Passed PPD and PDD with the help of Amber Book!

I'm finally done with all my ARE Exams after passing both PPD and PDD! I was on the 4.0 track and with just under a month before it was retired, I failed the dreaded stair vignette on BDCS. All I had remaining was the Schematic Design exam but was not able to finish since I couldn’t take BDCS again before NCARB retired 4.0. I unfortunately started the 4.0 track with structures and building systems, so the transition calculator was not at all kind to me. In total, I took 8 exams and even though the BDCS and Schematic Design were the only tests I had left to pass, I still had to take the brutal PPD and PDD exams. I'm very grateful for The Amber Book course and tutorials because it was exactly what I needed to pass those two exams.    

For context, I'm was acting as a project architect (just not licensed) for about 2 years and have been practicing for a total of over 8 years (4 years in technical architecture/detailing and 4 years in hospitality/multi family residential). I was between jobs and took 2 full weeks to study for PPD and an additional week to study for PDD. My strategy was to go through about 3 hours of new content each day and also a full review of the previous day’s new content. So in total, I went through the course twice in its entirety before taking PPD and then I went through it all one more time before taking PDD. Most don't have the luxury to study full time, so I would recommend following the study guidelines laid out in the course.

After taking the Amber Book course, I feel like I learned a great deal of valuable knowledge for not only passing the exams but also working knowledge for my career. Thank you to The Amber Book team for all your hard work and dedication to improving the learning experience!