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Arch_Paesan
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 16th, 2008 |
| Location: | District Of Columbia USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
| Exams Taken: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Exams Passed: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Mon Aug 4th, 2008 07:24 pm |
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So, not really feeling too good coming out of this one. I thought I had the conceptual stuff down cold from all of the reference and study material (rockin' out like 85% on the Kaplan questions last night, feeling pretty good), and I sat and stared at the Prometric screen asking myself if I was sitting for the right test................
Couple of things to note:
- I had some code specific questions - like the Rw factor for different types of assemblies.........come on, really???
- Terminology and coefficient represetations were different from the Kaplan/Thaddeus stuff.........
- Couple of bolt questions...nothing earth shattering, here.
- Couple of $$$ related questions - like "how much does is cost to construct this shear wall?"........um, I dunno......but it cost me $102 to take this test, and I'd appreciate some easier questions....
- Question about sizing a tension bracing member.......hang on, let me ask my structural engineer....he's around here somewhere............
As a general note, the wording of the questions SUCKS! There was a fair amount of ambiguity and subjectivity in the way that the questions were written (nothing new, I know), such as "how does one improve the relationship of [insert something here]"?
Improve the relationship??? I don't know, maybe the structural members should talk more and pay more attention to one another's feelings........
There was actually one question in which one of the answers had to do with proximity to a farm.....................WTF.
I think I had 4 math-based questions out of 75, none of which used the base shear or wind formulas (thanks, Kaplan, for making me think that was going to be important...)
Sorry for the rant - feeling a little emo today after NCARB pooped on my Monday. Fingers crossed - time to wait 2-4 for that envelope to arrive.....
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alomu
Member
| Joined: | Thu Jan 17th, 2008 |
| Location: | Missouri USA |
| Posts: | 575 |
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Posted: Tue Aug 5th, 2008 12:38 am |
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Yea, well you know, they have monkeys write the questions. The ARE and the authors remind me of the Planet of the Apes movie (original) where the ARE are the Apes.
At least you have a good sense of humor about it.
Good luck. Let us know about your big fat Pass.....
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Lebowski
Member
| Joined: | Fri Nov 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 77 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Tue Aug 5th, 2008 01:01 am |
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this is exactly how I felt during my exam on the 24th of July. I also had the "how much does this shear wall cost" question... wtf. I couldn't arrive at any of the answers given, even working them backwards.
I think this exam really tests those ambiguous things we learn from experience... or how to answer questions based upon gut feelings, or what answer makes the most sense...oh, and how to guess on the exam. I really felt like I was guessing on 75% of the questions.
we can only hope that the super secret grading system works in our favor on this exam... big curve, questions dropped, or whatever they do to score the exams and hand out those pass letters.
knock on wood. sorry not to offer any concrete study tips for this one.
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PASSSOON
Member
| Joined: | Sat Apr 5th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 178 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | GS, LF, ME, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Tue Aug 5th, 2008 06:11 am |
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i agree! just got back from the test.. i was hoping to clean up my house and relax for tonight and move on to the next test.. from reading a few posts here i thought this was going to be not too hard!
Wow, i can't believe how hard the test was. i has so many WTF questions!!!! so many other confusing questions. i didn't have enough time to review every checked questions at least once!! i think i was half way thru and ran out of time. i wish i didn't spend too much to get it right in the first place..
i have to say this was as hard as or harder than GS.. because of the time too!! i just hope that i passed. i noticed the passing rate of this test is really high. is that because the pass score is really low? i am just wondering how well i have to do to pass.
i know that there isn't anything i can do about it. i need to chill.
i just wish there is a study guide that covers the majority of the test. it makes me mad to study so hard on it and the test isn't from what i studied.
okay.. that's enough for venting. gotta get ready for the next ME. anytips on preparing for that one?
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Arch_Paesan
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 16th, 2008 |
| Location: | District Of Columbia USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
| Exams Taken: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Exams Passed: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Wed Aug 6th, 2008 02:47 am |
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glad to hear that i'm not the only one that felt this way coming out of the exam... i definitely felt like the GS exam was easier, which is not at all what i was expecting.
guess we'll just have to wait and see, eh?
hopefully i'll be back in about 2 weeks to post some good news!!! 
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Lebowski
Member
| Joined: | Fri Nov 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 77 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 05:28 pm |
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just got my first fail letter. I went 8 for 8 up until Lateral Forces. unbelievable, and I'm in shock that now I won't finish until 2009.
the exam had nothing to do with what was in the study materials.
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ghack
Member
| Joined: | Mon Jul 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | New Orleans, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 33 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | Too old for this |
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 11:51 pm |
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the exam had nothing to do with what was in the study materials.
Unfortunatly, the exam is not based on the study materials.
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Arch_Paesan
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 16th, 2008 |
| Location: | District Of Columbia USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
| Exams Taken: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Exams Passed: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 01:27 am |
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hey.
really sorry to hear about the letter fail letter... i totally agree that the study material does not prep you for the actual exam. my biggest worry is that if i have to retake the exam, i'm not really sure how else i would prepare or what i could do differently. the questions were so obscure, that there's almost no way that i could figure out how to study for this one....
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Lebowski
Member
| Joined: | Fri Nov 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 77 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 03:13 pm |
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I agree. I now have 6 months to think about what study materials I should have looked at. it feels like a slap in the face. I had MAYBE 6 questions related to wind.
on the positive side, I don't need to pass these exams to do my job. that's the biggest irony of the whole thing.
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Arch_Paesan
Member
| Joined: | Sun Mar 16th, 2008 |
| Location: | District Of Columbia USA |
| Posts: | 81 |
| Exams Taken: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Exams Passed: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, BT | | Describes Me: | |
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Posted: Fri Aug 22nd, 2008 03:03 pm |
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so, after a very nerve-wracking 2+ weeks, i opened the mailbox last night and got my pass letter! [insert loud and long sigh of relief here]
this one was, for me, the toughest so far...and definitely the least-straight-forward....
thanks to everyone in this forum for their postings, tips and tricks, and to everyone on this thread for their support!!! i wish everyone luck in their studies on this one!!!
i'm off to start my site planning study efforts after a 2 week hiatus and much-needed breather from the ARE.
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mgilman
Member
| Joined: | Wed Jan 23rd, 2008 |
| Location: | ARCHITE_ _, LEED AP, New York USA |
| Posts: | 688 |
| Exams Taken: | GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | GS, LF, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | Looking forward to getting a Pass letter in the mail ... |
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Posted: Fri Aug 22nd, 2008 03:30 pm |
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Congratulations!
I hope to get my letter any day now too...
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xcentric
Member
| Joined: | Fri Mar 28th, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 354 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | | | Describes Me: | LEED AP,PPP,SS,BS passed, CDS,SPD,SD taken. 1 more to go!! |
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Posted: Fri Aug 22nd, 2008 05:31 pm |
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| In regards to those poorly written questions, so far on the two 4.0 exams I have taken, the questions seem fairly well written. Perhaps that is a glimmer of hope if you have to retake some in the 4.0 version.
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fibes
Member
| Joined: | Mon Apr 28th, 2008 |
| Location: | Georgia USA |
| Posts: | 158 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP, BT | | Exams Passed: | PD, GS, LF, ME, BD/MM, CD, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | Prefers playing music about architecture. |
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Posted: Fri Aug 22nd, 2008 06:36 pm |
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Lateral forces = Blind side.
I can't wait, thanks to your posts I'm brushing up on non sequiturs.
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