PASS - Structures + Advice ( Long)

[shart012]

Structural Systems Feedback/Advice
Seems like most ppl here are doing the 4.0 5.0 transition...but for those still in 4.0 here goes:
Quick tips:
ARE Prep is good for vignette explanations and easy but informative Practice Questions. Know FEMA 454 and B@R like the back of your hand. Use BDCS material and connections chapters if your struggling with the General Structures Portion. And if you can't afford Thaddeus Online Lectures find someone's notes from it and learn all the math he teaches lol. $12 Miltaski ARE Prep Inc is the GOAT.
Long Explanation:
The best and most helpful things from what I studied were making flash cards from B@R Wind and FEMA 454 as well as Mike Notes, and the $12 Miltaski Are Prep Inc Questions. Make sure to understand the Diagrams in FEMA and B@R fully. The Miltaski questions help reveal weak areas and have good video explanations. The Thaddeus Online Lecture is a great recourse but it will not help you pass if you do not heavily study Concrete,Wood, Steel, and from BDCS as well. You really need a good understanding of what each system Is and what they are best used for and why...buuuuut he does go over everything you need to know in regards to the math on the exam as opposed to Kaplan and Ballast which goes overboard on the math. I would recommend going through the online lectures from Thaddeus twice. Once to learn and the second time to review before taking the exam.
This exam really gave me a tough time. I prayed a lot and am continuing as I finish this journey. I really hope this helps you guys stay strong and keep going! If you want to know more about my process for passing the structures exam continue reading below. Hope this helps!


The First time I took it I studied for four weeks, I used Thaddeus lectures Online and ARE Prep, Nasla Flash cards, Ballast & Kaplan for the practice exams along with Chen Mock. I studied 3hours a day during the week and 7/8 hours a day on the weekend. Going into the exam I knew I wasn't ready but my strategy for all of the exams have been to take an exam each month no matter what then regroup after if I didn't pass so I just gave it my best shot. Needless to say I didn't pass. In the test I didn't feel like the questions were necessarily hard or tricky, I just felt like you had to do a lot of deductive reasoning to eliminate all the incorrect answers. Buuuut I knew I didn't understand the information fully enough to do so. The sections I didn't do well in were General Structures and Lateral.

The second time I gave myself a 6 week timeline (studied 4hours a day during the week and 8 to 12 hours on the weekend) so I could grasp the info better and have time to fill in the gaps in my understanding after doing practice exams.
-the first week I outlined ARE Prep and listened to the audio over and over at work. Then I watched the Thaddeus online lectures all weekend.
-the second week I outlined ballast ( for more understanding) and made flashcards from FEMA 454 chapters 5-9 and B@R wind. Then on the weekend I read through Mikes notes to make sure I didn't miss anything.
-the third week I read and outlined Ballast BDCS material and made flash cards from it. (Focusing heavy on concrete, wood, and steel)
-the fourth week I studied all of the flashcards that I made from the various readings mentioned above
-the fifth week I took practice exams starting with Miltakski ARE Prep Inc $12 300 question exam. Then Kaplan 400question exam. Then finally Chen Mock 125 question exam.
-the sixth and final week I focused on the areas that the practice exams revealed to me were week (by going and rereading the questions and their explanations as well as chapters in the book that covered those topics) and I practiced the math questions from Thaddeus seminars during my lunch hour.
and BOOM passed the exam.

When taking it this second time the questions on the exam didn't feel as foreign. Of course there were a handful of questions that seemed random aaaand I still felt uneasy after finishing it, but I didn't feel like the exam took the life out of me lol. I think the redundancy in my study methods was the most helpful because seeing the material over and over even when I felt like I knew it already showed me areas where I still didn't understand. (Kind of like listening to a good album over and over or watching a really good movie)

[fburton]

Congratulations on your pass and thanks for the advice. What is B@R and ARE Prep? Is ARE Prep the info from Mitalski?