[Michael Murray]

Tom-

Latin only for plant names- most of them are fairly common, though I saw a couple I did not know.

Best of luck!

[Michael Murray]

I passed Section 3 and 4 last April, and as the test is now formatted there isn’t much in the way of grading “design.” Instead of 4 vignettes which you had to grade from scratch, you now have many vignettes which need to be analyzed. Some are plans for which you will need to calculate spot elevations (you are given a starting elevation, distances and slopes). Others will have grading profiles which need to be dragged and dropped into the correct location on the plan according to the instructions given. The question will say something like, “Place the proper profiles to create a 1-unit high berm between the house and the roadway,” and along side the plan there will be a series of profiles. You’ll have to look at the plan, determine which profile is the correct one and drag and drop it in the correct location on the plan. (You will also have to figure out how many contours will need to be adjusted and use the correct number of profiles.) You cannot rotate the profiles, so you have to chose the right one.

Some will have elements to be placed according to the grading shown on the plan. There may be a plan showing a proposed building location and the question might say, “Place the sediment basin in the correct location to catch all runoff from the building site,” or something similar. You’ll have to analyze the plan, look at the size of the basin, and figure out where to place it.

If you know how to design grading, you will pass. You should be able to look at a plan and determine what the spot elevations are. You’ll have to be fluent with the grading formulae, and you have to be able to quickly understand a plan with contours.

I think the best practice material is the CLARB sample exam. It’s too expensive, but it gives you the absolute best info. When I took the exam it was remarkably similar to the practice exam. Same type of questions, same verbiage, same format, etc. The book “Site Engineering for Landscape Architects” is also good, and don’t forget to skim through “Timesaver Standards for Landscape Architects.”

One last bit of exam strategy: each question on the exam is worth one point. On the exam I took, there was one question that required calculating 8 or 10 spot elevations. When I saw that, I flagged the question for review and went on to the next question. That question took me a couple minutes to finish, but it was worth the same as the next question, which I finished in about 20 seconds (including reading it). If you are not so fast at test-taking, remember to go for the low-hanging fruit. Don’t waste time on the questions with several calculations to perform. The test software works well, and after you’ve gone through the entire exam you can go back to any previous question. (They also give you a whiteboard, so you can write down the numbers of the more time-consuming questions, but by flagging them it serves the same purpose.)

Best of luck!

[Michael Murray]

Forgot to mention: the CA landscape arch technical committee–the group in charge of licensing in CA–accepts certificates from UCLA Extension and UC Berkeley Extension as meeting the education requirements for licensure in California.

[Michael Murray]

Hello!

Your post is excellent and I’m very much in agreement with your sentiments.

My own story is a little different. I spent 25 years working in set design for a major theme park company, and in 2006 I decided to go the landscape arch school. I went through the UCLA Extension program, graduated in 2011, was fortunate enough to land a spot on a project (same company, but now working on the landscape dept), and have passed the 4 LARE exams and will take the CA Supplemental Exam tomorrow.

My comment is that because I earned a landscape architecture “certificate” instead of a degree, I’m ineligible for reciprocity in most states because they require a degree. It’s really a lousy situation. I passed the same national exams as everybody else (and am hoping to pass the state exam tomorrow!!), plus I have both a BA and an MFA, though in theatre, not landscape. So if I’m able to pass the exams, why should I not be granted the same benefits and rights?

My father never went to law school–it was too expensive. He landed a job as an apprentice in a law firm in Seattle for 7 or 8 years, then took and passed the Washington State bar exam on the first try. He was able to practice law and was eventually a prosecuting attorney and superior court judge, all without attending college. He passed the bar, so he was allowed to practice law. Why is this different?

Just my 2 cents’ worth.

Cheers,
Michael

[Michael Murray]

It’s an important topic but a really incomplete story–gives no details on what can be done about this. I mean, if the story is “Meteor is approaching the earth,” isn’t the first question “OK, can we do anything about it?”

 

How do we control this pathogen?

[Author]

Posts