Exam Day (CDS)

My first exam is finally done!  On Monday I took the Construction Documents and Services portion of the Architect Registration Exam.  While I am glad I finally took it, the experience was interesting and I wonder if I should have taken it after the black out date (or at least later in the week).

On Monday, I woke up at 530am.  My exam started at 8am and Prometric said to be there at 730.  Atlanta traffic is horrible in the morning, so I rushed to make sure I was there 30 minutes early.  On my way to the testing center, I put on one of my favorite songs from the CD I got from Brian from our anniversary on repeat so I could remain calm and get pumped:

I made it there at 715am and stayed in the parking lot to pray and take a deep breath.  Afterwards, I walked in with this face:

Source: Google Images

I went inside the building, got on the elevator and went on the second floor to meet other test takers.  The thing about Prometric is that they schedule various tests in the room, not just one.  After Prometric got every one's information, I found out I was the only one taking the ARE.

An employee guided me to my seat, wished me well and I started my 4 hour exam.  While I can't tell you the contents of the exam, I can show you my reactions.  I studied every bit of study guides I had and expected something in those lines.  While I did see that material on the exam, a couple of the questions made me do this:

Source: Google Images

I finished the 100 questions within an hour and was able to double and triple check my answers before 2 hours was up.  Finally, I was able to take my first break.  I bolted out of there to take a quick breath and figure out what in the world just happened.  I came back to my computer 10 minutes early and started to figure out how am I going to do the next part.  Then this started to happen:

Source: Google Images

Yes, I was quietly bawling my eyes out like a baby.  That exam broke me.  During the crying session, I caught a glimpse of a camera and also realized a Prometric employee was behind me!  Was Prometric watching me cry the whole time!?!  I wiped my tears and started the Building Section Vignette.  My fear went away pretty quick when I saw the program and the floor plan and realized how super easy it was!  I wrote down all my notes and proceeded to draw the section.  I finished 2 minutes before time ran out.  I didn't have time to check the other half of my calculations or if one of my walls were correct, so I prayed that my solution was correct and finished the exit survey questions.

Walking out of the building, I felt like this:


Yay, the exam is over but my head is about to explode.
Source: Google Images



Then I remembered this:

I have to wait ~2 weeks for my results.
Source: Google Images

I made it back to the office and my bosses were excited to hear what happened.  While they told me they think I did well, I'm still 50/50 about the outcome.  I was able to double check a couple of my questions and realized I got it right, but a couple didn't have the same outcome.

These are going to be a loooooooong 2 weeks.