I AM DONE WITH THE LARE / CSE: HERE ARE MY TIPS!
SRD
I just finished the process of passing the LARE, and the CSE (California Supplemental Exam). I was able to pass each test on the first attempt. Before I sign out of this group forever, I thought I would share some of my study tips to prepare for these very difficult tests, in the hopes that it will help others who are on this journey.
This group has been helpful – sharing study resources, and knowing that other people have been going through this journey at the same time as myself.
My tried and true tips for preparing for victory:
1. PLAN YOUR TIME: You simply cannot prepare for these exams in one weekend. The LARE/CSE is a marathon, not a sprint. That being said, if you plan accordingly, you can accomplish your study goals without suffering. If you work full time, I recommend taking ONE exam per cycle. I highly recommend preparing for 2 months per exam. For me, that meant: 1 solid hour after work every day during the week Mon-Fri, and 4-6 hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
I took section 1 & 2 in the same cycle, but they are commonly regarded as the easier of the 4 sections. So I don’t recommend doubling up for 3, 4, or the CSE.
2. IS A STUDY GROUP FOR YOU? Personally, I do not like study groups because it is very difficult for me to commit to a specific day/time. I get more out of just sitting down and reading the material myself. I also worry that study groups can instill a false sense of security – remember, nobody can take this test for you, its on YOU to know how prepared you are – that being said, if you think study groups are helpful and you can still be disciplined on your own to do the reading and preparation, by all means go for it.
3. EXAM PREP COURSES ARE EXTRA INSURANCE: I took prep courses for each of the 4 LARE sections (but not for the CSE). In retrospect, what was the most helpful was the actual time I put into studying, and not necessarily the lectures in these courses. I would say that if you can afford to take prep courses, or if your work helps to cover the cost of them, definitely go for it. But if you really can’t afford the courses, I still think you can pass the exams if you prepare correctly by making a list of WHAT to study, as I explain below.
4. HALF THE BATTLE IS KNOWING WHAT TO STUDY: You will be given the Exam section topics from CLARB, and you will have access to recommended reading. But then what? Half the battle of preparing for the exams is making what I call a “Study List.” This is a master list of all the specific book chapters, white papers, informative websites, articles, ordinances, etc. that you should study. Usually you do not need to read an entire textbook, only critical chapters. Use the test content outline to help figure out what chapters in the textbooks will apply. When you make this list, you can relax a bit because you are keeping track of what you need to review, and then you can get started chipping away. You can always add more to this list. You should study everything on your list and write your own study notes, then review your study notes in the closest days leading up to the exam.
5. BUY OR BORROW THE TEXTBOOKS: Get them any way you can. I bought some, I borrowed some. And I am keeping almost all of them because they truly are useful as references in the field.
6. PRACTICE TESTS ARE CRUCIAL, AND A DOORWAY TO BETTER PREPARATION: while I do not think that multi-day prep courses are 100% necessary, I think that practice questions ARE. The most important thing about the practice questions is to analyze the questions that you miss, and then then go into further research on that specific topic. For example, if you miss a question about soil horizons, you should 100% go study up on soil horizons, and make notes in your study notes. This is best way to cover information gaps in your knowledge / memory and be ready on exam day.
7. WRITE YOUR OWN STUDY NOTES: As I mentioned before, make your master study list, and then write shorthand notes to review when it is getting closer to the exam. Reading other notes or summaries cannot come close to the value of writing your own notes, to commit these concepts to memory. For each exam, I prepared about 20-30 pages of my own self-written notes. I am keeping these notes in case I need a quick reference in the future!
8. YOUTUBE IS YOUR FRIEND: Everyone learns differently. For me, I really learn well VISUALLY and video is a great tool for that. I did some digging on topics that I wanted to understand better, such as irrigation and temporary traffic controls, and I found that there are a lot of videos online that pertain to the field of Landscape Architecture. Watching a professional talk about the ins and outs of irrigation equipment, for example, really helped me visualize some concepts. Just because videos are not explicitly listed on the recommended study list, doesn’t mean you can’t find some treasures out there to help learn and memorize certain information.
9. MAKE SKETCHES: While I was studying, I would make sketches of concepts that I really wanted to commit to memory, especially spatial design concepts. I highly recommend making little napkin sketches in addition to typed study notes. Dedicate a little notebook to your LARE study sketches. It is a little extra effort, but it really goes a long way when you need to remember a spatial or mechanical concept for an exam question.
10. GOOGLE IS YOUR FRIEND, TOO: I was constantly looking up additional sources online to bolster what I was reading in the textbooks. I need to see how some of these concepts function in the real world in order to commit them to memory. This was especially true for the CSE. Online resources may include:
- Agency websites
- White papers
- How-to manuals (usually put out by a local City department or jurisdiction as educational resources on what might be a State or Federal mandate)
- Examples of work put out by firms that relate to something you are studying
- Updates to Codes and regulations
11. LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD: if you want to pass these exams, then just give it 100%. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up and don’t slack. Don’t aim to fail and then pass the second try – aim to pass it the first time, period. If you don’t feel like you understand something well enough, go back to it at your lunch break, and keep reviewing it until you understand it.
12. BRING A FIGHTING MENTALITY TO YOUR TEST, AND DO NOT FREAK OUT: When you don’t feel certain about a question and you have to mark it for review, it can definitely make you feel uneasy. Concern, doubt and fear can very easily come up while you are taking the exams.
You have to stay mentally strong and not give up. Just keep a steady pace and keep answering all the questions and try to allot time to go back and review the ones that you marked.
Do not give up during the exam. Remember you are leaving it all on the field. These tests are hard for a reason, and they will feel hard even if you pass (I can say from experience).
BE DETERMINED!
