My last dance of 13 years with NCARB, thank goodness.

I didn't have much study time for this 2nd go, and felt burnt out. I'd already read all the NCARB suggested materials and a lot of supplemental books/videos prior, and could not get myself to do them again. So I focused on:

- Ballast 4.0 BS, BDCS, SPD questions and quizzes only
- Archiflash 4.0 BS, BDCS, SS (especially SS) kept these in the bathroom and kitchen and read a few cards every time I went into the room
- 2015 IBC free online on my phone, when I wanted to stare at social media I did this instead, good practice for dealing with unwieldly user interface to quickly find code info
- BCI (codes and construction versions 2015) flipped through when I needed refresher/reminder, Ching is a gem
- Marty Huie videos online (fire wall, egress stairs/doors etc)
- online/book research of any topics I felt unsure of in Ballast questions

This forum has been a lifesaver, thanks Coach and all the other candidates. NCARB community board is very helpful but I still prefer this one. Someone else on here mentioned the flash cards and for me they have actually been the best study guide besides the NCARB sanctioned stuff. I don't know if there's a 5.0 version but I'm so glad I had those old cards.

Remember to press the Break button! Read the questions slowly enough to filter out the extraneous info.

See you on the California Supplemental forum. Good luck everyone!

Congratulations!! I'm taking this one tomorrow for a second attempt and I'm quite nervous. I've hit every aspect you mentioned that you focused on so I'm hoping for some good news as well. Fingers crossed!!

greek22 wrote:Congratulations!! I'm taking this one tomorrow for a second attempt and I'm quite nervous. I've hit every aspect you mentioned that you focused on so I'm hoping for some good news as well. Fingers crossed!!

Excellent!! Listen @greek22, you got that fail out of the way and now it’s your time. Go get it.

Thank you Raja. Unfortunately I failed again. I did worse the second time around than the first time around. I'm pretty bummed out and not sure what to do next.

Hey greek22 I'm so sorry to hear that, how frustrating. Can you switch to a different exam and give it some space before you re-take or is this the last one?

I have PPD & PDD left - I'm not sure if I should move onto PDD before completing PPD. What are your thoughts?

If it were me I'd switch gears and take a break from that one. Personally I found it the most difficult. PDD is still broad in scope and relates a lot to PPD, but there is more focus on detailing and how the building goes together, rather than planning. So you could switch to looking at details in Graphic Standards, Olin's and the other NCARB recommended study books. Have you tried Hyperfine study guide? Or Ballast quizzes? Those helped me a lot because I have a hard time parsing the NCARB questions, and also have limited tolerance for absorbing information in dry reading. If I'm applying what I read it sticks better.

Hi Raja,
Awesome to hear you passed! I don't have the Archiflash 4.0, but have the older 3.0 cards - any thoughts if they're similar or relevant? Also curious if you happen to know where to find diagrams as to how to situate buildings around bodies of water - depending on the climate.
Thanks for the feedback, one left, but this one is seriously a pain!

I will keep that in mind, thank you! I did try Hyperfine this time around - I found it very informative and super helpful to understand a few concepts I was struggling with! And I have been using Ballast as well. I'm the same way - I dislike the heavy dry reading. I'm more of a visual learner, as many of us are.

Hi Greek22, I recommend you switch over to PDD. I just took it this past Saturday and I think it was easier than PPD. Unfortunately, I failed because I am having a hard time with time management in 5.0... I feel very comfortable with the material but I am always racing the clock and this time I didn't get to answer any questions in the second case study.

pecos wrote:Hi Raja,
Awesome to hear you passed! I don't have the Archiflash 4.0, but have the older 3.0 cards - any thoughts if they're similar or relevant? Also curious if you happen to know where to find diagrams as to how to situate buildings around bodies of water - depending on the climate.
Thanks for the feedback, one left, but this one is seriously a pain!

Thanks Pecos! I'd say they're relevant but you have to weed out the ones that aren't...like make sure you're matching the correct sections to PPD.
Not sure what you mean about siting with body of water and climate. Usually water is about siting for view and climate is related to catching breeze (hot climate) or staying out of wind (cold climate), as well as the building shape/openings/angle.
Good luck on yours, you can do it!