When am I ready to take CD's?

[jibit3]

Hi,
I am currently studying three hours a day for the CD's exam. My study material is mainly composed of Kaplan, Archiflash Cards, Carolines Notes and other various study materials. I admittedly have some more studying to do.

I understand everyone is different, so generally speaking,how do I know when I am ready to take the exam?

Thank you in advance for your advice and wisdom.

[20grit]

Just schedule the exam. You'll be ready when your date rolls around. (Or maybe you won't. But, trying is better than asking us about your status. Sorry, this is blunt/rough. I don't go by the name 20grit without reason)

[bwenzel]

When you can be comfortable answering abstract questions on the AIA A201, AIA B101 documents, project manual, etc.. Also, practice the vignette over and over.

[sammyguns]

Schedule the exam a few weeks out and put together a list of what you want to cover during that time. Start vignette practice about 2 weeks before the test and get it down where you can complete in about 30 mins or less. Post your examples on here for comments. When you finally schedule the test it will get real real fast lol

[loadwarrior]

I took mine when I was making around 80% on the practice exams (the one by NCARB, Ballast, Kaplan, and Gang Chen). I also was able to complete the practice vignette correctly in about 35 min. I got a pass.

[vrcat25]

Hi,
I am currently studying three hours a day for the CD's exam. My study material is mainly composed of Kaplan, Archiflash Cards, Carolines Notes and other various study materials. I admittedly have some more studying to do.

I understand everyone is different, so generally speaking,how do I know when I am ready to take the exam?

Thank you in advance for your advice and wisdom.

If you're not ready keep studying even if it takes you another year to prepare. Some people take a month to study while others might take a full year for one test. Haste is waste and you definitely don't want to go in and take only to fail and have to wait another 2 months. I noticed you didn't list the ARE review manual or ballast tests. Those are probably the most reputable and I'm a bit concerned that you haven't been studying them. Kaplan and Carolines notes are only "so so". It only took me a month to prepare, but that was with the ARE review manual and ballast practice test.

[rwwon]

This is a multiple choice test, not a dissertation. If you are seriously studying 3 hours a day, I wouldn't go more than two months, max. Schedule it. If you fail, you've already built a great base and you know what to expect. If you pass, you can move onto the next test. I'll drop $210 to find out in a month instead of twiddling my thumbs for 8-9 months wondering if I should take a test. I want to move on past these tests, get licensed, improve my earning potential at an earlier age, etc. Imagine getting a design project in school with no deadline - we all know how that would go for most students lol... Just schedule it and go for it.

[vrcat25]

This is a multiple choice test, not a dissertation. If you are seriously studying 3 hours a day, I wouldn't go more than two months, max. Schedule it. If you fail, you've already built a great base and you know what to expect. If you pass, you can move onto the next test. I'll drop $210 to find out in a month instead of twiddling my thumbs for 8-9 months wondering if I should take a test. I want to move on past these tests, get licensed, improve my earning potential at an earlier age, etc. Imagine getting a design project in school with no deadline - we all know how that would go for most students lol... Just schedule it and go for it.

My point is this. Either you're ready or you're not. I've often heard people say, "just take it and see what happens". I think that's pretty bad advice. If you're not ready and you "just take and see what happens", what's going to happen is that you will fail. Even if you do study and are prepared, you might fail. Thanks for the advice RWWON, but this time i think i'm going to wait until i'm ready. I tried your strategy for CDS and failed it the first time. This time, I think I'll spend a couple extra weeks and schedule the test AFTER i'm ready. We all want to move on, get licensed and earn more money, but you can't skip the steps in doing so. First step -> STUDY UNTIL YOU'RE READY, no matter how long it takes. This is just my opinion. Maybe you and Jibbit are different though. I haven't had much dialogue with him as you have and don't know how well he is prepared. Thanks for the pointers though!

[20grit]

People need a goal. Scheduling the exam forces them to actually study to meet that deadline. Otherwise, you end up putting things off more and more. I'm not saying to schedule it for a week from now. It can be scheduled for two months from now. Just do it so there is a deadline.

[rwwon]

My point is this. Either you're ready or you're not. I've often heard people say, "just take it and see what happens". I think that's pretty bad advice. If you're not ready and you "just take and see what happens", what's going to happen is that you will fail. Even if you do study and are prepared, you might fail. Thanks for the advice RWWON, but this time i think i'm going to wait until i'm ready. I tried your strategy for CDS and failed it the first time. This time, I think I'll spend a couple extra weeks and schedule the test AFTER i'm ready. We all want to move on, get licensed and earn more money, but you can't skip the steps in doing so. First step -> STUDY UNTIL YOU'RE READY, no matter how long it takes. This is just my opinion. Maybe you and Jibbit are different though. I haven't had much dialogue with him as you have and don't know how well he is prepared. Thanks for the pointers though!

I'm not saying just go take it and don't worry about studying. That is not at all what I am saying. I said (as a starting point) to maybe try a couple hours a day for a couple months because that is a rough average of what people spend studying - some are faster, some are slower. If you take the test and fail, then you need to either spend more time, or more importantly look at how you study. But if you want to be an efficient test taker, you need to set a barometer for yourself.

The most beneficial way we can answer the OP is to share our own "barometers" of what made it feel like we were ready. For myself, I would go through all my study guides, then take practice exams to gauge myself with. If I am getting in the high 70-80% my first time taking them, then I review the miss questions and move on. If I could easily explain concepts and restate facts from the various study materials and apply them to case study questions, and make few-to-no mistakes on the vignettes, then I felt ready. To get to that point more quickly though, you need to give yourself a deadline (schedule the test). If you are really nervous, schedule it for 4 months from now. Keep in mind, spending more/less time isn't the only variable that you may need to adjust.

My first test I gave myself 3 months to study and I passed. Looking back, that first month I wasn't as serious as I was in month 2 and 3 because I am human and saw the test as being a far ways off. The next test, I went down to 2 months since that is when I was most efficient and effective.

[vrcat25]

I'm not saying just go take it and don't worry about studying. That is not at all what I am saying. I said (as a starting point) to maybe try a couple hours a day for a couple months because that is a rough average of what people spend studying - some are faster, some are slower. If you take the test and fail, then you need to either spend more time, or more importantly look at how you study. But if you want to be an efficient test taker, you need to set a barometer for yourself.

The most beneficial way we can answer the OP is to share our own "barometers" of what made it feel like we were ready. For myself, I would go through all my study guides, then take practice exams to gauge myself with. If I am getting in the high 70-80% my first time taking them, then I review the miss questions and move on. If I could easily explain concepts and restate facts from the various study materials and apply them to case study questions, and make few-to-no mistakes on the vignettes, then I felt ready. To get to that point more quickly though, you need to give yourself a deadline (schedule the test). If you are really nervous, schedule it for 4 months from now. Keep in mind, spending more/less time isn't the only variable that you may need to adjust.

My first test I gave myself 3 months to study and I passed. Looking back, that first month I wasn't as serious as I was in month 2 and 3 because I am human and saw the test as being a far ways off. The next test, I went down to 2 months since that is when I was most efficient and effective.

Discipline is the key. I'm disciplined enough to where I don't need a motivator or a deadline to encourage me to study. The last time i took a test, I was sicker than a dog, with a sinus infection. I had to cram and things were not ideal. After that, I promised i would wait until im ready to schedule. I know what you're saying though. Some people need deadlines. I work better at my own pace though. The reason I say "wait until you're ready" is because if you take it too soon, it can have the opposite effect if you fail. After that, you will probably over study and then you're back to square one. Trust me. I failed my first test taking the advice "just schedule it" and because I wasn't ready, then I over studied for almost a year. My new strategy is to "schedule it when i'm ready". No sooner and no later. Granted, I past my last test in January so i'm going to use this momentum and study 2 hours a day. I think at that rate it should only take me 4-6 weeks to get ready for each test.

[rwwon]

Discipline is the key. I'm disciplined enough to where I don't need a motivator or a deadline to encourage me to study. The last time i took a test, I was sicker than a dog, with a sinus infection. I had to cram and things were not ideal. After that, I promised i would wait until im ready to schedule. I know what you're saying though. Some people need deadlines. I work better at my own pace though. The reason I say "wait until you're ready" is because if you take it too soon, it can have the opposite effect if you fail. After that, you will probably over study and then you're back to square one. Trust me. I failed my first test taking the advice "just schedule it" and because I wasn't ready, then I over studied for almost a year. My new strategy is to "schedule it when i'm ready". No sooner and no later. Granted, I past my last test in January so i'm going to use this momentum and study 2 hours a day. I think at that rate it should only take me 4-6 weeks to get ready for each test.

I found your recent thread here pretty revealing --> viewtopic.php?f=10&t=37905

Your first time around, your problem wasn't the amount of time studying, it was that you only had 1 incomplete study guide and a small NCARB quiz as your resource for 2 whole months!

Then the 2nd time around you had a much better list of study materials, but you spent way to long studying. In fact, according to your post, you slacked off studying for a few months. What would have helped that? Scheduling a time to take the test.

This brings me back to my original point, and the same point as a lot of other people in this thread, which is you need a goal, and scheduling the exam forces you to do that goal. And I'll add this: before you schedule that test, you need to establish a good study system incorporating appropriate amount of time, plenty of good study materials, and an efficient study process.

[vrcat25]

You're missing my point RWWON. If I would have been ready the first time, whether it was due to inadequate reading material or not studying enough, I could have passed the first time. I knew I probably wasn't ready but I had followed somebody's advice to "just schedule it". After you fail a test you tend to overstudy. So, how does one solve thst problem? Pass the first time by not scheduling the test until you are ready. If you pass, you can build on the momemntum. If you fail, it was probably because you were not ready. Make sense? I understand that some people need a motivator but thst strategy doesn't work for me.

[rwwon]

The OP wasn't asking if he was ready or not, he was asking How to know, which you've finally, somewhat, answered here

whether it was due to inadequate reading material or not studying enough.

[raphaeltreed]

Testing Tuesday, Any suggestions to look over at the last minute?
I have used Kaplan, Ballast, Funkier mock exam online, AHPP, Gang Chen mock exam, Hardin Lectures, Caroline Notes,

Any advice would be appreciated

[rwwon]

Raphaeltreed - I actually took the CDS this morning. I know its mentioned in most of the guides you have, but make sure to hit the ADA guidelines - know the numbers.

[vrcat25]

Testing Tuesday, Any suggestions to look over at the last minute?
I have used Kaplan, Ballast, Funkier mock exam online, AHPP, Gang Chen mock exam, Hardin Lectures, Caroline Notes,

Any advice would be appreciated

I passed CDS about a month ago and uses basically the same study material as you. Your study material is optimal Raphaeltreed. As for advice, I would focus on any areas that you are deficient in. You may want to browse over AIA 201 General conditions of the contract and any other contract documents you are not as familiar with. I made a set of notes I studied based on Ballast. Also, read over Caroline's notes again. Most importantly, submit your vignette for review on here and make sure you are ready for the vignette. You still have ample opportunity to squeeze in a bunch of studying between now and Tuesday. I guess the big question is "are you ready"? If not, you have a little over a weekend to get ready. BTW, Good luck RWWON. I thought you had already passes CDS with your wealth of knowledge.

[vrcat25]

The OP wasn't asking if he was ready or not, he was asking How to know, which you've finally, somewhat, answered here

Who is the OP you are referring to? As for the proper reading material and not studying enough, I thought that was obvious. I was simply referring to the first response who said "just schedule and take it". My advice is to "take it schedule it when you're ready, no matter how long it takes to get ready". Haste is waste. I don't find it wise nor advisable to light a fire under your own butt. Can we agree to disagree as to our strategies. Good luck on CDS. Is it your first test?

[rwwon]

BTW, Good luck RWWON. I thought you had already passes CDS with your wealth of knowledge.

If you're talking about my wealth of knowledge as far as general test taking tips, then yes thank you, I have taken a lot of tests over my life and would consider myself as having a wealth of knowledge in how to take exams.

As far as the CDS, no, unfortunately I don't have a wealth of knowledge. I've only spent a month studying for the exam instead of a whole year...

btw, 85 posts in 6 weeks is very impressive - you obviously have a lot to share

[raphaeltreed]

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely take a extra look at that ADA guidelines, and try to single to my greatest deficiencies.

[vrcat25]

As far as the CDS, no, unfortunately I don't have a wealth of knowledge. I've only spent a month studying for the exam instead of a whole year...

btw, 85 posts in 6 weeks is very impressive - you obviously have a lot to share

Well, at least I have a pass in CDS which is more than you can say RWWON. I'm not sure why you are giving advice when you haven't even passed a course. Have you even taken any of the ARE courses yet? At least i'm honest and admitted that i failed the course the first time after under studying and then over studying. You are kind of insulting everybody who took a year to pass a course. You realize some people take longer than that right? I'm sure you would never admit it if you failed a test though. People like you are quick to find faults in everybody else besides yourself.

BTW, over half of my posts were spent trying to explain to you to "schedule when you are ready". I'm not sure why that's so difficult for you to understand.

[vrcat25]

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely take a extra look at that ADA guidelines, and try to single to my greatest deficiencies.

You're very welcome. Good luck raphaeltreed.

[fpr4]

Lots of tension in this thread.

First of all, you can't take 10 months to study for each test. That puts you over the rolling clock allowance. If you can't pass these tests after 2-3 months of studying, you shouldn't be taking them. That's not to say that if you study for 2 months and get a fail you should give up, but if you study for 2 months on several tests and keep getting fails, then you aren't ready.

Secondly, studying is a little overrated for these exams. The amount of questions that I have drawn (for the 6 that I have passed over the past 11 months) that were covered in the study material is probably in the 15-20% range. I think CDS and structures are probably the most "studyable" tests. BS is the only test I haven't taken but the rest I'd say a far majority of the questions I drew from my practice experience (9 years) rather than studying.

I would not study from single or even a handful of sources. The chances you're "ready" by extensively studying Kaplan, Ballast, Jenny's Notes, Caroline's Notes or any two combos of these sources is low. Try to get as much of a breadth of knowledge as you can.

Not sure how your all's Prometric schedule is, but if I waited until I was "Ready" to take a test to schedule it, I'd be waiting 6 weeks after I was "Ready" to be able to take it. Unless I wanted the most inconvenient test date in the middle of the week at 3pm. Every test I've taken I've scheduled while I was studying for the previous one. I haven't had a drop off in studying in over a year. If you want to drag these things out, be prepared to be one of the people in the general discussion forum complaining about how their rolling clock is about to expire. 12 months to 2 years is all that it should take for someone with enough experience to pass these tests, to be able to pass these tests.

[vrcat25]

Lots of tension in this thread.

First of all, you can't take 10 months to study for each test. That puts you over the rolling clock allowance. If you can't pass these tests after 2-3 months of studying, you shouldn't be taking them. That's not to say that if you study for 2 months and get a fail you should give up, but if you study for 2 months on several tests and keep getting fails, then you aren't ready.

Secondly, studying is a little overrated for these exams. The amount of questions that I have drawn (for the 6 that I have passed over the past 11 months) that were covered in the study material is probably in the 15-20% range. I think CDS and structures are probably the most "studyable" tests. BS is the only test I haven't taken but the rest I'd say a far majority of the questions I drew from my practice experience (9 years) rather than studying.

I would not study from single or even a handful of sources. The chances you're "ready" by extensively studying Kaplan, Ballast, Jenny's Notes, Caroline's Notes or any two combos of these sources is low. Try to get as much of a breadth of knowledge as you can.

Not sure how your all's Prometric schedule is, but if I waited until I was "Ready" to take a test to schedule it, I'd be waiting 6 weeks after I was "Ready" to be able to take it. Unless I wanted the most inconvenient test date in the middle of the week at 3pm. Every test I've taken I've scheduled while I was studying for the previous one. I haven't had a drop off in studying in over a year. If you want to drag these things out, be prepared to be one of the people in the general discussion forum complaining about how their rolling clock is about to expire. 12 months to 2 years is all that it should take for someone with enough experience to pass these tests, to be able to pass these tests.

No tension here FPR4. As my 4 year old son would say, "it's easy breezy lemon squeezy". I passed CDS on my second attempt and am close to being ready after studying PPP for less than a month. I will wait to schedule when i'm ready. I have a child and personal life so my study schedule fluctuates. If my son gets sick, I may not be able to study 2 hours per day. I'll simply wait another week and I will know when i'm ready after getting a decent score on the practice test. If you look on here some people fail the test 3-4 times so I don't feel so bad just failing it once. Especially since I have a child and many other personal things going on. If i didn't have a family or a personal life, I could crank these out about 1 a month. If you have children, you might be able to relate. Insulting others may build up your own ego, but it does little to help. For the final time, my advise to everybody is to WAIT and schedule the test when you are ready. Don't be a sheep and think that just because you scheduled the test and are forced to take it that you will condition yourself. I made this mistake by listening to the advise of my grandfather and others on my first test. "Just schedule the test" is bad advise and it's not that hard to study for it and to schedule it when you are ready. I'm not sure why it's so difficult for you two to understand. Maybe you are better than most and have never failed a test FPR4. i'm just trying to help out the others. Speaking of tension, I really think you need to lighten up yourself some. BTW, did you pass all of your tests on the first try? I never received an answer from RWWON

[fpr4]

Lots of tension in this thread.

First of all, you can't take 10 months to study for each test. That puts you over the rolling clock allowance. If you can't pass these tests after 2-3 months of studying, you shouldn't be taking them. That's not to say that if you study for 2 months and get a fail you should give up, but if you study for 2 months on several tests and keep getting fails, then you aren't ready.

Secondly, studying is a little overrated for these exams. The amount of questions that I have drawn (for the 6 that I have passed over the past 11 months) that were covered in the study material is probably in the 15-20% range. I think CDS and structures are probably the most "studyable" tests. BS is the only test I haven't taken but the rest I'd say a far majority of the questions I drew from my practice experience (9 years) rather than studying.

I would not study from single or even a handful of sources. The chances you're "ready" by extensively studying Kaplan, Ballast, Jenny's Notes, Caroline's Notes or any two combos of these sources is low. Try to get as much of a breadth of knowledge as you can.

Not sure how your all's Prometric schedule is, but if I waited until I was "Ready" to take a test to schedule it, I'd be waiting 6 weeks after I was "Ready" to be able to take it. Unless I wanted the most inconvenient test date in the middle of the week at 3pm. Every test I've taken I've scheduled while I was studying for the previous one. I haven't had a drop off in studying in over a year. If you want to drag these things out, be prepared to be one of the people in the general discussion forum complaining about how their rolling clock is about to expire. 12 months to 2 years is all that it should take for someone with enough experience to pass these tests, to be able to pass these tests.

No tension here FPR4. As my 4 year old son would say, "it's easy breezy lemon squeezy". After i passed CDS a little over a month ago, I started studying for PPP. In hind sight, I took some bad advise from my grandfather to "just schedule it". That's why i failed it the first time. If you look on here some people fail the test 3-4 times so I don't feel so bad just failing it once. Especially since I have a child and many other personal things going on. If i didn't have a family or a personal life, I could crank these out about 1 a month. If you have children, you might be able to relate. Insulting others may build up your own ego, but it does little to help. For the final time, my advise to everybody is to WAIT and schedule the test when you are ready. Don't be a sheep and think that just because you scheduled the test and are forced to take it that you will condition yourself.

I'm not insulting anyone. I have two kids (7 and 5), a wife that works full time and am the only employee at my firm. I know all about time constraints. I've sacrificed every semblance of a social life to get these exams behind me. That's not to say that's right for everyone.

I'm not trying to be abrasive or be a know-it-all. I have 1 test left (after passing the first six in one try each since last March) and realize that it's possible (though unlikely) that I fail it 3 times before I pass. So I try to pass thru here with some humility. After reading thru some of your posts (especially in this thread) I feel like you are trying to be a know-it-all. For what purpose, I'm not sure. You constantly call people wrong and even accosted one of the most helpful people on this forum (sbyrktct) in a separate thread. I'm not the police here, so I really don't care what you do, but if I were someone new to these forums, I would steer clear of your advice. I mean, earlier in this thread you stated "If you're not ready keep studying even if it takes you another year to prepare. Some people take a month to study while others might take a full year for one test." That's not even possible under the format. I don't believe you believe half of what you're posting.

The one thing you've said that I agree with is that you need to be ready before you schedule an exam. You need to be ready to pass all of the exams when you sit down to start your first one. "Studying" should really only be mastering the obtuse vignettes and supplementing what should already be strong subject knowledge of all of the exam categories.

That's all.

[vrcat25]

I'm not trying to be abrasive or be a know-it-all. I have 1 test left (after passing the first six in one try each since last March) and realize that it's possible (though unlikely) that I fail it 3 times before I pass. So I try to pass thru here with some humility. After reading thru some of your posts (especially in this thread) I feel like you are trying to be a know-it-all. For what purpose, I'm not sure. You constantly call people wrong and even accosted one of the most helpful people on this forum (sbyrktct) in a separate thread. I'm not the police here, so I really don't care what you do, but if I were someone new to these forums, I would steer clear of your advice. I mean, earlier in this thread you stated "If you're not ready keep studying even if it takes you another year to prepare. Some people take a month to study while others might take a full year for one test." That's not even possible under the format. I don't believe you believe half of what you're posting.

The one thing you've said that I agree with is that you need to be ready before you schedule an exam. You need to be ready to pass all of the exams when you sit down to start your first one. "Studying" should really only be mastering the obtuse vignettes and supplementing what should already be strong subject knowledge of all of the exam categories.

That's all.

I hardly "accosted" Sbyrktct so you can stop with the melodramatics and the witch hunting. It's funny how you and RWWON both researched my past threads in other topics to try and substantiate yourselves in this thread.

At least we can agree on 1 thing FPR4, lol! What's ironic about you agreeing with the one thing i said is that it was the only real point I'm trying to convey to all of the people who need help with passing this test. Don't make the same mistake as I did and take the advise of family/friends to "just schedule it". I took this advise and it cost me about 9 extra months. If i would have been ready and took another couple of weeks, I'm sure I would have passed the first time. I admit that I was being facetious when i said "take it when you are ready, even if it takes you a year". On the other hand, what's the point in scheduling a test and taking it if you're not ready? I'm sure there's people that have used this strategy and failed the test 3-4 times. Granted, it took me a full year to pass one test at least I waited until i was ready on the second shot and didn't have to retake it a second or third time right? Let me use a simple analogy. Imagine for one minute somebody is training to become a pilot. He's not entirely comfortable with takeoff or landing, but he decides to "just do it". There's 1 million other analogy I could use and in each and every case, having blind faith is a recipe for disaster.

[fpr4]

I'm not trying to be abrasive or be a know-it-all. I have 1 test left (after passing the first six in one try each since last March) and realize that it's possible (though unlikely) that I fail it 3 times before I pass. So I try to pass thru here with some humility. After reading thru some of your posts (especially in this thread) I feel like you are trying to be a know-it-all. For what purpose, I'm not sure. You constantly call people wrong and even accosted one of the most helpful people on this forum (sbyrktct) in a separate thread. I'm not the police here, so I really don't care what you do, but if I were someone new to these forums, I would steer clear of your advice. I mean, earlier in this thread you stated "If you're not ready keep studying even if it takes you another year to prepare. Some people take a month to study while others might take a full year for one test." That's not even possible under the format. I don't believe you believe half of what you're posting.

The one thing you've said that I agree with is that you need to be ready before you schedule an exam. You need to be ready to pass all of the exams when you sit down to start your first one. "Studying" should really only be mastering the obtuse vignettes and supplementing what should already be strong subject knowledge of all of the exam categories.

That's all.

I hardly "accosted" Sbyrktct so you can stop with the melodramatics and the witch hunting. It's funny how you and RWWON both researched my past threads in other topics to try and substantiate yourselves in this thread.

At least we can agree on 1 thing FPR4, lol! What's ironic about you agreeing with the one thing i said is that it was the only real point I'm trying to convey to all of the people who need help with passing this test. Don't make the same mistake as I did and take the advise of family/friends to "just schedule it". I took this advise and it cost me about 9 extra months. If i would have been ready and took another couple of weeks, I'm sure I would have passed the first time. I admit that I was being facetious when i said "take it when you are ready, even if it takes you a year". On the other hand, what's the point in scheduling a test and taking it if you're not ready? I'm sure there's people that have used this strategy and failed the test 3-4 times. Granted, it took me a full year to pass one test at least I waited until i was ready on the second shot and didn't have to retake it a second or third time right? Let me use a simple analogy. Imagine for one minute somebody is training to become a pilot. He's not entirely comfortable with takeoff or landing, but he decides to "just do it". There's 1 million other analogy I could use and in each and every case, having blind faith is a recipe for disaster.

Not sure what parts of what you say is accurate. First you say that all you studied thr first time was caroline's notes. Then you say the 2nd time you used ballast. Then you try to discourage people from using kaplan, although at first you claim you've never used kaplan.

Are you trolling?

[vrcat25]

Nothing I said was inaccurate. The first time I used Carolines notes and the second time I used Ballast. Carolines notes are taken from Kaplan. I purchased a Kaplan book on structures before i decided that im not going to even take the structures test until later. I browsed thru it some enough to figure out I don't like the structure of Kaplan books. IMO the are review manual by ballast is cheaper than 7 Kaplan books and probably better. I'm not sure why I need to explain this to you. Especially since you have misconstrued everything I said and cherry picking past threads. Are you some kind of self appointed forum monitor? You really need to lighten up and YOU ARE very abrasive and a brown noser. That's all...

[rwwon]

[vrcat25] Are you trolling?

We must raise a warning to others!

[fpr4]

Nothing I said was inaccurate. The first time I used Carolines notes and the second time I used Ballast. Carolines notes are taken from Kaplan. I purchased a Kaplan book on structures before i decided that im not going to even take the structures test until later. I browsed thru it some enough to figure out I don't like the structure of Kaplan books. IMO the are review manual by ballast is cheaper than 7 Kaplan books and probably better. I'm not sure why I need to explain this to you. Especially since you have misconstrued everything I said and cherry picking past threads. Are you some kind of self appointed forum monitor? You really need to lighten up and YOU ARE very abrasive and a brown noser. That's all...

1) Caroline's notes may be "taken" from Kaplan, but they are not Kaplan. If she was distributing a large majority of their content, even without compensation, I'm sure they would attempt to stop it.

2) Ballast is not a very good resource for Structures. Way too in depth and convoluted. Tips like this, from people who have taken and passed the exams, is really the purpose of this forum.

Good luck

[vrcat25]

Nothing I said was inaccurate. The first time I used Carolines notes and the second time I used Ballast. Carolines notes are taken from Kaplan. I purchased a Kaplan book on structures before i decided that im not going to even take the structures test until later. I browsed thru it some enough to figure out I don't like the structure of Kaplan books. IMO the are review manual by ballast is cheaper than 7 Kaplan books and probably better. I'm not sure why I need to explain this to you. Especially since you have misconstrued everything I said and cherry picking past threads. Are you some kind of self appointed forum monitor? You really need to lighten up and YOU ARE very abrasive and a brown noser. That's all...

1) Caroline's notes may be "taken" from Kaplan, but they are not Kaplan. If she was distributing a large majority of their content, even without compensation, I'm sure they would attempt to stop it. the first page of her notes say "referenced based on Kaplan. I think we are referring to the same thing. "taken from" is equivalent to "based on". I was not implying that she literally "took" Kaplans notes. I really feel we're picking hairs with this. Geez Louise..

2) Ballast is not a very good resource for Structures. Way too in depth and convoluted. Tips like this, from people who have taken and passed the exams, is really the purpose of this forum. I was speaking in general. There are many other people who prefer the structure of Ballast study guides over Kaplan. I'll take your advise into consideration regarding studying for the structures exam when i take it 4-6 months from now. THANKS! I do appreciate relevant tips from the majority of people on this forum. I respect your contribution and directness. I'm not sure why RWWON feels the need to mud sling and post irrelevant comments. Making accusations like his calling me a "troll" are on the verge of falling under the category of harassment and defamation of character. I'm not sure of his contribution to this forum and in his own word, he has not passed CDS.

Good luck

[jibit3]

It's been interesting reading through peoples points of views on this matter.
I'd like to thank everyone for their help and let you all know I test on 02/18/2015.

Bring it on Construction Documents!