Frequently Asked Questions

Correspondence Courses to Avoid License Suspension:

How does it work?
What courses do I need to extend a conditional sales license?
Are first tuesday courses approved by the Department of Real Estate (DRE)?
What if I don't complete the courses before my suspension date?
Does first tuesday send my test results to the DRE?

Shipping & Refunds:

When will I receive the course materials?
What is your refund policy?

Courses & Reading Materials:

Which courses are the easiest?
How long does it take to finish a course?

Examination:

Can I use the reading material while I take the exam?
What type of questions are on the exam?
What is the minimum passing grade on the exam?
How much time am I given to take the exam?
What if I don't pass the final exam?
When will I get my final exam results?
How soon can I request the final exam?
How do I request the final exam?
Where do I take the final exam?
Will you fax the final exam?
Who can be my monitor?
What if I do not want to name a monitor?

How does it work?

first tuesday is an educational institution which provides homestudy correspondence prepared and responded to by full-time staff instructors. When you register for a course, we mail you study material in a bound printed form and on CD-ROM. On enrollment, you also have immediate access to the same study materials online.

To complete the course, you must pass an open-book final exam. The exam may be taken online or administered on paper with a monitor of your choice. The printed exam is mailed to the monitor at the time of your request, not with the study materials. You select the test monitor, who can be anyone except a relative, your broker, or a co-worker. You take the exam at any place and time acceptable to you and your monitor. On your completion of the printed exam, the monitor can fax the answer sheet and the monitor's Certificate of Test Administrator to us for faster grading. We grade the exam and mail and/or fax a copy of the Certificate of Completion directly to you if you pass the exam. When taking the exam online, your grade is immediately displayed on your screen and you may then print your certificate of completion on your printer.

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What course do I need to extend a conditional sales license?

You must complete two statutory courses within 18 months of licensing and forward the Certificates of Completion to the DRE. One must be Real Estate Practices, the other an elective which we recommend to be Property Management or Finance.

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Are first tuesday courses approved by the Department of Real Estate (DRE)?

Yes, all the courses we offer are approved by the DRE. To confirm our statutory licensing courses are DRE approved, click here. To confirm our renewal CE courses are DRE approved, click here.

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What if I don't complete the courses before my suspension date?

After your 18-month conditional license period expires, you are placed on suspension for the following 2-1/2 years after which your license can no longer be extended or renewed unless you previously completed these courses. As long as you complete the courses and the DRE has received and processed your application within the suspension period, the DRE will re-instate your license at no charge for the duration of its original 4-year licensing period. When reinstated, you will not have to re-take the state exam. While your license is suspended, you may not perform licensee services until the DRE lifts the suspension.

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Does first tuesday send your test results to the DRE?

No. The DRE does not accept course completion information from anyone but the licensee under cover of a submittal form. You must mail the original copy of your Certificates of Completion to the DRE. We provide you with the DRE Transcript Submittal form you send with your original certificates, the DRE address, and your certificates. An online printout of your own Certificates of Completion serves as an original.

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When will I receive the course materials?

All the study material we ship to you is available online for you to begin reading the instant you enroll.

USPS delivery time for the printed study materials you receive is approximately 2-9 days. Orders are shipped the next business day. However, your minimum study period before you may take the final exam begins the day after we take your order. We do have rush shipping available for those who want the printed materials and the CD-ROM before heading out on a vacation, for example. Call 800.794.0494 for prices.

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What is your refund policy?

A full refund of every penny you paid us will be issued, no questions asked, when requested prior to expiration of your one year enrollment period and before taking the final exam. If you want to substitute courses, we will send you a different course of your choice free of charge and the study materials you received previously are yours to keep.

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Which course is the easiest?

No course is the "easiest" course. The number of pages of reading material for each course is the same - 450 pages as mandated by the DRE. All first tuesday reading materials present as many examples as possible to best illustrate each point made. Our goal is the same for all of our written material: to educate and inform the licensee by using real world examples and every day language instead of the equivalent legalese. We recommend you pick as your elective the course which best suits your future occupational needs.

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How long does it take to finish a course?

Each course you enroll in has its own separate 2 1/2 week study period. The 2 1/2 week study period for the first course you wish to test on begins to run on the day after the date of your enrollment. The separate 2 1/2 week study period for each of the second, third, etc., courses follow in consecutive order before these exams can be taken. This is a DRE policy, not ours. The dates when you can first take an exam are posted on your student homepage after logging in at our website, www.firsttuesday.us.

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Can I use the reading material while I take the exam?

Yes. It is an open book exam. You may look up the answers to your exam questions in your reading materials. The questions are taken from the reading material in chronological order.

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What type of questions are on the exam?

The final exam for each course consists of 100 multiple choice questions. The wording for the questions is taken straight from the reading material.

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What is the minimum passing grade on the exam?

You must correctly answer at least 60% of the questions to pass the exam.

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How much time am I given to take the exam?

You're given 2-1/2 hours to complete each exam.

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What if I don't pass the final exam?

If you do not pass the exam on your first attempt, you may retake the exam as often as necessary to pass it so long as you are within your one-year enrollment period.

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When do I receive my final exam results?

When taking your exam online, you'll receive your score instantly upon clicking the submit button. If you fail, you may retake the exam until you pass it so long as you are within your one-year enrollment period. On passing the exam, you may print your Certificates of Completion from your printer, then and at any later time.

When taking a paper exam with your monitor, we grade your exam and put the Certificates of Completion in the mail to you within one working day via first class mail. If you would like us to immediately fax you a copy of the Certificates of Completion, enter your fax number in the space provided on the final exam booklet.

It is then your responsibility to inform the DRE of the completion of your required courses.

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How soon can I request my final exam?

If you are taking a paper exam, not the online exam, you can request your final exam about a week before you want to take it. However, you must be enrolled for the separate 2 1/2 week study period for each course you are enrolled in, taking the exam for each after the end of each consecutive 2 1/2 week study period following the date of enrollment.

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How do I request the final exam?

No request is necessary if you take your exam online. Go to www.firsttuesday.us. Click on "take exam" from the menu after you have met your minimum study period, log in and take your exam.

For a printed exam, your course materials include a Request to Take Final Examination form. To take a paper exam, simply fill out the request form and mail or fax it to us. If you do not have the request form, place your name, DRE license #, zip code, and daytime phone number, and your monitor's name, address, and daytime phone number on a sheet of paper, and either mail or fax the information to us. Our toll free fax number is 877-319-8510. You may also call us with the information at 800.794.0494. The exam will be sent to your monitor within one working day by regular mail. Mail takes approximately 3 to 5 days for delivery. If you need the exam sooner, we do have expedited shipping available. Please call for pricing.

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Where do I take the final exam?

You may take your exam online from any computer, at any place, 24/7. Please make allowances for normal web disruptions and scheduled site maintenance.

The DRE does not allow the paper exam to be sent directly to you. For your convenience, you choose an individual who will receive and monitor your taking of the exam. The test monitor can be anyone you choose, except for a relative, your broker, or co-worker. You may take the exam at your monitor's office or at any place convenient for both of you.

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Will you fax the paper final exam?

No. It must be mailed. DRE requirements.

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Who can be my monitor?

You need no monitor when you take the exam online.

For the paper exam, you may name anyone except a relative, your broker, or a co-worker as the monitor to receive and administer the exam. The individual you select does not have to be in the real estate business.

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What if I do not want to name a monitor?

We will try to find a test monitor as close to you as possible. There is no assurance we will locate a monitor for you, or that the monitor will be close to your home or office. For your greatest convenience, it is best you select your test monitor if you do not want to test online.

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