Done with ARE's - it all started with CDS...

Building Section Vignette and Multiple Choice

Done with ARE's - it all started with CDS...

Postby SDTK » Thu Oct 26, 2017 6:04 pm

Found out last week I passed my final ARE, I remember reading peoples post-completion posts, and it was a huge motivation... So I thought I'd post mine while the feeling is still relatively fresh. Here's my story...

It all started with CDS.

I finished my M.Arch in 2007. I started working for a firm after my first year in grad school, stayed with them until 2 years after graduation, 2009. This firm closed down during the recession, and I worked independently as a "designer" until 2012. I had just gotten married in 2011 but we had no kids at the time, so it was doable, even with my high student loans (not complaining - my fault). I eventually felt like I was wasting time and not moving forward, so I decided to start studying and try to take a test. I signed up for an ARE prep course that met once a week for 3 months. I took my first test, CDS, and it was rough. I was ultimately unprepared. The prep course was okay, I just did not have enough professional experience. I failed, probably miserably. At this time there were no score reports, so I was very discouraged, and decided to stop studying and stop testing. I needed more experience.

That year, 2012, I reached out to my former employer, who found a position for me in a very reputable firm, where he had become a partner after closing his previous firm in 2009. I worked there for a bit, but felt like I was pigeon-holed as the rendering/drafting guy... not that this is a bad thing, but I needed more varied experience. So my wife and I (and our lovely but very needy 3-month old daughter) moved to a new city and I went to work for a very small firm in 2013, where I learned... everything. In 3 months I learned more in this 4-person firm than I did in the previous 6 years. I started my IDP there, and after 2 years, we moved back to our home town (San Diego) where I went to work for a mid-size firm that worked on a variety of project types. I finished my IDP in late 2015 and in early 2016 I had an opportunity to partner with a developer and lead the design of their multi-family projects.

By this time my wife and I had a 2-year old daughter and 6-month old son. A year later, early 2017, work was going well, and we were getting good sleep. I felt like I had learned enough to confidently take another swing at the ARE's. and knowing I could earn a better living with my own stamp was also a motivation. I wanted to get that "one" back... you know... that "one" test which I failed miserably 5 years prior, which left me feeling totally incompetent (rightfully) and derailed my dreams of being an architect...

So I studied hard for about 4 weeks and sat for my second attempt at CDS in mid january of this year. I left feeling 50/50, but I knew I did at least OK on the MC, and I was confident on the vignette. I think it was about 10 days or so later, I logged on to myncarb for the 500th time that week and saw the word "PASS". My jaw dropped, and in that one moment I realized that this totally overwhelming process of taking 7 tests is actually possible. I wasn't a total idiot! (well, this is still up for debate I guess).

I was very busy with work, and life in general, so somehow another 6 months passed before I started studying for my 2nd test, PPP. I studied for about 3 weeks, and thought the test was very tough. Lots of random questions, but the vignette was easy at least. I thought I probably failed the MC but passed the vignette. A week later I found out I passed all MC level 1, but failed the vignette. This was strangely discouraging but motivating at the same time. I passed all MC? Really? Okay I guess I did better there than I thought, but I made some fatal error in the vignette, and I decided I would never let this happen again. I immediately scheduled my 2nd attempt at PP for 2 months later, the earliest possible re-take date.

- In the interim, I studied for SPD for 2 weeks... passed
- Then BS for 3 weeks... passed
- Then BDCS for 2 weeks... passed
- Then I re-took PPP after 1 week of re-study... and passed.

Now with momentum on my side, I hunkered down for SS, which for whatever reason I always considered to be the Goliath. I studied for 3 weeks and after I took the test, I convinced myself on the drive home that I had made a fatal error on the vignette, but I had already scheduled to take SD a week later, so before getting my results for SS I sat for SD. The next day I found out I passed SS, and a week later I found out I passed SD as well. I was done... What? That went fast, or long, depending on how you look at it.

So the condensed version of my story is that I failed my first test 5 years ago, then passed my first test 10 months ago, and then passed 6 tests in the last 3 months. Overall I took 9 tests and of the 8 I took this year, I passed all MC on the 1st attempt which I credit to back to back testing.

Study advice:
- Schedule your next test before you find out the results of each test, momentum is everything with the content overlap.
- If you fail, retake it as soon as possible unless you are on your final attempt for the year before 4.0 expires.
- For the vignettes, focus on the failing errors and common mistakes. I did not do any alternate vignettes, just the NCARB example. It worked out for me, having only failed 1 vignette.
- Purchase whatever suggested study materials are out there, this is a get-what-you-pay-for situation.

Test ordering:
- Take CDS and SPD before PPP
- It was nice to end on SD

General thoughts on MC's:
- CDS is dry content, but at least you have a good sense for what to study.
- SPD, and BDCS were easiest (for me, personally).
- PPP had the most content to study, felt unprepared no matter how much I read.
- BS was the toughest to study (for me, personally). I did quite a bit of educated guessing, it worked out somehow.
- SS... I only studied Thaddeus, wish I had studied elsewhere as well. Fortunately I passed but I think it was close.

Vignettes:
- (CDS) Building Section: Moderate, watch those duct clearances
- (PPP) Site Zoning: Though I failed this vignette, I still think it was easy! I just blew it somewhere. Watch where the section is cut, draw 1 click within and not one click potentially over a setback or envelope line
- (SPD) Site Grading: Easy
- (SPD) Site Design: Challenging. I felt my experience in work helped to approach this methodically. Lots of moving parts, more than one correct answer.
- (BDCS) Ramp: Easy
- (BDCS) Stair: Moderate, experience helped to see possible layouts and practice made it easier to draw and edit quickly
- (BDCS) Roof: Easy
- (SS) Framing: Easy
- (BS) Mechanical and Electrical Plan: Moderate, practice the software to be able to draw and edit quickly
- (SD) Interior Layout: The NCARB example was tough for me to do in the 1 hour time limit, and I was fearful for exam day. But the actual test was easier with more layout options flexibility.
- (SD) Building Layout: Challenging. On exam day I used the keyboard as a ruler to draw a grid of rows and columns for easy reference to the program information. Create a method, perfect this method. Focus on adjacencies and locate the largest spaces first

Sorry for the long post. Hope it motivates any of you who might feel intimidated or stuck. In retrospect that was my biggest hurdle, just getting started on what I thought was a way-too-daunting process. But Once I passed my first test, It was a different game, and once I passed my 2nd test, I understood the study/testing method that worked for me, and I stuck with it, taking no breaks. Feels good to be done, but it felt great to pass that first test. If you can, get through in 4.0, I think the vignettes are annoying at times but they will be missed by people struggling in 5.0. Good luck!
SDTK
 
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:07 am

Re: Done with ARE's - it all started with CDS...

Postby AREator » Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:39 pm

No problem. Thanks for all the info.
It helps.

Congratulations.
You are a quick study, at 1 to 3 weeks an exam!

PPP
So the descending lines of my building section should not cross the landscape section line, by half a pixel (when it won't snap to the line)?
AREator
 
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 6:04 pm


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