ARE: Site Planning & Design (Round 2)

I am pleased to say that I have not let history repeat itself with this one!  I messed up on the vignette the first time when I took this back in February, so they issued me a "FAIL."  This time, I practiced my britches off with the vignette, and I have to say come exam time, I was impressed by my own solution!

I barely studied any text for round two.  I figured I did not have any problems taking it the first time, and I was getting 90% on the practice exams in preparation for it this time, that what else could/should I study?  Well, if I had to go at it a 3rd time, I would have reviewed the contract documents again, and read through all the applicable code sections, specifically ADA.

This time I was able to recall 31 of the 65 questions, which in my experience, is an indication of non-failure.

Next week I have to retake Programming, Planning and Practice.  I have already studied more than I did the first go-round, so hopefully that will help me push through!

6 down, 1 to go!

Scoring on the ARE's

I know you are all but fed up with my posts about and theorizing on the ARE's, but I believe the following to be true: You must get roughly 70-75% of the multiple choice questions correct in each content area in order to pass.  Why do we care?  Well, on an exam with only 65 questions, like Site Planning & Design, and a possibility of 3 to 8 questions in a given content area, that means you could score a 63/65 (97%) and still fail.  Why?  Because you only got 1 out of 3 correct in the lesser of the 5 content areas.  I believe that is what happened to me on PPP, and I am afraid that is what has just happened to me on SPD.  I know I didn't get a 97% on PPP, I simply blew off studying the one content area, figuring I'd compensate on the others.  Turns out they have you pegged for that!

Luckily, I believe my vignettes for SPD this time were beautiful.  I finished early, but so as not to repeat last time's premature sign-off, I triple-checked everything and even made it crisper!  I ended up only having 5 trees removed (the max was 6), but decided I needed to get more noon-time sun onto my terrace, so I relocated a sidewalk to delete the tree that was there.  Never thought I'd intentionally delete a tree for something like that, but I suspect my neglect of the sunlight requirement was what in part tripped me up the last time.  I just hope my indecisive studying this time didn't screw me up on the MC section.  I did 90 - 100% on the 3 practice quizzes I did, so I figured what more could I study and just practiced on the vignettes.  I wish I had reviewed codes more, but I kinda forgot about them - mostly forgot how specific the questions would be and how much memorizing was necessary in preparation!

Crossing my fingers majorly and hoping for the best!!

ARE: Building Design & Construction Systems

I will preface this post by saying that I passed this exam on the first try.  (Holler!)  I think this is a good one to take late in the game because some of the material is borrowed from other exams' study guides.

Due to things cropping up last minute, I did not put in as much time as I should have or felt comfortable doing for this one.  I think the following book (which I bought freshman year in college and am finally putting to good use!) was quite helpful.  While I didn't get to read it cover-to-cover (more like read, skimmed, read, skimmed, read, skimmed...), I think that would be an excellent idea for test-takers:

Fundamentals of Building Construction by Edward Allen

I can recall a few questions that I knew the answers to only because I had read them the weekend before in that book!

Other than that, I believe the vignettes are pretty straight forward.  I only did the practice ones available through the NCARB software.

I didn't really read through the study guides for this exam, instead opting for FBC, which I found to be easier to read, more detailed and with better graphics.

I think I finished the vignettes with probably 30 minutes to spare so I just went back through each one and double, triple checked all of the requirements.  I think I found an omission/error in 2 of the 3 vignettes during this time, so I am glad that I spent the leftover time to review and didn't bail out like I did for Site Planning & Design (which did not score in my favor, thus, lesson learned!).

ARE: Site Planning & Design

In spite of the fact that this exam has the highest pass rate overall at 76%, I feel the least confident about my performance on this one.  Unfortunately, I let other things get in the way of my studying - I may have only put in 10 hours for this one.  I did not study from anything beyond the Kaplan and Ballast study guides.  Usually, I try to do a quick review of pertinent codes or whatever other major industry standard book is recommended by NCARB.  This time, however, I did not.

I think I should have spent more time preparing for the vignettes as well.  For some reason the grading one trips me up - I feel like on the one hand you want to make smooth curves, but on the other hand the more you move the lines the more it sounds that you could be docked for disturbing the site.  I guess I just don't feel that tweaking topography lines is as literal as they are making it with this particular exam.  Does anyone really go out to a site afterwords to verify that every square inch of grass is between 2% and 20% grade?  I have never seen it.  But, that's besides the point with these exams!

Anyway, in conclusion (so you may get some use out of this post), I would recommend going hardcore with the vignettes.  Do the NCARB ones and try like 3 of each of whatever other practice ones you can get.  If I have to retake this again in six months, I'm going to do every practice vignette I can find.

Multiple choice-wise, I would say brush up in the codes section, you never know which piece of code they're going to ask you and you don't have a lot of questions in the section so each answer has a lot of weight.

ARE: Building Systems

I realized I never made an official post dedicated to the Building Systems exam.  Unfortunately, I have already forgotten much of what I probably would have posted.  But here  goes anyway:

I think I put in over 60 hours of studying.
I believe I gave myself 4 weekends to study for this one.

With this being my first multiple choice exam, I came up with a system for determining my study intensity, which I still employ currently.  I take the NCARB sample multiple choice questions first.  If I do poorly, I study a ton, if I do well, I study a little.  By the end of the studying, I retake the quiz (because I am quite forgetful, it's almost like a new exam) to see how I score and if it is satisfactory (85%+) I cease studying.

For BS, my first crack at the NCARB MC was 69%, ergo serious studying was required.  I ended up reading all of the Kaplan 2009 study guides, and I believe all or most of the Ballast study guide?  I read through some code information, I think it pertained to the fire protection aspect of the exam.

I averaged 75% on the Kaplan Lesson Quizzes, got a 74% on the Kaplan Practice Exam, got a 63% on the Kaplan Sample Questions booklet and I'm not sure about the Ballast exams as I neglected to hang onto those notes.

When I was done studying, I retook the NCARB exam and scored an 80%.  Not stellar, but good enough for me at the time.

I believe I did one practice vignette besides the NCARB one.  I don't remember anything tricky about that vignette, I think it was pretty straight forward and I think I did it in like 15 minutes or something ridiculous like that.

Anyway, that's all I have in my notes, so hopefully that helps anyone who is studying!
(Oh and in case you stumbled onto this post before reading the others, I did in fact pass this exam on the first try.)
My advice with this one and with Structural Systems is to just relax and be confident.

Oh and if you encounter any ... objectionable questions on the exam, don't freak out.  I remember feeling rather irate after the multiple choice because some of the questions seemed subjective and I know at least one had the answers in the incorrect units.  Enjoy!

ARE: Construction Documents & Services

This was the 4th ARE I took, about 3 weeks ago.  I received the results today and hoooooorah I passed!  As promised, here's my idea for studying:

I read through the Kaplan 2009 study guide and the Ballast study guide (I forget which edition).  I did decently well on the quizzes (83% average), but pretty poorly on the practice exams (71% average).

As usual, use the NCARB practice vignette software.  I found the circle sketch tool to be a bit graphically misleading, so I ended up using the rectangle tool instead.  I believe I did 2 practice vignettes other than the NCARB one.

I did not study nearly as much for this one as for Building Systems and Structural Systems.  However, the majority of my work experience pertains to this exam.

Next is Site Planning & Design.  Getting closer!

NCARB Study Materials for the ARE's

In case I haven't already made myself clear about how valuable the study materials are that are provided by NCARB, let me say so again specifically here!  Find these resources here (so long as NCARB doesn't reorganize their website by the time you click on that!).

What I also wanted to point out in this post pertains specifically to the Construction Documents & Services exam.  There are sample AIA documents available for download to study in preparation for the exam.  The conditions for downloading these documents are 1.) that you have an NCARB record established and 2.) that you have received your Authorization to Test.  You obtain the AIA documents by logging into your NCARB record and clicking on a link at the bottom of the left-hand column.  It says:

New!  ARE Candidates:  Construction Documents & Services Resources From AIA.

Clicking on the link takes you to a screen where you must enter your ATT number.  Upon successful login you will have access to the following documents:

A101-2007
A201-2007
A305-1986
A701-1997
B101-2007 ExA
B101-2007
C401-2007
G701-2001
G702-1992
G703-1992
G704-2000

I am finding a lot of reference to AIA document B141, which as you can see is not on the list above. Therefore, I will have to find some other means to obtain an untainted copy of this document.

Structural Systems Results

There are few things about this ARE process that bring me any joy.  Receiving that letter in the mail which reads "PASS" is most certainly number one on the list!!

And this time, they didn't even send me a duplicate of the previous test results as a teaser!  Such relief!

3 down, 4 to go...

More thoughts on the ARE's

You know, it occurred to me, since they have altered the ARE sections, there have been other changes that have been implemented concurrently.  They got rid of the separate history exam some time ago and instead "incorporated" the history questions into all sections of the exam.  I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that you pretty much need a bachelor of architecture to take the exam now, which implies that you have had several semesters of architectural history.  Whereas in the old days, you didn't even need a college degree much less a bachelors of architecture to take the exam!  How else could NCARB ensure you had some sort of architectural history education if not testing you about it themselves?  Therefore, I think they perhaps got rid of that exam because it was no longer necessary - kind of redundant - given that most if not all ARE candidates have had secondary schooling in architecture.

That was a thought that occurred to me today that I thought I should share.  I don't have any actual chronology that would connect the two (the time when a bachelors became a prereq for the ARE's and exactly when they got rid of the history exam), but I feel it is a sufficient enough correlation for this recreational conjecture!

Fun Facts about the ARE's

Some new information about the ARE's has been brought to my attention lately.  My two sources are: 1.) the second-hand reports of some folks who attended an AIA chapter meeting where an NCARB representative presented information on the processes involved in establishing an NCARB records through taking the ARE's and receiving an NCARB certificate.  2.) my newly received Fall 2011 Volume 14 Issue 2 of NCARB's Direct Connection (I am just now realizing that this issue has arrived to me rather late, as it is no longer fall and certainly no longer 2011).

First of all, each ARE is graded through one single computer.  So, while it may seem a stream-lined process to have all the exams graded via computer, it is actually not as stream-lined as many other standardized testing systems.  The justification for this, is to maintain security as apparently many folks in the past have taken extremes to illegally obtaining exam questions and answers.  Now, because it is all graded through one computer, it is also graded by one individual operating the computer.  Therefore, if any answers or questions are leaked to the public, NCARB knows who is responsible.  A tremendous amount of responsibility for one individual!  However, knowing some of the limitations of NCARB, I agree this is an appropriate measure for the time being.

Second of all, each ARE (aside from Schematic Design which does not have multiple choice questions) contains "pretest" questions.  These "pretest" questions "will not affect a candidate's actual test score and are not included in the content distribution breakdown.  These pretest questions will be evaluated and may be included in future editions of the test."  I have extracted those explanations directly from NCARB's publication.  I am a little perturbed by this.  I have had occasion to find fault with some of the questions on the exams I have taken so far.  It is logical to suppose that some of these less refined questions I have encountered may in fact be "pretest" questions, but they also may just be faulty questions.  I'm not sure of the point I am trying to make other than it is most distressful to find controversial questions when you are in the throes of a $210 professional examination, the unsuccessful completion of which may delay your professional development by a period of at least 6 months.

Anyway, I just wanted to report those discoveries to you under the guise that knowledge is power (although, as for the pretest questions, I think that knowledge is frustration!).

In summary: 1.) every single ARE is processed through one single computer, as operated by one single individual human. 2.) each ARE may contain "pretest" questions which do not count toward the final assessment of your performance on it.

ARE: Schematic Design

So I realize this post is a bit delayed.  I figured I would just make a post about each exam after I took (and passed!) it, to give my advice on a study strategy.

For Schematic Design, I believe the procedure is quite simple.  Start with the NCARB sample vignettes.  This will get you familiar with the software, and will help you figure out how much time you will have to play around with layouts.  You do not have a lot of time for the interior layout, so it is best to get very familiar with those tools.  When I did the Kaplan & Ballast mock exams, I was thinking about how I would do my hand-sketching using the NCARB software.

You probably only need to do a handful of practice interior and building layouts.  I did everyone I could get my hands on - I think there were like 20 total.  Definitely overkill.  I did SD first, though, so I wanted to be sure I had well-prepared myself.

I think 2 weekends in preparation for the exam is satisfactory.  Maybe do 10 practice scenarios: 2 or 3 building layouts and 6 or 7 interior layouts.  You should try to develop a shorthand for the different program requirements, that way you don't have to constantly flip back and forth between the drawing screen and the program screen.  I used abbreviations for the different rooms (which NCARB gives you anyway), orientations/proximities, accesses, views, etc.  For anything that is a program requirement you should have a shorthand symbol deduced.

And finally, NCARB practice exams are, again, your most useful resource.

ARE: Structural Systems

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.

ARE's 2 down, 5 to go

It turns out I passed Building Systems!  When I took it, I was certain I had failed - it felt like I had to guess on half of the problems.  However, somehow I managed to pass and I cannot be more thankful!  (I received my pass letter in the mail right before departing for Thanksgiving festivities!)

Next on the list is Structural Systems.  This is the other big one and I hope I can pass it, too. After that, I expect the rest should be pretty "easy."  I decided to push the exam back, having already scheduled it at Prometric.  I figured I would rather spend the $35 to reschedule it and give myself twice the study time, than to just go ahead and take it risking failure which would mean waiting 6 months to pay another $210 to take it again.

My current exam schedule has me wrapping up the ARE's (supposing I fail none of them) by the end of March.  Which should align nicely with the completion of my IDP.  I think I'm done IDP at the end of April.

I'm not sure how long it takes for NCARB to process all of the IDP and ARE information, but I have heard it can take another 10 months after you're finished before you receive your license.  I will research more into that as I approach.

ARE's under way!

It has been a long while since my last post, so I thought I would put some personal updates in here as a filler until I find something more profound to report.

I started taking the ARE's last month and am scheduled for my second exam on Tuesday.  This past week I received the confirmation letter that I had in fact passed the first one (Schematic Design), so that gives me some confidence for this next one.  I studied close to 60 hours so far for it and feel mildly confident.  There's a TON of information for this one (Building Systems) - it includes everything about plumbing systems, HVAC systems, fire protection, acoustics, environmental influences, lighting, electricity, some accessibility, vertical transportation, code information and regulations, it's like every imaginable component or factor aside from anything structural (which, by the way, is my next exam on December 5th).

I would like to offer insight on studying for this exam, but I do not feel qualified to do that until I know I have passed it.

I will offer, that for the Schematic Design exam, the most important part was being familiar with the NCARB software.  I recommend doing the NCARB practice exams first, then doing any hardcopy exams you can get your hands on, and then finishing up by taking the NCARB exams again.  That is what I did, and by the time I got to round two of the NCARB exam, I had totally forgotten the program and spaces.  (I did probably 10 other practice exams in between)

ARE Facts & Figures

I recently decided that I will push myself to start the AREs this summer. I am hoping that by "summer" I mean "early June" and not "late August." While making this decision I discovered some insightful information on the NCARB website. They apparently make public the pass rates of all individuals who take each exam, and group them based on their university. Find this information here.

To give you some highlights, here are Philadelphia University's 2008 ARE 4.0 pass rates:

Programming, Planning & Practice		Site Planning & Design		Building Design and Construction Systems		Schematic Design		Structural Systems		Building Systems		Construction Documents & Services
#	Pass Rate	#	Pass Rate	#	Pass Rate	#	Pass Rate	#	Pass Rate	#	Pass Rate	#	Pass Rate
7	57.00	5	60.00	4	50.00	4	50.00	1	0.00	2	100.00	9	67.00

The part that amazes me is how few people even took the exams in 2008, much less how many actually passed. In theory, the class of 2005 - 2006 would be taking them in 2008, given optimal experience opportunity. I am curious what the 2010 rates will be (should they ever make it to the NCARB website). And I'm even MORE curious about the 2011 rates (of which I may be a part).

In addition to this pass rate database on NCARB's website, I found some potentially useful study guides for each section of the exam. I only skimmed through the first download, but it appears to be primarily practice questions (and answers), which is helpful. Find these study guides here.

As Associate Member Representative of the AIA Eastern PA chapter, I have recently taken on the responsibility of managing/storing our copy of the ARE study guides. In other words, if you need to study for the AREs, hit me up!!

ARE Scholarship

Just wanted to share this link/info from the National Associates Committee blog I follow. I don't quite think I have much qualification for this scholarship yet, but maybe once I dig my heels into the Eastern PA chapter, I will substantiate myself.

2011 AIA/NAC Jason Pettigrew Memorial ARE Scholarship

A committee of distinguished professionals will select the recipients based on their satisfaction of the criteria described below. Scholarship recipients will receive:

•Full complement of Kaplan ARE Study Guides
•Reimbursement for the cost of passing all divisions of the ARE one time.*

*Full amount of scholarship will be paid upon successful completion of all ARE divisions. To receive reimbursement, recipients must complete the ARE within five years of receiving the award and submit passing reports from each ARE division. Scholarship is subject to local, state, and federal tax.

Eligibility

In order for an applicant to be eligible for this scholarship, the individual must be one of the following:*

•Associate AIA member in good standing;
•NCARB record holder in good standing; or
•A person who has passed one or more divisions of the ARE but has not passed all divisions.

*NAC Regional Associate Directors, Executive Board members, and Editors are not eligible.

Dude, Where's my IDP?

IDP, the cruel mistress, like the Spynx she is: a vile monster from the bowels of Tartarus. She decides your fate, you either fail and get eaten and digested for six months or pass the trial and go on to kick-ass in Thebes.

Right now, I'm looking into the next step now that the hours situation has been more or less figured out (not finished, but not as confusing as it had been previously): So, according to the scuttle-butt, depending on what state you are in, you can start taking parts of the ARE (Architectural Registration Exam) early.

But I've been searching and there's no clear list stating in which states that method is kosher.
So far the only concrete answer I've gotten is "consult your state ARE council". This emphasis on confederacy seems like a shady deal or two is being done. Which, don't get me wrong, makes this process much more interesting, but still how hard would it be to put the list up NCARB?

Anyway, below are some FAQs regarding the ARE from their website:


Who Writes the ARE?A committee of architects made up of representative members from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), Committee of Canadian Arcthitectural Councils (CACC), consulting engineers and code officials.

How do I register for the exam?You register for the exam with your state. Contact your state board for application requirements.

Is the exam the same in every state?Yes. Every state gives the same examination.

When is the exam given?You can take the exam whenever you want. The exam is administered year-round six days a week Monday - Saturday at authorized test centers around the country. Hours of operation vary so contact your test center of choice to verify business hours.

Where are the test centers located? There are more than 350 standardized test centers across North America. Once your application has been processed, you will receive a list of test centers with your approval notification.

Do I have to take the exam at a test center located within the state/province where I am seeking my registration?No. The computer based format of the exam allows candidates to take any portion of the test at any test center. However if you do relocate to another area before completing the exam, you will need to make sure that your scores are forwarded to the initial state jurisdiction where you initially began registration.

What is the exam format? The exam is given on computer. There are nine different divisions of the exam. Site Planning, Building Planning, and Building Technology are graphic tests. The remaining six divisions Pre-Design, General Structures, Lateral Forces, Building Design/Materials & Methods, Mechanical & Electrical Systems and Construction Documents & Services are muliple-choice tests. See exam information for complete details on ARE format.

Is the exam open or closed book? The examination is closed book, that is, no reference material is permitted. For some exam divisions, reference material can be accessed electronically. This material may contain excerpts from sources such as the AISC Manual of Steel Construction and the UBC. Candidates should therefore obtain copies of these books prior to the exam in order to become familiar with their scope and format.

Which part of the exam should I take first?Since candidates must pass all divisions of the ARE to become registered, you may start with any of the nine divisions. It is generally beneficial to take the three graphic divisions successively, since all use similar graphic tools. It may also be beneficial to take Pre-Design last, since this division includes material covered by other divisions, such as Building Design / Materials & Methods and Construction Documents and Services.

What if I fail a division of the exam?If you fail a division, you will have to retake it. However you will not be allowed to retake the same exam until at least six months has passed from the time of the first administration.