Studying for the California Supplemental Exam (CSE)
Hi all!
I have recently passed all divisions of the ARE, and am looking to start taking the California Supplemental Exam (CSE). I am just wondering if anyone has experience with studying for this exam?
This community was an excellent resource that helped me create study plans for each division of the ARE. (i.e. I focused on SPDH on PA, etc.)
Now I'm a bit lost as to how to plan for the CSE! I've heard good things about https://californiasupplementalexam.com/, but I'd love to hear any tips/resources from anyone who's studying or has taken the CSE!
Also, please feel free to pick my brain for any tips about the ARE. I passed it about a year from graduating from my B.Arch program, so I'm happy to help out any other freshly graduated examinees!
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Hi Cesar,
Could you please send me an email at deldar.snz@gmail.com ? Thank you! -
I have had over 30 years of experience practicing architecture. 1/2 of that was in the UK, where I've been licensed for over 20 years and ran my own practice for 8; the rest has been in California, mostly over the past 10 years.I have spent literally hundreds of hours studying David Doucette's (Whole Enchilada) CSE program over the past few months. I did the entire course, and took all of his mock exams at least twice. I typically scored between 85% - 95%.I sat the CSE today and failed. I scored 65%. There were literally only 3-4 questions (out of 130) that even vaguely resembled ANY of the (650?) questions in Doucette's mock exams. Doucette's study material is wordy yet over-simplified. The actual exam questions are much more based on code principles (occupancy, sprinklers, construction type, floor area, etc), nuances of CalGreen, and how to handle muddier scenarios. They are also very badly worded, often with inadequate information in the questions and more than one (not completely) right answer. Understanding these subtle differences is where a good study program could really add value. -
Dan,
I’m so sorry to hear this! Truthfully, I’ve never been a fan of the Whole Enchilada for any of the AREs or the CSE. You are spot on with your assessment. Have a look at my earlier comment and try out some of those resources. I studied about 6 weeks to prepare for the CSE.
Wishing you all the best on your next try, you WILL pass!
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I passed the CSE last week. I used the Whole Enchilada from 2012 and studied the https://www.blueprinttopass.com/ one month subscription (started one month before the exam) of online tests and some YouTube videos on CALGreen, some of the resources from CAB's list of references and Quizlet - a free app for your phone where people contribute flashcards . I also listened to Michael Hanahan's lectures on the A201 and B101. He teaches a professional practices class and goes over these documents in good detail.
I studied for 2 months and its been about 12 years since I finished the AREs I felt like I over-studied but I'm an out of state resident and I felt like the 53% pass rate for that demographic was a little intimidating.
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Took and failed the CSE for the first time this last weekend, (scored 64%) after passing all 6 AREs on the first try. The exam is very muddy like Dan says and everyone should be aware there is no longer ANY visual or project based scenario questions. This change took place unannounced in March of 2024. Just 130 multiple choice questions straight through. A LOT on CalGreen and whether you remember a particular thing is based on a threshold of 20% or 25%. Questions are awful and only being scored on 100 of the 130 questions is unfair IMO. It's worth complaining to the board if you feel the questions are bad, or the 30 unscored questions is excessive.
I now feel forced to buy someone's multi hundred dollar program and get coaching because the study tools that helped me succeed on all 6 AREs are clearly insufficient for navigating the CSE study material.
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One strategy that I’ve learned with the ARE, LEED AP exam and now CSE is to know enough to be able to eliminate two incorrect answer choices and pick the better of the remaining of the two. Some questions were based on practicing architecture so there’s no way to possibly study for those. Or maybe they were the part of the questions that didn’t count. I’m an out of state test taker so I felt pressure to study more. 64% is close to passing. You’ll get it next time.
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Jesse Gates, really sorry to hear about your CSE fail. I also passed all 6 ARE's the first try and I'm planning to take the CSE Sept 30th (in 1 month).
If you have any tips for study materials, I would be really grateful. I have studied The Whole Enchilada, the Amberbooks CSE course (not worth, in my opinion), read through CALGreen a couple of times (although I don't know that I have really memorized specific numbers that well), and am taking quizzes through DesignerHacks. I also hope to do the Woo Mock Exam soon too.
I hope you crush the exam on your 2nd attempt!
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