Just passed the PPD exam today, and I passed the PDD about 3 weeks ago - Done with all of them now!!!!
Here's some lessons learned with taking these two tests that really helped me:
For me.... the clock was my biggest enemy on all the ARE's I've taken. All in all - I preferred version 5.0 to ARE 4.0, but version 5.0 is definitely harder to study for.
The Case Studies are difficult and take a lot of time - Take them first, you can jump to them in the "Exam Summary" page ... I started the test and answered about 5 normal questions to get my brain fully into **test mode**, just enough to feel warmed up, then went to the Case Studies. The Case Studies have several chapters of the IBC as a reference document, so you need to know how & where to quickly look something up in it. You'll take too much time if you're reading or skimming it for an answer, you need to jump in and out of it quickly. Remember what IBC chapters are given to you as references, these could be helpful while you're taking the general test portion.
Both the PDD & the PPD had 2 Case Study problems, each with around 10 questions each. The questions didn't build off each other, meaning you don't need to answer the first one before you have enough info to answer the 2nd one, they were all independent. With the Case Study, I typically read the full "Scenario" page then went to the questions, I didn't bother looking at any of the plans, code, or other references until I knew what the questions were looking for.
I tried something new with this last test that really helped me. Be careful not to drink too much coffee before the test - I only had one cup on my drive to the testing center. The test is too long to rely on Caffeine to sharpen your wits, so you'll crash after the first hour. It's also not the type of energy you want for this type of test - too much caffeine give you a nervous/ anxious energy, not the calm focused energy you need for this long of a test. While I'm thinking of that - The worst thing you can do during a Prometrics Test Center test is need to use the restroom, it takes way too much time to go in and out of security for a potty run.
According to my Prometrics Test Center - people taking the ARE's are allowed to eat/drink during their break... I brought in a banana and a bottle of water - banana's have a lot of potassium... I felt good going into the 2nd half. You get to decide when you take your 15 minute break - it stops the clock & doesn't impact your time at all (and you can finally use the bathroom) Make sure you take your break.
I also tried eating a lot of salad the night before to keep me better hydrated during the test: thinking if I was generally hydrated when I went in, I wouldn't feel thirsty as often, wouldn't need to race off to the toilet mid test... maybe I wouldn't run out of time on this one (no luck- the clock still killed me). I think the big salad last night helped, I felt better hydrated this morning which kept me better focused and alert.
How I studied for this test:
No one wants to say this - but Brightwood SUCKS for version 5.0, and Ballast probably still does too - they can't be used as your primary source of studying, they're both giving too much of a summary level of knowledge and not the depth or subtlety needed to learn what's on the test. But I do really like their sample questions - those were really helpful. I would recommend still using them as an overview, but definitely not a one-stop-shop. They're good to go back and refresh on topics- I was glad I read the Site chapters in Brightwood and the chapters dealing with lighting, structures, and electrical -that's where I was weakest.
Have a strong understanding of how to use the IBC and the ADA codes - I spent too much time searching the IBC for answers instead of knowing right where to turn to on the case studies.
I also really like the practice exam NCARB has on their website. They give you Structural, Electrical, Plumbing, Mech & Acoustical references. Go through each of the sections they give you and figure out what the formulas are and how to use them.
Final hint for test taking - you need to be able to estimate distances on a lot of the floor plan related questions... they give you a scale, but no way measure what your looking at.... Use your scrap paper to quickly mark out the scale and hold it up to the monitor as a makeshift ruler. You don't need to be exact on anything, but there were a few times I was glad I did this.
Happy I'm done with all these, it took me way too long to finish all the tests! Good luck on yours!