Merry Christmas NCARB, I left you a $185 present under the tree just for you.

I just submitted my Council Record to be Reviewed. They are prediciting a turn around time of 6-8 weeks until I get my Authorization to Test. I will take a break from the blog, until I get the green light. Just a reminder, you have to pay the remainder of your IDP fees before you can submit...get ready for a possible $185 remaining fee. Just in time for the holidays, Merry Christmas.

Site Planning and Design 0-2 Weeks

I have officially switched my first test to Site Planning & Design. I couldn't muster the energy to re-study Building Systems after hitting the speed bump with NCARB. One reason I wanted to take Building Systems, was to regurgitate my Sustainable Design knowledge from when I took the LEED exam. Good news is, there is a Sustainable Design chapter in Site Planning & Design. I checked out both the Kaplan Study guide and flash cards, the flash cards are about 1/3 the size of the BS set. I will spend about 4-5 weeks studying for this. I hope to take the test in early January. I will document both the time spent studying...and my results from all the quizzes I take. This way, if I pass, you can see about what quiz score is appropriate for a pass.

I'm already bored with Building Systems.

I might be tweaking my testing order, more to follow. In my quest to find more Building Systems material I stumbled upon this. Yes, it is corny, but only Architects can procrastinate this efficiently.

Youtube :
Seducious - MEEB Like This

Building Systems 0-2 Weeks - ORDER CHANGED

UPDATE - I SWITCHED MY FIRST TEST TO SITE PLANNING AND DESIGN. I went to the local AIA and checked out Kaplan - Building Systems and retained the Ching - Visual Dictionary of Architecture. I like the visual connection that Ching provides. I went ahead and bought the PPI ARE Review Manual to use on all sections. From the forum I've read that PPI's book is good to familiarize yourself with each section, but far from complete. To fill the gap, I will also use Kaplan's book and then move onto flash cards. I have no bias towards PPI or Kaplan's material, and when it comes time for practice tests, I will take any material I can get. Just the act of applying your mind to retrieve ARE info is invaluable. When it comes time for memorization, I will share a secret learned from a classical pianist. Happy Thanksgiving.

Finally, IDP is over.

650 hours later, and I finally submitted my IDP file to NCARB. I don't expect to get the Authorization back right away, but now I can get a jump on studying again. I will stick with Building Systems as my first test. I will first pore over the Ballast ARE Review Manual to the point of memorization, then I will work my way through Flash Cards to familiarize myself with all terms, and cap it off with practice tests galore. For personal reasons I will be devoting a half hour of each night to studying a foreign language. Maybe exercising the left brain will help me absorb my information, or I could learn at half the speed. Nonetheless, my revised goal is to take the tests sometime in late December, early January. More to follow...

How to kill time waiting for IDP to end.

Earlier, I was under the impression that I was qualified to start taking the ARE exams. I spent considerable time skimming the ARE Review Manual to see what test areas I was most comfortable in. I read through the ARE forum and the Review Manual and devised a testing order that is tailored to my competencies, and that I am quite happy with. That was well over a month ago. I was notified that I wasn’t quite finished with the IDP requirements as explained in a previous post. Since then I have made many pathetic attempts to keep up the studying, but on the bright side I have caught up on most of the “honey do” projects and learned some more about building methods in the mean time.

It has been really hard to take the ARE Review Manual seriously, its like reading the dictionary for fun. Ain’t got no time, and it isn’t that fun. So, I would recommend picking up these books for the time being.

1. Kaplan - Architectural History
2. Francis D. Ching - A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
3. Francis D. Ching - Building Construction Illustrated

The Architectural history section is no longer an individual test section of the ARE, but is still tested throughout on each exam. Thus, it is helpful to brush up on some history. I noticed that Kaplan’s flashcards actually asked some history questions when I was flipping through the Building Systems deck of cards.

I probably do not know all of the components that make up a building section. Ching’s books are a good refresher to get familiar with industry terms and see how things are best represented graphically. This should help come time for the vignette section. In general, familiarizing yourself with the Ching book so you can find a picture of a Type “G” Bulb, should help serve as a useful companion to the ARE Review Manual.

NCARB

So, after waiting approximately 11 weeks for my Authorization to Test, I talked with NCARB today and found out that I am not finished with IDP yet. NCARB did not accept my MARCH degree from the University of Kansas as Supplemental Education worth 117 Credits. Ironically if I had a Master of Arts In Architecture from KU I would qualify. Instead I am presently 25 units shy of my requirements, thus I will have to wait 5 more weeks before I can apply for the Authorization to Test number. NCARB were top notch, very helpful and understanding of my situation. I will update the blog once I receive my Authorization to Test.

no Authorization to Test yet.

I still have heard nothing from NCARB regarding my Authorization to take the Exam. I think the reason it is delayed is a result of the “cheating scandal” regarding the ARE exams. I’ve heard this has slowed downed test results, and the updated Pass Rates have still not been posted. Trust me, it is a lot harder to study for an exam if you haven't been cleared yet. I've read through my material a couple times now, and started going through Kaplan's flash cards, but I don't want to take any practice test until I have a test date set. I have used this as a good time to take care of any pending projects at the house so they arent lingering later.

Old Material might still be good material.

I was talking with my mentor about checking out study guides from AIA. Surprisingly she still had all her notes from her exams back in 1995. The study guide she had was Architectural License Seminars by Marc Shiler. Of course topics like Sustainability were a little outdated, but I don't see any major changes for the traditional building systems. Granted, I will still study from Kaplan and PPI, but now I have extra material. I took the notes home and spent about 5 hours reading through the sections related to Building Systems. As a bonus there is a series of about 70 Questions and Answers for Building Systems. Definitely ask around for various study information...you may be surprised.

Let's start with Building Systems.

UPDATE - I SWITCHED MY FIRST TEST TO SITE PLANNING AND DESIGN, I WILL UPDATE MY TESTING ORDER IN A NEWER POST. So after skimming the PPI ARE REVIEW MAUAL and paying attention to their recommendations and my strengths, I've determined my testing order. I chose BS as the first exam due to my interest in the material, relevance to buying a new house, and the fact that I've taken the LEED exam recently, and I want to use this material right away before it gets pushed out by all the new stuff I'm absorbing.

So...here is my proposed order.

3 Tests before February
1. Building Systems (4 hr MC + Graphic Exam)
study time: 2-3 weeks after Authorization.
2. Site Planning & Design (4.5 hr Graphic Exam)
study time: 5 weeks, extra time to master 1st true Graphic Exam)
3. Schematic Design (6 hr Graphic Exam)
study time: 4 weeks, This may seem a bit long, but I will not be able to study from mid January to mid February. If I can get 3 tests completed before February I will be happy.

4 Tests before July…I want to have at least one month of summer left to enjoy.
4. Structural Systems (5.5 hr MC + Graphic Exam)
study time: 4-5 weeks, I want to get this tests done before St. Patricks Day…reason to celebrate. 5. Construction Documents & Services (4 hr MC + Graphic Exam)
study time: 4 weeks, Heading into the home stretch study habits should be shored up by now.
6. Building Design & Construction Systems (5.5 hr MC + Graphic Exam)
study time: 3-4 weeks, by this point this material should be very familiar, but don’t want to rush it.
7. Programming, Planning & Practice (4 hr MC + Graphic Exam)
study time: 2-3 weeks, by this point I don’t think I will be able to handle more than 3 weeks of looking at the same stupid book that much longer.

I started reading material for the BS exam. So far things are straightforward, though the people on the areforum are recommending to read MEEP. I will read this at the end, when I have concise idea of how to solve problems, and have a good grasp of the general material. Additionally, they are saying to stick with PPI. I will still work with Kaplan when it becomes available at AIA Denver, and will let you know my opinion. I’m sure anything helps.

AIA material, hit and miss

So after I figured I wanted to start with Building Systems I turned in the mega ARE Review Manual at AIA and went to check out some BS reading. Turns out, its already gone. Though I love being able to borrow this material for free, the fact that the one subject I start out with was not available does not set a good precedent. I chose to take Kaplan's Sample Exam booklet and the old version of the ARE Review Manual, The material was the same and I'm hoping some of the sample questions will be different.

Structural Systems, the Motherload of too much information

I thought I was making really great progress skimming through the first three sections of the ARE Review manual. Then came the structural systems portion which is about half of the entire book. Structures looks like a big pill to swallow. I can see 40-60 hours easily devoted to this section. In retrospect the first three sections aren't too intimidating, especially if you have studied for LEED. Schematic Design has no multiple choice, just two graphic vignettes. That said, these are considered to be very challenging. I will blog specifically about this section so you know what to expect.

Week 1: Lots of skimming

I spent the last week skimming the first couple chapters of PPI's ARE Review Manual. I only got through the first two test sections, that being said I am confident that my LEED exam will help me in the Programming, Planning & Practice Exam. Some things I have noticed in my first week of studying. Get your self organized both in studying and at home. Though I budgeted my time well and have a very understanding spouse, I kept thinking about how my workspace in the basement was kind of a mess and the office upstairs was completely unorganized. Though I lost a day or two in reading, now that I have organized, my study spaces are less distracting. At the beginning, you will go crazy if you try to read every word of the Review Manual. Skimming the pages just to get a sense of the material covered has helped me speed things up and get a greater sense of things I remember from my undergrad Programming class.

Where to begin?

I started with the Ballast/O'Hara PPI ARE Review Manual. This is a huge book, but I figured it was a great resource. It covers all components of each exam. I wanted to get familiar with the exam from a macro level in which I studied the components as a whole. Once I am authorized to take the test, by skimming this book I should know which sections are my strengths and weaknesses. The authors indicate that generally 40 hours should be spent preparing for each section of the test. I will chart the amount of time I spend skimming this material as to keep an accurate amount of time I have dedicated to passing these exams.

Locating Study Material

Though my office provides study material, the material is limited and I was on a waiting list. I chose instead to visit my local AIA chapter, which was a welcome surprise. They had plenty of material from multiple publishers. The checkout policy was simple, 2 weeks per item. If there is no one waiting for the material you can check it out for a 3rd week before returning it.

How long until I can start my ARE exams

I just finished my IDP requirements August of 2009. My supervisor approved them on 8/20/2009 and I immediately applied to take the ARE 4.0 exam. I am in the state of Colorado so it was not possible for me to begin my test until I finished IDP. I will update the blog once I have received my Authorization to Test number.