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!