PPD Pass - 3rd Try
Buenos Dias!
Backstory:
I was confident throughout my 2nd attempt and then the case studies lagged horribly when loading any reference and i basically had to guess on my last questions. It was frustrating, but I'm not the type to complain, so i decided to switch up my approach.
I've sat down now a total of 13 times for the different exams and I always choose an 8 or 9 am time slot. I had never experienced that bad of a lag or pages simply not loading before. Even though i had read many posts about the dreaded loading screens.
Before my 2nd I saw a friend in the lobby of the test center, who was ready to take some doctor related test. It wasn't until after the test that i realized that when the room is full of different professionals taking multiple exams that the internet could naturally start to lag. Especially when some of the other exams require streaming of media.
So even though i showed up first and was the first to sit and in the exam room alone (had the internet to myself basically), by the time i got to the case studies a couple hours later, the room could potentially be full.
Time Management:
This last time i decided to go through the CASE STUDIES FIRST (while i had the internet to myself) then once complete i calculated the remaining questions and time remaining to see how fast i needed to fly through them. I believe my time remaining was 96 questions @ 2.1 minutes each and when i finished the first 30 questions i calculated again and it was around 2 minutes again. I did the same at the 60 question mark and i was down to 1.2 so i knew i had to step on the gas.
The Actual Test:
My notes from the case studies helped as a reference.
I don't recall many calculation questions. So without disclosing content I will just say be able to make calculations like load on a beam, pressure loss in plumbing, etc. Nothing we haven't seen from the many resources available.
Differentiate between ADA and Universal design - what are the ramp requirements, can you sketch out an ADA bathroom with dimensions. That would be a huge help.
Review your seismic irregularities and be able to identify & differentiate a vertical irregularity
READ the question and look for KEY WORDS especially what it says right after "the client wants" ... those are the goals that the answer options HAVE to meet. So whether your client wants energy efficient, low cost, or whatever. Which one of these options provides that. It sounds simple, but there was a couple I went back to just to clarify and I ended up changing an answer.
Summary:
It's a beast of an exam ... I was exhausted afterward, but you can do it!
Best of Luck!
For me it's PDD in two weeks and hopefully that'll be it!
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Thank you!
Ben's Hyperfine Course was my best resource that made me think the most.
I did do two months of BS and the best part about that is the practice exam.
I had done Amber for my first two go arounds and only used my notes from it on the third attempt.
Arch Exam Prep should get a mention too, but they helped me most with the other 4 exams.
Those were my main sources, but it was really good to go back through my highlights & side notes of the audio & video courses that were made along the way.
I'm sorry, I feel like I'm saying everything out there.
Best of luck! You got this! -
Canuto,
Buenos Dias! Thanks for the post. I have been considering tackling the 20 Case Study questions first as well. Mainly because I want to know what references are available in these case studies to then use when encountering IBC 2015 or ADA specific questions in the regular body of questions (1-99). I've been practicing flipping back and forth between case scenarios and regular question in the Demo Exam by using the Exam Summary button in the bottom right of every question. This will be my first attempt (next Saturday at 12 noon - 5 pm).
1. Is this a reasonable expectation to be able to do this flipping around between case study references and regular questions efficiently? Or am will it be too complicated and time consuming to do this? Kinda worked for me doing the Black Spectacle exams this way.
2. Should I also expect that the internet connection will become slower later in the afternoon on a Saturday (even more so given I'm testing on a weekend day? If so, then I think I should definitely use your approach and get through the Case Studies first.
Thanks!
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Very practical advice, and it is a good idea to do the case studies first when you had the internet to yourself early in the morning. Scheduling the exam on a weekday instead of weekend may also help avoid the internet traffic jam in the testing centers..
Gang Chen, Author, Architect, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)
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You are welcome! My pleasure.
Gang Chen, Author, Architect, LEED AP BD+C (GreenExamEducation.com)
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Hi Jackson,
My advice would be to not do the Case Studies first. They are only 20/120 questions. Leave yourself 2 hours at the end. They are not worth anymore than the other questions.
If I were you, and I thought the Case Study references would be helpful, I would write down the question #'s you think might have resources available in the Case Study's then come back at the very end. Do not spend time on questions you don't know the answers to. Answer what you know first, guess on what you don't, and come back if you have time.
On my PDD exam one of the Case Studies was loading so slow, and the zoom in and out feature put me so far zoomed in to white space. I had to pan around and zoom in and out so many times just to find my place in the drawings. I chose to not answer any of these questions till the very end of the exam. I only had 5 minutes left by the time I was able to come back to them. It was 3 questions. That's it. 3! Not worth the time. There were 117 other questions that needed my attention.
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Also, internet time at the test center did not seem to be what was slowing down my loading time. My two case study exams had very different loading speeds regardless of when I was searching for the information. Sorry to debunk your theory Canuto, but this just was not the case for me. One case study was fast and required no zooming to get to the information I needed, the other required exorbitant loading times and impossible zooming and panning. I honestly think it was due to the file size of one of the Case Studies vs. the other. But remember, these are only 20/120 questions. Just saying, don't give the Case Studies more value then they are worth.
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