PA-PPD-PDD-CE-PjM-PcM Passes First Try (Resources & Tips)
Writing this down for my friend OBD and anyone else who is just starting and looking for an overview.
The consensus on this forum and other places is the exams can be grouped into PA-PPD-PDD and PcM-PjM-CE in terms of content overlap, with PA-PPD-PDD being the “harder” group because of the wide-ranged technical content they cover, and PcM-PjM-CE the “easier” pro-prac group. I decided to start with the “harder” group because I liked the idea that the exams would get easier as I went, and because I was more excited about the technical content. After PA-PPD-PDD, it made sense to do CE as it overlaps with PDD and begins to get into contracts, followed by PjM and lastly PcM.
Start
To get a sense of what to prepare for each exam I read NCARB’s ARE5.0 handbook, read this forum, read RMSM studio’s post, watched Devina Parbhoo’s (dp. DesignProfessionals) YouTube videos, and listened to Linsey Patton’s ARE study guide podcast. The handbook gives an overview of the exam topics and a reference matrix of the primary resources. This forum, RMSM, and DP videos have information about what book/chapters to study. The podcast gives a detailed summary of the main topics of each exam.
- RMSM studio posts: https://rmsmstudio.com/2021/02/20/are-pa-pass/
- Devina’s videos: https://youtu.be/HPKOq9rqgMg?si=QkwHOX4zcrdXA6qr
- Linsey’s podcast: https://arestudyguidepodcast.com/?page_id=40
Primary Resources
Below is a list of all the primary resources I used. When reading these I recommend organizing study material by topic, not by book.
For PcM-PjM-CE
- AIA Docs_As listed in the handbook matrix
- AHPP_Architect’s Handbook for Professional Practice
- CEPC_AIA 2020 Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
- MRC_NCARB Model Rules of Conduct
- LOAP_Life of a Project poster https://youngarchitect.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LOAP-v2-24x36-1.pdf
For PA-PPD-PDD & some CE
- AAI_Architectural Acoustics Illustrated
- AGS_Architectural Graphic Standard
- ASC_Architect’s Studio Companion
- BCDI_Building Code Illustrated
- BCI_Building Construction Illustrated
- CSI_Manual of Practice
- FBC_Fundamentals of Building Construction
- FEMA454_Designing for Earthquakes (ch.4,5,8,9)
- HCL_Heating, Cooling, Lighting
- IBC_International Building Code
- ICC_A117.1-2009 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
- MEEB_Mechanical & Electrical Equipment for Buildings
- MEHTA_Building Construction: Principles, Materials, and Systems (the Metha Book)*
- PEA_Plumbing, Electricity, Acoustics
- PS_Problem Seeking
- SPD_Site Planning Design Handbook
- SWL_Sun, Wind & Light
*Almost all of the books are from the ARE 5.0 Reference Matrix except for the Metha book (wisdom from Elif Bayram), but I can’t recommend the Metha book enough. It is very well-written with a good balance of what and why things are done the way they are, and fun to read. The topics covered are similar to FBC. I used the Metha book extensively as the primary resource for PDD (and used FBC to supplement if I wanted to cross-reference certain topics).
Third-Party Resources & Practice Exams
I used 3rd-party resources to supplement the primary resources. Below is my list of 3rd party resources and what I used them for.
- Ben’s Hyperfine Course (All 6 exams): Hyperfine is one of the first 3rd party resources I got. It’s a set of assignments organized around different topics. It’s a great resource. Link to Hyperfine.
- Ballast (All 6 exams): The giant blocky yellow book is also one of the first 3rd party resources I got. If I were to do it again I probably would NOT buy the exam review book. The “disembodied” bits and pieces of knowledge without context were hard to absorb. The practice exam and the practice questions with detailed explanations are great though.
- Elif's ARE Questions (PPD+PDD bundle, and all the free quizzes): Lots of great practice questions and detailed explanations. I wrote to Elif a few times and she is such a genuine, sweet, and helpful person. Highly recommended. Link to AREquestions.
- Amber Book Subscription (PjM, PcM): I only signed up for a month for my last two exams PjM and PcM, because AHPP was too dry to read. I used AB to bypass reading AHPP and it worked! Also highly recommend AB free weekly 40min of competence Zoom sessions, and all of their free YouTube Videos.
- Eric Walker's Walk the ARE Exams (PA, PPD, PcM) and Quick Study Guides (All 6 Exams): Hard practice exams with detailed explanations. If you have an Amber Book subscription you also get access to Walk the ARE exams. Link to the exams/guides.
- Linsey Patton's ARE Study Guide Podcast (All 6 exams): At the time of this post, there are 44 episodes to this podcast. I listened to 1-23 for PA, PPD, PDD, and the rest for CE, PcM, PjM. Highly recommend. Link to the podcast.
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WeARE/Archizam/Designer Hack Free quizzes (All 6 exams):
https://tryweare.com/, https://www.archizam.com/, https://designerhacks.com/ - Notes Made by Some Amazing People (All 6 Exams): Jenny’s Notes and Caroline’s CDs Notes are both for ARE4.0 but still incredibly useful. I used them as a cross-reference to the rest of the study material. Karin’s PPD/PDD Notes is an amazing resource for PPD/PDD. I used Karin’s notes as a base and added my own to them as I was reading primary resources.
- Schiff Hardin Lecture, aka Micheal Hanahan Lecture (PjM, PcM, CE): All of the posts I came across said listening to this series was a must for PjM/PcM/CE exams, some people listened to them over and over again. I am a minority in that I did not fully finish the lectures. I found the A201 & B101 Commentary documents the most helpful (even though they are for the older 2007 documents). ARE study guide podcast episodes 26, 27, and 28 on contracts are great. I would also say once you understand the language and logic of one contract, the rest will be easier. Micheal Hanahan lecture, A201 commentary, B101 commentary.
- NCARB Practice Exams (All 6 Exams): I found these easier/more straightforward than the actual exams but still very helpful, especially for getting used to the interface. I would open an un-timed version and practice using the whiteboard and calculator when doing other quizzes/mock exams as well.
Study Time
I planned to study 7pm to midnight every day and also in the afternoons on weekends. About 1-3 days a week that plan failed and I did something else, but still ended up ok. I had two long pauses between PA and PPD and between PPD and PDD from procrastination.
- PA (6 weeks): 02/10/22 - 3/21/22
- PPD (8 weeks): 12/01/22 - 01/30/23
- PDD (4 weeks): 07/20/23 - 08/21/23
- CE (3 weeks): 08/25/23 - 09/15/23
- PjM (3 weeks): 9/18/23 - 10/9/23
- PcM (1 week): 10/10/23 - 10/16/23
Misc. Tips
- Listening to all the audio resources at x1.5 or x2 speed saves a lot of time.
- I took all the exams at home. If the software does not recognize your external camera, try disabling the built-in camera and run the proctor software as administrator. Delete the proctor software after each exam and download a new one before each exam.
- I studied in 5-hr blocks to match the longest exam. I scheduled my exams during the time I would typically be studying.
- I didn’t take any breaks during any of the exams. If you have the stamina it’s worth it.
- Except for my first exam (PA), I did all my exams “backwards”, starting with case studies. I have three reasons. 1) I read many people had technical issues with case study resources not loading, but when they discovered this they had already viewed more than 75% of their exam (read about the 75% rule in the ARE Handbook, it’s on page 23 for the Sep 2022 version). 2) During PA I found it harder to keep track of the scenario, the question, and the resources in the case studies when I got more tired near the end. 3) The resources may help with the multiple-choice questions.
- When you get a multi-page resource for a case study (say a drawing set), in the exam interface you can choose to see thumbnails of the drawing set (shows you tiny miniatures of each sheet of the drawing) or its table of contents (A000, A101, A201, A401… etc) by toggling two icons near top left corner of the resources window interface. I find the table of contents mode so much easier to navigate.
- This is highly subjective but I found PcM (my last exam) to be the hardest exam. I probably flagged more than 70% of the questions. Having taken all the other exams, what helped me was the familiarity with the interface and the practice I had staying calm to strategize/make the best guesses. I’m glad I did not take this as my first exam. If you are like me who is more into the technical content than the pro-prac content, consider taking this exam later in the sequence.
- Since how well you do on any of the available practice exams doesn't necessarily correlate with how well you do on the actual exams, do the practice exams early and use them to figure out which areas to study. Don’t "save them"t until the very end.
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