I was really nervous about this exam going in. It was my first 5.0 exam after several years of studying and working on 4.0 materials. Everyone seems to have studied something different, and I didn't find any equivalent practice exams to the 4.0 ones. I wanted to share not only my materials, but my study practice. I failed several 4.0 exams, but once I started constructive note-taking and review sessions, I've passed each exam on the first try. One more, and I can't wait to have this ARE weight off of my shoulders.
Experience:
I have 2 years experience specifically working on renovations and doing technical aspects of design and CA. Before this I worked for 1.5 years as a front-end designer and programmer. Experience helped supplement my studying, but I also feel like a better worker because of what I studied for PPD (I never felt this way with 4.0)
Time Spent:
Like I said, I was scared, so I started studying 8 weeks before my exam date. This was too long in hind site, by the week before the exam I was burnt out and lapsing (and causing more stress!). 6 weeks is probably the max I would do again. I was strict with myself, and dedicated at least 45 min - 2 hour per weekday, and a cumulative 6-8 hours on weekends. I also dabbled in PDD material because I'm taking it in 2.5 weeks.
With all of this, I was way over-prepared for PPD. I finished my first run-though of the exam with 2.5 hours on the clock, and then used that time to go through the entire exam again before leaving.
Sometimes in the exam room, my wheels start spinning and I work myself up. This happened a few times on this exam. I have to just stop for a moment, close my eyes, breathe deeply, and think "Stressing isn't helpful. Just answer it" It snaps me back and I continue. I guess what I'm saying is that having a way to calm yourself down is very helpful when tension is high.
Method
When I study, I only take notes of things that I don't already know, or concepts that I always forget the name to. (I have a bad case of 'shoot-whats-it-called' syndrome) I try to write them down in a way that is easier to understand than what I read, then I underline terms and concepts in my notes that I feel are very important. Each study session starts with a 10-15 min review of my notes before getting to new material. To review, I go through and make note cards of things I underlined, then highlight them after cards are made. Treating this like a red-line set kept me on track. I used the phone app Chegg to do notecards with auto-dictation. Saying the concepts out loud and then having to spell-check the cards also helped me study in a different way.
Making the notecards is twofold effective, because I get to review old material, and I have a deck I can go through instead of browsing the internet on down time. By breaking down decks by categories on Chegg, I can reuse the decks for other exams or concentrate on one category I'm weak on.
What I studied
In chronological order:
Building Code Illustrated: I skipped some chapters that seemed irrelevant. Spent a lot of time on occupancy. Knowing the code structure helps browse through case study references.
Architect's Studio Companion: Cover to Cover. I spent a lot of time on the mechanical diagrams. I love the 1 page per system format. It's concise and cuts out the fluff. Also re-iterated code information.
Building Construction Illustrated: I liked this book a lot. It didn't feel as useful as I was studying, but in retrospect it helped a lot.
Ballast 5.0: I went through quickly as a review source. I did the chapter questions first, and then spent a bit of time on chapters I tanked on. I only used this for 2-3 days (4-6 hrs)
FEMA primer. Chapters 4, 6 & 7. Really quickly went through it.
Conclusion
Like I said, I was over-prepared. Compared to 4.0, having experience is a lot more useful. Overall, I think the 5.0 studying process is a lot more helpful than 4.0 as well. I feel like I am a better architect having thoroughly read these books. Looking at it that way helped me continue on and sometimes actually made me enjoy the reading.
Just remember that you've got this! If you're rubbish at memorization like me, reviewing is your friend. And give yourself the time you need to take the time you need. It's a one-person race. You don't have to beat anyone's time - you just have to finish.