Leaving SD for last.

As I approached the end of this journey, I remembered the struggle of trying to decide where to begin, which exam to take first, in what order… I thought about all the things I would have done differently had I had to do it again. But the one thing I was sure of from the get-go was that I would leave SD for last. I never doubted this decision. And for that, I pat myself on the back. At least I got one thing right.

I knew that once I started studying, I would rather keep on going. Unlike others, who feel that SD becomes a little “mental break” in the middle of testing, I, on the other hand, feel like it would have been a distraction. With so much overlapping between divisions, I didn’t want to chance forgetting anything I had worked hard on. So I opted for continuing to test on the stuff that required studying and finish this ordeal with the vignettes.

Once I passed SPD, my last exam with a multiple choice portion, I scheduled SD. I wanted to schedule it within a couple of weeks. I figured I wouldn’t need more than a couple of weeks to prepare… Unfortunately, my test center was booked almost six weeks out, with only a couple of available spot within four weeks. I went ahead and scheduled my test for just a couple of days after returning from another week long trip. It was that option, or I would have to wait another two weeks. I did not want to schedule SD for the end of July. I was too anxious to get this process over with. I wanted to finish testing before the summer was over, which means, before my kids’ summer was over (they begin school on the second week of August). So my schedule looked like this: I had two weeks to practice, one week away where I could not practice, and two days to review. I knew that I had to practice on speed, on my ability to finish each vignette on a timely manner, and I was hoping that the week away wouldn’t slow me down in the end. I was concerned that only having two days to practice upon returning wouldn’t be enough to gain my speed back.

Afraid of getting bored with practicing the same NCARB samples over and over again, I started by working on the alternates, which are the ones I downloaded from sbyrktct’s ARE Help, including Prof. Dorf’s mock-up exams. I’ve always felt that those were more challenging anyway. I thought that if I could work a good system to tackle those alternates, I would be okay working on the NCARB ones. So I spent the first week working on the alternates and the second week on the NCARB samples, this time posting on arecoach.com for review. I also spent quite a while going over other people’s posts and solutions. I was on such a roll that I actually felt bummed about leaving for a week and risk loosing all the effort in developing good timing for this exam.

One week later, after returning and unpacking on a Saturday evening, I wasted no time. It was fourth of July. My husband took the girls that evening to see fireworks. I chose to stay home and start practicing and reviewing others’ solutions. I figured there would be many other holidays to come… On Sunday, I was only able to practice at night, so I worked on NCARB samples as a mock-up exam, timing myself. I forced myself to try something new, different than what I had been doing previously. I forced myself to involve a dead-end corridor, or to work on a layout that was not so linear. I posted those solutions on the forum. I spent time, not only reviewing others’ solutions, but actually critiquing them. By Monday, and last day before the exam, I gave it one more go on the sample test. I felt like I had exhausted all possibilities of working on these mock-ups. I understood what I could and could not do. I understood what would be considered minor or major errors. I had developed a system to tackle these vignettes effectively. I had beaten these vignettes to death. It would just be a matter of being able to do them fast enough.

I arrived at the center that morning one hour ahead of my appointment time. I couldn’t believe they were able to take me in and let me start that early. I didn’t hesitate. I was really eager to get this over with.

Not surprisingly, the interior layout was very much like the practice exam. Unlike my timing at home (I was taking no less than 50 minutes to complete it), I finished this vignette in a little over 40 minutes, with plenty of time to review. While reviewing, I caught a little clearance violation here and there, 2″ and 4″ violations to be precise. Nothing I needed to readjust the entire layout. Easy fixes. So after confirming every clearance, every program item, I called it good enough and exited that portion of the exam with a little less than 10 minutes on the clock.

During the break, I realized that my practicing strategy paid off. And by strategy, I mean that, while practicing at home, I never used a mouse, just the track pad on my laptop. I knew that by practicing this way, I was basically handicapping myself, thus taking longer than necessary. I figured that the extra time I was taking by using the track pad would be offset by nervous jitters on the day of the exam. This good outcome didn’t seem so obvious in past exams, but it certainly paid off on the interior layout vignette.

The building layout vignette was no different than the interior layout one. One could have thought it was a bit more challenging than the sample one, but with the time allotted, I felt like it was within what one should expect. No big surprises on the program. There was a minor twist, but no surprises. Right away I felt like I had plenty of time to calm my nerves down and get through it. I made sure to take very good notes, as to avoid toggling back-and-forth between the program screen and the drawing screen. I worked on a bubble diagram. I laid out the ground work on paper, by making sure I was addressing the right adjacencies. This process took me about 40 minutes. Then, it was just a matter of putting things together. I was finished laying everything out on both layers in two hours. I had two hours left to add doors, windows, and review. Plenty of time. I remember feeling relieved. I couldn’t believe I had done this so quickly. It was the first time I had finished a vignette with so much time left over to review. But as I reviewed it, I noticed a flaw on one required adjacency. Thank goodness it was an easy fix. I took care of that issue in less than 10 minutes, including the time realigning walls. Whew! I proceeded to add doors and windows before double-checking my notes. Everything check out. I double-checked all room sizes, corridor widths, and direction of travel. In spite of the “twist” I had gotten in the program, I felt like I had a pretty solid solution. After reviewing it several times, I called it quits with 50 minutes left on the clock.

I remember feeling pretty good about this exam. It was the only time I had left that center actually feeling good about the exam and the possible outcome. I felt confident that I didn’t have major faults. Perhaps minor ones, but definitely not a fatal-error-type of fault. But again, one never knows with NCARB… I only knew I couldn’t daydream about finishing this process. I wanted to keep it real and stay grounded, so I didn’t allow myself to daydream. I decided to keep busy by getting my kids ready for the upcoming school year. It was hard to get my mind off of it, I admit. But I tried. And I tried really hard.

Ten days later, in the early morning hours of the usual day results are posted online, I was rolling on my bed, from side-to-side. I couldn’t sleep. I woke up at 12:30am, then 3:30am, then 5:30am. At that last hour, I picked up my phone, logged onto my NCARB account and, with a palpitating heart, scrolled down my examination tab in search for the SD result. With a nervous glance, I saw the word PASS. Deep inside, I knew it. Thank heavens! I was able to shut my eyes for a total of 15 minutes. I was too happy to sleep. I had to tell my husband. He was just getting up, not by volition, or fate, but simply because he gets up that early every morning. Telling him made it more real. What a relief!

I once thought that my reaction would be to scream, to shout out: I AM DONE!!! But when that much anticipated time came, I didn’t feel that urge at all. I just wanted to quietly shut my eyes and enjoy that peaceful moment for a few minutes. I wanted to reflect on what it really meant, on the journey I has just endured. I needed those few minutes alone before sharing the news. What a sweet moment. And I’ll never forget it.