The short answer: there is no official ETHOS study schedule, so this page gives you a structure you can adjust. Choose how many weeks you have before your test and how many hours a week you can study, and it builds a week-by-week plan: a baseline week to find your weakest module, focused practice weeks, and a final week of timed runs and logistics. It is free, needs no account, and nothing you enter leaves your device.
Your 4-week plan
Hours are split by the 100-mark split that West Vancouver, Delta and Surrey publish (20, 25, 10 and 45 marks), with extra weight on your weakest module. Your agency may publish a different split: check its own page.
Week 1
Baseline: see where you stand
- Memory
- 1 h
- Reading
- 1.5 h
- Summary
- 0.5 h
- Writing
- 2 h
- Read the B.C. ETHOS exam guide.
- Take the free timed ETHOS practice exam.
- Write down which section cost you the most marks. Your weakest-module choice above sets how later weeks are weighted.
- Look at what agencies publish as official sample tests by agency.
- Check your agency's current pass mark, retake wait and score-validity rules on its own page, and the score-transfer guide.
Week 2
Build: weeks of focused practice (week 2)
- Memory
- 1 h
- Reading
- 1.5 h
- Summary
- 0.5 h
- Writing
- 2 h
- Writing & Editing: one focused session on the weaker skills, with the Writing & Editing guide.
- Reading Comprehension & Critical Thinking: one focused session on the weaker skills, with the Reading Comprehension & Critical Thinking guide.
- Short sessions on the other modules so nothing goes cold, using the free ETHOS practice drills.
Week 3
Build: weeks of focused practice (week 3)
- Memory
- 1 h
- Reading
- 1.5 h
- Summary
- 0.5 h
- Writing
- 2 h
- Writing & Editing: one focused session on the weaker skills, with the Writing & Editing guide.
- Reading Comprehension & Critical Thinking: one focused session on the weaker skills, with the Reading Comprehension & Critical Thinking guide.
- Short sessions on the other modules so nothing goes cold, using the free ETHOS practice drills.
- Retake the free timed ETHOS practice exam.
Week 4
Rehearse: timed runs and logistics
- Memory
- 1 h
- Reading
- 1.5 h
- Summary
- 0.5 h
- Writing
- 2 h
- Take the free timed ETHOS practice exam.
- Do one full practice run in the real conditions: the full time, no notes, written by hand if your agency's exam is handwritten.
- Review every mistake by module, and use the module guides only for the sections that cost you marks.
- Confirm the test date, location, what to bring and the rules on your agency's own page.
- Rest the day before. Sleep and routine matter more than one more drill.
Readiness checklist
0 of 8 ticked. Ticks are saved on this device only.
How the plan is built
The B.C. ETHOS exam has four modules: memory and observation, reading comprehension and critical thinking, summary writing, and writing and editing. West Vancouver, Delta and Surrey publish the same 100-mark split across them (20, 25, 10 and 45 marks), so the planner divides your hours in proportion to those marks and adds extra weight to the module you say is weakest. Other agencies publish different splits, and some state a different pass mark, so treat the proportions as a starting point and check your own agency’s page. The B.C. ETHOS exam guide lists what each agency publishes and when it was last read.
The first week is a baseline on purpose. The free timed ETHOS practice exam shows which section cost you the most, which is better evidence than a guess. The free practice bank is small, so a retaken mock reuses material: later weeks lean on the module guides and the free practice drills, and the paid plans add the complete bank (see pricing if you want it; the planner works fully without it).
What this planner does not do
- It does not know your agency’s pass mark, retake wait or score-validity window. Those differ by agency: see the score-transfer guide, then confirm on the agency’s own page.
- It does not predict a result or promise one. A plan only organises your time.
- It does not use real or leaked exam questions. The practice it links to is original ETHOS Prep material, not official test content, and ETHOS Prep is independent of every police service.
After you have a plan
Pair the written preparation with the rest of your application: the preparation-plan guide covers sequencing written, interview and physical work, and the applicant readiness checklist covers the wider process. Applying to the RCMP instead? Its online assessment is different: see the RCMP Online Entrance Assessment guide.
West Vancouver Police Department
Primary SourceETHOS Test Overview
Verified 2026-10-12
Open Official Source (opens in new tab) →Delta Police Department
Primary SourceSelection Process
Verified 2026-09-28
Open Official Source (opens in new tab) →Surrey Police Service
Primary SourceOverview of Ethos Police Test (PDF, undated)
Verified 2026-09-29
Open Official Source (opens in new tab) →
Put this into practice:
Built and operated by Jujhar. Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email hello@ethosprep.ca.