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Michael F
Member
| Joined: | Tue Oct 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | Holtsville, New York USA |
| Posts: | 547 |
| Exams Taken: | CD, SP, BT | | Exams Passed: | SP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Mon Oct 13th, 2008 06:26 pm |
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its been a long weekend, i just received my fail letter in CD's, I feel like i cant win with the MC exams. I studied every night for 3 months, flash cards, kaplan books, ballast book, A201 and B141 documents, even C141. I left the exam feeling really good, and now i get a fail letter.
I dont know what it is, some people say i study to hard and to much. So I signed up for that Predesign review class in the NYC. I started studying the last week in September and plan on taking this monster November 2nd.
Can anyone give some advice, this timeline for the 3.1 is killing me. I'm reading the Ballast book now, and i have the Arch flash cards, and the Kaplan book. What can i do?
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Meigs9
Architect
| Joined: | Fri Jun 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | ARCHITECT, LEED, Virginia USA |
| Posts: | 987 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | I'm done! I'm doing my happy dance now! |
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Posted: Mon Oct 13th, 2008 06:55 pm |
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Mike,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I have a small suggestion. There is nothing wrong with your chosen study materials. They are fine. Why not try a new study schedule? Why not try studying Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday? Take Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays off. Allow the information studied the night before to be absorbed.
Worth a shot?
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Michael F
Member
| Joined: | Tue Oct 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | Holtsville, New York USA |
| Posts: | 547 |
| Exams Taken: | CD, SP, BT | | Exams Passed: | SP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Mon Oct 13th, 2008 07:23 pm |
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thanks Meigs, I study monday thru thursday, and few hours on Saturday. So i'm going to try this review class, its on 2 saturdays for 2 hours and it gives me 3 full hard weeks of studying.
What do you think?
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air
Member
| Joined: | Fri Jan 26th, 2007 |
| Location: | Hawaii USA |
| Posts: | 132 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 03:31 am |
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People say I study too much, but I don't think it's possible with the kinds of questions I've seen on these exams. I use as many references as I can. On every exam there are at least a couple of questions that I was able to answer because I took the time to read some obscure website or chapter in the IBC or something. Those couple of questions could have made the difference between passing and failing. I've taken prep classes for GS, LF, and MM and it wasn't too helpful. I took the PD one at the Boston AIA conf and that wasn't too helpful either.
I typically read the Kaplan study guides and go thru the Archiflash cards twice. I take notes on everything I study, then I go thru those notes again and again. It's what I have to do to get the info to sink in.
It is critical to understand exactly what the questions are asking for, because the way they are worded can be tricky. I really scrutinize the question because one little word or absence of a word can make a big difference in how you answer. Have you read Flat's post on answering questions? Do a search for Flats_Kick_the_ARE_MC_in_the_Butt!
For PD (I just took it this morning), Ballast, Arch's Handbook of Prof Practice, Arch's Studio Companion, and Kaplan's History study guide didn't help much. I think Kaplan's PD and CD study guides, Archiflash PD & CD, IBC, AIA doc A201, this forum, various stuff on the internet, Site Planning experience, and stuff on the FTP site helped the most. My exam was more like a combo PD/CD exam, so I would really go over your CD stuff again if I were you. Again, wording in the questions seemed "tricky" and they used different terms than what I was used to from reading Kaplan.
For CD, I took the Construction Specifications Institute's CDT exam before, and that made CD the easiest exam so far. It's been over 4 years since taking the CDT exam and close to 2 years since taking the CD exam, and I still remember it. You don't have to take the CDT exam, but if you can find the CSI Project Resource Manual in your office, I would flip through it. Or if they offer a CDT study class in your area, that is a good way to study for the CD exam.
Another thought - have you tried studying with others in addition to on your own? It might help to change the setting or they way you are studying. You can test each other with flash cards or go over the quiz questions to see the thought process of others. Just take these exams one at a time. You can do it. Good luck!
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skyhook
Member
| Joined: | Sat Mar 15th, 2008 |
| Location: | CA |
| Posts: | 358 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP | | Describes Me: | support where beam or wall not available |
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Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 05:39 am |
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Truthfully, sometimes the tests I work the hardest on I failed, while the ones that I winged, I passed. I've walked out of exam or two, convinced that I bombed due to poor preparation (which was true) only to get a pass letter...ok, there is no real rhyme or reason to this. Someone told me once, that simple exposure to the exams is a vlauble resource, so don't give up. I know the clock ticking to 4.0 does not help the matter,,,I still have BT hanging over my head.
Since your study habits are tight, maybe you should review MC testing strategies. There are subtle nuances to NCARB phrasing and their use of purposely ambiguous wording.
If travel is required ot the testing center, I also recommend traveling the day before and getting a room close to the center.
Good Luck !
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tbra
Member
| Joined: | Wed Mar 16th, 2005 |
| Location: | A-R-C-H-I-T-*-*-* |
| Posts: | 348 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | LF, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 07:33 am |
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Michael F wrote: its been a long weekend, i just received my fail letter in CD's, I feel like i cant win with the MC exams. I studied every night for 3 months, flash cards, kaplan books, ballast book, A201 and B141 documents, even C141. I left the exam feeling really good, and now i get a fail letter.
I dont know what it is, some people say i study to hard and to much. So I signed up for that Predesign review class in the NYC. I started studying the last week in September and plan on taking this monster November 2nd.
Can anyone give some advice, this timeline for the 3.1 is killing me. I'm reading the Ballast book now, and i have the Arch flash cards, and the Kaplan book. What can i do?
hey don't get to down, I too have failed this exam several times , and have felt the sameway. With all that you have studied , I done see Architect prof practice handbook on you list. This book is key, get the 13th ed, also look at the ref list of book that ncarb has as this is where they get the questions for these exams. also take as many practice exams that you can. . ncarb has some practice mc question books out that should help. hang in there. good luckLast edited on Tue Oct 14th, 2008 07:37 am by tbra
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Michael F
Member
| Joined: | Tue Oct 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | Holtsville, New York USA |
| Posts: | 547 |
| Exams Taken: | CD, SP, BT | | Exams Passed: | SP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 02:15 pm |
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| Thanks everyone, all your comments helped.
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Michael F
Member
| Joined: | Tue Oct 16th, 2007 |
| Location: | Holtsville, New York USA |
| Posts: | 547 |
| Exams Taken: | CD, SP, BT | | Exams Passed: | SP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 02:35 pm |
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| has anyone taken the review class from Funkaar Studios?
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shiou
Member
| Joined: | Mon Jun 18th, 2007 |
| Location: | LEED A.P., Texas USA |
| Posts: | 280 |
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Posted: Tue Oct 14th, 2008 03:19 pm |
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i think the best classes by Funkaar are the ones where they walk you through the Graphics Divisions... the multiple choise classes were so-so... there was nothing in PD that they went over that I hadn't already studied for on my own prior to taking the class... but i definitely recommend their graphics courses... i passed SP within a week of taking the class...
active practice is the best way to prepare for any exam in my opinion so take as many mock and practice exams you can... the exposure to all the different types of questions (well or poorly written) will give you a better chance on the actual exam... learn to read the questions carefully and pick the most correct answer since often times there may be more than one answer that could be correct...
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polyarch
Member
| Joined: | Tue Feb 20th, 2007 |
| Location: | San Diego, California USA |
| Posts: | 193 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | Almost there! |
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Posted: Mon Oct 27th, 2008 04:39 am |
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Mike,
I've been on and off in this process for a while... this is what i recomend, finish the graphics! once you get in the rythym of figuring out how to study for a division you should carry all the way thru! Because you already figured out how to study for them. I think that you can bang this out before ARE 4.0! If you're going to start with the MC, stay throught the whole course and don't go back to graphics. 3 months is way to much time from my opinion for studying! I've failed two exams in my process ME and CD, and it's because i studied only the night before and/or the wrong info as well. What's been working for me is a signing up for the exams with only two weekends in between, i take the exmas on a tuesday. the first weekend i review flash cards and and maybe a chapter or two from ALS (yep their old!). during the week to put my self to sleep by studying obscure materials depending on what exam i'm getting ready for (MEEB, AIA contracs, Reinforced concrete, AHPP....). then i take friday and monday off before the exam. Friday morning i sit and study all the way thru tuesday morning... these things are overwelming but i hope when it's all done we can look back and realize that this process is easy and we make out to be more than what it is because we're stressed about it since we don't know what to expect from each exam! good luck to you. sorry to hear about CD's, i'm going in to take it this coming tuesday!
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