Kaplan VS Ballast

[caslem82]

Any one better than the other in covering the range of topics needed?

3.1 vs 4.0 versions of study material matter?

Release year matter?

I'm trying to buy some study/q&a materials and I cannot decide what I should go with.

Thanks for your input!

[Bases]

I finished all the exams this summer using a variety of test materials. What I found was that the tests changed but the subject matter did not. So, I would say any test material is useful.

[Bases]

BTW, I received you PM but could not answer you because I just joined this forum and did not have enough activity.

I have all the items I listed in my message left. Let me know.

[sbyrktct]

I used Kaplan 2009 for my base study material (office copy).
I purchased and resold the Ballast practice exams for all of the MC's.
I supplemented with additional topic-specific books.
My full list for each exam is here: http://arehelp.webs.com/
And make sure you post your vignette solutions for review.

Good luck!

[Bonddevil]

Well, if you are ultimately trying to decide between Ballast and Kaplan as a base study material for the MC sections of the exam, it's no contest as far as I'm concerned. Go with Ballast. I tried Kaplan briefly for my first section and almost immediately abandoned it. If Ballast is a college text book, Kaplan is a 9th graders' journal. Their QA sections have also been known to contain blatant errors and are much more straightforward than the question structures you see on the exam. Ballast may have it's drawbacks as well (sometimes a bit dense and too detailed on the wrong subject matter) but it is a superior resource overall IMO.

They are both slightly outdated however and you will need some supplementary materials for each section, especially for things like sustainability, history, some codes, etc. Make use of the areforum.org/up FTP materials.

[caslem82]

Thank you all for the info! I have the Ballast ARE review manual and a few other recommended books...and the Ballast seems to be good for me. I haven't looked at any Kaplan stuff but know some coworkers that used it in 2009 and seemed to work fine. I was just curious. I'm taking BDCS in three weeks (have studied for 3 weeks so far) and wanted to do a sample test and see where I'm at. I need to read some of the extra topics still but I think I've read so much info about materials/methods I have concrete coming out of my ears. I've posted one vignette I did of each for the test so far...but the roof vignette hasn't been commented on. I noticed from other posts I had an error...missing stack vent.

Getting insight from others is super helpful...thanks to all of you!!

[UWS-Arch]

Agreed, if you have to pick one, Ballast is much more focused and accurate. I ended up reading both for every exam, and there's definitely some areas where Kaplan helps as well, but Ballast is overall superior.

[chedin]

Hmmmm...glad I read this. Our local AIA chapter is buying a new set of study materials and since what we have is Kaplan, we've been focusing on buy the new Kaplan books. I and others have been donating our self-purchased materials to the chapter after we get a pass result, which means we've already received a few of the new Kaplan guides, and some of the other materials. It sounds like Ballast might be the way to go instead...

[sbyrktct]

Hmmmm...glad I read this. Our local AIA chapter is buying a new set of study materials and since what we have is Kaplan, we've been focusing on buy the new Kaplan books.

The "new" Kaplan books are literally just the old books with new covers. Get the Ballast set and expand your library.

[Grymatta]

I recommend the Ballast series for all the divisions except for Structures (SS). For that particular exam, I found the Kaplan study book to be easier to understand in terms of the concepts. I got the Ballast version at first and just got lost/bogged down in all the complex calculations that are in it.