PDD Pass and Done with ARE's - thoughts

A few weeks ago I received a provisional pass for PDD and I am now finally done with the ARE's. I wanted to post this because the forum has been helpful to me to pass all of these tests and I wanted to pay it forward as best I could. I want to recap all the tests and my timeline for passing all 6 divisions, as well as things have helped me.

First, I passed PCM first about a year or so ago and went on to PJM the next month which I failed. I was pretty upset and work really picked up so I ended up taking a break for about a year. For context, I am about 4 years out of college - which I think did help me for the rest of my exams but it isn't that critical, just helpful. 

The next year (last May), circumstances arose where I needed to get licensed fast. I was moving back to my hometown after working out of state for 4-5 years and knew that having my license would be very helpful in finding a new job when I moved back. I then created a plan to take 1 test every month to finish all my exams before moving back. I had 6 months to pass the last 5 tests. 

My overall workflow went like this: 

• DeskCrits to create an overall outline of information I needed 
• Read through the NCARB handbook to see what is being tested
• Looked through the Matrix for what resources are being referenced
• Checked the NCARB forum for additional topics
• Work through each topic, take notes, explain it out loud to myself, write it out, make flashcards, watch Youtube videos, research, etc. 

From this I would study/read each topic and make sure I would get to a level of understanding where I could explain it to someone. I also use pneumonic devices a lot which helped to remember certain topics. When I didn't understand something, YOUTUBE was my greatest tool. There is so much good information on there and I highly recommend using it and creating a playlist to reference - I will include some channels below that helped me the most. 

I also utilized Notebook LM - here you can upload material and ask it questions, have it create quick videos, and dive deeper into the material. Be sure to double check everything though, as with all things. 

I would schedule my tests about a month in advance (on Saturday mornings), and take the NCARB Practice Exam 2 weeks before my actual exam. I found that the NCARB exams are pretty accurate, but easier than the actual tests. From all the tests, my Programming and Analysis test was maybe a little easier than the practice test. I would then spend the next week studying the answers from the practice test (both correct and incorrect answers) and study the topics I didn't do well on. The weekend before the test I would utilize Elif's Practice Questions which do a great job of covering all the potential topics on the actual test, and then go through my flash cards and hammer all the terms I needed to have down so I knew them inside and out. 

The day before the test I wouldn't look at anything, just a personal preference though. I scheduled my tests for Saturday morning. Also, this is a personal thing, but I only used the breaks for PPD and PDD and even then I only took about a 5-10 minute break. I personally like grinding through the tests but I know everybody does things differently. 

My overall timeline looked like this:

• PCM - pass 2/14/2025
• PJM - pass 5/30/2026
• CE - pass 6/27/2026
• PA - pass 8/1/2026
• PPD - pass 9/19/2026
• PDD - pass 10/12/2026

As you can see, the timeline was very compressed, but YOU CAN DO IT. I didn't believe I'd be able to do it honestly, I always looked at licensure as this unattainable thing in the distance but keep believing and pushing yourself - trust me. Take it day by day. 

I would definitely say PPD and PDD are the hardest tests by far, but they are manageable. Just break the topics down into sections and understand them inherently. For PPD, the resources I used mainly were; Architects Studio Companion, Building Construction Illustrated, and Youtube (The Engineering Mindset is AWESOME, MEP Academy, etc.). Whenever I didn't understand a topic, I would google it first to get a grasp and then go to Youtube and find a video on it. 

People have a range of opinions on the comparison between PPD and PDD. I personally think they were different, but with overlapping topics. PDD just goes into more detail. I took these pretty close to each other as you can see above. 

I kept all my notes on Notion (personal preference of mine, I use Notion for everything) which helped me to review and go over everything. Plus having all my notes in 1 spot helped me personally. I also created a Quizlet deck of terms and studied those religiously. For each term, I would explain it out loud as if I was explaining it to someone. I would literally go through the deck once a day for the 2 weeks leading up the test, sometimes with over 150-200+ terms on it. 

Also, to vent really quickly about the test interface itself. I personally didn't run into any crashes or anything like that (I have read a lot of stories like that on the forum) but I must say, not being able to have a pen and paper during the test is absurd to me. I don't want to hear about the digital whiteboard either, because I'M A LEFTY! How am I supposed to sketch anything when it's digital and with my off hand. Whatever though, that is something I had to get used to and I wanted to vent about it because it never made sense to me. I really hope NCARB changes that for the future. 

The resources in total that I used are below - I didn't use any course like Amberbook, Black Spectacles, etc. I just used resources that I already had and utilized some test prep resources like Elif's Questions. Not to say that the courses are bad by any means, I just personally didn't utilize them. If you are able to get access through work at the study prep materials I would recommend that too:

• DeskCrits - highly recommend
• AHPP
• AIA Contracts - Schiff Harden Lectures were gold
• Architect's Studio Companion - gold for PPD
• Building Construction Illustrated - good for both PPD and PDD
• Architectural Graphic Standard - for PDD
• Elif Questions! Designer Hacks is a good testing resource too
• I bought the Ballast book - it's a helpful resource to reference additional material but I wouldn't rely on it by itself. 
• Notebook LM / Claude / AI for questions and explanations - I used this a lot for AIA contracts, and understanding specifics in PPD, PDD topics. Obviously, double check everything that is output. 
• YOUTUBE!!! The Engineering Mindset, MEP Academy, Archicorner (all things codes), Marty Huie, Young Architect, etc.
• Also just check the reference Matrix that NCARB provides - thats where the questions come from!! I paid extra attention to the starred materials (obviously)

In order of difficulty, I'd say it went PA, PCM, PJM, CE, PPD, PDD. I'm also a test taker where I remember almost none of the questions once I leave the testing center, I kind of black out during it when I focus but I do remember PA being the easiest, PCM wasn't too bad but what made it hard was that being my first test of this kind, PJM became easier the 2nd time I took it because I actually knew the contracts inside and out, CE was heavily contract based so it was a natural progression from PJM, and the PPD was hard but manageable, and PDD was the hardest. 

I never had any issue with timing on any of my tests. I would have about an hour+ left after I went through my answers. But I also am pretty dialed in when I start and go through them as fast as possible. My strategy during the test was start at the beginning, and any question I answered that I wasn't 95-100% certain on I would flag. I went into each test knowing how many I NEEDED to get right and would work backwards from there. After I made my first pass through all the questions (including the case studies for the first 4 tests, but not PPD/PDD), I would count how many were flagged to get an understanding of where I stood. I would then go back through the questions and take more time with each. As always, make sure you answer every question, even if you have no idea. For PPD/PDD I went through my questions that were flagged and then took my break. Then I had a good idea of how many I still needed to get right (or could afford to get wrong) when heading into the case studies. 

For the case studies, I would look at these as free points, meaning that most of the time the answer is in the material. I thought these were usually pretty easy relatively and I enjoyed the puzzled nature of them. 

Another aspect of these tests is understanding how NCARB asks questions - it is pretty annoying at first but by the end you pick up on their tactics. I could usually always get each question down to 2 potential answers, and the answer is paradoxically usually in the question - Elif made some great videos on deciphering their questions on Youtube (ARE Questions is the Channel). I noticed that as the tests progressed, there was less and less "tricky" questions and more straight forward questions on if you know the material - I did appreciate that more and more as I got into PA/PPD/PDD. Just focus on exactly what each question is asking for - and that will inform the answer. 

Regarding each test, my study schedule would be as follows: about 1 hour per day Monday-Thursday (during the work week), about 4-6 hours on Friday (we got off at noon on Friday's where I worked so I would use the 2nd half of the day to study), and then 6-8 hours each on Saturday and Sunday. So in total around ~20-30 hours per week. I was working full time during this process as well. 

Lastly, do what works for you. Find what works for your schedule, with how you study, and times of day where you feel productive. For me, I am productive VERY early in the morning and towards the evening. So during the middle of the day I would take breaks, nap, have a social life, etc. during the weekends. So listen to your body and focus on being efficient with your time. If you are forcing yourself to study and you're not retaining anything then you're just wasting your time. I tried to be as efficient with my time as possible so that I could still get together with friends, relax, and have a healthy balance - because that is honestly the key to getting through these tests and it avoids burnout. 

YOU GOT THIS!