Study suggestions?

Site Zoning Vignette and Multiple Choice

Study suggestions?

Postby jylee » Mon Oct 30, 2017 2:29 pm

Hi. I'm starting to study for my next exam..PPP!

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on where to start..

I currently have the following study materials:

Jenny's Notes
Caroline's Notes
Ballast Study Guide
Kaplan Study Guide
NCARB ARE Study Guide with MC/Vignette

Any other study material suggestions?

I'm not sure which ones to tackle first (it's slightly overwhelming)...

Thanks in advance! :D
jylee
 
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby wws341234 » Mon Oct 30, 2017 8:02 pm

jylee wrote:Hi. I'm starting to study for my next exam..PPP!

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on where to start..

I currently have the following study materials:

Jenny's Notes
Caroline's Notes
Ballast Study Guide
Kaplan Study Guide
NCARB ARE Study Guide with MC/Vignette

Any other study material suggestions?

I'm not sure which ones to tackle first (it's slightly overwhelming)...

Thanks in advance! :D


Hi jylee, you can always refer to other posts in this forum generally titled "Pass & Done" or titles along that line, to see what others have studied to pass this exam. PPP is quite a difficult exam as it covers materials in many other exams (mainly SPD & CDS) so if you haven't taken those two exams already you might want to further expand your study materials to cover those topics as well. The study materials I would further recommend to add on top of your list is as follows:
Problem Seeking
AHPP
Schiff Hardin
AIA A201, B101, (there's several more, as it has been discussed as a list in another recent post, but these two i believe are the main documents you should really understand.)
Practice exams (get your hands on as many as possible, i use Ballast, Designer Hacks, and Black Spectacles)
Site Zoning Vignette by Ben Rudgers
also go over the EPA website for the environmental topics

Furthermore, i use the app Cram to make my own flashcards, this helps me with retaining the information better, and i can refer to this on my phone when i'm on the go, in the bus, the subway, etc..

Hope the above helps, and good luck to your exam!
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby AREator » Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:42 pm

wws341234 wrote:The study materials I would further recommend to add on top of your list is as follows:
Problem Seeking
AHPP
Schiff Hardin
AIA A201, B101, (there's several more, as it has been discussed as a list in another recent post, but these two i believe are the main documents you should really understand.)
Practice exams (get your hands on as many as possible, i use Ballast, Designer Hacks, and Black Spectacles)


My two cents: Designer Hacks is fluff
Spend your time reading AHPP, A LOT.
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby wws341234 » Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:49 pm

AREator wrote:
wws341234 wrote:The study materials I would further recommend to add on top of your list is as follows:
Problem Seeking
AHPP
Schiff Hardin
AIA A201, B101, (there's several more, as it has been discussed as a list in another recent post, but these two i believe are the main documents you should really understand.)
Practice exams (get your hands on as many as possible, i use Ballast, Designer Hacks, and Black Spectacles)


My two cents: Designer Hacks is fluff
Spend your time reading AHPP, A LOT.


Yes I can agree to that, but I needed a fresh set of questions so i gave it a shot, plus it was fairly cheap. While we're on that note, i would say the same for Black Spectacles videos as well, but their MC is good.
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby DANIIFACE » Wed Nov 01, 2017 6:44 am

Are you saying that the paid Black spectacles videos are fluff? interesting! I've been watching them for a few weeks now and I find them generally pretty informative. Do they just not go in depth enough maybe?
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby wws341234 » Wed Nov 01, 2017 10:05 pm

DANIIFACE wrote:Are you saying that the paid Black spectacles videos are fluff? interesting! I've been watching them for a few weeks now and I find them generally pretty informative. Do they just not go in depth enough maybe?


I'm not saying they're a fluff(and i've heard alot of good reviews about them), but they're just not good enough for me to grasp the concept. For example, they teach about all the different methods to calculating your fees, and they go into details on how each methodology works. That's great, but they don't tie it back to PPP. Now, if i refer back to the NCARB Exam Guide, under KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS section 4.A.2: Project Budget Management, it states that we need to be able to "Determine the fiscal requirements and apply appropriate methodology and techniques to manage project budgets." Now, given I've just learnt all the different types on how to charge your fee, how do i know which method is appropriate to the type of client or project? I didn't. So i went to read up AHPP after that video, and I've learnt when you should charge by hourly rate, when to charge lump sum, and when to charge by % of construction costs, which it did explain why, and I feel I can now make the right decision on the exam only after i read up AHPP. Now is Black Spectacles bad? Maybe not, in fact, all the questions I've had pushed myself to look them up in other study materials, and that process in turn help drove the information into my head better. Also, for the price I've paid for both the videos + the MC wasn't too expensive so for the MC alone I would still get it. However, I wouldn't rely on Black Spectacles alone or as my main source of study, to me they're more of a supplementary materials.
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby DANIIFACE » Thu Nov 02, 2017 5:41 am

That makes a lot of sense, thank you for clarifying! I am in the process of watching the black spectacles and after I finish all of them I intend to read Kaplan and AHPP as well as a lot of practice exams before taking the exam again. Thank you!
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby vrcat25 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 7:51 am

DANIIFACE wrote:Are you saying that the paid Black spectacles videos are fluff? interesting! I've been watching them for a few weeks now and I find them generally pretty informative. Do they just not go in depth enough maybe?


I can't vouch for the paid black spectacles, but the free videos are very informative in my honest opinion and have actual case studies examples, simulating the test better than most. The have really helped me pass all 3 tests in 4.0 and i can't find anything remotely similar for 5.0, besides BS....On the other hand, i've found the Amber videos to be very general and "fluff", but maybe the paid version is better. I've heard that Amber has no case studies examples. Anything out there better than BS?? I'd prefer to have case studies and mock tests and am will willing to pay.
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby wws341234 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 8:44 pm

vrcat25 wrote:
DANIIFACE wrote:Are you saying that the paid Black spectacles videos are fluff? interesting! I've been watching them for a few weeks now and I find them generally pretty informative. Do they just not go in depth enough maybe?


I can't vouch for the paid black spectacles, but the free videos are very informative in my honest opinion and have actual case studies examples, simulating the test better than most. The have really helped me pass all 3 tests in 4.0 and i can't find anything remotely similar for 5.0, besides BS....On the other hand, i've found the Amber videos to be very general and "fluff", but maybe the paid version is better. I've heard that Amber has no case studies examples. Anything out there better than BS?? I'd prefer to have case studies and mock tests and am will willing to pay.


I agree on the BS free videos and that's why I've tried out their paid version, but perhaps the different presentation format made a difference. They also have live podcast discussions including Q&A sessions that would probably be really helpful, but I don't have enough time to attend that. I've heard alot of goods things about Amber, but for BS and BDCS, not so much for PPP.

There's also another one out there called ARE Boot Camp. Haven't tried it myself but some people swear by it.
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby wws341234 » Thu Nov 02, 2017 8:57 pm

DANIIFACE wrote:That makes a lot of sense, thank you for clarifying! I am in the process of watching the black spectacles and after I finish all of them I intend to read Kaplan and AHPP as well as a lot of practice exams before taking the exam again. Thank you!


In my experience the 1.5X speed button is really useful
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Re: Study suggestions?

Postby jylee » Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:45 am

I just wanted to provide an update..I passed my PPP on the first try! :D

I did study (multiple times) the following with the first being most important:

Caroline's Notes
Ballast Study Guide & Practice Exams
Kaplan Study Guide & Quizzes/Practice Exams
Read up on Brownfields and Greenfields
Understand Stormwater/EPA guidelines
Problem Seeking
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards
Historic Preservation Standards and Guidelines
NCARB ARE Study Guide with MC/Vignette

Optional:
Jenny's Notes
Black Spectacles video lectures

I did not read the AHPP at all since I couldn't find my book from school...
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