Just passed PPD. One to go.
I studied a lot...probably over 200 hours.
I read FEMA 454 Seismic
MEEB
Skimmed Studio Companion
Building construction Illustrated
Hyperfine course for PPD/PDD
AEP course
The AEP (OMCES) online exam simulator practice exams
ADA
Some Pluralsight
A few Amberbook
Caroline Joseph's notes
Jenny's notes
Bunch of other stuff online especially miscellaneous resources recommended by Ben in each of his Hyperfine homework assignments.
The trouble with MEEB and stuff like that, it's overwhelming. It ALL seems like good information so how do you take 2000 pages and see what the essential content is?
I was very impressed with Hyperfine's approach. Having taken PA and PPD in 5.0, I think that practical approach is very on-target. Rather than trying to know everything and memorize flashcards, you approach a specific problem, stumble up against the unknown, go do research, learn what you can learn, make flashcards or take good notes for later, come back, resolve the problem as best you can, read the Answers for the correct information. And keep moving.
For some of the homework assignments he also provides videos of the answer logic as well as written answer descriptions. His case studies are very good and realistic.
I was surprised that the exam seemed to cover content in a very basic fashion for almost all the content areas (seismic, wind-loading, structures, lighting, acoustics, thermal and energy, sustainability, plumbing, HVAC, mechanical, historical preservation and repurposing....daylighting got significant focus but again it was not difficult.
The case studies can be frazzling because you are easily scattered trying to understand the question and race off to look through resources and try to do calculations fast
My advice is if you are getting too frazzled on a case study question, ditch it before it consumes you. So what, you got one wrong...maybe...big deal. Put down anything...mark it for review and forget about it. Get to one that won't make you go crazy. You get the same one point for the case study question involving FAR, separation of occupancies with accessory use areas and whether or not the FAR will allow a height that is allowed by IBC etc (I'm making that up, but you get the drift)..you get the same one point as the question that asks whether an incandescent or an LED is most efficient. (Again, made up question).
Personally I'd much rather answer questions like the second one than the first one when a clock is ticking. Remember, you don't have to ace this and impress the Partner in Charge. You need to get a "D". Nobody is going to know whether you got an A or a D. If you get a D minimum, you pass.
Maybe I studied too much but I expected a significantly higher level of complexity.
I tried the approach of tackling the case studies first and it was taking too long to get through the questions and I was getting frazzled, so I abandoned that at the end of case study 1 and just started hitting the regular questions and knocking them off. It paid off. By the time I was done, I had 45 minutes to review all my marked questions. It was tough to try to stick to a predetermined schedule because the exam does not give you time elapsed AND time remaining, like Netflix. It JUST gives you time remaining. so if you wanted to take 25 minutes for the first case study and 35 minutes for the next, you have to do the math to find out what that means for "time remaining" and keep track of it on paper. It's awkward.
ALL the formulas and data you need are on the Resources...so don't sweat that. When you are in the IBC...hit the little bookmark icon. That is HANDY because it gives you the table of contents with titles of each section and it hyperlinks to the section. so you can just scan until you see OCCUPANCY FACTORS...and then click and get right to that section.
I will note that last time I had THREE crashes in my PA exam and this time I had ONE crash. It's nerve-wracking and Prometric definitely needs to do a way better job.
I encourage you all to not dread PPD. It's not as difficult as we lead ourselves to believe.
One interesting thing to note, on the drag and drops, where you have to move a component or a room space to the correct location, you can rotate them but it's not obvious. double-click on the item and a dialog box will pop up asking for the rotation angle. I discovered that by accident.
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I felt the same way about PPD. I just took it this past week, passed on the first try and I left the testing center thinking "...really? That was it?" I studied Hyperfine (agreed - really great source that gets your brain trained in thinking through the math and information), Amber Book a year ago, ASC, Karen's Notes (awesome source that really solidifies material covered in Hyperfine), a little bit of Building Codes & Build Const Illustrated, a little bit of MEEB (since I didn't have Plumbing, Electric & Acoustics), Heating, Cooling & Lighting & FEMA.
I also did some Ballast 5.0 practice tests & Ballast 4.0 practice problems and found that the level of detail on those questions were more detailed than the actual exam. I'm glad I didn't spend too much time stressing over my 55% score.
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Artem
I'll try and address your questions in order.
Regarding Programming and Drainage. Two completely different issues, right?
Programming is a pretty broad topic and drainage in the context of PPD is pretty limited scope.Programming.... Maybe you can describe more about the difficulty you face... Take a specific question and talk about what was challenging. That's the only way I could approach thinking about whether it's more about content or more about how you deal with the metrics of the exam questions.
Read the book Problem Seeking for a good primer in programming. Really programming was covered in depth in the PA division so if you studied for that, go look again at your materials. You can check the ARE handbook for PPD but I don't think programming is too big a deal. That being said...take the question step by step. If it looks too tricky, just mark it for review and move on. Despite lots of studying you will STILL run into questions that just seem too confusing or complicated. DO NOT LET THEM MESS YOU UP.
You can afford to miss questions. Do not spin your wheels on any question. You have two minutes and seven seconds per question. Get the ones that you know... And circle back later to review ones you are unsure about. I can't stress that enough. Get every one that you know right... And do not let the ones you are unsure about suck your time and confidence. Move on.
Regarding Programming, I remember a problem with a simple adjacency matrix. That's basic stuff. Know how those work. Also be careful about the symbology. If the problem states that the reception must be nearby the director and far from the workroom and adjacent to the waiting area.... Understand what each of those three terms means and pick the correct symbol to insert on the matrix. Nearby is not the same as adjacent.
There are also what are called Puzzle Questions. You have to read the programming and move room shapes to the correct place. This should be basic and intuitive by now... especially if you have been practicing in an office for two or three years and have a BArch! If you don't have a firm handle on programming and bubble diagrams now...well....you need to study and practice more.
Drainage. I assume you mean site drainage. Drain to the lowest portion of the site. Know how to read contours. Again, you are sweating a topic that should be a very small portion of the content.
As far as recommended approaches and materials...
For the case studies, definitely get Hyperfine Homework Package and the Case Study. They are separate items so order them both. I found his homework and the case studies VERY realistic and very instructive. Do the case study. It's worth it. When you go through his homework, the point is to stumble up against stuff you don't know, and go and research using his links... And anything else you can... Then come back and read his answers and explanations. Highly useful practice. I would say most of what he does in the course is a bit higher complexity than the actual exam. Which is perfect.In general, I don't know how long it's been since you last fail on PPD but go to the ARE handbook and look at the content breakdown by percentage. Look at the items they cover. Figure out what was problematic for you and focus more on those areas.
The biggest part of PPD is knowing about systems in a moderate level of detail. Yes there will be some very general questions about structures or mechanical systems, and there will be some detail-oriented questions, but in general you will be applying knowledge of what systems to select and why.
Go through the Architects Studio Handbook and make notes and flashcards.
Look at graphic standards and building construction Illustrated and make notes and flashcards. Read the basics in FEMA 454 seismic. Read Caroline Joseph's notes, read Jenny's notes.
The third party study packages from Architect Exam Prep have some merit although they are kind of basic, they are comprehensive. The PPD is being upgraded to a new rev for 5.0... and they are doing actual case studies, but they are not available yet, so stay tuned to their website or ask them when their updated materials for PPD and PDD will be available.
Look at Amber Book and Pluralsight videos if you can afford them.
There's a young woman who has a website/blog called Iditit. (I Did It) Google I Did It ARE. She has some good advice on psychology and strategy as does Ben on the Hyperfine website.
Study hard and realize that you only have to get a D. Skip over anything that slows you down or gets you frustrated. You mentioned some case study where you're not sure if you have to check lot coverages, zoning ..whatever....lot. overlaps...... Yup... That is often how the case study questions present themselves. You should get used to it. Sometimes you need to read between the lines. Sometimes you will not have to do everything that it seems you should do to get an answer. Some are very simple however and are just like a regular question.
Happy to discuss more if you have specific questions. Good luck!
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My sense is that you are focusing too much on small details.
Try to stay in the "bigger picture".
You need to have a very good handle on the IBC.
focus on knowing what the main chapters are ...3, 5, 6, 10...
Be familiar with the PROCESS
1.Identify the USE GROUP. This is really reall important. Know the difference between Educational (E) and Business (B). Understand the five different kinds of Assembly (A). Undertant the (5?) different kinds of Residential.
there's confusing crossover between various kinds of Institutional and R so check that out.
I don't think the ARE will get into that level of analysis because it is indeed tricky. But it's best to over prepare a bit.
Plus it's all useful knowledge in our profession.
Be familiar with the major tables in each chapter.
Continuing...
2. Identify the SEPARATION between occupancies
3. Identify the Type of Construction Height and Area Limitations
4. Identify Means of Egress
5. Identify Systems (Structural, Mechanical, Electrical...)
You will have all the IBC content you need on the exam under Resources but you need to know how to use it fast.
Same thing for ADA. The whole ADA sections that you need are available. You don't have to memorize all of the little diagrams for doors and approaches, and tubs/showers and side reach and forward reach...but generally be familiar with them. Kind of know what is going to be critical. Like a side approach is always more critical than a forward approach to a door...and the approach from hinge side is more critical than approach from the latch side and so forth.
Know the ADA curb cut stuff and ramp cold. And ADA parking for car and for van. Just do it.
All the structural formulae are on the Resources, but again you should generally understand what a given beam and loading configuration will look like in the shear diagram and in the moment diagram. I did not have to reach for a formula the whole exam but I did need to know generally what I was looking at several times. Also be ready for twists...like now the beam in vertical, as part of a wall, and lateral loads are being applied. Same thing...just rotated.
Know daylighting and passive solar design.
Know SHGC, U values, (and the tradeoffs between the two) R values...conductivity, convection, radiation
Know what shapes/massing /orientation/siting of buildings are appropriate for each climate type and why. that's super important!!!
Just keep in the fore of your mind, you are going to get the WTF questions. When you see that something looks super complicated...with calculations and multiple code and zoning things...whatever looks beyond your ability to do in two minutes, MARK it and MOVE on! Don't let it bring you down. It's only castles burning. Find someone who's yearning......;-)
Lastly, NCARB also puts a number or "trial questions" in each exam, to see how they score out....but they are NOT included in YOUR score. So take some reassurance that a crazy one or one that you have never seen before is likely an NCARB trial balloon.
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THIS >>> the exam seemed to cover content in a very basic fashion for almost all the content areas.
I passed PPD today on my first try as well - one more to go! Leading up I studied Ballast, skimmed MEEB diagrams, watched some YouTube, and plenty of Designer Hacks practice exams. I do have about 7 years experience with commercial projects.
I see people reading 100s if not 1000s of pages from the suggested reading list and it stresses me out. You need to have a strong working knowledge of materials, systems, structures, and code. How they work together and the limitations. The impact of weather and the environment. Take some practice exams, make some flash cards. Rinse & repeat. The exam is difficult but there are no trick questions.
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Artem
Man, you are really overthinking this.
The level of detail for issues like this is not great. Relative to your question, you may face a question that has a site diagram.... And you see a very steep slope or information is given that one area is mostly organic matter. Then they ask where the structure would be located to minimize soil stabilization costs. Do you see? You're not going to have to understand geotechnical engineering....You may face a general question about which strategy might be appropriate... Surcharging, compaction, remove and replacement.... Etc. That is the MOST complicated it will get.
You have to accept that there are things that you won't know... Topics that you are not that good with..... And, that there will be NCARB trial questions that are left-field and are not counted in the score. You just need to be solidly "in the ballpark" and take the damn thing.
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Congrats on PPD!
I wonder if you could give me some advise:
When I took it, a lot of questions did sound as very straightforward, but then the others were a bit vague to me.
For instance those that dealt with programming and drainage. And I also spent more time on case studies than I should have.
I thought programming would be just common sense questions, but somehow I could not figure out the constraints: should I consider adjacencies, configuration in plan, size? So what would you recommend reading/studying on it? I do not think PPD top references in the Handbook cover that. And also drainage?
Case studies do make me nervous still since you cannot really get prepared for them and you need to be able to quickly navigate through the references on the test. What would you recommend to be better ready for those? I looked at Hyperfine case study, but its only one for PPD and PDD together.
Thank you,
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Joseph,
thank you very much for your very detailed input - I need to think it through.
On another note, do you think that we are supposed to use the rotation tool for drag-and-place
items? I have never seen this described in any of the NCARB videos or in the Handbook,
so I'm not sure if some correct responses depend on rotation...
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Makes sense, and I think I had a question on the test where I would have to rotate.
Really do not understand why this tool was not described in any tutorials or the Handbook, unless I missed it.
I wish I could refer to a tutorial to see all the testing tools once and for all, because maybe I missed something else.
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There is a Trial Exam on the NCARB website. It is an exact duplicate of the exam. You can see how all the tools and icons work. (Mark for Review, Strikeout, Highlight) Everyone should do that before you sit for a 5.0 division.
The Strikeout is really good as you eliminate options. it helps you to feel like "yup- cross that one off..." and helps to prevent you from actually selecting one of the bad choices as an answer.
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Joseph,
Thank you for outlining these strategic aspects of preparation.
These are my score reports:
https://are5community.ncarb.org/hc/en-us/community/posts/360039284534-Feedback-from-NCARB
Based on those, for PPD I will focus on Integration of program and systems as well as on Codes.
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Artem,
I feel like I am in the same boat with you. I went onto the link you gave for for you score report discussion. Remember, it is about the total amount of correct answers. Based upon your recent report, I think you are okay in the Content Area #2, but need to spent more on Content Area #3 & #4. Look at the percentage of questions on the exam. Bring those numbers up.
Now, I need to review mine and give myself the same evaluation.
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Joseph,
What resources can you recommend to understand the soil stabilization on the building site?
For instance, figuring out what portion of site would need stabilization?
I reviewed Site Planning and Design Handbook but it talks about stabilization in general terms - not relative to the building and the site.
Thank you,
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I too discovered the option to ROTATE things completely by accident!
One of my questions said something about rotating an object and I was so confused about why it said that. Later, accidentally hit rotate on something and VIOLA!
its a RIGHT CLICK on the object.
Glad that they clearly explain that option in the practice materials.
Mark, Archizam
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This is Jenny's Notes...... good stuff.. AREndurance
Four second Google search.
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