PA Pass

Took Programming and Analysis yesterday and passed! This was a long journey with everything happening over the last year but I couldn't have done this without the help of some valuable resources and studying tips. 

Materials Studied

• Ballast: Great review and summary of the material. Read Ch.7-11 and Ch.12-15 that is for PPD. The programming chapters actually reference these sections in their topics. 
• Site, Planning and Analysis: More in depth read on issues pertaining to overall site planning. Focus on Chapters 3,6,7,8,9 and Appx. A
• Sun, Wind and Light: Glanced at this to help with climate issues but don't get to in the weeds reading this. 
• Building Construction Illustrated: Chapter 1 has great images that help you visualize what the readings are saying. We are visual people by nature and this helps so much to really learn what we need to know for the exam. 
• Building Codes Illustrated: Chapters 3,4,5,6,10 for the same reasons as above. Not about memorizing but knowing where to go reference code if you need to. Exam is now using the updated 2020 code btw. 

Study Guides: 

There are some great study guides out there for programming. I recommend reviewing especially as your exam approaches to read through these. 

• PPP Study Guide 
• Jenny's Notes 

I also bought Ben Norkin's Hyperfine study guide of assignments and added on his extra code problems. This is one of the best ARE courses out there and it is for a very affordable price. He has great courses for PcM,PjM and CE. I plan to buy again when I take PPD/PDD. 

https://hyperfinearchitecture.com/pa/

Practice Exams: 

• Ballast
• Designer Hacks
• Eric Walker's- Highly recommend! This was by far the most accurate to the types of questions you will see on the exam. Link: https://gumroad.com/l/WTARE50-PA 
• Archizam - Relatively new, similar to Designer Hacks but for $5 for a one week access you get over 100 questions. Great for that last week of review. 

New ARE 5.0 Test: 

I loved that we have fewer questions overall and more time per question. I had some time to go back and review at the end. I choose not to take a break but if you do, strategize which questions you answer and review before that break. The whiteboard wasn't really an issue on this exam but it could be on more heavy math ones. Text boxes are the best way to do quick work so you can have it side by side with your calculator. Before you take an exam with the new format do the NCARB Demo exam for practice so you aren't using this for the first time on test day. 

Study Approach: 

Finally, after failing PA a few times and came close to passing both times the difference this time and a method I will be doing moving forward is studying the practice exams instead of just doing the practice exams for a score and time.  Michael Riscica gives some great advice on how to do this in these two videos below. Absolutely worth the full watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm6dHF8yKho&ab_channel=YoungArchitect 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xzVm41rHDI&ab_channel=YoungArchitect 

I applied a lot of his study techniques in his videos to my efforts this time and these changes I believe made a difference in preparing me to not just know material but know how to pass the exam. For people struggling to passing exams you almost have to study how to study before you can retain and learn knowledge for each exam. 

Officially halfway done! Very motivated to take what worked for me here and apply it to my last contract exam (PjM) and the technical exams!