I took my third ARE this afternoon. Yet again, I feel I cannot even speculate as to whether or not I passed. However, I will offer the following advice to anyone studying.
I found the Kaplan study guides to very disjointed and error-laden. I would advise supplementing any studying you do with them by some other means. The practice vignettes are misleading, so do not use them as your only practice resource. I might actually recommend not using them at all.
I found the Ballast study guides to be more thorough.
I used the Ballast flashcards and the Archiflash cards from ARE 3.1. All of which were quite helpful.
Absolutely take the NCARB practice test and practice vignette software. This practice vignette is the single most important one for you to use. It not only provides you the opportunity to get familiar with the software, but its sample passing and failing solutions depict the important things you need to include or not include.
Take a look at the references NCARB offers, as well. I was surprised when I took the test today and saw just exactly what each of those referenced charts was. There is a ton of information available to you as a reference - it would definitely help you to be aware of what that is before you studied. In retrospect, I wish I had looked up each of those items and made myself familiar with them.
In conclusion, I feel the same as I did with the Building Systems test. I hope in my heart of hearts that I passed, but I would not be too surprised if I did not. I am certain my vignette was satisfactory, however.
Now I just wait it out the next couple weeks as I prepare for ARE #4: Construction Documents & Services.
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