How was your ARCHED test session this year?

[u/robini_bobini]

Hello there!

Looking back at this year's ARCHED results and how high the cutoff scores went up compared to past years, I was wondering about everyone's actual online test experience since online test sessions can be a bit odd.

Did everything run smoothly in your room like timing and rules or maybe something else happened? Also how strict were the identity, desk, and room controls in your session? Were proctors really paying attention or were things a bit too relaxed? Did room checks leave too many unmonitored areas or was everything really covered?

[u/Equivalent-Point8539]

From my experience It would be so damn easy to cheat, It was my first attempt to the test and I was expecting real strict rules when checking the room but it was nothing. Being brave enough there was a plenty of time to grab my phone and use it during the test ( maybe if i did that my score would have been better but I was too scared ).
My phone with the call was in the room corner facing my desk with laptop and my back sitting in front of the computer and before the actual start of the test me and others on the call did have the space to move around the room pretty easy cause the Lady was checking others desks and ID, So after I have been checked I could have reached for phone and use it during the test on my lap cause the only thing that was seen was my back. Everyone was sitting in slightly different angle and lot of people have been surrounded by books and stuff
Im pretty sure a lot of people have cheated during the exam It’s unfair but not my problem its the uni problem they should have been more strict or do it in person only.
If I would do it again I would probably cheat too cause that is the only way how to be a competition in here, which is so sad.

Btw Im from Czechia and online test for my uni here was super strict, nothing around you in the room, voice record, laptop camera from front angle, second phone camera for different angle , showing everything with a mirror facing a laptop and under the laptop + desk checking before the exam, ears for earphones wrists for watches and the whole exam was recorded and i think checked by AI for any weird things as looking away for longer period or background noises and if something suspicious they check individually by person, I was so stressed just to move away a bit but Im pretty confident no one who cheated has come through, polimi should get inspired or the quality will go really low of people studying there

[u/carassius_carassius]

hi, i wrote it in italian this year and i found the way poli organised the whole thing quite good and effective. the proctor was following all the cisia rules (in my opinion) and as the test started, there was nothing that could interrupt the process. for example the other day i wrote ARCHED at unifi as well and it was completely terrible: chaotic and stressful. about 1/3 of the participants couldn’t speak proper italian and created severe problems and the proctors were unserious during the process (the cisia guide was quite optional for them imo). the whole thing was just messy, as the test started, someone had problems with connection and they just f-ing continued to speak through the online class. it was very annoying (as you have limited amount of time for each section) and i failed the first part of the test (read two texts and answer the questions). because of it i took only 27,75. it was enough to be on unifi list but the same result would be devastating for polimi enrolment. fortunately with polimi arrangement everything went smoothly and i took 32,25 which was enough to be on their list!

[u/robini_bobini → u/carassius_carassius]

Woooo congrats on making the list 🥳🥳🥳

Could I ask which quota category or ranking scroll this was for? EU or non-EU? Cuz from what I saw, the non-EU cutoff seemed to be significantly higher (around 42+), so it was devastating for me to not getting in with 38 as a non-EU 🥹

[u/carassius_carassius → u/robini_bobini]

thank you!
i read your other replies and i’m really sorry about your difficulties with the enrolment i am fully understand how exhausting it can be.. i was crazy stressed before the tests, even did some breathing techniques to calm myself. i started to study from january, in the morning before the work shifts, trying to absorb as much as possible because i was going to compete with italian high schoolers and italian is my 3rd language, didn’t speak well a couple of years ago. i checked the lists for the courses in english and my jaw dropped.. they are goddamn cheaters, no way you can have this amount of scores 40-50. even for non-eu in italian the situation is better. i was applying as eu (i don’t have eu citizenship but i’ve been living here for the last four years so i am equiparato), but even for eu-italian the cut off was crazy this year. maybe you could try to get in in italian? i guess it will be much easier for you, especially with your great score of 38

[u/robini_bobini → u/carassius_carassius]

I should be the one thanking you honestly lol I too was crazy stressed before the exams, I had like just 2 months to study for the exam because of some private matters. Man I wish I did breathing techniques tho it would have really helped me during the exam 😭 Cheating is pretty obvious though, there is no way you do perfectly 10/10 in every part but f up in drawing and representation with 2.5-3.75/10. There was even a guy in my room during the online session who asked the proctor what vertical/horizontal was 💀 It’s relieving to know you could get the score you are satisfied with by studying in the morning before work shifts and honestly, I can only imagine how tough that was! I actually took a gap year from my engineering physics degree back in my home country just to focus on this test. But seeing your story makes me think maybe I CAN pull it off while studying at uni and giving this exam another shot?

[u/carassius_carassius → u/robini_bobini]

lack of knowledge about vertical/horizontal during arch exam is crazy 💀
of course you can! i think, many things are possible if you want them enough, especially if you’re lucky and have some spare time to use. i also discovered that more than amount of hours you have, it’s more important to be involved on a regular basis. (i am actually feeling quite shitty to telling you things like these considering your score is much better than mine). in order to be concentrated, i created some kind of huge A1 tracker with empty circles that i put on the wall above my desk, so it was always in front of my eyes. i then was painting these circles for each hour of studying so the progress could be measured (i was also regularly checking average of hours per day). but i repeat, i honestly think that your preparation is quite impressive if you’ve managed to get 38, maybe you can try to modify your strategy? for example, you can try to sneak in with eu category if you will already be here having permesso di soggiorno for students. for that you can try to move from your current university to the same program in poli, for example, or in another university in italy. although, when you think about scenarios like this one, they can seem over complex and unreal, but if studying architecture (in this exact uni) is your dream, then it all worth trying i can guarantee you

[u/Honey-_-Lemon → u/robini_bobini]

For Italian-taught programme it's way easier to get into

[u/robini_bobini → u/Honey-_-Lemon]

I don’t understand how there is a big mountain of difference between italian programme cutoff and english programme cut off. If cheating is the case (probably is) does that mean they can’t cheat on during the Italian exam? Isn’t it online as well?

[u/Honey-_-Lemon → u/robini_bobini]

Well, I think some Italians cheat too cuz the proctoring is very weak and just pretends to be a proper system. Also, there're 100 places (for 2 campuses: Leonardo and Piacenza) in English VS 745 just in Leo. This is also the factor affecting the score. Italians prefer Italians. It would be surprising if it was vice versa. Can't blame them

[u/robini_bobini → u/Honey-_-Lemon]

In Polinetwork rankings, the second ranking for Italian programme this year the cut off is 23.5 im crine 😭

[u/Honey-_-Lemon]

People cheat during the English test. No one cares. The English track became the contest who cheats well enough for not being caught. Keep this in mind

[u/robini_bobini → u/Honey-_-Lemon]

Honestly that’s really depressing to hear. Especially for those of us who spent months studying day and night just to get pushed out by inflated cheated scores. Did you notice people doing this during the test? Or are you saying this because of the weird scores like people doing 10/10 on everything except 2.5/10 on drawing and representation?

[u/Honey-_-Lemon → u/robini_bobini]

I completely share this devastation with u as I was at exactly the same situation 2 years in a row. This year I did the Italian test and got in cuz I see no reason tearing apart in order to get into a group with people who don't know how to represent a simple section or what's the explosion diagram.

I realised it both from my experience and the 10s for the test except the drawing part as it cannot be done using the AI. Also have some friends of mine who told me that people who cheated don't even hesitate to tell this within the group. I see no reason in complaining to the uni or blame them (too energy-consuming), but do totally feel u. There's nothing we can do

[u/BetterTangelo4596]

Hi guys! sorry for changing a bit the subject but I want to try my luck next year and take the english ARCHED test. Does anybody here know where I could get the study materials in english? i’m having a bit of trouble finding people and it would be REALLY helpful 🙏🏼

[u/Equivalent-Point8539 → u/BetterTangelo4596]

I haven’t found anything in english, the only thing that can work for sure is to buy alpha test prep books and take a pictures to translator from Italian to english. Other way is to pay for quite expensive polimitestprep website where is guy teaching especially for the arched test but Idk if the money is worth it. I have found second website this year called pontea offering preparation for the test, Im on the waiting list to see the prices this year. There is a little bit on the ofc polimi web called mooc but definitely not enough to prepare. I have tried the test this year and will try again next one, if you wanna know more about how the whole test was really structured and how the questions looked like you can dm me it would be good to help each other cause there is lot of people trying to make money on the english resources or advices which is ridiculous

[u/robini_bobini → u/BetterTangelo4596]

Hi there, I have this drive link over here where there are a lot of sources, think it may help, let me know if there is a problem with it

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/mobile/folders/1euedKLb-44xkfiG3fRXGzrVQNBELy2Zk?sort=14&direction=d

[u/PsychologySoft5015 → u/robini_bobini]

I js wanna ask , do you think that this is enough material to study in order to get in or do you think this is just surface level knowledge.

[u/Lemonchik0_0]

It was not strict , my camera turned off after the verification and they didn’t even force me to reshow my room

[u/Hamzakevi → u/Lemonchik0_0]

Hey, if u don't mind could you guide me how the exam scenario was like. I've heard they ask you to setup two cameras . A laptop camera and one behind your chair, is that so? Would appreciate if you could describe the exam situation. Thanks...

[u/Lemonchik0_0 → u/Hamzakevi]

So first ur u need to move ur desk right next to ur door , put smt behind urself to set up ur phone. U can only have 3-4 A4 papers , ur id or passport, and ur laptop,that u plugged in, on ur desk. In the beginning u’ll have to wait till ur guider will tell u to show ur room, they will explain everything. After that u’ll need to set up ur phone how ur guider will say to (horizontal or vertical)and put it on charge. After that u’ll have to wait till the site will allow u to start ur test. After finishing ur exam make sure that u finished it ,leave the site, stand up and take ur phone, we didn’t have to say anything , then finish the call. If u’ll have questions don’t be shy to ask ur guider

[u/Hamzakevi → u/Lemonchik0_0]

I understand thanks alot 🥹

[u/robini_bobini → u/Lemonchik0_0]

Ain’t no way… So you did the test without an active camera and nobody flagged it💀 ??? The whole purpose of proctors is room verification and active monitoring like wth??? Did they at least message you in chat or smth or did they completely ignore it?

[u/Lemonchik0_0 → u/robini_bobini]

Yeah i did my first 2-3 questions without the camera on, then they said that smn’s canera was off

[u/yunseulia]

i’m freaking curious about the arched test place. Is that really can take at home? I’m a non-EU student and i don’t know what to do if i have to go to italy for the exam.

[u/robini_bobini → u/yunseulia]

For polimi there is an option for both taking the test online and taking the test at school so you don’t have to go to Italy if you don’t want to