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QUIKSILVER
Member
| Joined: | Fri Mar 10th, 2006 |
| Location: | Land Of Oppurtunity, USA |
| Posts: | 1366 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | Optimistic individual whom believes that Failure teaches Success!!!!.... |
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Posted: Tue Nov 11th, 2008 03:31 am |
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Hello All,
Well, I took the PD exam for a 3rd time/ 4th time recently, and needless to say...I was pissed off...but it's not what you think....
My exam was in the morning, so I showed up about 30 min early (as recommended), and they were having network problems.
They started telling everyone that they could leave after 1 hour had elapsed.....but I still waited.....and reviewed what I could of the material I had with me..
So...low and behold...and 2 hours after the arriving there...they finally fixed their sh*t, and I started my exam...needless to say I had about 2 extra hours of review under my belt.....hehehe...
To make a long story short, this was another 'Zen' exam for me....though last time I took PD, I had a similar feeling also....
So, now that the minor venting is out of the way..haha.. here's the breakdown on general topics of Study, should ANYONE be presented with an exam like mine:
- Study all types of systems that have to do with how cities are designed (i.e. axial, radial, linear, etc.)
- Read up on famous architects/ planners throughout history, and understand what their designs were based upon.
- Nothing on the Ahwanee Principles (Thank god!)...
- 40-50% of my exam, once again for pulled right out the AHPP, and the AIA doc's A201, B141, & C141..... (this includes items related to programming, delivery methods, bidding, etc.)
- 10-15% of my questions were related to New Urbanism, so read up on that if you get the chance to.
- Nothing related to adaptive re-use..
- Know how to calculate various building/ site area related calc's.
- I had 0-5 questions on sustainability....(very surprising)..
- Understand the different methods and actions that take place to determine if a project is worth pursueing...
- Understand the Zoning differences between Conditional Use, Variances, Easments, etc.
- Understand the various types of factors that can be involved in purchasing property..Kaplan 2006 is a good source for this item.
- Read Kaplan in regards to the various types of architecture (Renaissance, Gothic, Classical, etc.)
- Read up on what itakes place during the bidding process of a project, and understand the alternate means of how an owner can go by doing this, based on various situations.
- No overlap from LF & GS.
- 15-20% Overlap with the SP exam.
- 10-15% Overlap with the ME exam.
- 10-15% Overlap with the BDMM exam.
These are the materials/ sources that I studied for prep of this PD retake:
1. Architects Handbook Of Professional Practice/ 12th Edition: I basically skimmed over the areas of study that related the topics stipulated in the ARE
3.1 guidlines...very minimal though...Total time with this source was about 4-5 days..
2. AIA Doc A201: I was able to get about 1/2 way thru this before I just started skimming it, because I was already familiar with the core of the information. In addition, I was NOT able to review A101, B141, or C141....but I figured that Reviewing the pertinent info in AHPP would have sufficed, since i was
basically already aware of the basics of those AIA doc's.
3. Kaplan 2006/ Pre Design by Paul Spreiregen & Beatriz De Paz: I breezed thru this book, and basically got to Part 3, before I put it down, and started reviewing items depicted from the forum posts. Total time with this book was probably about 3-4 days.
4. Archiflash Cards for PD/ Copyright 2005: This was another source that I got about 1/2 way thru, since I only studied these when I was at my kitchen table eating lunch, dinner, etc....So....the brief review of these wasn't that bad.....as they helped reinforce concepts.
5. Kaplan 2006 Test Bank by John F. Hardt: This was probably the only source that I THOROUGHLY reviewed before my exam, because I thought practicing on this program would aid in improving my test taking abilities.....Total time spent on this source was about 8-10 hours.
6. Wikipedia: This source was excellent for misc. definitions I found on the forum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
7. ARE Forum - PD Aftermath Posts: I must have skimmed about 6-12 different aftermath posts, and compiled my own list of items to study for, before going on the internet and using my personal study materials to study on 90-95% of these items.....which was VERY helpful for my exam.
What was funny about this exam prep timeline was that I only gave myself 2.5 weeks to study for it....which means I studied lightly for the entire 2.5 weeks, and then CRAMMED on the last 3-4 days....which is a method I've never tried out before.
Lastly, if I were to recommend ANYTHING to ANYONE studying for this exam for the 1st time, I'd recommend this:....
Read the below post and set that as your stage for studying PD, and I'm 85-95% certain that you'll pass this exam on the 1st try...no joke (Please note: Multiple persons have used this post as their study guide and passed with flying colors..):
http://www.areforum.org/forums/forum1/22492.html
Okay all, I think I'm done here for now....it's time to wait for my well deserved outcome... and see if waiting that extra 2 hours this A.M. was worth it!....Maybe 3rd times a charm????.....who nows...
As always from this point on to all fellow candidates..
...Cheers to Future Success!...
Q..
PS - Sorry about the extra spacing shown above...I guess ARE Forum still has some glitches when it comes to posting.....lol.
Last edited on Tue Nov 11th, 2008 04:53 pm by QUIKSILVER
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xcentric
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| Joined: | Fri Mar 28th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 428 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | | | Describes Me: | LEED and 6 passed, waiting on BD results. |
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Posted: Tue Nov 11th, 2008 04:20 pm |
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Sounds like you had a good handle on things. Kudos for keeping your cool while they sorted out their computer problems!!!
The only thing I would add, is that my exam had some overlap with site planning as well (I took 4.0 version).
Good luck and I look forward to hearing you passed.
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QUIKSILVER
Member
| Joined: | Fri Mar 10th, 2006 |
| Location: | Land Of Oppurtunity, USA |
| Posts: | 1366 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | Optimistic individual whom believes that Failure teaches Success!!!!.... |
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Posted: Tue Nov 11th, 2008 05:26 pm |
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xcentric wrote: Sounds like you had a good handle on things. Kudos for keeping your cool while they sorted out their computer problems!!!
The only thing I would add, is that my exam had some overlap with site planning as well (I took 4.0 version).
Good luck and I look forward to hearing you passed.
Thanks for the comment..
Cheers to future success,
Q..
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Going Crazy
Member
| Joined: | Wed Aug 8th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 417 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | BD/MM, CD, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | nervous all the time |
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Posted: Tue Nov 11th, 2008 05:27 pm |
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Hey Quick, it seems like i'm following you forum by forum. I just took MM on Nov. 1st and still waiting for my (fail) letter.......ugh.
Anyways, I just scheduled the PD exam for Dec. 20th. Figured that would give me enough time to study for this beast. I already took and passed CD and it looks like there is alot of questions that overlap on PD from CD. I noticed in the Archiflash cards, that there are a couple questions from MM also. I'm hoping my past exam experience will help me with this one.
As for your post, I cannot thank you enough as to how valuable this information is. I will use it as a guide to study with. Do you think the Kaplan book for the history is worth purchasing? I do not have it. I have Ballast, which seems pretty light for this exam, although, i do know that it overlaps other chapters.
thanks again Quick for the information
GC
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QUIKSILVER
Member
| Joined: | Fri Mar 10th, 2006 |
| Location: | Land Of Oppurtunity, USA |
| Posts: | 1366 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | Optimistic individual whom believes that Failure teaches Success!!!!.... |
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Online
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Posted: Tue Nov 11th, 2008 06:56 pm |
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Going Crazy wrote: Hey Quick, it seems like i'm following you forum by forum. I just took MM on Nov. 1st and still waiting for my (fail) letter.......ugh. -- Don't be too sure about that....have faith...
Anyways, I just scheduled the PD exam for Dec. 20th. Figured that would give me enough time to study for this beast. I already took and passed CD and it looks like there is alot of questions that overlap on PD from CD. I noticed in the Archiflash cards, that there are a couple questions from MM also. I'm hoping my past exam experience will help me with this one. -- It should.
As for your post, I cannot thank you enough as to how valuable this information is. -- Many people would agree with you...and I assume you read the post I refernced above too, right? I will use it as a guide to study with. Do you think the Kaplan book for the history is worth purchasing? -- If you can afford it, I'd do it. I do not have it. I have Ballast, which seems pretty light for this exam, although, i do know that it overlaps other chapters.
thanks again Quick for the information
GC
Thanks again for the comment.
Cheers to future success,
Q..
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Going Crazy
Member
| Joined: | Wed Aug 8th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 417 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | BD/MM, CD, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | nervous all the time |
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Posted: Tue Nov 11th, 2008 10:07 pm |
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of course i read the other post
I just purchased the Kaplan book you mentioned, except, its the 2008 version for 3.1. We'll see how it goes.
thanks again Quiksilver
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Suz
Member
| Joined: | Fri Apr 27th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 166 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Fri Nov 14th, 2008 02:33 am |
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Hey Quik,
Looks like you nailed it this time. Good luck to you ! I will be giving this exam on monday but I haven't been studying as much as I had expected to. I'm still waiting for my MM results which my state board said that they haven't received yet as NCARB is holding back most of the results for quality control tests ( whatever that means ! )
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Going Crazy
Member
| Joined: | Wed Aug 8th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 417 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | BD/MM, CD, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | nervous all the time |
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Posted: Fri Nov 14th, 2008 02:56 am |
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Suz, i called ARE operations a couple days ago as I'am waiting for my results for MM also. They told me that no results have been mailed out for a couple weeks and that they have a batch that is scheduled to be mailed out tomorrow (11/14). I'm hoping my results is in there. Its gonna be another nail-biting weekend for me.....grrrrrrr.
What didn't you study that makes you say that you didn't study like you intended to for this exam? I scheduled this one for Dec. 20th. Figured that would give me enough time to study everything a couple times. I'm reading thru AHPP right now.....pretty boring, but, it's a good overview read. I already read thru Ballast once and then after AHPP, i'm going to read thru A201 and B141. In between each new study material, i'm going thru the Archiflash cards once, reducing the "unknown" stack each time I do. I printed out more pages from the FTP site then I care to admit, which only reinforces and enhances the material that I studied for in Ballast. I just purchased "Modern Architecture: A Critical History" along with Kaplans 2008 version of Architectural History. I'm hoping that the several weeks I have until the exam will be enough time to absorb everything. I dont think I did good on the MM exam, so, i'm probably gonna have to tackle that again in April. Trying not to think about so I stay focused on PD, but, its hard not to.
Good luck with your MM results and your PD exam on Monday! Be sure to tell us about your experience.
GC
Last edited on Fri Nov 14th, 2008 03:07 am by Going Crazy
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Suz
Member
| Joined: | Fri Apr 27th, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 166 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Fri Nov 14th, 2008 03:47 am |
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Thanks GC- Good luck to you too on MM results. The reason for not studying as much - Well my brains are fried ! All principles, concepts etc appear simply GREEN to me now  I'm just going to brush up on CD concepts over the weekend and trust my exam taking skills to do the rest for me !
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tristar
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| Joined: | Thu Apr 24th, 2008 |
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Posted: Sat Nov 22nd, 2008 02:56 pm |
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Thanks quiksilver! I will be taking PD on 29 december but before then need to give LF on Dec 3rd. I just want to give this exam once so that I atleast have a second chance next year. Not sure how much I can prepare. Will be studying during Christmas 
Thanks again.
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