needs different work blocks.
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The resource first
Direct answer: The free six-week plan uses a suggested starting range of 6 to 10 hours a week after the course foundation is in place. Its ordinary example is four 2-hour contacts, or 8 hours. Weeks 1 to 3 build connections, the Week 3 audit selects repairs, Weeks 4 and 5 integrate the outline, and Week 6 reallocates time for separate national and Illinois rehearsals with review. The hours and checkpoints are editable study suggestions, not proven passing requirements.
Weekly workload
6 to 10 hours suggested; ordinary example is 8
Study frequency
4 contacts in the ordinary 8-hour example
Midpoint audit
End of Week 3
Final rehearsal
Separate national and Illinois timing
Set a calendar you can use
Page 1 is the cover. Page 2 records your four study windows, weekly hours, separate baselines and priorities. Page 3 covers Weeks 1 to 3; page 4 covers Weeks 4 to 6; page 5 checks coverage and appointment instructions. This is review after the required course foundation, not approved pre-license education.
Choose hours from your actual calendar and gaps. Spread the contacts through the week when practical. If a contact is missed, move unfinished work to a realistic window while preserving cumulative practice and correction. Extend the schedule if necessary rather than deleting a smaller topic or doubling the last day.
Use the four-contact rhythm for an ordinary week
The example totals 8 hours: four contacts of 2 hours each. Short diagnostics can fit within these blocks. A full national rehearsal plus review needs a longer block, so Week 6 changes the allocation.
- A: retrieve older rules, study the first weekly focus and correct the first practice set.
- B: apply the second focus to new scenarios or calculations; explain why the closest distractor fails.
- C: mix current and earlier material, keeping national and Illinois results separate.
- D: repair repeated misses, complete delayed retests and choose next week’s priorities.
Weeks 1 to 3: build connections and inspect the gaps
Start each contact with a return to earlier material. At the end of Week 3, compare fresh evidence with your baselines while allowing for different set sizes, coverage and difficulty. Choose three specific repairs for Weeks 4 and 5 without dropping the rest of the outline.
- Week 1: property ownership, land use and the Illinois licensing path. Classify estates, co-ownership, encumbrances and descriptions; draw the education-to-practice sequence. Take short separate baselines and flag every uncovered row in the full topic map.
- Week 2: contracts and agency, with Illinois designation, customer notice, dual consent, agreements, confidentiality and compensation. Build contract and agency maps from changed facts, then rebuild them without notes.
- Week 3: financing, valuation and calculations, with Illinois advertising, funds, assistants, CMA/BPO boundaries and transfer tax. Log whether each math miss involved the base, unit, sequence, responsibility or rounding. Mix older contracts and property questions.
Weeks 4 to 6: integrate and allow full rehearsal time
Keep earlier concepts in mixed practice. For Week 6, the PDF gives an 8-hour example: 3.5 hours for national rehearsal and review, 2.5 for Illinois rehearsal and review, 1 for delayed repair and 1 for final retrieval and logistics. That totals 8 hours. Move the ordinary contacts to fit these longer blocks; do not force the national set into a 2-hour session.
The national block allows 150 minutes of practice plus 60 of review. The Illinois block allows 90 plus 60. These are booklet-based practice assumptions, not confirmation of your exam clock. If the longer blocks do not fit, change the calendar while keeping review time.
- Week 4: practice rules, fair housing and national and Illinois disclosures. Separate actor, property scope, knowledge, prohibited act, form and timing. Explain the closest tempting exception.
- Week 5: title, deeds, closing, property management, leases, rents, tenant rights, additional Illinois laws and taxes. Use the broker checklist to find omissions and revisit the three weakest logged distinctions. Inspect pacing and write the final repair list.
- Week 6: rehearse each portion separately, review misses and guesses, repair delayed errors and verify appointment logistics. Finish with light retrieval rather than a marathon.
Use separate evidence and a confirmed appointment clock
The booklet lists 150 national minutes and 90 Illinois minutes, while PSI's program page says 3.5 hours for the exam. These published durations conflict. Confirm the time for your own booking with PSI. The plan uses the booklet durations only as practice assumptions.
The national raw cutoff is 70 correct out of 100 scored items; Illinois requires 30 out of 40. PSI may add 5 to 10 unscored experimental items that use testing time, without assigning that range separately to each portion. Keep both practice results and their denominators visible.
Check unfamiliar-question evidence, delayed rule application, coverage of all 15 areas and pacing. Then verify ID, format, time zone, route or remote setup and the cancellation deadline. No practice percentage or completed calendar certifies readiness. If one portion remains weak, use its actual gaps to revise the plan.
Use the resource in a practice decision
Your next practice step
Choose where to study next
Use a short mixed set to find a starting point, then investigate the topics behind your misses. It is not a prediction of your exam result.
These web resources are free. The app has a separate free starter tier and optional paid full access.
Quick questions
How many hours per week does this plan assume?
The suggested starting range is 6 to 10 hours. The ordinary example uses four 2-hour contacts, totaling 8 hours, with correction included. The final week reallocates those hours into longer rehearsal and review blocks.
Can I study only on weekends?
Choose windows you can keep. The ordinary example spreads four contacts through the week when practical so earlier material returns after a delay. If those windows do not fit, change the calendar or use a longer plan; four contacts is a planning choice, not a passing requirement.
What changes after Week 3?
Compare fresh national and Illinois evidence with the baselines, allowing for different sets, and choose three repairs for Weeks 4 and 5. Keep all official areas in rotation.
When do I take timed sets?
Short diagnostics and checkpoints appear earlier. Week 6 includes separate national and Illinois rehearsals with review time. Its 150/90-minute practice assumptions come from the booklet; the conflicting PSI program duration means you must confirm your own appointment clock.
Is the download free?
Yes. The five-page plan downloads directly without an account, payment, or email address.
Primary sources and review status
- PSI Illinois Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin, June 24, 2026
- PSI Illinois program page, published duration conflict
The downloadable resource also displays its source and review date. The current official source controls if a rule, outline, or procedure changes.