Passed PPD, PDD, and PA - How to do it

Hello, 

I have been meaning to share my experience of passing the ARE's. I will keep this short. I transitioned from 4.0 and only had PPD, PDD, and PA left. If this is your experience or if you only have these three exams left please listen up. While I have all the third party providers that helped me pass listed below, the most important element was taking practice exams. That was really the key. So get your hands on as many practice questions as you can. It can be from the sources below or other sources that you've found on your own, but its helps A LOT!

I did not use any of the materials recommended by NCARB. Trying to wade through those to get the choice morsels felt way too time confusing. I know third party study material providers are expensive but they worked with a lot less time and confusion. 

Here is the list of materials I used to pass these exams in about 2 months.

1. Amber Book - Thank you Michael Ermann! The content of this material is excellent and easily broken down. For PDD and PPD it was so helpful to have this base of knowledge. It is not comprehensive enough for PA. They don't really cover programming. I get the reasoning behind that, you hardly use that in your practice, however it is still covered in PA. Other weak elements include the flash cards and the exams. The exams are way too easy and not representative of the exam at all. Good base, but in my experience, these exams alone will not prepare you for the ARE.

2. Black Spectacles - Their practice exams are excellent. An exact representation of the exam in form and difficulty. I highly recommend getting the lowest tier of membership and just using this for the practice exams. 

3. Elifs AREquestions - So hard and so good. Elif created this content while she was studying for the exams. Her practice quizzes are so difficult but excellent study prep. Cannot recommend her enough. 

4. Designer Hacks - Just extra questions if you need a bit more although the material above is more than enough. 

Best of luck on your journey!