Passed and done
Passed PDD and done. Just wanted to let people know that you do not have to worry about the whiteboard. With a little practice, it is quite usable. Apart from one question I really did not need to draw anything on the test - and even that one question could be done without drawing. I think in the end having the whiteboard and 20 less questions worked favorably for me because I like to go over questions slowly and I was absolutely stretched till the last minute. I had about 2 hours left for the case studies and I needed all that time. Also want to mention that I made the mistake of doing ARE 3.1 and 4.0 structures practice tests - that was not useful at all for PDD. Also do not make the mistake like me of studying Ballast for PDD - it is most useless. In stead AGS is quite useful, in terms of images and details. Also, go through BCI quite thoroughly. Of the practice tests I took (WeAre, PPI, Arequestions, Ballast) I would say Elif's Arequestions is the one that comes closest to looking and feeling like the real test. I think it is a must for this exam. I had a couple of arguments with Elif on a couple of questions but overall it is a great resource because you can learn quite a bit from her explanations. I liked PPI too for targeting specific areas. In general I think for this test for time management, I would take as many practice tests as possible. In fact, I would take tests even before studying to understand what areas you are weak on. Do not stress too much about code but know some basics like accessory use requirements (for type A occupancy), incidental use requirements, thermal insulation (IECC), maximum distance of doors, corridor length, occupancy separations (fire walls, barriers, partitions). I hope this was kind of useful. Good luck.
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Shikha, no, in general, I would say that Elif's question are slightly more complex than the real exam IMO. I honestly never scored more than 50 to 60% on her tests (even the day before the exam). But I used her questions to direct me to information I was not familiar with. I did not study Olin's. I had spent most of my time studying Ballast and Kaplan as well as Building Code Illustrated and then realized that it wasn't quite enough. In the last two weeks before the exam I went through BCI, AGS (Student version) and did lots of practice tests. It helped immensely that I had taken two weeks off from work before the exam. I do have several years of experience, but mostly on existing, older buildings.
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Shikha,
No the code is only available for the case study and only the relevant portions.
I did not quite memorize the code but I did know where to look for what. I did memorize certain portions - like dimensions of tread, riser, handrails, guardrails, length of corridors, ramp slope, ramp length, how far apart exits need to be, size of exits based on occupancy, what triggers accessory use. Because of the limited time on the test, it helps knowing some of this.
The real test did not include many code questions, but I did get lots of slope related questions that depended more on knowledge of geometry than code.
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Congrats on passing! This is one of the most difficult exams, so it definitely is a big accomplishment! If anyone else is look for study tips and tricks for the PDD exam, I made a YouTube video explaining everything I did in order to PASS this exam. Check it out and be sure to subscribe to my channel so you don't miss out on any future videos. https://youtu.be/hXHFKlN-Bx4
Note: I made a video for each of the ARE 5.0 Exams.
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AGS = Architectural Graphic Standards https://amzn.to/3pB05L3
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