So I just got my results back and I finally passed the APE on my second attempt. Honestly felt like crying a little. First time around I went in pretty overconfident, figured my years of experience in environmental planning would carry me through. Scored a 68, needed a 70. That stings in a very specific way.
What changed the second time was actually committing to structured prep. I spent about six weeks this time, two hours most weeknights, using a solid APE study guide that broke down the land use, community engagement, and sustainability domains separately instead of treating it as one giant blob of material. The practice questions are what really moved the needle — doing timed sets helped me stop second-guessing myself on the tricky situational questions.
If you're starting out, my biggest exam tip is don't skip the ethics and professional responsibility section. I underestimated it both times, but it showed up more than I expected. Happy to answer questions about what study materials I used or how I structured my schedule.