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For those of you educated outside of the US for your architectural education and for some of you where English is not your first language, I’m inclined to think Programming, Planning and Practice (PPP) and Site Planning and Design (SPD) could be tricky exams and should not be considered good first exam choices. My reasoning for this is that these exams are very broad in topic, have history questions and opinion questions.

Your education and culture may not have placed the same historical importance on the history questions covered in the exam. So it may take you longer to cover this topic. Finding a good history summary for this exam is no easy task and some may have to rely on the reference books NCARB specifies for these exams. Covering such a volume of information takes considerable time. (The Spiros Kostoff book can not be easily summarized.)

The exam questions need deciphering as to the opinion they are seeking. This implies an understanding of context, not grammar. I’m certain many understand English, but the context of the questions can be unclear when you understand English as your first language! Opinion questions require a judgment call that can be improved with experience in taking the exam and knowing what NCARB is seeking. Whereas your instinct from real practice experience may fail you. I spoke to a recent SPD test taker who couldn’t understand if a question posed was implying the positive or negative responses. The question asked what 3 of 6 choices are to be considered. I would assume the positive responses, but having had a similar uncertain reaction to questions on my PPP exam I could not offer much reassurance.

These exams are broad in topic and questions can be found on other exams. I experienced 3 to 5 questions on contractual responsibility in PPP. A topic fully covered in my Construction Documents and Services exam. Use topic overlap to your advantage by covering the exams where the questions are more right and wrong and there is less of an opinion or “best answer” response. Notice the reference books are the exact same for SPD and PPP. These two exams OVERLAP. Add that to the already mentioned overlap of other exam topics! (Another example is soil information in SPD and Building Design and Construction Systems. I haven’t taken either exam, but I can already see the overlap from my studies.) On PPP and SPD, the topic is so broad you could easily get 3 to 5 questions on something you did not cover or would have covered if you had taken another exam.

For these reasons I think those of you whose college education was outside of the states should strongly consider other exams besides PPP and SPD as introductory exams into the Architectural Registration Exam. Get your feet wet with exams that are more clear and focused than these two. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of my point of view. Good Luck!

Are you procrastinating about getting your Registered Architect license? Try thinking about your license in terms of concrete tasks. Instead of the more abstract legal right to “practice architecture”, consider the future concrete task of “stamping drawings”.

Citing the concept of psychological distance, Wray Herbert explains “…abstract tasks might be easier to mentally postpone into the future than concrete tasks.” (Herbert, W. “The Lure of Tomorrow.” Newsweek. 12/10/2008.)

The article concludes by discussing starting up an exercise routine. “…forget about how virtuous it is, or how healthy… Instead think about putting on your sneakers and tying them, one at a time; entering the front door of the gym and walking to the first treadmill you see; stepping aboard and starting to move your legs, right leg first.”

Do the same. Forget about the abstract “practicing architecture”, (which technically you already do.) Think about taking your ARE Review Manual (or other reference book) off of the shelf; settling down at the living room table; opening up to the first page and reading one word at a time.

I described in August 2008, I would bundle studying for the tests in two groups of 3 and then 1. I am loosely sticking to this schedule. Even though it was counter to my strategy, I set a big 2 month break between Programming, Planning and Practise (PPP) and Site Planning and Design (SPD).

I think I made the correct decision for myself. (I don’t encourage others to take a long break between these two tests.) I knew I would need time in December to focus on business classes. And I needed some results to prove to myself my studies are on the right topics and I was using good study methods. Also the site design vignette for SPD is more complicated than the site zoning and building section vignettes respectively in PPP and Construction Documents and Services, (my first exam).  Also, for me, even though more than 2 months have passed I believe I will be able to refresh my mind of most of the PPP material I studied previously. So I think I’ve covered myself for exam topic redundancy.

As I return to studying for SPD I will focus more on practicing the site design vignette then reviewing/reading material. I know with 65 multiple choice questions, it will be crucial to answer correctly. (The fewer the questions, the fewer I can get wrong and still pass.) Still I believe this exam topic is narrow. What I mean is I didn’t see soil, foundation and certain site specific design questions in the previous PPP exam. I did see planning questions, but not certain site specific questions regarding parking, lighting, microclimate. (I did see building shape (2D form) questions in PPP, that could be considered site specific.) My plan over December and January will be to:

• focus on practicing the site design vignette with the NCARB software
• review the Site Planning & Design: ARE Sample Problems and Practice Exams book and
• study for other exams using the ARE Review Manual and various other textbooks and sources

The other exams being Building Design & Construction Systems and Structural Systems.

This week I will reschedule my early January test date for Site Planning & Design and schedule the remaining four exams. January I don’t have any business classes, so I can focus on the architectural registration exam. I have vacation time and will take one Thursday and two Fridays off. By coupling those days around New Year’s day and Martin Luther King Jr. birthday, I will have four and five consecutive days to study. Plus, I may set up a doctor appointment. If I take the whole day off, that will allow me half a day of study.

With a lot of people taking off over December and January I am going to use the less hectic pace in the office to stay relaxed. I’ll strategically take leave to pay attention to my studies. And with two passed exams under my belt, I will be motivated to continue to achieve my license.