Tested PPD & Passed - Done with ARE!!!

Tested PPD & Passed - Done with ARE!!!

Postby Renaissanceman » Fri Jun 02, 2017 9:50 pm

So happy to receive my last and final pass today! Have been waiting for this day for so many months. Just in time to relax and enjoy the summer :-)

I took PPD on Wednesday (31st May). This round of PPD felt a lot easier, maybe because I studied and prepared better.
MC questions:
I had lots of questions on climate and site conditions. Make sure you know each climate type and the significant design elements (site and building) for passive heat and cooling in the four different climates. Also some questions on programming and architect's responsbilities during early stages of project. Standard concept level questions on Building systems, lighting and acoustics. I did not need any complex formulas to solve any of the math problems. Structures was limited to basic concepts, mainly seismic and lateral force design and couple of questions on structural systems, which system work better for certain set of requirements etc.

CaseStudies:
Case studies were fairly straight forward and if you know which document to look at to find the answer, you can find the answer quiet easily with some smart searching (use key word seach, extensively). Also another trick that helped me was to note down the page numbers of the pdf, where important tables and sections were located on the scratch paper, so that I could open those pages witout having to scroll through the pdf too much (scrolling slows down the system a lot)

I completed the 100 MC question in close to 2 hrs 10 mins. Used 1hr 50 mins to complete the case studies. Used the last 15 mins to go back to 3 calculation questions I had skipped. I however had to leave them unanswered, since all the three were fill in the blank type and I had no clue how to solve them.

The following are list of items I studied for PPD
1. Amber (3-exam bundle) - very helpful to understand building systems
2. MEEB (chapters on active environmental systems,acoustics, lighting, fire protection and electrical systems)
3. Jenny's BS notes
4. Carolines PPP notes
5. Ballast 4.0 Review Manual
6. Ballast 5.0 Practise exams
7. My own notes from PPP qnd special
8. Archi flash cards and self prepared flash cards.
9. NCARB 4.0 BS exam, SPD, BS,
10. Flipped through Building code Illustrated.

Good luck to all other test takers!
Renaissanceman
 
Posts: 51
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Re: Tested PPD & Passed - Done with ARE!!!

Postby vrcat25 » Sat Jun 03, 2017 8:47 am

Congrats Ren! Also, thanks for sharing all of the good tips! You listed Amber as your #1 item. Was this intentional? Also, i've heard many people say that "Building Construction Illustrated" and "The fundamentals of Building Construction" has very similar information that appears on the test. I find it interesting that you did not use those 2 sources. Nevertheless, thanks for all of your help and congrats again! :)
vrcat25
 
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Re: Tested PPD & Passed - Done with ARE!!!

Postby Renaissanceman » Sat Jun 03, 2017 10:11 pm

Thanks!

vrcat25 wrote: You listed Amber as your #1 item. Was this intentional?


No it was not intentional. I listed the material in the order I studied. However I do feel,the Amber material was crucial for me. It helped me understand concepts that I could not understand and retain. I wish he had more material on structural systems and site conditions.

vrcat25 wrote: Also, i've heard many people say that "Building Construction Illustrated" and "The fundamentals of Building Construction" has very similar information that appears on the test. I find it interesting that you did not use those 2 sources. Nevertheless, thanks for all of your help and congrats again! :)


Yes, both these books have similar information. They differ in the style of conveying the information. I did go through both these books. I went through Building construction Illustrated when I prepared for my first attempt of PPD. (2 months ago). I did not go through BCI again, since I felt PPD had less to do with building construction details. I went through Fundamentals of BC when I studied for PDD ( which I took a few weeks ago). It was still fresh in my mind, so I did not read through it again. I felt even This book is not so relevant to PPD.

Having read through both BCI and Fundamentals of BC, I found fundamentals of BC book to be more helpful especially for PDD. Though I love the beautiful sketches in BCI, seeing the photos of actual site construction and the simple but clear explanation in Fundamentals of BC, were more helpful to me. I recommend this book as top priority for PDD preparation.
Renaissanceman
 
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Re: Tested PPD & Passed - Done with ARE!!!

Postby rennert » Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:27 am

Congrats! Taking PPD Tuesday and thanks for the advice!
rennert
 
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