Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Begruding Student

I am back to studying yet again. I have officially set the date for taking my AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners). The pass rate is only about 55-60% for first time test takers and I do NOT want to sit for this thing twice!

The problem with taking the AICP is that I'm not a city/local planner, I'm an environmental consultant for federal planning projects. Sure, I'll knock the socks off of the 4 environmental questions on the test, but I'm screwed for when to issue a variance or what type of funding a town should use to implement their green streets initiative. All I can to is try to get inside the minds of those silly people at the APA (American Planning Association) and studying my brains out until May 19th.

Yesterday, after floundering around for most of March feeling guilty for not studying, I finally broke down and purchased a $130 online course that everyone recommends. What I find most helpful is the multiple practice test the course comes with. I plan on going through the modules each week and then taking at least one practice test a week. Last night I took the pre-test and got 86 out of 170 questions right, which really wasnt all that bad. A 60% gives you a passing grade and I got a 51% without any studying. That gives me just enough fear and hope that I can study and get through this.

It feels good to finally have started making actual steps towards studying, but it will feel even better at noon on May 19th, when I've left the testing room with hopefully a passing grade.

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