Studied for two months, felt good about the test when I left. I feel that my experience in an Architectural office was more valuable for the bulk of the exam, but here were still several questions that you will never run across in study materials Just had to use best sense. I can't even find the answers on the internet and every Licensed architect in my office can't answer the question. There were 5 case studies, three had 10 questions, some were gimmie answers, others took some digging around in the IBC and Zoning reference and I would recommend understanding the big concepts, and go back to basics, don't over think, focus less on complexed calculations as I found that you don't need to know them and just know how to work the simple formulas backwards. I tried a new tactic for this that worked really well on the case study questions, I'll share it as it's not giving anything away.
I read the question first, found out what they were looking for then I read the program. It helped me eliminate so much erroneous information, saved lots of time. However, in the case study, they keep asking more questions about it so understand the requirements well. Best advice, study, read the material, make your own notes. don't write down what the study materials say, use your own words.
TEST DAY
Don't watch the clock, I only glanced at it a couple times as I needed to go to the bathroom. Bring a fun snack leave it in your locker. when you get anxious, stop, stretch, breath. this isn't life or death, it's just an exam. Ask yourself would you rather be sitting at DMV waiting for them to call your number or working on your future.