Finished! Passed 6 exams, no failures.

Hello all,

I just got my Score Report for my final exam, Project Planning & Design, and I passed!  This was my final exam since I first started taking them at the end of September 2020.  I managed to pass them all without failing, but I definitely also think I spent too much time studying and worrying, for the most part.  I started studying in February, and really kicked it into high gear at the end of the summer.  Hopefully my experience will help you achieve the same result, with maybe a little less time spent spinning your wheels and stressing out.

STUDY MATERIALS

My two primary study materials were:

1) The Amber Book

Excellent resource for getting a solid understanding of the concepts behind the practice of architecture.  I don't fully agree with their promise that they're the only study material you need, but it was an excellent foundation for everything.  I had the pleasure of taking one of Michael Ermann's classes when I was studying at Virginia Tech and loved his presentation style, so it was very reassuring to see his name pop back up as the Amber Book founder.  The Amber Book is more like a series of interactive lectures than a study guide, and I felt like it was truly teaching me the concepts rather than just drilling them into my head.  I subscribed for four months and I feel like this was more than enough time to watch each lecture and take notes as needed (could have probably been fine with three if I really pushed).  The Construction, Site, and MEP Building Systems courses are the most helpful -- if you struggle with those concepts, these are easily worth a month's subscription, at least.  Find a six-person Amber Book group discount thread on these forums (I used the Hyperfine thread that seems to be regularly churning out groups) for a good discount.  It is worth the money.

2) Ballast Review Manual, Practice Exams, and Practice Problems (1st Edition)

I picked these up because while the Amber Book does come with a physical practice exam, there weren't enough questions for me, and it wasn't broken down into the separate ARE exams.  The Ballast Practice Exams and Practice Problems were an excellent resource to more closely mimic what you'll experience during the ARE exams.  I almost always felt like their answer explanations were thorough and helpful.  These were especially helpful for PjM and PcM, as the Amber Book's Professional Practice videos do not really capture the pedantic/memorization portions of these exams.  My system was to take the Practice Problems, then read up in the Ballast Review Manual for any sections that I did particularly poorly on, then take the Practice Exam in the days leading up to my ARE Exam.  In my experience, the Ballast Practice Exams were about as difficult, or sometimes harder than the ARE.  I would regularly get 55-65% on my first attempt on their exam, but then reinforce the concepts in my head over the next few days, re-take the exams to make sure I retained the info, then pass the ARE.

I also purchased and used the following books:

• Architect's Handbook for Professional Practice
• Building Codes Illustrated
• Building Construction Illustrated
• Architect's Studio Companion

I didn't use them too much, but they all felt like good things to have as an architect, in general, so I picked them up.  It was nice to have these on-hand to reference whenever some of the more complex systems or construction problems came up, and it felt more healthy to read in a real book right before going to bed instead of staring at a computer screen.  The AHPP was also very helpful for explaining the AIA Contracts clearly, but it is quite a dry read.  I listened to the Schiff Harden lectures while driving and at the gym for these as well.

Lastly, I found this graphic online somewhere (it might have been here!) that really helped dilute the exams down to their main focuses.  I didn't read everything they have listed here for each exam, but it is a good place as any to start:

EXAM PROGRESSION / CONTENT

My progression was PcM - PjM - CE - PA - PDD - PPD:

I think this was a solid way to go, except I think it would make more sense to take PPD after PA, then end with PDD.  This was originally my plan, but I had a computer glitch the first time I attempted PPD, then got snowed out the second time, so I just took PDD fifth and came back to finish PPD last. 

Overall, there is a lot of overlap between the exams, with PDD and CE with the widest spread, something like this:

As plenty of other people have said, PcM and PjM are very similar.  I honestly would recommend studying for them at the same time and taking them in the same week (if you have the time) or in back to back weeks. PPD and PDD also both had a lot of overlap with each other, but were more grueling testing experiences for me, so I would recommend at least taking a week between them to take a breather and go through some extra practice problems for whichever one is next.

As far as difficulty, I would rank them, from easiest to hardest: 

PjM < PcM << CE < PA = PPD < PDD

TAKING THE EXAM

I took a day off of work and scheduled my exams for Mondays, when possible.  That way, I could study through the weekend, get a good night's sleep, have a relaxed morning going back over the practice problems, then take the test around 11 or noon.  I always ate a good breakfast with a cup of coffee for a little caffeine focus, then went into the test.

I never took the allowed break in the previous version or in the current version of the ARE.  I especially think it's unwise to take it in the current version, now that all answers from before the break are locked in.  I regularly found that the resources and content of the later questions either provided direct information that helped me with questions I flagged, or at least helped me rethink a situation in a better way.  It is definitely a bit of a grueling experience (use the bathroom before you begin!), but I think it is worth it in the end to have access to all of the test at once.

My system was to move through all of the questions as quickly as possible, flagging liberally (sometimes I would flag 60% or more), but ensuring I at least attempted each question, aiming to have 1.5-2hrs left by the time I got to the Case Studies.  The Case Studies are not necessarily the most difficult questions, but they do take a lot of time to process all the given information (and patience as the testing computer loads/zooms the resources).  After finishing the Case Studies, I would go back through as many of my flags as possible.  Sometimes I got through them all, sometimes only the first ten, but that's why you make sure to at least give each question your best guess.

The new version of the exam with the "digital whiteboard" is definitely a step in the wrong direction, but it is not a dealbreaker.  I tried to use it as little as possible (which is embarrassing to say about a testing tool), but when you do: make a new tab for each question and keep it simple.  Don't try to use it like Revit, just use it to keep your thoughts together.  I mainly used the text tool to write out formulas and notes.

THE END

So that's my experience.  Thanks to everyone who posted here -- I never really participated much in the discussion, but it was helpful to read about your experiences, your strategies, and your gripes, so hopefully mine can help someone else in the future.  I am happy to answer any questions people have about my experience.  Good luck!