Hey Everyone,
I did a pretty detailed post on what I studied for PPD here: http://arecoach.com/coachforum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=53024 end essentially I did 3 weeks of reviewing before going into PDD.
I over-studied for PPD, and then kind of ran out of material for PDD. I was panicking because I was sure I missed something.
The only materials I added from that previous post for PDD were the FEMA wind primer, and a run-through of the Ballast PDD chapters. I then went through my notes, note cards, and reread chapters I thought I should brush up on. We also had a lunch session at work about the idea of the continuous line in securing the building envelope. That concept helped me out a lot as I puzzled through this.
This exam was hard. I had to seriously think about every question. There were several things I don't think I could have ever studied for - I just had to use problem solving and draw on my experience to figure it out. I also had several points where my brain overloaded, so I just put my head down and breathed for a minute.
If you don't have a lot of experience, make sure you take the time to thoroughly go through a set of drawings. NCARB says a big part of this exam is understanding and putting together a drawing set, and I don't know if anything other than that experience could prepare you for it. There were several points where I felt like I was at work- except I couldn't google or ask a colleague to check my answer!
Good luck! It's a doable test- just keep your eye on the prize and keep at it!