I have these run away thoughts during the exam too. What helped me in my last exam, is to consciously shut them down when they pop in. I’m considering meditating before my next exam in a couple weeks, just to clean-reboot the brain. I’m not an expert at all, but my wife is convincing me of simply emptying the mind of thoughts that might be racing around and calm the mind.
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Ah, glad you clarified! I think you need to develop something of an internal monitor where you remind yourself, “this is taking too long!”
I am the same way. I’m a perfectionist and I don’t like to get “beaten” by the question. I want to stay and figure it out if it takes me all day. But the internal voice needs to trigger at that point and say, “don’t–let this happen. Don’t win the battle and lose the war.” Instead, mark any question you can’t answer easily/quickly and come back to it later. Better to spend time on it AFTER you’ve answered all the quick ones.
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I’m just starting out taking my exams. On avg, how many hours a week did you put into studying? How many hours a day did you find was productive or how long was each study session that you felt you were most productive?
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Neither am I. THat is the nut of the problem. Once you understand the questions you will get an aha moment. THis is what my hubby tells me. I am still waiting for!
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Anybody looking for a study partner for PPD and PDD?
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@dellis3 These are my last 2! I’m looking to find any missing info I need to finally pass them both
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Jenny, I found the transition from 4.0 to 5.0 very hard for me… to the point that I have not been able to pass PPD & PDD. (I took each once and got scared of it!) I just feel like I don’t have enough time to complete the case studies and all. What was your experience and do you have any pointers?
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Crazy. please reach out gsd99dde at hotmail
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This question to Jenny:
I heard you had some computer problems.
I did to and failed the test as I couldn’t shake it off.
I emailed NCARB from parking lot after the test. I asked for returned fee but more importantly the test results reversal.
I also called and was told it takes about two weeks. How long it took to hear back got you?
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Appreciate it, thanks for answering! Once I get a test down, I’m sure I’ll discover/find a way to implement your advice.
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Thanks so much y’all, that was really inspiring. 
I made my last tests fun by making myself a special breakfast before the noon tests. 
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same here! very stressful. Resulted in not having enough time… my husband jokes that it might be my magnetic personality. lol
but it really spooked me.
Don’t forget to join our ARE Facebook Group!
We will have a similar live next week where you can get all of your ARE questions answered!
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What was the “coupon link” to % off… I was typing question and didnt get it… I will need that in October:)
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Honestly the most valuable resource that I had was Mike Newman’s classes at AIA Chicago before it evolved into Black Spectacles. Just having another architect explain things vs a dry book really helped. Don’t forget to ask your more senior/licensed coworkers - most of us are happy to help!
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@kelsey.matteson Yum! What did you make
This would happen to me also. This is my trick: I cover my mouth with both hands and whisper the question out loud to myself as softly as possible (so as to not get in trouble with the testing center). Education science says if you read, say, and hear something (as opposed to just one of those methods), you will retain and focus on it better. I hope this works for you.
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@jennykivett, great idea!
Hi, thanks for the question. I had a lot of problems…and two different exams where I had to contact NCARB because I felt the problems were the cause of my fail result. The first one I sent a letter and received an email back relatively quickly, within a week.
The second failed exam was b/c the content for the case studies did not load, and all questions associated with that content were guesses as a result. When I asked the proctor for assistance, she turned off my computer unannounced, and I lost the time from that event.
I eventually called Prometric, then I called NCARB. I waited about two weeks to make those calls b/c I was so depressed. I understand that it is very hard to shake it off and I am very sorry this happened to you as well. In the phone calls everyone I spoke with was very respectful and courteous, and took down a complete report for me. After the call, it took about three to four weeks to get confirmation from NCARB that my seat credit would be reimbursed. And Prometric changed some of their protocols as well. They did not reverse the result of the exam (that’s fine), but they also did not remove the failure from my record. No big deal, except that fail counted toward my three in one year, and I had to wait two months to reschedule.
All in all, it was very depressing, but I felt vindicated in the end. They were very supportive and created an atmosphere that made me feel comfortable when reporting. I encourage you to make the call and see what happens. I think they are very reasonable.
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Hi Linnette! Yes, PPD and PDD are both monsters. I failed PPD once and PDD twice, so I encourage you to keep trying. I would love to talk through with you some of the things I did to help me succeed. I will send my email address to you via direct message.
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