I passed the ARE in just 3 months with Amber Book

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share that I passed all ARE divisions in about three months, with around 370 hours of focused studying. I used AmberBook as my main resource, plus practice questions and the NCARB case studies. I didn't read any other books or do any other courses, since AmberBook really took a lot of time to finish.

A bit about my situation: I’m originally from Romania, and I was still waiting for my U.S. work authorization, so studying for the ARE was honestly the best thing I could do with my time. I think that’s what made this timeline possible: I could stay consistent, study almost every day, and keep my focus without work distractions. I know this is not realistic for everyone, and it’s not meant as a comparison, it's just my personal path.

Some things that helped me:
• staying consistent more than studying for huge hours
• doing lots of practice questions
• reviewing case studies carefully and learning to search quickly
• not panicking when a question looked strange
• reminding myself that you don’t need to know everything, just enough to think through the problems

These exams are challenging, but they are doable with the right rhythm and mindset. If anyone needs encouragement or wants to ask about my study approach, I’m happy to share. Good luck to everyone on your path! 💛