PPD PASS. END OF EXAMS!
Hi everyone! I finally passed PPD on my fourth attempt on Saturday, and it was my last exam! I’m now on my way to being licensed, which honestly feels like a dream after such a long process. I wanted to write this post because over the past two and a half years, these forums helped me in many ways. I hope sharing mine might help someone who’s currently in the middle of this journey. Thank you to everyone that contributes to these forums !
First off: you can absolutely do this. The process is long, time‑consuming, and not easy — but keep going and believe in yourself. Also have a life outside of studying, balance and consistency, leads to success.
PPD was the toughest division for me. My second and third attempts were very close (around the 518–525 range), so finally seeing the PASS result was such a huge relief. I actually took PPD first and failed, then went on to take and pass PDD, before coming back to retake PPD. In my case that sequence helped a lot. Studying for PDD forced me to dig deeper into the technical side of building systems and detailing, and when I returned to PPD the broader conceptual questions started to make more sense.
PPD is really about knowing a little bit about a lot of topics. You’re not expected to be an expert in everything, you just need a broad understanding across structures, environmental systems, codes, HVAC systems, and site design. What helped the most on my final attempt was focusing heavily on practice questions and practice exams. The more I practiced, the more comfortable I became with how the exam asks questions and what it’s actually looking for.
Resources that helped me:
-
Elif Bayram practice questions: (Absolutely excellent and challenging, especially the code questions. Thank you Elif for all your work! :)
-
Amberbook: I got for two months and was invaluable in my studies. Highly recommend.
-
NCARB Practice Exam
-
Designer Hacks quizzes great for nights I was busy, would do a quick quiz when I could during the day
-
ChatGPT — I used it to run rapid‑fire questions on HVAC, seismic, structures and other topics to help with pacing. If I realized I was weak on a topic, I made sure to go back and research it directly in the NCARB guideline primary resources on my own.
Another big realization for me is that this exam is sometimes just as much about reading comprehension as it is about technical knowledge. A single word or small footnote in the code or question can completely change what the correct answer is. A quote that really helped me was: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." Taking a few extra seconds to carefully read the question helped me avoid misreading things and actually saved time.
Lastly here are some forum posts and resources that helped me along the way — maybe they can help you too:
-
https://are5community.ncarb.org/hc/en-us/community/posts/1500000579962-PPD-Pass-Online
-
https://are5community.ncarb.org/hc/en-us/community/posts/21721418078487-PPD-Pass-Brain-Dump
Keep showing up for yourself and keep going. You’ve got this.
-
Hi Michael,
Firstly, CONGRATS! It's stories like yours that remind us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Secondly, can I pick your brain about asking ChatGPT questions? I feel like that rapid firing would help me out to understand what I know and don't know. But did you narrate the questions to be similar to ARE format?
-
Michael, congratulations on passing the exams! Using AI tools is a great way to prepare AREs.
delacruzki, we have developed custom AI tools specifically designed for effective ARE preparation. Please DM me at rajan@arniko.academy for free access.
-
Amber — congrats on passing PDD, that’s a big milestone. You’re probably very close with PPD as well, hoping Monday goes good! And thank you delacruzki, I appreciate it!
With ChatGPT I used it more for rapid-fire concept checks. I would ask something like: "Ask me rapid-fire PPD style questions one at a time. After I answer, explain the concept briefly and then give the next question. Focus on my weak spots: Structures, HVAC Selections, Seismic; and help me understand the driving factors."
This was super helpful because it forced me to think about the governing factors behind things like wind vs. seismic design or why certain HVAC systems are used, which helped reinforce these concepts. I did these nightly for about last two weeks before my exam, since I ran out of practice questions from other resources that I was just starting to have memorized. Once I got a good understanding of the roots to these concepts I was confident enough to book the exam. Hope this helps!
-
Rajan K.
Hi Rajan: I am currently preparing for my remaining exams (PPD,PDD) and would really appreciate the opportunity to try these tools. would it possible for you to give me an access. my email is Helamostafa18@gmail.com
-
Rajan K. would you please give me access as well, I just took PPD test and unfortunately Failed even though I passed the Mock up test from NCARb.
My email is sarah.azizian@gmail.com
thank you,
-
Hey! Were you using the amber book matrix to figure out which videos to watch? I have used black spectacles up to this point passing my first four exams on the first try.. but just got my first fail on PPD. I feel like I’ve exhausted black spectacles and am going to try something new this go around
-
aljacobs1 I think you can pass all the first 4 by only BS videos and test but not PPD and PDD.
I had BS and Amber book subscription and also Eliff for PPD and still failed, the test I got i felt it was very tricky or maybe I was not ready. and NCARB mockup test was super easy for me compared to the one I got in the exam, I'm studying PDD right now so I can dive in more, hopefully it will help me for the PDD. I think you need to either ready more books or get Amber subscription for these 2 exams as BS alone is not enough to my opinion. Also highly recommend Eliff for more dive into HVAC and STR.
-
Sorry to hear about your exam results aljacobs1and sarahazizian! For many candidates, PPD and PDD are the most difficult exams, so you are definitely not alone. I'm glad to hear that Black Spectacles was helpful for your other divisions (and especially with passing on the first try!). Over the past few years, our team has been actively revamping all of our ARE prep courses to ensure that they adequately prepare you for the exams, while keeping the content digestible and efficient for your studies. PcM, PjM, PA, and CE were the first ones we updated, and we've recently been tackling PPD and PDD. We actually launched our revamped PPD course back in January, which was really exciting and has gotten amazing feedback from our members. Our team is now finishing up the revamped PDD course and it is set to launch in early summer. While the older PPD and PDD content was still relevant and in alignment with the ARE 5.0 Guidelines, we understand that members were looking for a more streamlined study experience - and we're excited to bring that to you soon!
Don't hesitate to reach out to our team and let us know if there is anything we can do to support your ARE journey in the meantime. We hope you enjoy our new courses and as always, we welcome feedback!
Best of luck to you both :)
Kiara | Black Spectacles | Community
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
15 comments