3 down - 1 to go! GDSW is my final hurdle..

[Kimberly Klavoon]

TL; DR : Looking for study tips for Section 4! I've passed Sections 1-3 each so far, and plan to take section 4 in August but this is definitely the one I'm most nervous about. 

So especially for those of you who just took Section 4 during this last testing period: What resources do you feel helped you the most?? What ended up being well worth your time/$$ and what, if anything, was a waste?

So far, my strategy has been:

1. Rely heavily on SGLA video sessions, making flashcards as I work through each day
2. Read through the study guide from LAREprep, make flashcards
3. Practice tests from CLARB and LAREprep 
   1. I take one of each before I do any real studying, to get a baseline of my own understanding
   2. Create flashcards based on those questions, helping pinpoint where I need to focus more
   3. Take tests again maybe 6 weeks before my test date as a check in
   4. Take again one last time a day or 2 before
   5. Cram from my flash cards the night before my test

I have not really read any of the books so far and while it has been working for me, I don't know if I want to tempt fate again! Part of me says I will like this section more because it will be more math than theory but I also know how CLARB likes to lay out their questions and how tricky things can be ...  (I had a question pop up in Section 3 that was about a topic that had come up ZERO times in any of my study material... oye.)

I do have some real life experience in that I've been working for a small LA firm as a designer since 2014 officially, and with a larger engineering/architecture firm for a little over a year now. Which as we all know can both help and hurt. Again, for those that have passed- what did you have to UN-learn? 

If you got this far, thanks for coming along on my journey! Congrats to those of you have now completed your testing and good luck to all who are still here with me!

[Anne H]

Hi Kimberly,

I think you found the thread I posted after receiving a likely-to-fail. Others have posted some specific advice for GDSM that should be helpful. I also passed the first three on the first try, so was a little overconfident and, it turns out, quite majorly underprepared for GDSM. If you are interested in forming a study group, or even just have studying accountability (in the few weeks since the exam I've already lost motivation to get back to it), then let me know.