Passed !!!

[minimal animal]

I just found out I passed SS. What a relief. This exam was a bitch to study for. I studied for about a month... an hour each morning before going to work, and then 4-5 hours per day on the weekends. I took three days off before the exam date to take care of the last minute panic state, and that helped.

Here are my study references:

Kaplan 4.0: I did not have Kaplan 500, so I stuck to the exams in the book and the final exam at the end of the book. I found quite a few errors in the Kaplan material, but did not let that demoralize me. There is enough about the ARE to get frustrated about, to add one more thing to that long list. The old adage holds true, "Trust but Verify"
Ballast 4.0 - only to read more on material that I felt was inadequately referenced in Kaplan
Building Structures Illustrated by Francis Ching. This is a great book to begin studying for each part. I started by reading this book to get a visual understanding of concepts, and then moved on to Kaplan, Ballast and the rest. This book is a MUST HAVE for this exam.
Architect's Studio Companion. I finished each chapter of Kaplan by flipping through this book, to see if I could test myself on the concepts. Again, a great book to have on your desk in general.
FEMA Documents Chapters 4,5,8,9.
AREndurance study guide. This was GREAT for last minute reading before the actual exam. http://arendurance.wordpress.com/study-guides/
NCARB Exam Guide.
Khatri International videos. This was INVALUABLE. Here's the link: http://www.khatrinternational.com/AIAexam.html#
AREForum's links: http://www.areforum.org/up/GeneralStructures/

I had previously purchased Mitalski's videos, but had an interruption in studies because of work-related issues, and lost all traction on that. Mitalski is great with giving you extensions on your subcription, but I felt bad to ask for more after one or two requests were granted. The videos are good, but seem tedious and time consuming, because, I believe, they are recordings of live lectures. Khatri's videos are better and easier to understand. Your mileage may vary.

I did not dwell on the calculations, and only practised the ones that seemed straightforward and quick, like beam reactions, bending moments, shear force etc. I had trusses down pat, with both method of joints and method of sections because of Dilip Khatri's videos. One thing to remember is to check the Reference Section in the exam. This is a veritable TREASURE CHEST of diagrams and formulas. There were quite a few curve-ball questions that I think I must have answered correctly because I took the time to look through the references provided, and could extrapolate what formula to use.

I studied Lateral Forces extensively, with Seismic and Wind loads. There are a lot of Lateral Forces questions on the exam. Read FEMA chapters repeatedly. Know how to calculate base shear well. Focus on Wind Loading on buildings, and the extra structural framing required at corners etc. Know the difference between Moment Resisting Frames, Braced Frames and Shear Walls, their cost implications, and why each one is used. Know Diaphragms and the way stresses are transferred etc. To make a long story short, out of 125 questions, I believe at least 40% were directly, or derived from Lateral Forces concepts.

I only practised the NCARB vignette and did not bother to look at any alternates. The vignette in the exam was similar to the one in the practice program, but had variations. Don't assume you're going to get the same vignette. Understand concepts, and trust in Norman Dorf's and Coach's advice.

Thanks to Coach and everybody else who help keep the faith alive in the rest of us.

Best of luck. If I can pass this exam, everyone can.

[matte]

great job!!!

[tinaruiz]

Thanks and Congrats!