r/RD2B

AHHHH, I'm a RDN!!!!!

As the title says, I ended up passing on my second attempt at a 25. My first attempt I made a 20 and was heartbroken but through a lot of studying and prayers, I was finally able to get over that hump.

~Resources I used
Inman 2022-2026: absolutely loved Inman as just a dump of all knowledge.
AAD: i liked the management part of the book but this program I felt like didn’t really help me. I kept trying to learn their method of studying rather than actual soaking in information.
Visual Veggies: I truly believe this is what helped me solidify and get to that passing point. I mean 5 whole points in less than 45 days in crazy to me, and visual veggies helped with that so much.
Pocket Prep: I finally was hitting the 70% and above mark the week before today and that helped my confidence so much.

~Experience

I kept telling myself that there was no way around this and I can do hard things. I was also prescibed a beta blocker and that helped so much, so if you can get your hands on one, I highly suggest that. I wasn't scared this time, I was upset that I was having to take it again but it only fueled my excitement. I had a family member drive me to my appointment and we just spent that morning keeping my mind busy and shopping. I took my medication about 45 mins before I walked into the testing site, so I was good and focused. The test itself had no tube feed calculations and only 3-4 financial math questions. There were some questions that I stared at and said "Well it woudl be nice if YOU could tell me the answer". This test is honestly so stupid, but we are wayyyy smarter than it. Every 10 questions I would take one minute to box breath and pray for clarity and knowledge. I had about 80-60mins left on my timer. I TOOK ALL 145 QUESTIONS, however, thats how my mock exams on visual veggies were also doing so I didn't freak out, I was prepared.

To anyone reading this, whether you are a first time or repeat test taker, you have my respect. Please have the utmost confidence in yourself, and do not be afraid to ask for accomadations, medication, or a tutor. This exam is just a tiny blip in your path and I can't wait to work along side you (even if we are in different time zones!!) If I can do it, everyone here surely can pass this exam!!!

I’m about to take the exam at 31 or 35 weeks pregnant (considering moving the exam back 4 weeks) and I’m concerned about needing to pee and how stressful/distracting that can become if I can’t get up to pee. Not to mention, one good kick from my son when I have a full bladder could easily mean disaster lol

I am more or less a fast tester, my mock exams have averaged to have plenty of time left if I could go just with the clock still running. This would be my preference.

If that isn’t an option I probably will need to look into accommodations or try to be low on liquid that day, which isn’t the healthiest choice but not a habitual one either, and I can run that by my doctor at my next appointment to make sure she thinks the one off blip in hydration won’t be harmful to my son at that stage just to be sure of that decision too.

Kind of overthinking this but also if I am going to take the time and effort to sit for this exam, I really want to be able to give it the best I’ve got. Also, waiting until postpartum is not an option with my contract. I have a full year to pass but I have to attempt once within the first 5 months and he’s due at the 4 month mark and trying to test when he’s under a month old would just be cruel to attempt.

Hi everyone!! I passed my exam with a 27 first try! Literally never thought I would pass first try but somehow I did it! My exam went to 132 questions so I was freaking out after it passed 125 and got some easy/some really hard questions.

The main resources that I used were Jean Inman, pocket prep, and I did all of the eat right prep pre test questions and 2 mock exams. I think the biggest advice I would say ironically is to stop reading reddit. I read so many of these posts and would freak out and stress over if I was doing the “right” thing.

I think that Jean inman questions were very similar to the content of my exam, but what helped me most was doing pocket prep questions and writing down the concepts I didn’t understand

The PDF is searchable and highlightable too btw!

Busy professional completing my graduate program and internships, when to start studying, how long to study and best exam prep? Everyone has recommended Inman but at $400 it would be my only resource, any other suggestions or is Inman really to secret to passing?

Hello everyone :3 I passed the exam recently and wanted to share my experience studying and the resources I used to help future test-takers!

First off, I’m a procrastinator, to the fullest extent of the word lol. What helped me stay on track was setting an exam date and sticking to it regardless of how stressed I felt, as it forced me to study. I actually studied for roughly 2-3 weeks for 5 days a week for 3-4 hours a day (rough estimate not including questions from pocket prep, I did not track time or days.).

I only used RD bootcamp and PocketPrep for study tools as I could not afford other materials. I SWEAR BY RD BOOTCAMP !!! They are affordable and have a structured course that is heavily animation video focused (if you are a visual learner like me, it’s a godsend), with flashcards, and practice questions with explanations. They also have a portion of the course dedicated to test taking and how to navigate the wording and options of the RD exam, which was super helpful the day of the exam. During each video or reading I took notes (I filled a notebook front to back). After completing a module, I would then try to explain the topic to my partner, which helped me assess how much I actually knew. I took two mock exams with RD Bootcamp and received scores of 80% and 84%. For PocketPrep, I have 27 hours of study time and answered 1100 questions. My subject scores are all high 80s.

This may not be the best idea but I chose to leave TPN, PN, and scoop size calculations until the last few days before my exam. Hear me out! On the day of the exam I felt like I was able to recall how to do calculations easier since they were fresh in my mind, so it worked for me.

The best advice I can give: give yourself a deadline and stick to it. Tell yourself by this day I will have this and this reviewed and completed. Learn the way YOU study the best (is it handwriting what you read or learned? Is it explaining to others? Is it watching animations?). Don’t bother spending so much money buying multiple resources, you will overwhelm yourself with information and materials. Do not go super in depth into every topic in MNT, understand the basics. Do not just memorize information, understand why the answer is correct and why the wrong answers are wrong (pocket prep helped with this the most).

The whole time I was doing the exam I felt like I was failing. The RD exam is a beast in a way that it will have you questioning everything. Trust your gut and remember that you know more than you think.

Is anyone selling their access or eat right prep exams? I want to do one before my exam in 2 weeks. Have done 2 pocket preps (83% and 84%) and 1 Inman test (95/125) but many people have said eat right prep is closest thing to real RD exam. Thank you!!!

My RD exam is coming up next week and I decided to take a simulated practice test to see where I was at. I've been studying 4-5 times a day from anywhere between 4-6 hours for the past three weeks, mainly using PocketPrep, Inman and EatRightPrep.

To be honest, the questions that I saw seemed very difficult. I only got one question that required any math, which was surprising because I was expecting more foodservice calculations.

The last time I took the mock test on EatRightPrep, I got a 51%. I was hoping for at least a 65%. I know people have said the mock tests are harder than the actual exam, but I still feel quite defeated that I only got 56%. I've done so many practice questions on PocketPrep and some on EatRightPrep. Now I'm starting to question if I'm truly ready for this exam and if I should postpone it and study more. I just feel less confident now than I did before I took it.

Hi I’m a registered dietitian in Canada moving to the US and I’m trying to find resources to study for the CDR exam. There are too many packages and courses available but does anyone have suggestions on a prep book, notes, or more budget friendly options?

Hi all, I am back again to take my test in one week, next Monday. I made a 20 on my first attempt when the test shut off at 125. I have been doing PP again (mock exam one at 63%) and visual veggies final week exams (#1 at 23 and #2 at 24.9😵‍💫) but that’s all the mock exams I have done so far. I plan on doing morning review sessions of my weaknesses through Inman and my AAD book then doing mock exams at night and just repeating until Sunday, since I WILL NOT be studying that day. I can’t tell if I am ready though. I understand I am cutting it close and this test is very much luck based but I have my tube feeding calculations down and am getting a better understanding of medications but there’s so much more I need to know before next week and it’s freaking me out. I am going to be taking a beta blocker this time and it has been a life saver so hoping that will help me from freaking out and being done with the test in 50 mins like last time. I am weirdly excited to take it again no matter the outcome, because I believe I will either make a 24 or I will pass this time, but only the Lord knows. Any advice for a second attempt? Also any advice for the situational questions on the exam, those were the ones that messed me up the most I can guarantee it. Thank you all!!

I am doing a career shift and want to become a Registered Dietitian. I have been combing through the ACEND website for various programs. It seems like every school has a variation of pre-reqs. Most require chemistry, biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology 1+2. Some require labs others don't. Some require medical terminology and others don't. Some require psychology and others don't. Some require math like statistics and college algebra and others don't. It's safe to say I have been inundated with research and so many open tabs with school options that I figured I'd go to reddit for some advice.

I Graduated with a BA in Psychology in 2016. While looking through my transcript I either don't have the required pre-req or if I do it's been so long that most universities will not accept them. I was thinking about going back to school as a non-degree seeking student and taking some of the science courses. However, I think I would have to decide on the school due to the variation of pre-reqs to ensure I am qualified.

I also saw the UNE has a program that looks like they incorporate (possibly) those science course into the program. I was thinking about applying but I was wondering if anyone in my circumstance has gone through the program. If so, did you feel like you were set up to be a successful registered dietitian? Were you equipped to take and pass the RD exam.

I want to make sure that I am fully equipped to pass my exam and practice in the field. My ultimate goal is to open a health and nutrition store but prior to that I want to gain experience in the hospital and community sector. I also think it would be exciting to work in consulting!

Side Note: I have always wanted to become a Registered Dietitian, and I am finally pursuing that path.

Any assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated!

i finally passed on my third attempt with a 25! my first test was aug 2025 and scored a 19, second test was jan 2026, and last attempt was this month! as you can see i delayed my exam a lot because of my built up anxiety and stress. i'd study almost everyday some days were productive and some weren't. i kept waiting for that feeling of being ready and feeling confident, but tbh you're never gonna get to that feeling cuz you'll never know the outcome.

so my first attempt i only read inman, everyday for months i only read, didnt take my own notes, didn't do practice questions. i went in to this exam kinda thinking of it as my practice test since i clearly never studied or was exposed to how the exam would be like. my second attempt i only read the all access book front to back, very tedious book and extremely long, but i feel like this gave me a strong base foundation of information i needed to know. i took notes on the entire book, also looked at some of their powerpoints! but still i was not doing practice questions or really doing active recall, i was just taking notes and rereading them to fully. i will say reading these notes did help me a lot but i dont think its enough to pass.

my third attempt my anxiety was through the roof, i thought my last two attempts were bad, but this time i was so scared of the feeling of knowing i might fail again i just kept thinking negatively because i couldn't get myself to have a positive mindset because ive been delaying this for so long. my third attempt i did every single pocket prep question and took notes on anything i fee like i was lacking knowledge in, of course took notes on the ones i got wrong. i can't remember my mock scores but when i first tooo all three i was getting 65-75% and then id retake them 1-2 months later and would get 80-90% (again i was studying my notes from pocket prep a lot so part of the reason i may have gotten a higher score was because i probably had remembered what the right answer was. i also ended up buying eat right prep. did all the pre test and practice tests and simulated tests. took notes and studied those.

there are so many topics you need to study for the exam but i think as long as you know the surface level information and you're able to get from one point to the another this will help you.

pocket prep questions were def written more detailed and harder and had a lot more filler information in their questions. erp was written more easier for sure but i believe the format and style of how erp questions were written, is very similar to the exam. i know many people have different views though.

now for the exam, i cried for hours leading up to my date. literally just balling my eyes out. i got to my exam center about 45 min earlier just for my peace of mind and to also cry there so im not late lol. when i went to the exam room they did all the scans and then handed me those papers to read and i just sat there for 10 minutes just trying to gather myself and practice deep breathing and clear my head. i didnt do that my second attempt and i think because of all that built up anxiety and stress and depression, it played a big role when i was taking the exam. i entered 10 minutes past my exam date (don't do this cuz she looked at me weird and i was like oops are they not gonna let me take it lol).

tips:

- please get pocket prep. exposing yourself to practice questions not only helps you test your own knowledge, but also it allows you to just get used to reading and figuring out HOW you're supposed to read a question. i was against doing practice questions for the longest, i didn't wanna do them i didn't feel like it'd help. i never studied in college so studying was all new to me for this exam so it was hard trying to find a right schedule and method for me. did lots of trials and errors

- eat right prep is a good resource to test your knowledge as well. especially cuz pocket prep can get a bit boring and random. i would also recommend getting this, if you're able to purchase it with someone else, honestly do so! it's an expensive resource but i split it and felt better knowing i didn't just drop almost 300 dollars lol

- im not a podcast fan never have been. i know this helps a lot of people. i only maybe listened to 10 max on topics i really needed help with. but if this is your style honestly go for it becuase teaching yourself all this material can be draining and you just need someone to do it for you

- learn to do process of elimination: if it wasn't for this, i honestly do not think id pass. my first two attempts i finished at 125 questions and was done within an hour and 45 min. my third attempt, i read every single question like 5 times and slowly and would write down abcd on my white board and just think on paper for ex id write D no bc high fiber bad for gastric. like just writing my thoughts. when id start eliminating, id eliminate an answer choice and then ask myself ok why am i eliminating this. don't rush and pick and answer and go with your gut that way. just take your time reading each question i cannot stress this enough! and coming from someone who again am not a good test taker and literally never ever studied or cared enough,. please read!

(side note: at that point i had done so many practice questions and reading of notes i was so horrible burnt out and drained, i didn't do practice questions for 3 weeks before my exam cuz i physically could not read

anymore without knowing what it was saying)

if you're someone struggling with this exam i promise you are not alone. there's alot of people i've talked to who never expressed their struggles or stress for this exam. i promise there's tons of us who have had horrible mental breakdowns! if you want more advice on the questions or resources please message me im more than happy to help!

i'll make a separate post as well but im also selling all my resources if anyone is interested.

- all access book (i have just the book and some powerpoints and the book isn't a physical copy, its pdf)

- jean inman (audios and notes)

- ear right prep: i believe i have access until october 1! (i think it's def doable to go through all practice tests and sim tests within the time frame) once its expired i had recorded the questions on my phone in case i didn't pass id still have the questions available to me.)

- rd one and done handouts: this is i believe 194 pages worth of infographics for many topics from each domain. i used this as well while studying just to be more exposed and also review stuff

- i have a few other infographics available too from other resources that i wont say on here cuz dont wanna get in trouble haha but can also offer those to you in addition to the rd one and done handouts

please reach out anytime! i was trying not to make this post very long and still have lots of say so reach out personally if needed and ill give all the help you need!

Hi! I took the RD exam today and failed with a 22. I used both Inman and Pocket Prep to study; however, I finished about 800 questions in Pocket Prep. I started a new job recently and really need to pass this exam. I am planning to take it as soon as my 45-day waiting period is over. I know that I need to change up my studying. I am deciding between the chomping down dietetics program and the RD one-and-done 4-week program. I am also planning on buying Eat Right Prep. I really want to pass this exam and would appreciate any advice you guys may have. Thanks

I am in my second year of the program at UNE and graduate in May. I’m curious if any previous students found that UNE MSAN program prepared them well for the exam?

Hi everyone! I passed the RD exam on my first try with a 35 🎉 I’m selling the resources I used (see below), but I also wanted to share my experience.

1️⃣Jean Inman — Physical Book + PDF
$150 + shipping
The physical book is annotated, but the practice questions in the back are completely unwritten in, so you can still work through them yourself.
💡My thoughts:
I do recommend Inman because it gives you the foundation and core knowledge you need for the exam. It covers a huge amount of material, and I personally felt that if you truly understand the concepts, the content is enough to prepare you to pass.

That being said, I think Inman works best for people who are comfortable with self-directed learning. It gives you the information, but it doesn’t necessarily walk you through every concept in a teaching-style format. If you learn better by having someone explain things step by step, a more structured program such as All Access Dietetics may be more helpful.

One thing I’d add: people often say the exam is about understanding, not memorization, which is true—but you still need to memorize some key information first. You can’t apply a concept if you can’t retrieve the basics. The key, in my opinion, is to understand the material as you memorize it. That not only helps with application questions, but also makes the information much easier to remember.

2️⃣Eat Right Prep + Simulated Exam $200
Access expires 03/31/2027
Includes:
• 400 pretest questions
• 3 practice exams
• 2 simulated exams
💡My thoughts:
I found Eat Right Prep especially helpful for getting used to exam-style questions. In my opinion, the questions were pretty similar to the actual RD exam in terms of wording and difficulty.
The real exam did have a few more questions where I had to slow down, think through the situation, and apply what I knew, rather than simply retrieve a fact from memory. But overall, I thought ERP was very representative and helpful.

3️⃣Pocket Prep Premium
I only purchased one month of access, so it will expire soon.
💡My thoughts:
I highly recommend Pocket Prep for daily practice questions. It’s really easy to use on your phone whenever you have a few minutes or when you’re too tired to sit down and study from a book.
Every question also comes with an explanation, which helped me understand why an answer was right or wrong instead of just memorizing the answer.

📖How I studied +My practice scores
🔹I studied for 1 month
🔹I first went through Inman one domain at a time and completed all of the questions for that domain after reading through the material.
At that point, I wasn’t really trying to memorize all the detail yet — things like nutrition programs, lab values, and other memorization-heavy topics. My average on the Inman questions was around 70%. I also did Pocket Prep questions at the same time, especially when I was tired and wanted something easier to do on my phone.
🔹I’m a visual learner and a big fan of anything organized, so I also made my own charts, tables, and diagrams whenever I felt like a topic would be easier to understand that way.

🔹I started doing mock exams 1.5 weeks before the exam.
7/22 — Pocket Prep Mock 1: 70%
After this mock, I realized I had been a little in denial about how much detailed information I actually needed to memorize 😂 So I went back and reviewed some of those topics using Quizlet.
My scores after that were:
7/23 — ERP Practice Test 1: 77%
7/26 — Pocket Prep Mock 2: 81%
7/27 — ERP Practice Test 2: 80%
7/29 — ERP Simulated Exam 1: 81%
7/30 — ERP Simulated Exam 2: 83%
7/30 — ERP Practice Exam 3: 81%
I was really anxious while studying and constantly looked up other people’s mock scores to see if I was “on track.” I know practice scores can’t predict your exact result, but I do think they can give you a sense of readiness. So I wanted to add another data point for anyone doing the same thing and hopefully ease a little of that pre-exam anxiety!

Feel free to message me if you’re interested in purchasing anything or have any questions about the resources or how I studied! Price Negotiable😊

Hey everyone!

I was curious if anyone here worked as Diet Tech before becoming an RD. If so, what was your experience like? Did you enjoy it, and do you feel like it helped prepare you for working as a dietitian?

I’m still working on passing the exam and may be considering taking a Diet Tech role in the meantime to gain more clinical experience and stay involved in nutrition while I continue studying.

I’d love to hear the pros and cons, what your day-to-day looked like, and whether you’d recommend it.

Thank you!

Just took my exam yesterday and received a 24. 14 in domains 1&2 and 15 in domains 3&4. Any advice on how I can get this to a 25 ? I am also asking my job to write a letter to cdr so I can take it sooner than later !

I have been debating becoming a RD for a very long time and I always come back to it. For awhile, I was debating on whether I should pursue nutrition or sonography. But truthfully I was pursuing sonography for the money. I came to the conclusion that I want to prevent and manage health issues, not diagnose them.

I have done a lot of inner work as well as changing my diet to help reduce some of the symptoms I was experiencing. And I know how much changing my diet completely changed my life.

My worry is that I will go into a lot of debt and not be able to secure a job.

Anyone with experience in the field or who have gone through the schooling have any advice in terms of what I could be doing now (other than obviously applying) to have a better chance at job security?

Couple other questions:

Is this path worth the amount of debt?
What is the day in the life for you and how does it negatively or positively affect you?
What kind of job are you doing as an RD? Or what job are you hoping to do once you’re done schooling?

Thanks!