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xcentric
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الجمعة مارس 28th, 2008 |
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| عدد المواضيع: | 430 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | | | Describes Me: | LEED and all 7 passed. Done!! |
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كتب: الثلاثا أغسطس 5th, 2008 04:20 pm |
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I took the PPP exam as my first exam on Monday August 4th at 12:30 and, believe it or not, my opinion of NCARB has gone up as a result.
For me the biggest contrast was between the NCARB and Ballast review materials.
On the Ballast practice exam (3.1 PD), I was getting between 50-70% correct. I was frequently frustrated by questions that seemed obscure, or answers that didn't make sense even after I read their explanation.
On the NCARB practice questions (4.0 PPP), I was getting 90% correct.
Luckily for me the actual exam was much closer to my experience on the NCARB practice questions. I felt I was being asked questions about common situations an architect might encounter. Even the handful of questions on which I had no clue were on reasonable topics. NCARB was not trying to be tricky.
Despite the bad rap that this test gets for being so broad, I felt NCARB actually stuck pretty close to the topics of Planning, Programming and Practice. I had very few questions on site material (they're saving those for SPD I'm sure).
I have some teaching experience, so I get pretty critical about poorly written questions. Ballast had several where it could be A or B, but they interpret it in an unusual way and claim the answer is D. NCARB's questions were overall very well written. My impression in reading my choices for answers usually went like this (A. maybe under some circumstances, B. possibly, C. no way, D. yeah, that's what I would probably do) Not to say this was the order of the choices, but one answer was usually clearly better than the others even if some of the others may be partially right.
(I can understand Ballast's point of view, that it is better to be a little harder than the actual exam, than to be too easy. I guess my opinion is not to get too stressed out about those obscure questions in Ballast that you can't figure out.)
I think NCARB addressed a number of issues from the forum, including exiting a vignette too early. It was clearly labeled if you were leaving the vignette or just the exam, you had 3-4 chances to change your mind. I was a little scared at the end of the first section (multiple choice) when my only choice was to "exit exam". Luckily this brought me to the break screen and there were no troubles after that.
The calculator - the practice graphics exam has a calculator, but I hadn't found any clues as to the calculator for the multiple choice. Just so everyone knows - it is nearly identical to the Microsoft Calculator found in programs under accessories. Note that there is a check box labeled "scientific" that will open up trig functions, exponents, etc (I think it is a dropdown menu in Microsoft's version, but otherwise the same). Practice your multiple choice tests with your computer nearby and use this calculator.
Also according to the introduction, on screen reference materials are found only in the Building Systems and Structural Systems exams. Really the only places where they are needed.
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Flegion
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الاحد يوليو 20th, 2008 |
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| عدد المواضيع: | 3 |
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كتب: الثلاثا أغسطس 5th, 2008 05:56 pm |
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Actually, I didn't click the 'exit exam' at the first section (Multiple choice). After the limited time (2:30) the screen changed to break screen automatically. Is is okay with that? I am just worrying about that.
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xcentric
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الجمعة مارس 28th, 2008 |
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| عدد المواضيع: | 430 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | | | Describes Me: | LEED and all 7 passed. Done!! |
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كتب: الثلاثا أغسطس 5th, 2008 06:01 pm |
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I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with letting it end on its own. I still had 15-20 minutes left of time on the multiple choice section after reveiwing my answers 3 times and just wasn't feeling that patient.
For anyone who hasn't taken this exam yet, time is not an issue on this one. There is plenty of time in both sections of the exam to review your work.
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husky musher
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الاثنين يوليو 7th, 2008 |
| الموقع: | Massachusetts USA |
| عدد المواضيع: | 107 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, CD, SP | | Exams Passed: | PD, CD, SP | | Describes Me: | Taken: CDS, PPP, SPD; Passed: CDS, PPP & SPD in ... |
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كتب: الثلاثا أغسطس 5th, 2008 06:06 pm |
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I am glad to see you post xcentric. This is going to be my second exam towards the end of the month. I have already taken Construction Docs & Services.
I just have a few questions for you.
1. How was your experience with the Zoning Vignette?
2. You mentioned a comparison between Ballast & NCARB study material. I was just wondering if you happen to review any Kaplan Study Guides, and if so, what were your thoughts on it presentation of the material to prepare you for the exam.
On another note, I have numerous posts on this forum in the ARE 3 Format PD, that this exam is more related to the AIA documents, which is to be similar to the CD&S exam. What was your experience in relation to the other AIA documents, not just B141.
Good luck on getting a PASS.
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xcentric
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الجمعة مارس 28th, 2008 |
| الموقع: | |
| عدد المواضيع: | 430 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | | | Describes Me: | LEED and all 7 passed. Done!! |
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كتب: الثلاثا أغسطس 5th, 2008 06:35 pm |
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1. The zoning vignette was very straightforward. The same elements as in the practice, just different dimensions and slightly rearranged. Be methodical and make sure you've done everything they ask. I worked slowly and still got done in half the time.
2. I didn't use Kaplan for this test. I've only used their practice questions on the structures exams, so I can't compare. I wanted to minimize the number of books I had to buy, so this decision was made based on feedback I read elsewhere. It felt like the right choice for me, but others may choose differently.
3. Yes, there were questions on contract documents, what is included, what isn't, who is responsible for what. But it was just at the level of an outline of the core documents, not a lot of detail. It also had an emphasis on the contract issues you would encounter during the programming phase. I probably could have studied this part more, but felt my experience carried me okay (we'll see if I pass). husky, you'll probably find your study for CD&S should be helpful for PPP.
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hugon0
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | السبت يوليو 9th, 2005 |
| الموقع: | New York USA |
| عدد المواضيع: | 1041 |
| Exams Taken: | PD, BD/MM, CD, SP, BP | | Exams Passed: | PD, CD, SP | | Describes Me: | waiting for BDCS & SD. Onto SS next |
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كتب: الثلاثا أغسطس 5th, 2008 11:54 pm |
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Wow, that is encouraging news about your experience. Thanks for sharing it, since we're often getting such vague and/or negative info.
For those who asked about Kaplan, I made some notes within SPD that may help. I am studying for both SPD and PPP at the same time, more or less. Is anyone here taking that approach? My post yesterday was related to both exams, mostly how to sort out the material, which I think I am doing fairly well so far, but we'll see and I will report back!
So far, I find the Kaplan/ ALS material to be confusing and somewhat frustrating (in comparison to Ballast, Archiflash, info collected here etc.) so I think it may be disctracting. It's just sloppy, in terms of writing, and logic and organization, but that's nothing new. On the other hand, it never hurts to take more practice tests, so I am using it for that. Old stuff, and also I bought a PD Test Bank (why do they call it a Bank, anyway?)
Well good luck getting your results. Sounds like you did well.
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Sophie401
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الاثنين مايو/أيار 12th, 2008 |
| الموقع: | New York USA |
| عدد المواضيع: | 78 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | BD/MM, CD, BP, BT | | Describes Me: | LEED AP |
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كتب: الاربعا أغسطس 13th, 2008 09:53 pm |
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So just to clarify, where on the screen did you find the calculator for your Multiple Choice Exam? When we have the exam screen up, there is no way to get to a "Start" button or "accessories"...
I have taken a few mc exams and don't recall seeing any option to get to a calculator. I know where to find it obviously in the graphics exams, but not in the mc.
Thanks for your help.
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xcentric
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الجمعة مارس 28th, 2008 |
| الموقع: | |
| عدد المواضيع: | 430 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | | | Describes Me: | LEED and all 7 passed. Done!! |
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كتب: الاربعا أغسطس 13th, 2008 10:13 pm |
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As I recall, it was an obvious button in the top right corner of the screen. They definitely point it out during the 15 minute intro, so watch for it there. I didn't need to use it on the PPP exam.
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Q
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الثلاثا مايو/أيار 15th, 2007 |
| الموقع: | Miami, Florida USA |
| عدد المواضيع: | 23 |
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كتب: الخميس أوكتوبر 23rd, 2008 11:48 pm |
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xcentric,
Is there a noted difference in the practise vignettes between the Kaplan ARE 3.1 study materials and the new study materials from Kaplan under 4.0?
I am currently studying the 2007 Kaplan PD & SP books which equal the new format under the PPP test. Aside from these books and your comments regarding the two AIA documents what else would you recommend in terms of reading material?
Did you pass by the way?
Thank you
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xcentric
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| تاريخ الالتحاق: | الجمعة مارس 28th, 2008 |
| الموقع: | |
| عدد المواضيع: | 430 |
| Exams Taken: | | | Exams Passed: | | | Describes Me: | LEED and all 7 passed. Done!! |
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كتب: الجمعة أوكتوبر 24th, 2008 12:22 am |
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From what I've heard, don't go near the Kaplan materials for the graphic vignettes! There is some misleading info there and generally not helpful. For the vignettes, use Dorf "Solutions" and this website. Post, comment, do alternates from the FTP (link at the top of screen). The NCARB practice software is all you need. For most vignettes the requirements are similar in both versions, so download and solve both - twice the practice.
For multiple choice content, I've been using 3.1 Ballast review material (Kaplan for structures only). I also have the 3.1 Archiflash cards. There is some overlap with CDS content as well, so do an overview of that before the PPP test. There is sustainability questions, LEED study materials are a good place to start for that. Make sure you read through the NCARB guidelines for the tests - these include practice questions (~30 per section) as well as suggested reading. Other than that, miscellaneous stuff from various sources at school and in practice.
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