I wouldn't bother doing the exams before you go, BUT I'd read the Thom books cover to cover twice, and then do the exams. They're easy, you have to be a complete moron to fail them if you've read the books.......
For the record, I read the books, went to the US, started flying and then took all my exams, one a day, and passed them no problem. You have plenty of time between now and Arpil to read all the books twice. You'll probably find the exams are included in the cost of the PPL over there.
If you want to do an intensive course, there are people around who charge around £300 for a weekend, they give all the ground school and you sit all the exams, with free re-takes if you need them. However they normally stipulate that you must have read the TT books before attending, so you might as well do it the way I suggest above...
Cheers
EA
