taking the construction documents exam next saturday.
was planning on taking this sat but got weirded out and thought i needed a bit more time. im hoping to blast through these at a rate of 1 every 2 weeks. if possible id like to fit in 1 a wk. ive started studying just about full time.
its been almost ten yrs since ive taken an exam. i dont know if i can read anymore. i used to be pretty damn good at test taking, especially multiple choice, but im dreading this whole thing.
anyhow i have these 2 booklets
construction documents and services 1,2
-by architectural license seminars, printed in l.a.
and the kaplan flash cards.
im figuring this should be enough. memorizing the cards and the practice questions in the booklets.
if anyone knows of other resources, suggestions im all ears.
and strategies in general of the exams also.
and has anyone taken prep courses?
like http://www.funkaarstudios.com/education.php?
i talked to someone on the phone and she said she finished the
exams 1 wk at a time when working full time but studying 4 hrs a day.
GREAT RESOURCE FOR THE GRAPHICS PORTION OF THE EXAM AND ALL THE LITTLE GRADING TRAPS. I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THIS BEFORE I TOOK INTERIOR LAYOUT EXAM.
I think blasting through them quickly is a great strategy. You'll get into a mental zone that will make it easier, as you will feel accustomed to the sometimes-bizarre wording of the questions, if you just immerse yourself in it for several weeks.
My only advice, if you haven't seen the testing center yet, is to not take ANYTHING that they don't allow (calculator) with you. They don't allow any personal items - briefcase, purse, cellphone - into the test room, and my testing center had tiny lockers. WEAR a sweatshirt, in case the testing room is cold, but don't try to carry it in, as they might not let you.
When there, don't forget to breath. Try to calm your mind and just proceed, while keeping an eye on your time (take a watch if you usually use your cellphone as your timepiece). When I took it there was a "mark for later" button that allowed you to mark the questions you weren't confident about, so you could come back to them at the end of the exam without wasting time obsessing over them while you were only halfway through, and I used that option a LOT.
Try to get a decent night's sleep the night before. Good luck!
The CD exam is heavily based on the AIA contracts. Most people find that studying the contracts is important.
Know the CSI spec divisions by memory (the test is still based on the 16-division system, not the newer 40-division system).
If your office has a book about "risk management" or "professional liability" that their insurance company provides, this is a great resource for the CD exam.
Know your basic electrical and structural symbols and other notations that would be coordinated in a typical CD set.
Know basic ADA code, but don't worry about getting too crazy with memorizing dimensions and such. For example you should know things like how far a ramp could typically be expected to rise before it would need an intermediate landing. But you don't need to know font sizes and dimensions for braille signs!
I'm a little distrustful of funkaar studios, because they do some shady marketing things like post reviews of themselves on the ARE forum (www.areforum.org). There have been few credible posts about them from anyone who has actually taken their seminars. They're relatively new.
Ehh, relax. The hardest part is getting in there to take the exam. And the CD one isn't one of the harder one. You'll be fine. I just winged the mech/elec exam and passed. Skimmed a Kaplan book the night before, but nothing much else. These tests aren't as bad as the people on AREForum make them out to be....unless you've never worked in an arch office. Then it might be tough. Otherwise, simple.
wear layers, including a tee shirt- the prometrics testing center I'm taking the LAREs at today was warm during my morning exam. Also ask if you can get a seat facing away from the door and other distracting sight lines.
that NCARB is still testing on the old 16 division CSI specs sucks. the current master spec format has been around since 2004.
treekiller: I made the distinction between the 16-section and 50-section CSI divisions only so that greenlander would not worry about memorizing the 50 divisions.
The reason that the ARE still uses the 16-part system is because the last time that NCARB changed the content of most of the multiple choice tests was in 2003, so it predates the new system.
In actuality it makes little difference for test purposes which system you have memorized, because divisions 1 and 3-14 are esentially the same in both systems. Only division 2 (Site Construction in the old, Existing Conditions in the new) and the mechanical and electrical divisions are different. On the ARE any specification-related questions that require knowledge of numbered division are typically of the type "in which division would you find metal pipe railings?" (note that this isn't a real test question) - in other words they're easy questions about architectural elements. The expansion of the mechanical divisions isn't really relevant to the test.
thanks guys that was all super helpful. if anyone wants to add on feel free. especially those who did all the exams or most of them in a short period which im hoping to do.
sooooo,
i know AREFORUM is the place to go for these questions, but i loves me some archinect.
and seriously, someone asked what WTF means.
WTF?
anyway...
i'm working out my testing strategy and am planning on taking construction docs first because it seems easiest and i want to get going as soon as my board approves me come sept.5.
anyone here taken the 4.0 version and have any helpful hints?!
When you done with the exam....stand on one foot holding the other one up in the air with your hands overhead and hop around in a circle....do a full 360....if you don't they will most likely say you failed to perform the complete exam so you must come back.....I had a friend tell me this was her dream the night after she sat for the exams...Oh ya she aced all of them in one fell swoop and English was a second language.
taking 1st exam next saturday, any advice?
taking the construction documents exam next saturday.
was planning on taking this sat but got weirded out and thought i needed a bit more time. im hoping to blast through these at a rate of 1 every 2 weeks. if possible id like to fit in 1 a wk. ive started studying just about full time.
its been almost ten yrs since ive taken an exam. i dont know if i can read anymore. i used to be pretty damn good at test taking, especially multiple choice, but im dreading this whole thing.
anyhow i have these 2 booklets
construction documents and services 1,2
-by architectural license seminars, printed in l.a.
and the kaplan flash cards.
im figuring this should be enough. memorizing the cards and the practice questions in the booklets.
if anyone knows of other resources, suggestions im all ears.
and strategies in general of the exams also.
and has anyone taken prep courses?
like http://www.funkaarstudios.com/education.php?
i talked to someone on the phone and she said she finished the
exams 1 wk at a time when working full time but studying 4 hrs a day.
i would say know the A201 and B141 inside out on top of your sources
GREAT RESOURCE FOR THE GRAPHICS PORTION OF THE EXAM AND ALL THE LITTLE GRADING TRAPS. I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THIS BEFORE I TOOK INTERIOR LAYOUT EXAM.
Good luck, greenlander!!
I think blasting through them quickly is a great strategy. You'll get into a mental zone that will make it easier, as you will feel accustomed to the sometimes-bizarre wording of the questions, if you just immerse yourself in it for several weeks.
My only advice, if you haven't seen the testing center yet, is to not take ANYTHING that they don't allow (calculator) with you. They don't allow any personal items - briefcase, purse, cellphone - into the test room, and my testing center had tiny lockers. WEAR a sweatshirt, in case the testing room is cold, but don't try to carry it in, as they might not let you.
When there, don't forget to breath. Try to calm your mind and just proceed, while keeping an eye on your time (take a watch if you usually use your cellphone as your timepiece). When I took it there was a "mark for later" button that allowed you to mark the questions you weren't confident about, so you could come back to them at the end of the exam without wasting time obsessing over them while you were only halfway through, and I used that option a LOT.
Try to get a decent night's sleep the night before. Good luck!
Dont forget to eat breakfast either
and get some real sleep the night before, unless you are one of those crammers who remembers everything,
The CD exam is heavily based on the AIA contracts. Most people find that studying the contracts is important.
Know the CSI spec divisions by memory (the test is still based on the 16-division system, not the newer 40-division system).
If your office has a book about "risk management" or "professional liability" that their insurance company provides, this is a great resource for the CD exam.
Know your basic electrical and structural symbols and other notations that would be coordinated in a typical CD set.
Know basic ADA code, but don't worry about getting too crazy with memorizing dimensions and such. For example you should know things like how far a ramp could typically be expected to rise before it would need an intermediate landing. But you don't need to know font sizes and dimensions for braille signs!
I'm a little distrustful of funkaar studios, because they do some shady marketing things like post reviews of themselves on the ARE forum (www.areforum.org). There have been few credible posts about them from anyone who has actually taken their seminars. They're relatively new.
Ehh, relax. The hardest part is getting in there to take the exam. And the CD one isn't one of the harder one. You'll be fine. I just winged the mech/elec exam and passed. Skimmed a Kaplan book the night before, but nothing much else. These tests aren't as bad as the people on AREForum make them out to be....unless you've never worked in an arch office. Then it might be tough. Otherwise, simple.
wear layers, including a tee shirt- the prometrics testing center I'm taking the LAREs at today was warm during my morning exam. Also ask if you can get a seat facing away from the door and other distracting sight lines.
that NCARB is still testing on the old 16 division CSI specs sucks. the current master spec format has been around since 2004.
good luck!
treekiller: I made the distinction between the 16-section and 50-section CSI divisions only so that greenlander would not worry about memorizing the 50 divisions.
The reason that the ARE still uses the 16-part system is because the last time that NCARB changed the content of most of the multiple choice tests was in 2003, so it predates the new system.
In actuality it makes little difference for test purposes which system you have memorized, because divisions 1 and 3-14 are esentially the same in both systems. Only division 2 (Site Construction in the old, Existing Conditions in the new) and the mechanical and electrical divisions are different. On the ARE any specification-related questions that require knowledge of numbered division are typically of the type "in which division would you find metal pipe railings?" (note that this isn't a real test question) - in other words they're easy questions about architectural elements. The expansion of the mechanical divisions isn't really relevant to the test.
that division 2 shift is the killer that I was scared of finding on the LARE. Luckily there were NOOOOOOOO questions about that today.
thanks guys that was all super helpful. if anyone wants to add on feel free. especially those who did all the exams or most of them in a short period which im hoping to do.
sooooo,
i know AREFORUM is the place to go for these questions, but i loves me some archinect.
and seriously, someone asked what WTF means.
WTF?
anyway...
i'm working out my testing strategy and am planning on taking construction docs first because it seems easiest and i want to get going as soon as my board approves me come sept.5.
anyone here taken the 4.0 version and have any helpful hints?!
xoxoxo
stephanie
When you done with the exam....stand on one foot holding the other one up in the air with your hands overhead and hop around in a circle....do a full 360....if you don't they will most likely say you failed to perform the complete exam so you must come back.....I had a friend tell me this was her dream the night after she sat for the exams...Oh ya she aced all of them in one fell swoop and English was a second language.
good luck
stephanie,
beta started a good thread
here
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.