Just Begining

Structural Layout Vignette and Multiple Choice

Just Begining

Postby WhiteRabbit » Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:41 pm

I've spent 6 weeks studying for each of the ARE 4.0 Exams (except Structures) and have passed all of them. I just scheduled my Structures Exam for 6 weeks from now but looking at the very dense study materials, I'm wondering if I'm crazy to think I can do this while working full time? Has anyone else found that studying for Structures is far more difficult than studying for the other exams, or more time consuming? Just the FEMA document alone is 400 pages. :cry:
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Re: Just Begining

Postby gbalaka » Thu Jun 08, 2017 3:15 pm

Nothing is impossible.

I personally never signed up for exams prior to studying, but to each their own. You gave yourself the deadline, so only you can answer that question.

I spent 4-5 months getting ready for this exam. Can it be done is 6 weeks? - of course it can. You can also take the exam and not study at all.

These exams have a lot to do with confidence. If you have been successful with 6 weeks up until this point, it might as well work out for you for this exam.
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Re: Just Begining

Postby SlabOnGrade » Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:49 am

Have confidence. I waited too long to take the exams and so I only gave myself 4 months to complete all 7, 2-3 weeks for most exams and 4 weeks for SS and BS. You know what to study. Just take it seriously and don't be discouraged by the amount of time some people spend on exams. I found that taking them tightly together, while killing my ability to enjoy anything, gave me an advantage because everything was fresh all the way through. When people take many months to study they aren't hitting it hard each night and forget some of what they had learned/refreshed.
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Re: Just Begining

Postby corbismyhomeboy » Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:36 am

White Rabbit, I work full time and I spent about 6 weeks actually studying for this exam - 10 weeks total if you include wasting 3-4 weeks spinning my wheels with Ballast and getting nothing out of it. (I did schedule all of my exams far in advance because there is never really a good time to take off from work and I was paying for exams with my bonus checks.) After getting frustrated with the Ballast chapters, I gave in and bought a subscription to Thaddeus. Once I got through all of those videos, I did one reading per day, whether it be the FEMA B@R or a chapter in Kaplan, with as many as I could do on the weekends. A lot of the readings overlap so when you get through the first B@R (whichever one you choose) you'll start to see some overlap with the others. I skipped all of the overlapping materials. When reading in Kaplan, skip over the long arduous math problems. That will also save you some time. While walking to work and working out (aka: times I could not read or watch videos without being distracted), I worked through the ArchiFlash NALSA flashcards, talking my way through the questions and answers. I left 4 days before my exam to workout the vignette and create a "checklist" for things to make sure I did before submitting my vignette answer. During those 4 days, I only would review flashcards and work on vignette - no new info allowed!

From my understanding in Thaddeus, both the Kaplan and Ballast guides for 4.0 were basically the same as the guides from 3.1. 3.1 exams actually had a lot of math in it as I've been told, so the 4.0 Ballast and Kaplan have a bunch of math, but when NCARB went to 4.0, they took out a ton of the math, but the Ballast and Kaplan guides kept it in. All that to say, don't waste your time going over all of the complicated problems. Work on the concepts. Understand some basic trig, how to do things like overturning moment, and how to balance forces, and you should be good to go.

It's always intimidating starting out on a new exam - you can do it!!
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Re: Just Begining

Postby WhiteRabbit » Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:56 am

Wow! Thanks so much for the encouragement!!
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Re: Just Begining

Postby jackstatic » Sat Jun 10, 2017 6:53 pm

I wish I gave myself more time, I actually looked in to rescheduling this exam but the time's available were random week days when I couldn't get off from work or in August, which is 2 months away anyway, so I figured what the heck, let me give it a whirl.
I am not prepared, I scheduled the exam back in early April, gave myself a solid 6 weeks to study and that was simply not enough time for me personally. I have an "ok" grasp on the material, but I just didn't get to a few study resources I had hoped to get to, and didn't get nearly enough practice exam time in (which is truthfully where I tend to learn a lot anyway) I'm not saying 6 weeks isn't enough time, that has typically been the time frame for all the studying I've done, but this time around I grasped the material slower. I didn't get Thaddeus, I did get Marc Mitalksi's course though, which helped, but unfortunately on the practice exams, (Marcs, Kaplans, Ncarbs, various other sources) Im only rocking a 50% on the tests, so my outlook for the exams isn't too positive at the moment for my exam tomorrow, again, I feel I need a few more weeks to study, possible 2-3 to really nail it down for me, but I fully believe it could be done in 6 if you take to the material quickly. I'll let you know how the 6 weeks of studying turn out for me come friday when I hopefully get my results
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Re: Just Begining

Postby WhiteRabbit » Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:27 pm

Good luck Jackstatic!
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