Inside Rehabilitation Counseling
Inside Rehabilitation Counseling
Top 10 Most Asked Questions about the CRC Exam with Jennifer Marcu
Nobody gets more questions here at CRCC than our Certification Department. Certification Supervisor Jen Marcu works with her team to answer questions, clarify steps in the process, and connect with thousands of certificants and future CRCs across the US.
Jen is our guest this week, and we will explore some of the questions she hears most from students and test-takers. We made a list of the top 10 most frequently asked questions about the CRC Exam and tackled them one by one to hopefully help any of you out there preparing for test day.
Helpful Links Discussed in Today's Episode:
CRC Exam Overview and Knowledge Domains
S Welcome to Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. I'm CRCC Director of Communications and Marketing, Taylor Bauer, and I'm very glad you're joining us again for another exploration into the art and science of rehabilitation counseling. One of my favorite parts of producing and hosting this podcast is hearing from listeners about what stories resonate with them. A lot of those listeners who reach out are students in master's level programs preparing to become CRCs. Naturally, when we discuss the show, they'll usually sneak in a few questions about the CRC exam as well. Nobody gets more questions here at CRCC than our Certification Department and Certification Supervisor Jennifer Marcu works with her team to answer questions, clarify steps in the process, and connect with thousands of certificants and future CRCs across the U.S. every week. Jen is our guest this week as we explore some of these questions she hears most from students and test takers. We made a list of the top 10 most frequently asked questions about the CRC exam and tackled them one by one to hopefully help you help any of you out there preparing for test day. You more than anybody at CRCC knows the types of questions that students and folks who are getting ready to take the CRC exam are asking. I know that you and your team are always on the phone or answering emails of people who have questions about, you know, how to get prepared for the exam, how to ensure that they're going to succeed on the exam and really just kind of eliminate as much uncertainty as possible. And that's why I'm so excited to have you on this episode with us. And we're going to basically go through the 10 most common questions you get about the CRC exam. And hopefully, this will help people who are getting ready to have a better understanding of the process, what's expected of them, maybe even get some good feedback on what works for other people and what has helped them succeed. And if we don't hit questions that people have, they can always make sure to reach out with the information in the show notes via email or phone and let us know how we can best get them ready to do their part to pass and be So let's get started in a pretty natural place, right? Who qualifies or is eligible to take the CRC exam is something you all get asked a lot. by people from all different professions. So what does it take to actually be qualified to take the CRC exam?
Jennifer Marcu:Yeah, that's a very common question we get. There are three different categories in which someone can apply. So category one is someone with a rehabilitation degree or clinical rehabilitation degree or seeking one as a student from a KCREP university. So we do have a list on the website for KCREP that they can verify that through. There's category two, which is, again, a rehabilitation or clinical rehabilitation counseling degree than a non-K-crop. So again, verify through the website that way. And then there's category three, which is a related field. So we do only accept seven specific degrees there. So I would encourage anyone interested in category three to review those first because we are very specific on the ones we do accept. And we do, and we can get to this later, but we do what's called a pre-review of their information experience as well as academic to determine qualifications for that.
Taylor Bauer:amazing and you know the category one two three i know some people have asked like oh is it like first place, second place, third place. It's not a ranked category system. It's just three different kind of stepping stones to come in and apply for the exam. And that kind of gets to the next question that we hear a lot. Where are people actually applying for the CRC exam? How does someone sign up to take the CRC exam?
Jennifer Marcu:Yeah, so depending on where their school is from, so with category one, two, or three, they would then need to apply under that on our website through our CRC Connect. Once you create an account, you can then click click on this apply for CRC exam, and then answer the first two questions, which will place them in the correct category. So like Taylor said, it's not first, second, or third. It's just making sure that we're in the correct categories for processing purposes. So the first question is if you're receiving or have received your rehabilitation or clinical rehab counseling degree. Question two is about pay crop. And the system would then place that person into the correct category so that staff, when reviewing First
Taylor Bauer:question you said that they'll encounter, you know, if they're currently in a program or not, if they've already graduated, kind of gets to this next question. I know we have a lot of students who won't be completely done with their master's program, who hear from other folks that, you know, they weren't fully through their master's program yet and they still took the CRC exam. How does that work? When are you able to take the exam if you're still currently in your program as a student?
Jennifer Marcu:Yeah, so we require students to be 75% through their coursework before applying. so that we can just make sure that you have a lot of the information that will be on the exam and you're well prepared for it. So it is a requirement to be 75% through. So you can always ask your advisor when they recommend it. Since the exam is offered three times a year, we kind of look at that and determine based off your criteria and everything where you are to see if you would meet the requirements for that specific exam. So it is held in March, July, and October.
Taylor Bauer:And those dates every year you can find on our website with is helpful. So if you're gearing up to take the exam during a certain time, you'll know exactly what window those are offered. This next question, you know, we obviously can't tell people, you know, here are the answers to the CRC exam, nor do we even have them. You know, you and me, there is a reason that that's firewalled off, right? But in terms of the content on the exam, we know that many students who are taking the CRC exam come from rehabilitation counseling or clinical rehab counseling programs. You don't necessarily have to because of categories But obviously, if this is preparing folks to be certified rehabilitation counselors, I would imagine the content of the exam covers all of the different things that they'll need to be doing. So what content or what are the actual questions on the CRC exam and where are they coming from?
Jennifer Marcu:They're coming from our JTA that can be found on our website, as well as the domains that we review for everything. So we do encourage anyone looking to study or prepare for the exam to review both those and any other study material that is found on our website. website, which is recommended towards helping you with your study materials and everything, specifically the domains. It's really helpful to understand them and really kind of go into it. It's a lot, but understanding them is very beneficial. I have talked to many people about that. And so just it's something you should be learning in your coursework. But just reviewing from our website is always making sure you can check things off. And it's very the questions will come from there. So it's really helpful.
Taylor Bauer:And you're right. You know, we do know the knowledge domains, which there are 12 of them, have numbers of subdomains, and there is a lot of content that is on the CRC exam, which is why I know we typically recommend folks take 12 weeks or three months to study and really prepare for the exam. But on that topic of studying, what resources does CRCC offer? We know that there are a lot of different opportunities for people to use things like study guides, study groups online and things like that. In terms of what CRCC RCC has to offer students. What resources are available to help them get prepared for the exam?
Jennifer Marcu:Yes, that's a great question. And a common question we get is we do offer this self-assessment. That is one of the options through our eUniversity, as well as our flashcards. And there are two options for the flashcards. So just so you understand, there is an audio version and then the regular flashcards. So if you get the audio version, just understand it's just speaking to you. They are separate products, so you would have to purchase them separately If that's of interest to you, if you prefer that over the other, that's totally fine. We have both for that reason. And then the self-assessment is just the one option, but it's very beneficial. I believe it's 450 questions. You can take both of them as long as needed until you pass the exam. They're available to you. So it's a really great resource. Other ideas that we have are on our website under CRC, the study materials. There is a free planner to help you kind of break down your study materials and making sure you hit all the important domains and understand things just to give you, like Taylor said, the 12 weeks to kind of make sure you are prepared. But there are different books on there that we recommend and everything. But if you ever need anything, I would recommend going to the website and reviewing the study materials listed there specifically to help you in the studies.
Taylor Bauer:We have a lot of folks who have used our study materials and have been successful and have given us really good feedback. And as you're studying with those resources, you're always available to let us know how they're working for you. And hopefully you reach out to us when you use the flashcards of the self-assessment and you pass. We love to hear those stories. We're going to kind of throw this question in the middle of the show. It's almost like a compliment sandwich where you put the negative thing in the middle, right? But this is a question we get a lot from students who have taken the exam. We do know that some folks Don't pass the exam on their first try. So, you know, rather than dwell on the fact that you've failed, a lot of folks will come to us and say, OK, like, what happens now? Like, I still want to be a CRC. What happens now? So what would someone do if they happen to fail the CRC exam on their on an attempt?
Jennifer Marcu:Yeah, so you are allowed two attempts per application. So that means specifically, let's say you took the exam in March, you would have a retake available to you for the July exam. So it is for the next available exam and by, you know, so on and so forth, where I sat for July, I have a retake for October and for October or retake for March. It is specifically towards that so that please understand that the retake is only available for the next sub-sequential exam. If you're signing up for an exam and you're studying and you're getting prepared and you just don't feel like you're ready, you can defer it to, again, the next available exam. So to give yourself that time to study because we do want you to pass. We want you to go in with confidence and making sure that you are ready. So we do have the deferral and all that information is on our website site and our guides. And if you have our questions, you know, staff is here to help you. But we do have everything listed there. So let's say if I didn't pass for the March exam, my retake would be for July exam. If I unfortunately weren't able to pass for the July exam, I would have to resubmit a new application. So, you know, I always encourage people to kind of review things and make sure since it's a new application, take your time, make sure you're studying, make sure where were you deficient in, you know, get that bearings down so that you're ready for the next time. And you're going to call me and tell me all about your passing score. I love those phone calls.
Taylor Bauer:Yeah, it's so great to hear from people who, I mean, we love hearing when anybody passes, right? But we do have folks who, you know, we all take tests differently. I am historically not a great test taker. That was never a strength of mine. We know that there's a lot of things like exam anxiety and just kind of the menacing, I don't know, feeling of being in that kind of like timed environment where the stakes feel very high and you know sometimes failing the exam can be you know can feel kind of like a huge setback but we do have a lot of people who come back in kind of re-prepare they know what to expect a little bit more i think that is like a weirdly positive part of failing the exam obviously you don't want to fail but there is something to be said about getting a feeling for that whole experience and And we have seen people, you know, go back, like you said, regroup a little bit and then pass the exam. And if that does happen to be you, I think that perseverance is really key. And then also, yeah, be sure to let us know that you've gone ahead and passed and, you know, we'll see in your record and things like that. But we love hearing from you and especially feedback on what might have been helpful to you. And as Jen mentioned, information on the process of what happens if you fail and how do you get ready to take the exam in the next window, that's all in the search certification guide you can find in the show notes along with a lot of links to things we'll be talking about today. But let's go back to the positive. So what happens when someone passes the exam? Let's say you walk out of that room, you've taken the exam. What sort of happens next?
Jennifer Marcu:Yeah, that's a great question. So when you do pass the exam, something I should mention is that Pearson will give you a preliminary score, and then we'll get the scores back about 24 to 48 hours later, ideally. And then we can say, yes, officially pass, unfortunately failed kind of thing. But once you do pass, depending if you're a student or graduate, so for the students, they will need to send their official transcript once they have completed their coursework and their degree was conferred. So I would encourage any student to speak with their university to find the timeline for that. You know, we understand that it does take some time to get the degree conferred. We're not gonna, you know, I'd rather you send it once than send it multiple times. So I do encourage you to go back to your professors or university just to make sure it is all set and done. It would need to be an official transcript sent to us as well to complete your application. And then we can start, we can complete that application and send you the congratulations letter that we all love receiving. For the graduates, you have already sent in your transcript So once you do get the pass and we have it in our system, you'll get the congratulations, your CRC email, and then you can move into your renewal and go from there and then call and let us know about the great news of passing the exam.
Taylor Bauer:Absolutely. And we'll get to a little bit of kind of what happens in terms of maintaining that certification as kind of our last question. Believe it or not, we only have three left. The one thing that we hear a lot from people in terms of the actual test day is they want to know what their options are for taking the exam. We have a couple of different ways that people can take the CRC exam. So where are people able to take the exam?
Jennifer Marcu:Great question. So you are able to take it at two different places through Pearson VUE. So we do have them administer our exam. So you can take it at a center or you can take it what's called OnVUE. So at a center, you would just go to a specific Pearson VUE center. They are located across the nation, I believe worldwide. So there's options galore. I do encourage you to schedule early as there are limited spaces per place. So you do have to schedule early with them through their website or by creating an account or calling them directly and they can assist you that way. The other option would be for OnView. So that's online proctoring. If somebody does prefer to do it as online proctoring from home because of one reason or another, that's perfectly fine. I just encourage anyone doing it to just do their research on OnView. Make sure that they do have a clear and stable internet connection, that their computer is ready. Just making sure those little last minute things are good because As we all know, Internet's not always the most stable. It's not always the most secure. And, you know, you could think that you have the greatest Internet in the world and then the last minute doesn't work. So I just highly encourage everybody to just do their research on OnView. If you prefer for me, if I was taking an exam, I would prefer at a center. It just takes that one less minute. headache and fear away from me where I'm at a center. Things are very secure. It's all set up for me. I don't have to worry a little bit. But there are the people that do take it OnView and do really well. I mean, let's be honest, some people are better at home and that's great for them. So I just wish you luck and hope that your internet is stable and everything like that. So just please do your research on OnView.
Taylor Bauer:Yeah, and we have plenty of people who take it at home and don't have issues. But like you said, technology can be kind of unpredictable. There is that, you know, the exam's already enough of a concern and focus in the first place. Sometimes those additional technological considerations for taking the exam at home can add additional stress that I'm sure you're not wanting to take on. So as Jen mentioned, absolutely review what those requirements are and make sure that you'll have confidence that you're not going to run into any roadblocks. Because with online proctoring it's not like a um oh we'll just let you back in if your internet connects for a second or if you know um there was a disconnect with your webcam or anything like that like they have some pretty strict policies to um to ensure that the exam is being conducted properly and up to standard so there's not a lot of wiggle room on those kind of uh technology blips and issues that we all know happen all the time so um definitely encourage you like jen mentioned to go ahead and look into that if that's an option you want to pursue. One thing, obviously, whether you're taking the exam from home or at a testing center that some folks are going to want to better understand is the process of requesting and receiving test accommodations. There is a process that's outlined in the CRC certification guide, but can you walk us through a little bit about what one would do if they wanted to request accommodations for taking the CRC exam?
Jennifer Marcu:Absolutely. So we have set up our system that is available for requesting accommodations. So, once you go to submit the application, it will ask, do you need accommodations? If you do, I request, you know, click yes and then it will ask you specifically what accommodations you need. There is an option for other. If it don't, it's not listed there, you can select other and write it in there. Then, the system will generate the form for you with the selected accommodations. You would then download it and have it completed by you and your doctor or licensed physician or sorry, licensed professional and then you would submit it back to us. I understand we all understand that sometimes you don't want to upload it back. It doesn't work. You're always welcome to email it over. The system is designed so that you can upload it back once it's completed. So it's attached with your application. But if it's one thing or another happens, please email into us and we'll take it that way as well. And then we'll review it based off the information provided and approve the accommodations or reach out with any questions or concerns about the accommodations, making sure that what's available at Pearson that we can accommodate appropriately With OnView, there are certain accommodations that aren't available. So again, please do your research and making sure if you're going to do OnView, you have the availability accommodations for that, you know, like little things like that. So just making sure to do your research. It does take a little bit extra time of reviewing the accommodations. So if you are requesting them, we do ask that you submit your application a little earlier. You know, we have our deadlines, but, you know, we're only so many people here that we do need a little extra time to get through things. And so I want to make sure we're very thorough with our accommodation requests that if you can submit roughly a month before, it is very helpful for us just to make sure we're not rushing anything or, you know, if we have to reach out with questions and so forth.
Taylor Bauer:Yeah, I feel like there's two things that I can confirm as someone who sits very closely to you and your team. First one being, there's not some process of you all getting these requests and going, oh, we'll take our time with that and get to it when we get to it. It is a timely process of review and there's standards we need to follow and things like that. So just know like CRCC staff is working on getting that all reviewed as quickly and most importantly, efficiently and effectively as possible. And two, You and the others in the certification department are always so willing to help clarify things, help with any questions. So while the CRC certification guide is a really easy way to see like what's expected of you in the application, like you said, I'll walk you through, you know, what happens when and where to upload files and things like that. We don't want frustration ever going, you know, silent, right? We want to be able to help you. And I promise you the entire certification team is very helpful and excited to help you. So even if the process maybe seems a little bit frustrating at times, this is just how this runs. And we are very lucky here at CRCC to have people who are eager and willing to help you through that process as best as possible. So absolutely reach out when those expectations or things start to seem a little unclear. We're more than happy to make sure that that's not the case. And so the final question that we get a lot isn't really about the CRC exam so much, but kind of what happens after. So we know what happens when you pass, right? And you kind of alluded to this earlier, Jen, that, you know, once you get your certificate and you, you know, share on LinkedIn that you're now officially a CRC and all those exciting things and start this new chapter of your career, you are now a CRC and that means you'll be maintaining your certification. So just kind of briefly for folks who are about to take the CRC exam and want to know kind of what comes next. Again, this information is in the guide. But Jen, can you talk us through a little bit about like how you maintain your certification? certification after becoming a CRC?
Jennifer Marcu:Yeah, that's a great question because it's always exciting trying to think of the future, right? So we're always looking ahead. So once you do pass the exam, you call me and tell me, hey, Jen, I passed. It's great. And we celebrate for a minute. I'll then remind you to start your continuing education. So we do require you to have 100 hours, 10 of those hours in ethics. So in the next five years that you have, you would have to complete all those hours. There are many different ways to complete this that are listed in our guide specifically, but you also have the opportunity to complete them through eUniversity where once you complete the coursework, it is automatically uploaded for you. It takes out that little extra hassle. You've completed it. It's gone. It's wonderful. And you're getting the credits towards you. If you're looking for more variety or you want to kind of see what's out there, you can always go to the CE provider list in our account where it has many providers with pre-approved courses in there. You do have to do your research and make sure that you're finding one for yourself. They are not automatically uploaded for you, but they are pre-approved courses. I always encourage check with the provider of a specific course to determine if it's pre-approved as we can't check every single course, but the provider will be able to determine that very quickly. If you're really ambitious in going back to school and getting coursework that way, there is ways of doing that called post-approval. I won't go into the full details of that, but it's an option for you if it's not a pre-approved course. So there are many ways, but just once you get that you pass, you're certified, you're just celebrating. Remember that five years can be a long time, but it could be also a short time. So just always remember to start your continuing education. It sounds like a lot, a hundred hours sounds like a lot, but if you do it timely, it really doesn't, it doesn't become a burden for you. I've talked to many CRCs that, you know, complete about 20 or so a year and some finish early and they're like, now what? I said, you get to relax. Congratulations. Like you did it. So we encourage everyone to to just hit the ground running as quickly as they're willing.
Taylor Bauer:Absolutely, yeah. Breaking it up into like 20 CEs a year can sometimes mentally help people not feel like, oh, I have to get all this done. And yeah, it's kind of a paradox, right? Five years sounds like a lot of time. And then all of a sudden, we'll talk to people and it's like, I feel like I just renewed. Where did the time go? We're recording this in the middle of June and I can't believe that half of 2025 is basically over. It happens. Life is busy. We're all busy with family and jobs and things like that. So yeah, staying on top of that can be really helpful. And as Jen mentioned, shameless plug for the continuing education we offer, but eUniversity is a really nice way to have those things automatically upload. Those are courses you can take on your own time and before this becomes an entire sales pitch. I'll just leave it at that. And there's more information on the website and in the show notes on that as well. But those are kind of the things we hear most from folks who are getting ready to take the CRC exam. If other questions from this episode come to mind and you want to reach out to us, you can always email us at contactusatcrccertification.com. And Jen, I can't thank you enough for kind of walking through some of this. Folks can often hear this information at our office hours that we host that, you know, if you've applied for the exam or you're in the process of applying you'll get invited to and lots of helpful information on the website so I'm sure folks will be you know in contact with you if they have additional questions as well as hopefully like you said reaching out when they pass for a little you know congratulatory conversation over the phone or something like that and yeah I'm just really grateful for your time today and thank you for all that you and your team in the certification department do and it goes without saying we couldn't do any of this without you guys so thanks so much
Jennifer Marcu:Thank you so much for having me.
Taylor Bauer:Thank you to CRCC's own Jennifer Marcoux for joining me on this week's episode. You can find links to all of our student resources for the CRC exam in the show notes. If you have any takeaways or insights on topics covered in today's episode, email us at contactusatcrccertification.com. Be sure to like, subscribe, and five-star rate this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening to us today. You can find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and now Instagram. And our website is crccertification.com. Until next time, I'm CRCC Director of Communications and Marketing, Taylor Bauer. Thank you for listening to Inside Rehabilitation Counseling.