4th Exam Pass! 2 more to go...

Hi everyone. I just received my PASS in PA today and I am tackling for the two last exams PPD and PDD in next two months. This is my first post here and I just want to share what I have done so far, in case this helps some people here... Please note that these are my thoughts and may or may not work for everyone! ( I learned a lot from this forum posts, so it's time for me to give back some!)

A little about my background; I have around 13+ years experience in architecture/construction in US and some foreign experience as well, prior to coming to US. I started ARE 4.0 exams back in 2014 and I passed 4 exams, but I stopped taking the rest , so I lost all passed exams due to Rolling Clock rule :(

In September 2020, after a lot of thought, I decided to try the new ARE 5.0 again and I scheduled my first exam in November 2020. We all know it's not an easy decision and it requires lots of commitment and study time. Right?

Knowing myself, I knew that I need to have a plan, to finish all of them in 6-8 months, otherwise I will not do it at all. So first I reviewed all the exam's content to see which order would be the best for me to schedule the exams. What I found out was that CE, PcM and PjM have some overlapping contents, and since I had done CA in lots of projects, I thought I will start with CE, then PcM and then PjM. I planned to taking them every month, starting in November and I was able to PASS the three of them in November, December and January.

After a little break, I scheduled PA for March, PPD in April and PDD in June. I just received my PASS in PA, which made me so happy, since I didn't have much experience in programming and planning. The other two might be more understandable for me I guess!

What I have studied? I know that there are lots of references mentioned in this group, but I just used the references below so far:

1) Ballast, (Both the study and its practice exams)

2) Black spectacles monthly membership (Very Very Very Helpful. Specially the practice exams, as well as listening to its videos while you are driving.)

3) My old 2014 notes from Kaplan books and its practice exams

4) AIA contracts for CE, PcM and PjM (It's a MUST!)

My recommendation: Take as much as practice exams you can! I usually take those practice exams and then I go and check the incorrect answers I did, I take notes of them, and type them in MS Word to review them again.

I also always try to schedule the exams on Mondays noon. So that I can take the Friday before OFF, and study for three full day before exam. I study in the morning prior to exam time as well. Not sure if that works for everyone here though!

The other thing that I learned in my 4 exams so far, is that NCARB does not focus anymore on memorizing things which I'm happy with that. I did not have even one history/name/date question so far... :)

Sorry for long post, and I just wish everyone all the best in your exams!

If I could pass 4 exams so far, you can definitely do it !!! :) Good Luck!

Carolina Quintero Duque March 12, 2021 11:54

Wow Congrats!!!. I see we had similar strategy. I just passed Pjm, Pcm and CE. Going to PA. Could you share which resources were helpful for this specific test? Thank you

Armen Najarian March 15, 2021 06:23

Hi Carolina.

Sorry for late response. To answer your question, I mostly focused on Ballast notebook and its practice exams.

For this particular exam the Black spectacles videos were not as helpful as they were for my first three exams. (Just my opinion) But definitely mock-up tests are highly recommended. Take them as much as you can. Get familiar with ADA code, since I had 1-2 questions in regards to that. Review the different 4 methods involved in Historic buildings. (I had 2-3 questions for that.) Also Zoning is very important to learn. (4-5 questions)

Honestly the exam was much easier than what I was expecting, either because I took several mock-up tests, or I just got LUCKY!

Best of Luck and let me know the result! :)

aagangchen March 15, 2021 20:38

PA is one of the harder divisions. Congratulations!

Gang Chen, Author, Architect, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)

Jasdeep Kaur March 18, 2021 16:16

Wow congratulations!! could you help me out with some study material for practice management. I am thinking to schedule PM in April . Is Amber book is good for practice test or not? or you have so other suggestion for the same. Kindly help me out.

Thank you

Jaz.

Jasdeep Kaur March 18, 2021 16:17

Carolina Quintero Duque March 18, 2021 16:23

Thank you very much Armen. What resource did you use to study zoning.
Thanks again

Armen Najarian March 30, 2021 18:23

Hi Jasdeep.

My studying resources were limited to what I mentioned in my first post. I might not be the best person to answer about the other resources like Amber books.

For PcM I mostly used Ballast and Black Spectacles courses and their practice exams. There were some questions from CE as well, so I suggest to review the Agreement Types, Delivery Methods and AIA contract documents. Good luck!

Armen Najarian March 30, 2021 18:26

Thanks Gang Chen!

I remember how your comments were always helpful, even when I was part of ARE Forum back in 2013-2014.

... And now in this group! Thanks for whatever you are doing!

4th Exam Pass! 2 more to go...

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