LARE
Changes in the Online LARE Prep Landscape
In August 2013, Land8 featured a column announcing my first LARE prep webinar. This event eventually grew to become Corson Learning. Since that first webinar, over a thousand Corson Learning members across the US and Canada have participated and gone on to become licensed landscape architects. This is the professional project of which I am most proud, so it is with mixed emotions that in this same forum I am announcing that Corson Learning will begin to phase out at the end of this year. Live support, except for existing members, will end in December. Pre-recorded content will remain available throughout 2021 at a reduced price. If no one steps up to take the project over, the website will be taken down at the end of 2021. CLARB will conduct its next periodic Task Analysis in 2021, resulti...Read More
LARE – Comment or No Comment: What is that Mysterious Tab For?
As anyone who has sat for the LARE exam knows, at the top of the screen of every question is a tab that says, “Comments.” The first time I saw this, during the exam, I was intrigued. After all, CLARB’s LARE intro videos show examples of the exam interface, which show only the screen tab called, “Exhibits” for graphic questions on Sections 3 and 4. No mention is made anywhere about a tab called “Comments,” including during the tutorial given in the exam room prior to launching the LARE. “Would CLARB offer words of encouragement in this Comments tab?”, I wondered during the first few minutes of my exam. After the adrenaline rush of the exam’s first few minutes wore off, I did click on one of the Comments tabs, only to discover a blank window in which to type. Who will read this, ...Read More
LARE Mix and Match
Deciding which exam sections to take in what order, alone or in combination, is the first big strategy decision you’ll make about the LARE once you’ve committed to the process. If you’re in a state or province requiring that you be vetted prior to sitting for the exam, it’s your second big step. In my case, I combined Sections 1 and 2 in one exam cycle, and Sections 3 and 4 in another. Because I had passed Sections 1 and 2 having taken them on consecutive mornings, I registered for Sections 3 and 4 the same way, one morning after the other. But recovering, changing gears, and refocusing on Section 4 in less than 24 hours proved too much, and I failed with a ‘score’ of 606. In the next exam cycle, it felt almost luxurious to prepare for Section 4 all by itself. For an extra treat, I signed ...Read More
How Different is the 2017 LARE?
“How Different is the 2017 LARE?” Webinar May 31, 2017 For any LARE (Landscape Architect Registration Examination) candidate, knowing what to study given limited preparation resources is key. In 2012 the exam changed so that hand drawing was no longer used, and design, grading, and drainage became computer based. New verbal and graphic questions in various formats were developed for the first time. This was a dramatic shift in the exam’s history, and by now we’ve mostly adapted to this new format, which remains unchanged for 2017 exam cycles. LARE Exam Format & Content Development Underlying the exam format is the content to be tested, which is evaluated by CLARB (Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards) every five to seven years through a “task analysis,” a ...Read More