All Aboard Planning
About

About All Aboard Planning

An AICP exam course built by a working planner, so studying for the exam doesn’t have to cost hundreds of dollars.

Bobby Sells smiling on a couch, hugging a fluffy golden-brown dog
Bobby and a very good study buddy

Hi, I’m Bobby

My name is Bobby Sells. I’m a federal planner, and I live in Denver, Colorado.

I created All Aboard Planning because there was a drought of structured, affordable AICP study materials out there.

All Aboard Planning is built on a simple idea: preparing for the AICP exam shouldn’t cost hundreds of dollars. My hope is that this course lowers the cost of certification for planners while helping to strengthen our field.

If you have a question or just want to chat, you can reach me at bobby@allaboardplanning.com.

What's in the course

People come to the AICP exam from all kinds of places: fresh out of a planning program, years into practice, or taking it again. The material is broad, running from nineteenth-century reform movements to impact-fee case law to running a public meeting, and the available resources are often scattered, out of date, or written as lists of facts to memorize.

So I built the course I wanted when I studied:

  • Organized around the exam. Lessons follow the nine domains of APA's exam content outline, and practice is weighted the way the real exam is.
  • Written to be understood. Every lesson explains why a rule or idea exists, then shows it in real planning situations, because the exam tests judgment as much as recall.
  • Connected. Every score report links back to the lessons behind the questions you missed.
  • Honest about what practice can tell you. The real exam is scaled and APA doesn't publish a passing percentage, so I never promise that a practice score predicts a result.

How the content is written

  • Original work. Every lesson and question is written from scratch. APA's published content outline is the blueprint; nothing is copied from APA materials, textbooks, other prep courses, or anything recalled from a live exam.
  • Accuracy first. Cases, statutes, and dates come from primary sources, and the lessons are updated when the law or APA's rules change.
  • Found an error? Please let me know. Reports from planners using the material are the best quality check there is.

Independence

All Aboard Planning is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the American Planning Association (APA) or the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). Those names are used only to describe the exam the course prepares you for.

Where to start