Passed all 6 exams using the Amber Book
I passed my final ARE exam yesterday after a 10-week blur of studying and test taking. I used the Amber Book course as my primary study material and wanted to share my experience. For reference, I finished my M.Arch in 2016 and have about 4 years of professional experience.
Preparation:
The Amber Book method is a quick and deep dive into all of the material covered in the six divisions of the ARE. The premise is that there is so much overlap in knowledge needed for the 5.0 exams, that you should study for them all at once and take the exams back-to-back. It sounds very intimidating, but I decided to trust the method and knock them out over a 10-week period.
I started with the Amber Book course in February 2020 and had unfortunately just completed the course when my exams were cancelled due to Covid. I decided to let the dust settle for a couple months and rescheduled for late August. Due to the quick/deep Amber Book strategy, I decided to take the entire course a second time starting in July. The course itself took me 8 weeks to complete and my exams were scheduled during week 9 and 10.
The Amber Book was my only study material other than AIA contracts A101, A201, B101, and C401. I was very impressed overall and actually enjoyed the content. The information was well presented and applicable to my daily practice. They really excel with the building systems and construction info. My only criticism is that the pro practice videos lack some of the depth and interest of the rest of the series. In the end, I still struggled a bit to understand the AIA contracts.
I also took several of the Black Spectacles practice tests. In my opinion, their content confused my AB learning. However, their testing platform is spot on to NCARB’s and it was good to sit down and take a test for 3 hours and get used to the search tools, calculator, etc. In retrospect, I would have skipped this and stuck with the NCARB practice test based on the cost.
Exams:
I scheduled my exams as follow:
Monday Week 9 – PA
Tuesday Week 9 – PPD
Wednesday Week 9 – PDD
Monday Week 10 – PcM
Tuesday Week 10 – PjM
Wednesday Week 10 – CE
I lumped them into these groups based on other NCARB forum discussions. (The Amber Book suggests the order does not matter). I think these groupings made a lot of sense. PPD and PDD share basically the same content, as do PcM and PjM. Know that CE has quite a bit of code and building systems info on it and PA was a good exam to kick things off.
Overall, I was very impressed with the questions on the ARE. There are very few giveaways and most questions take a lot of consideration. The tests were difficult (I thought I had failed on two exams) but the questions were well written. I only ran out of time on one exam (with two questions left) but almost always cut it close. I tried to leave 1.5 hours for the case studies and review of marked questions.
Quirk #1 - I took my break prior to the case studies and the timer would start counting down from 25 minutes. However, I believe the NCARB break time allowance is 15 minutes. I took a 17 minute break on one of the exams and the final test timer ended a couple minutes early. Not sure what the deal is here, but I would recommend sticking to 15 minutes or less for your break regardless of what the break timer says.
Quirk #2 – Maybe I had a slow internet connection, but the case study reference materials took a long time to load. It was probably less than 10 seconds, but felt like an eternity in a timed test situation. Just be aware and stay calm.
Conclusion:
After completing the ARE, I think a holistic study method makes total sense. For example, the professional practice content is found in all of the test divisions; site and building systems content is also scattered throughout. The Amber Book is expensive, but highly effective in my experience. I think it was well worth the cost to have all 6 exams behind me after a 10-week marathon. It is a daunting process, but you can do it. Good luck everyone!
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Congrats on passing all six exams!!
I just tried PA as my first exam and failed. It was my third try so very hopeless but as I heard good things about Amber book, I am trying to re-strategize my study plan with Amber book for all the upcoming exams. Did you also look at the physical copy of the Amber book? How did you plan the 8 weeks to complete the courses? Did you take notes while taking courses or just listened? I am hoping to pass the exams with Amber book courses, BS tests, and Ballast... (These three are the resources I have) Your advice would be very appreciated!
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Thanks Sally. The Amber Book includes a study schedule that I followed. I took screen shots and notes as I went along so I could review the content later. I re-watched the videos when I had trouble with a concept. I used the physical Amber Book as a practice exam after I had completed the course. However, all of the questions in the book are also in the videos so I would not consider it an additional source. Keep chipping away at it and good luck!
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Ivan Huber first of all what an inspiration! ALL the exams in 10 weeks?! back to back?! BIG Congrats. Do you think it helped to focus on just taking them back to back as opposed to spending a month on each? Maybe the momentum is better than creating a build up for each...? Did you work or just focus on the exams? Also did you use Ballast at all then?
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Thanks Luisa. Yes, take them back-to-back if you can stomach the risk! There is so much overlap in material across the six exams that I firmly believe this is the best approach. At the very least, I would take PDD and PPD back-to-back and I would do the same for PcM and PjM. I worked full-time (though my office has scaled back to 32 hours/week during the Covid recession) while studying 20 hours per week for the first 6 weeks and about 30 hours per week for weeks 7 and 8. I only used the Amber Book, AIA contracts, and a few Black Spectacles practice exams (I did not use Ballast). Good luck to you!
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Hey Ivan, thanks for posting your story.
Is the Amber Book designed such that this 8 week study, 2 week test taking plan is typical or encouraged?
I haven't taken any tests, and I really like the idea of taking time off work to solely study and knock all (6) tests out by Spring-Summer 2021.
Thank you in advance, Jose.
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Hi Jose. The Amber Book schedule dictates 7 weeks for study with testing in weeks 8 and 9. However, they are not specific about a test schedule and suggest you should "take them all at once".
I admit I was initially confused about this and scheduled one test per week thinking that was aggressive. But after further digging on the web about other AB experiences, I realized the intention was to take them literally back-to-back in as short of time frame as possible.
The AB approach is fast, saturated learning and the longer you wait between tests the more you will forget and have to brush up. In retrospect, I am glad I chose a 2 week testing plan. It was exhausting, but not overkill, and I had time to refresh on pro practice between weeks 9 and 10. I think dragging it out further would have decreased my chances of passing (and increased my misery).
Good luck!
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Hi Deepa. I pretty much followed the Amber Book protocol (if subscribed, you can view the study schedule). I spent about 20 hours per week going through the videos, studying my notes, screenshots etc. during weeks 1-6. I spent about 30 hours per week during weeks 7 and 8. So that's about 180 hours total.
There was also some review between my tests on week 9 and 10. Hope that helps and good luck!
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First of all, congratulations Ivan! That is amazing. I have already passed CE PjM and PcM, I am studying for PA and my plan was to do an Amber Book subscription for PPD and PDD. Is Amber book content broken down per exam where I can just hop in, or is it really all over? Meaning could I hop into it half way through? If I fail PA I might just bite the bullet on Amber Book though. I feel like I am studying things that are all over the map. About how many hours total do you think all the videos are? Thank you.
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Hi Heather. The AB does show you which sections to review for each exam. Unfortunately, it is not very specific and PPD and PDD both cover 4 out of the 5 Amber Book sections. Translation: you will have to go through 75% of the content for those two exams (everything but pro practice).
ARE 5.0 really takes a comprehensive approach with specific content - building systems, pro practice, etc - is scattered throughout the six exams. I think this is why the AB approach works well.
If you are really concerned about passing PPD and PDD, AB is a great choice as building systems is their strength. But realize it will take a lot of time to cover everything. That said, the rewards go beyond the exams and I don't think you would regret adding knowledge to your practice. Good luck!
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Hi Ivan. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and congratulations on an amazing accomplishment. I got inspired by your method and currently taking the Amber course. I am really curious about your Black Spectacles comment, because I was planning to take their practice exams prior to each exam. Was your comment about sticking to the NCARB practice exam solely based on cost or did it actually negatively affect your studying? Aren't their questions close to the actual exams in terms on content?
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Hi Rula. My BS comment was based on cost/value. The BS exam format is very close to the real thing and there are multiple tests for each section. It is probably the best option if you want to simulate sitting for the exam. But, I would argue that time is better spent on studying and the AB has better content, IMO. I am sure BS content is very good, but some of it was presented differently and confused some of my previous AB learning. It was like taking the same class from two different teachers. If you like the Amber course, I think the best approach is to follow the AB protocol - a deep dive into the content with lots of review, the AB practice exam, along with 1 or 2 good runs through the NCARB practice test to understand the format and tools. Just one opinion however. Good luck to you!
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Hey Austin. Best method I found was taking a boatload of screen shots along the way. Organize them into the sections covered (thermal, HVAC, plumbing, and so on). Distill them as you go so you have the critical information or concepts you struggle with; for example, I had a folder of screenshots to review before each exam. Then use them as flashcards to refresh your memory. It's a lot of work - pausing the videos, command-shift-4 (if using a Mac), and then organizing the screenshots - but I think this really helped me retain the information and I wasn't trying to scribble notes while watching or missing content in the videos. Good luck to you.
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Hi Ivy,
I’m studying the Amber Book practice exam questions and answers. Is that enough to pass ARE exams or do I need to take the Amber course with videos, Amber Book - Building Systems study guide and other materials? Should I study the entire AB practice exam book to take PcM, CE and PjM or only Professional Practice section is what’s needed?
Thank you!
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Ivan, not sure if you'll see this because the post was made a long time ago, but I just wanted to thank you for sharing this post. You may not know it, but you convinced me that I could pass with Amber Book, and now 4 months later I've pulled it off. All 6 exams back to back, passed on the first try. I thought it sounded crazy until I read your story, but here I am! So thank you. You've inspired me to share my story as well, in hopes of showing other people that this is possible!
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