Now that I’ve finished all my ARE exams and registered as an architect, I can summarize a few pointers for anyone still in pursuit. These are things that I found to be noticeably helpful along my way to licensure. I try to be as concise as possible.
First and foremost, compress your timeline! I have previously heard from others as well as experiencing it myself. Being in practice does little to help you with the exams. Of course the AXP component is a must so working at an architecture firm will help you take care of your hours. However, when it comes to the exams, you are much better off focusing on studying the exam-associated contents rather than trying to relate anything from practice. This concept has actually been vouched by people working at NCARB. With my role as a licensing advisor, I’m able to speak with people in the organization. They feel the same way. The longer you wait or drag, the more difficult it becomes.
I think you’ll benefit tremendously from dedicating time for ARE prep. I believe a majority of candidate will not be able to fair well without studying, i.e. taking exams almost entirely relying on past experience. Since it’s much memorization, it is more efficient to “cram”. Get those hardly mentioned facts about being an architect for the exam and forget about them afterwards. Chances are that you won’t remember much of it in the long term even if you try. Mechanical memorization seems to work best in a shortened period.
My estimate is that any fresh graduate can pass all six exams with 1 month of preparation, which should be a full-time endeavor. So if you are between jobs or just graduating, you have the perfect opportunity to buckle up and drill it down. A compressed timeline not only reduces the amount of time you’re subject to exam stress but it saves a lot of money. (I’ll touch on study materials next) For people who are working, unless you take a sabbatical, you may be looking at a longer battle, which is not ideal but manageable. You can allow 3 to 4 months of concentrated effort outside of work and get everything done, although planning becomes even more important as you really have to see clearly that the next 3 months of your day job won't compete with your exam prep. If work disrupted your exam taking schedules, try to take down subjects by spurts. This brings the second point, exam sequence.
I've previously written that you should take PjM, PcM and CE together. PA, PPD and PDD are also in one bucket if you can manage. If not, try to get PPD first and PA in-between. Lastly PDD. I've had 7 attempts at the ARE exams. The only once failure was a PPD. The level of knowledge (or the amount of content to memorize) required to pass PPD is the single largest jump forwards. By that I mean you do nearly have to go through all technical materials of ARE to pass PPD. After that, PA and even PDD become a matter of sweeping through a few special areas.
The order of subjects to take should still be the management exams first, then PPD, PA and end on PDD. I think getting past the management exams can get you in the mindset of ARE test-taking. The individual subject preparation depend on the materials you choose. As a closing point, I review the materials I studied.
The most effective test prep strategy given by some of those paid trainings was Michael Ermann's Amber books. He was the one who taught me that compressed timeline works the best and studying longer meant only diminishing returns. I've had the management tests done by the time I got Amber books so I can't tell you how helpful they are. But in terms of PPD, PDD and PA, Amber books videos were nearly the only material I studied. I only had time to go through portions of Ballast, which evidently goes much to deep into the technical details for the 3 technical exams. I did ok. So I don't think you need much to complement Amber books. Flash cards were helpful and I had the decks from Brightwood (Kaplan)
I also had access to Black Spectacles. But they did not help me more than offering those high quality practice exams. The videos, in comparison to Amber books ones, were dull and slow. The instructor was knowledgeable but did not organize the topics in the most test-specific way. Michael Ermann's videos came on forthright. They talked about the tests themselves. After all, it's not even too implicit anymore that the ARE exams are NOT testing the practical knowledge of an architect. They are close to testing on a bunch of building related facts you just have to commit to memory for a short period of time. Amber books cut to the chase and get you ready for the exams.
I know study materials are expensive, especially so if you are buying them yourself. That speaks to the urgency of passing them in a short time. There is no easy way to change the industry and how it qualifies licensees for practice. But it is entirely up to you whether you want to push for a few months and finish it all, or draw out the battle that only gets tougher. The pointers I leave here aren't just a one time case on me. I've had a friend who took up this compressed timeline idea and passed all three technical exams in ONE WEEK. This approach certainly demands the highest level of commitment and the strongest of a mindset. But who says you don't possess those qualities to beat the beast ARE?