PASS

[ablumetti]

Just saw that I passed PPP this morning. This was a retake for me, so I was psyched about this one. I have now completed the "big three" and will be transferring to 5.0 to see if I can complete this thing in two more tests. I understand everyones experience is different on these, but I feel PPP was the most difficult of the three. I would also suggest taking SPD and CDS first. My experience, was that this test was those two tests mixed with intermittent programming questions. My study method was as follows:

1) Ballast_ Programming, Planning & Practice chapters, Site Planning & Design and CDS chapters again due to the overlap.
Ballast_Q&A

2) Kaplan_Programming, Planning & Practice Chapters
Kaplan_End of Chapter Quizes
Kaplan_Pratice Exam Test

3) Architect Handbook Professional Practice (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN MY EXPERIENCE)
chapters on Risk Management, Insurances, Project Scheduling, Project Delivery

4) NCARB PPP Exam Guide

5) JENNYS NOTES & CAROLINES NOTES

6) Designer Hacks for PPP

Vignette:
TWO most important suggestions I can make on this vignette....
1) DRAW THE GRADE FIRST...it makes it much easier and faster to complete to the problem when you're not tackling sketch lines everywhere. No where does it say you should draw the buildable areas first. Get the grade out of the way and turn the layers off, one less thing cluttering the screen.
2) Practice the software for this vignette via NCARBS website repeatedly. Until you can solve it correctly under a half hour. Accuracy is extremely important, but your process and speed are almost equally as important. Practice until your process is flawless, this will help you recover from any missteps on test day and will allow maximum time to review your solution.
GOOD LUCK ALL......ONTO 5.0!

[greek22]

Congratulations on your pass! I also agree with you and can say that I think PPP is the hardest of the three. I have multiple attempts at PPP but I have passed CDS and SPD. What do you think you did differently on the retake that helped you pass this exam? What was your process like? Congrats again! Hope to meet you at 5.0 really soon!

[ablumetti]

Hello there, sorry for my delayed reply, I have been over in the 5.0 forum for a few months now. Since I received Level 1's on all content area except the vignette, I cant really say I did much differently EXCEPT, drawing the grade line first on this vignette. I failed it the first time because I ran out of time struggling to see through all the sketch lines. I didn't leave myself the time to check my answer. With grade drawn first and those lines either turned off or deleted, it helped me complete the solution in half the time it took me the first time. That's literally all I did differently... good luck!