Getting through the Student Levels of the Resident Career might be easy for some, but for others it could be hard depending on what's going on with your Sim's Household (i.e. new baby messing with everyone's schedule or not having enough money to pay for your Sim's Exam (Tuition) Costs). Below are some ways in which to help you get through these levels easily with a little less stress for both you and your Sim. In addition, I've included the skill requirements needed to "pass" the required exams for each level. These skill requirements are only applicable when your Sim is in an ideal mood and have the necessary job performance. If this is not so, then your chances of passing fluctuate even if you have the necessary 'skills.'
GETTING NEEDS MET
Here are some things that you could do to get your Sim's and their family's needs met:
Meal Planning: Go ahead and get your Sim to make the necessary meals needed for the work days ahead that will both feed your Resident and family (if they have one). This gets one thing out of the way and gives your Sims the boost they need to make it through the day since those quick meals don't last as long as regular meals. If your Sim is not a single parent or single, then this might not be an issue for you. However, in my test household, I found that having those meals ready and waiting helpful for the days in which my Sim was working back to back and had a lot of studying to do.
NAPS!!!: It is a given that your Sim will not get enough sleep to make it through both their time at school and then at night studying and fulfilling their daily task. As soon as your Sim comes home, make them take a nap after fulfilling any other necessary needs. That way they have a little energy in them to complete the necessary reading or tasks. I wouldn't recommend coffee at that time since it will take them a bit to have the urge to go to sleep. Also, as a tidbit on how I accomplish so much with the time given, I use LittleMsSam's Power Napping mod. This increases my Sim's Energy levels significantly and I would highly recommend it to anyone whose Sims' have a lot on their plate, especially if your Sim lives in an apartment with loud neighbors like mine did.
Blicblock for Logic: I utilized Diffevair's Blicblock - Improve Logic Skill in order to make learning logic fun after my Sim has had a hard day at work or is completely bored by Browsing the Simpedia they are required to do as a daily task. There is also the chess table that has the same effect. I just didn't have the room in my Sim's apartment nor the money for that as well.
Scheduling Out Needs: Basically, you want to set a certain part of each day to quickly satisfy your Sim's Bladder, Hunger, Energy and Hygiene. Don't wait until they need it done because it may be at an inconvenient time or it completely ruins their work performance. Like for instance, I make my Sim eat Dinner right after their Power Nap. Then, right after completing their daily task, get ready for bed (shower, use the bathroom, brush their teeth, etc). As soon as they wake up, I have them eating breakfast, using the bathroom and brushing their teeth.
Utilizing Holiday Breaks: Sometimes you might feel like your Sim is only going to 'School,' studying and sleeping. Try utilizing those Holidays coming up as a way to recoup and have a little fun. Maybe even get in some more skills that you need to pass an Exam.
Find a Pen Pal: If you forget to have your Sim socialize with their co-workers while at work and they live alone, make sure they have a friend to chat with to raise their social need.
Child Care: If you have a busy household that has children that need attention and care, I would recommend using LittleMsSam's Better Nanny mod since she has it set to have a dedicated time period in which someone will come routinely to assist with child care. Alternately, you can just use LittleMsSam's Social Activities mod to send your toddler to daycare as well. Both of these options cost money and if that's not an option for you, since the Student Levels are unpaid, you can always leave them with a family member for the time you need to complete your daily task and fulfill your skill requirements.
PAYING FOR EXAMS (TUITION)
At each Student level (1-4), your Sim will be required to complete an Exam in order to move on to the next level. These exams cost (§1,250) as an alternative to paying tuition for that level. I wouldn't recommend playing around with this unless you have money to burn, because you will fail if you don't have the necessary skill requirements.
Below are some ways in which you can fund your time studying in order to become a full-time Resident:
(TIP: You may want to consider the exam cost of §1,250 and the cost of living (food, rent/mortgage/utilities, skill books you plan on purchasing, hobbies, etc) before figuring out what would be best for your Sim while they go through these four unpaid levels).
What is You'rs is also Mine: Your Sim has a spouse, partner, family member or roommate that has a job that can help pay for the living expenses. If it is a family member, friend or roommate assisting, I leave the moral obligation of paying them back up to you ;-)
Side Hobby becomes a Side Gig: My Sim loves to paint, so I let her do that and then sell her paintings. That lasted for about two levels (she was a beginner) until I needed to take out a loan. She could've also became a musician and racked in some tips with ThaMadd's Bigger Busking Tips mod as well. There are so many ways in which to make money outside of a career that you would be hard press not to be able to fund your Sim's pursuit of being a Doctor. The downside of doing this, causes you to lose out on time you could have used raising your Sim's skills and completing their daily task. It may make the process longer, but you could flesh out a story by doing this.
Get a Job and then Switch Out: Another way is to get a job that pays and raise up what you think is enough to last you. I would say maybe §7,500 - 10,000 depending on your Sim's situation. I burned through §5,000 pretty fast in my last two levels but that was due to not only paying for my exams, I was paying for holiday items and food while paying back a loan my Sim took.
Get a Loan: Until SNBank mod has gotten to the point in which loans is a possibility, I use LittleMsSam's ATM cards mod (an updated mod of Zooroo's) that has a credit function as well. That's how I was able to make it through the last two levels and get my Sim to Residency status, by getting a loan.
Sell, Sell, Sell: Sell any items that are not necessary to the survival of your Sims. This should give you a good amount if you have a lot sitting around.
EXAM SKILL REQUIREMENTS
The following are the skill requirements needed to pass each Student Exam Level:
Level 1
Logic - Skill Level 1
Level 2
Logic - Skill Level 3
Level 3
Logic - Skill Level 4
Charisma - Skill Level 2
Veterinarian - Skill Level 2 (Optional but recommended if you plan on putting your Sim through that career)
Level 4
Logic - Skill Level 5
Charisma - Skill Level 4
Veterinarian - Skill Level 4 (Optional but recommended if you plan on putting your Sim through that career)
Hope this helps everyone! Please let me know in the comments below or on Discord if there is anything within this mod that you need a little help with. I do have some blog posts scheduled to assist with the 0.6 update but also wanted to see if you have anything specific that I might not cover.
Much Love,
Nichole