9 months ago
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The CE Shop offers convenient online real estate courses in 45 states, and these can be completed at your own pace. In business for close to two decades, The CE Shop offers real estate exam prep, continuing education, and broker licensing courses, plus programs for prospective mortgage and appraisal professionals. In this CE Shop review, we’ll take a deep dive into their real estate prelicensing courses and evaluate them based on value for money, course structure and packages, exam prep tools, ease of use, and more.
If you’re new to real estate, you’ll need to complete a state-approved course and pass your state’s licensing exam. The number of required course hours varies by state. In some states, you can complete the required course hours and become eligible to sit the state real estate exam in as little as two weeks! Let’s dive in to learn more about this national real estate education provider and learn why The CE Shop and its courses often top our lists for the best online real estate school in each state.
In this article- The CE Shop: Overview
- Pros & Cons
- Alternatives to The CE Shop
- Features
- Prelicensing pricing
- Taking The CE Shop’s prelicensing courses
- Exam prep materials
- Career resources
- Customer reviews
- The full picture
The CE Shop: Overview
The CE Shop has been providing quality real estate education almost two decades.They offer real estate prelicensing courses in 45 of 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. Licensing laws and requirements vary by state and they provide a real estate prelicensing course in all states except Alaska, Nebraska, and Wyoming—with courses soon to launch in Maine and South Dakota.
The CE Shop’s real estate prelicensing courses are interactive for maximum retention and real-world application. Their online prelicensing course format means students can work toward their real estate license goals any time of day that works for them, and complete their studies virtually and at their own pace.
If you’re a practicing real estate agent, you may need to complete your continuing education to stay licensed or you might yearn to take the next career step to get a broker or managing broker’s license. The CE Shop also provides real estate exam preparation, post-licensing and continuing education courses; offerings vary by state so check their website for details.
The CE Shop’s real estate courses are designed by licensed industry leaders, educators and subject matter experts, including real estate brokers, lawyers, CPAs, mortgage loan originators and other professionals with experience in the real estate industry. The CE Shop also provides licensing and qualifying courses for mortgage and appraisal professionals.
Keep reading for more details on The CE Shop’s real estate prelicensing course packages.
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The CE Shop Pros & Cons
- Flexible, self-paced learning
- A 5-day FREE trial with free unlimited access to all course content
- Affordable pricing (prelicensing courses start at $139 for a 135-hour course in California)
- A custom, interactive learning platform (Leap 2.0)
- Excellent exam prep materials (Exam Prep Edge)
- A pass guarantee with all course packages that include Exam Prep Edge
- A valuable glossary of real estate terms
- Career resources to launch with confidence
- Access to instructors 24/7 via email, chat or platform
- Course videos are not captioned
- No mobile app (compared to competitors like Aceable Agent)
- No immediate access to instructors to ask questions (as with livestream courses offered by Colibri Real Estate Education)
Alternatives to The CE Shop
| Top Pick |
 |
Aceable Agent |
Accessible, versatile learning options with hands-free audio and a mobile app. Video content and excellent study tools. Available in 14 states. |
Starting at: |
$116 |
| Visit Aceable Agent |
| Upgrade Pick |
 |
Kaplan |
Pre-recorded video content led by experienced industry leaders. Easy access to instructors to ask for help. Career mentoring opportunities. |
Starting at: |
$249 |
| Visit Kaplan |
The CE Shop Features
Course platform
The CE Shop offers self-paced, accessible anytime online learning through LEAP, its custom online learning platform. LEAP engages students with interactive content featuring real-world scenarios, and students can complete as few or as many lessons as they’d like to in one sitting. The LEAP learning platform is compatible with computers, smartphones and tablets and will remember a student’s place in the course if they switch from one device to another.
Free trial
Students interested in trying out The CE Shop’s online courses can take advantage of a 5-day risk-free trial that gives them unlimited access to all content, giving them the opportunity to experience the courses before committing.
Pass guarantee
The CE Shop guarantees that students taking any prelicensing course that includes Exam Prep Edge will pass the state licensing exam or they are entitled to their money back for the licensing exam. Restrictions and exclusions apply.
If students purchase Exam Prep Edge as a standalone product not in conjunction with any prelicensing course, The CE Shop guarantees that the student will pass the state licensing exam or they are entitled to a refund for the full cost paid for the Exam Prep Edge course. Restrictions and exclusions apply.
Refund policy
If a student is unsatisfied for any reason, The CE Shop will refund the price of any course if the refund request is submitted within 30 days of purchase, prior to course expiration, and the course is not more than 50% complete. Restrictions and exclusions apply.
The CE Shop pricing
Pricing will vary by state and package. Most states offer a courses-only package, which includes additional resources like business eBooks, career resource access and digital flashcards. Other packages include resources like Exam Prep Edge and the Pass Guarantee. See below for a sample range of course pricing pulled for the most populous states.
Taking The CE Shop’s prelicensing courses
When students log into LEAP, The CE Shop’s learning platform, they will arrive at the home screen, which will show them a top navigation bar, a table of contents for the course, a course progress sidebar and a bookmarked resources sidebar.
Prelicensing course dashboard
The top navigation includes access to Course Home, Glossary, and Support. Students can contact support 24/7 via email, live chat, phone or send feedback through the online learning dashboard itself.
The LEAP platform automatically saves your progress in the course. Students can return to the homepage anytime or go to their last saved place from the home page by clicking “Take me where I left off.”
Each course unit’s homepage has a Unit Outline that displays the Lessons and Unit Exam options, as well as the Course Progress sidebar and bookmarked resources sidebar.
Prelicensing course content
The CE Shop’s prelicensing courses are designed to deliver information in an interactive format. Course materials include readings, which typically focus on real-world scenarios or examples to illustrate material points. Course content also includes quizzes on material, videos and video scripts, interactive diagrams and external documents or resources. Some of these documents are PDFs and some are links to external websites.
Course materials are designed to help students understand and retain course content, particularly the quizzes that test knowledge of material soon after it has been introduced. Students must get all questions correct before moving forward in the lesson, and wrong answers are shown and given a short explanation. This type of interactivity in learning is proven to enhance learning outcomes and retention.
Additionally, the Unit Resources can include external documents like templated legal documents or even material from government agencies like the EPA. Reading material is shown both in the main module and in a sidebar labeled Unit Resources, which notes whether each item has been reviewed. Students cannot complete a lesson without reviewing all of the associated Unit Resources, nor can they move forward in a lesson without getting the quizzes on the material 100% correct.
Progress tracking
Students can track their progress through their course with the Course Progress sidebar, which notes how much of the course content has been completed as well as how much time has been actively spent learning in-course on the LEAP platform. Each state has different requirements for the minimum amount of time a student must spend in a course before they can take their final course exam and subsequently, the state exam, so it’s helpful to keep track. The platform will not let a student attempt the course final exam unless and until they have hit their state’s required number of hours spent on coursework. Each Unit has an exam that can be retaken an unlimited number of times. Upon review of results, each student can see what they’ve gotten wrong and the missed questions have an explanation of the right answer.
Exam prep materials
To better prepare students to ace their state licensing exam, The CE Shop has built a comprehensive, interactive suite of study tools called Exam Prep Edge. This package begins with an assessment of your knowledge, helping to pinpoint areas where you might need more study time. Anxious test takers will benefit from unlimited practice exams with unique questions to challenge your retention of key concepts.
Exam Prep Edge includes lessons the national and state portions of the real estate exam, as well as helpful dashboards that provide real-time feedback on your level of understanding of the subject matter. You’ll be able to hone in on the topics where you need more study time.
Exam Prep Edge is included in all but The CE Shop’s most basic prelicensing course package or it can be purchased as a separate product.
Career resources
The CE Shop offers free resources for real estate agents on its Agent Essentials page. These resources consist of blogs, eBooks, videos, podcasts and webinars developed and created by The CE Shop’s team of industry experts.
The CE Shop also offers ProPath Professional Development programs to help students thrive in their real estate careers. For example, in the 2024 Real Estate Success Builder course, students will learn how to manage their greatest business asset — themselves. The 2024 Business Success Builder Package includes the tools to understand the student’s specific archetype as an agent and success strategies to integrate into their work.
The CE Shop Customer reviews
The CE Shop posts a 4.8 out of 5 review rating based on 3,807 reviews. Students appreciate that The CE Shop’s course materials are easy-to-use, thorough, and their format is convenient for their busy schedules.
The CE Shop Review: Bottom line
Pursuing a real estate education can be daunting, but The CE Shop and its Leap 2.0 platform make it simple and straightforward. We recommend The CE Shop to help you launch a new career and pass your state’s real estate exam on the first try. More importantly, you’ll gain important knowledge to help you succeed in your new career!
The CE Shop’s prelicensing courses are affordable and can be completed at your own pace and according to your busy schedule (now showing up at a designated time and place!). The Leap 2.0 platform keeps your coursework and resources organized and easily accessible. Plus, those interested in The CE Shop can access the course material through a 5-day free trial to make sure it fits your needs before committing to purchasing an online real estate prelicensing course.
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