It's refreshing to know that I'm actually influencing somebody in the world  with this thing I'm so passionate about... real estate.I started to think, "what if that was god telling me, 'I'm testing you how bad you want this.

Way more hassle than it's worth.I've got a couple emails out to a few firms just to give it a shot but if, as you say, the costs of retaining a licensed IAR are anything but very low, my odds are low.For the benefit of those reading in the future, I'll give a bit of background: I confused not needing a sponsor to take the test with not needing an RIA to hang my license under to be officially licensed.

If your realtor doesn't have a sophisticated system for querying the MLS a lower-tech method is to have the agent do a full CSV dump of the MLS for SFR and send it to you after stripping out the non-public data columns. 

@Przemek Kos, I would not judge offerings on one data point.  

I did nights and weekends over about 3 months but was still waiting on the RE Commission's approval to take the test for yet another 3 months after I finished the prep course.Once licensed and joining a brokerage you'll be required to invest about $1500 more in MLS membership fees, NAR membership fees, lockbox code fees, office fees, just a long long list of fees that will feel like a swarm of mosquitoes attacking your checking account, and for a student I guarantee that won't be a good feeling.Starting out as a realtor will be overwhelming, confusing, discouraging, and quite frankly flirting with buyer's remorse about having gotten into the field to begin with. 

Have one vetted and used by your attorneys as they have been through the local test and massaged and changed many times.  

It's a good way to test your skills.  

I'm seeking Idaho R/E Exam practice test questions. 

Who's to say "Best" but there are a lot of great places to choose from.I'd say start by looking at the data: growing population?

Verify all the data the appraiser used on your property and the comps.