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I definitely recommend this book to bridge test takers:

     Seismic and Wind Forces Structural Design Examples "4th Edition" - Alan Williams

Good for the AM and the PM buildings exam.

 
Passed Lateral Buildings in MA. This was my second try. Passed Vert Buildings this past spring. 

Good luck to all that are looking to pass (acceptable) in the spring!! You can do it!

 
Iv'e had that frustration.  You likely need more problem type exposure and there are a limited set of problems.  Consider the following if you don't already have them:

1. PPI SE Structural Breadth 6 minute problems – Probably a little more involved than typical AM problems in my opinion so very good practice

2. PPI SE Solved Problems – Very good for PM preparation as the problems are a little more involved and difficult than what you will likely see.

3. PPI problems in back of PPI Concrete Design, Steel Design, and Seismic Design – Contains both AM and PM level problems.  Also, example problems throughout these texts were very helpful as practice

4. PPI STERM example problems and end of chapter problems – These were helpful but not as much as others.

5. PPI Practice Exams VF & LF

6. McGraw Hill Practice Exams VF & LF – these were good but had a fair amount of errors in them so be wise about checking your work.

7. NCEES Practice Exams VF & LF

8. Many problems in reference text books.  Examples are helpful for sure.  Answers may not be available to practice problems at end unless you can get a solutions manual on Chegg or something.  I used the following for each of the major disciplines:

a. Wood: Design of Wood Structures by Breyer, et al. 7th ed.

b. Steel: Steel Structures Design & Behavior by Salmon et al. 5th ed.

c. Concrete: Design of Reinforced Concrete by McCormac et al. 10th ed.

d. Masonry: Masonry Structural Design by Tanner & Klingner 2nd ed.

e. Foundations: Foundation Design Principles & Practices by Coduto 2nd ed.

f. Analysis: Structural Analysis by Hibbeler 9th ed.

9. David Connor’s Bridge Practice Problems VF & LF combined text - This and an understanding of AASHTO and where to find things should be all you need for AM bridge problems.
For the lateral exam, the best examples for seismic are SEAOC IBC Seismic Design Manual Vol. 1. Volumes 2-4 are also great. Absolutely essential before any other study guides for the lateral exam in my opinion.

 
I took the NCEES practice exam for Lateral, finished in 3 hours and got 36 or 37 out of 40! Real exam performance was not remotely close to that.
The PPI SE exam by Joseph Schuster is much more in line with the difficulty of the actual exam in my opinion. NCEES practice SE exam is more like the Structural PE exam.

 
What are some things you did to change your study plan for success? I figure that everyone works the two practice exams (PPI & NCEES) and even still, nearly 70% fail. 
If you look on my website www.davidconnorse.com there is an SE exam study calendar on the site that I recommend following in regards to how much you should study for each subject, etc. It is split into taking the vertical and lateral exams separately, which I also highly recommend doing.

 
For the lateral exam, the best examples for seismic are SEAOC IBC Seismic Design Manual Vol. 1. Volumes 2-4 are also great. Absolutely essential before any other study guides for the lateral exam in my opinion.
I brought those along with me and they were very helpful resources for this pass October 2018 lateral exam. I also took the EET-USA class and bought David's book. I was extremely prepared for the morning portion of the exam.

 
PASSED in MN, first time lateral bridges, wow. Can't recommend EET enough, those guys are amazing. best of luck to the rest of you folks, put in the time, take EET, and you've got this!!!
Congrats! Looks like you were 1 of 6 to pass Lateral Bridges on their first attempt! Have you already passed Vertical, or is that next?

 
PASSED in MN, first time lateral bridges, wow. Can't recommend EET enough, those guys are amazing. best of luck to the rest of you folks, put in the time, take EET, and you've got this!!!
Congrats!! I was in the class with you, we've got a good passing percent so far. I think we will be almost all of first time the passers! If that isnt reason enough to take EET..I dont know what is...

 
Congrats!! I was in the class with you, we've got a good passing percent so far. I think we will be almost all of first time the passers! If that isnt reason enough to take EET..I dont know what is...
Well done! Which one(s) did you pass? Anymore left?

already passed vertical, so no more tests for me! How about yourself? I only took EET for lateral, just used PPI books for the vertical portion and probably barely squeaked by.
A good feeling isn't it! I took both components last year, took EET for both of them, passed both first attempt.  I did the lateral first though, which was way harder in my opinion. 

 
If you look on my website www.davidconnorse.com there is an SE exam study calendar on the site that I recommend following in regards to how much you should study for each subject, etc. It is split into taking the vertical and lateral exams separately, which I also highly recommend doing.
Agreed on the splitting up the exams. thanks. I looked at your calendar. Definitely useful. That's essentially the way I study. If only there was a study guide that just says what delineates acceptable, needs improvement, and unacceptable. Upon passing, my goal is to work at NCEES and find new ways to torture...I mean...test...aspiring SEs. My first day working at NCEES I'll meet a grader and say "I've been waiting for you. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I met you I was but the learner. Now, I am the master."

 
After two tries I was able to pass. Failed lateral buildings by a few AM questions in April (mostly the bridge problems gave me trouble), but was able to do it this October. Made an account especially to give a big thank you to David Connor for the excellent Bridge Lateral AM practice problems book. It was the final piece of the puzzle for me to confidently tackle the AM.

I will agree that splitting up the exams will give better focus and results. Good luck to everybody who haven't yet passed! 

 
After two tries I was able to pass. Failed lateral buildings by a few AM questions in April (mostly the bridge problems gave me trouble), but was able to do it this October. Made an account especially to give a big thank you to David Connor for the excellent Bridge Lateral AM practice problems book. It was the final piece of the puzzle for me to confidently tackle the AM.

I will agree that splitting up the exams will give better focus and results. Good luck to everybody who haven't yet passed! 
Congrats on passing. I'm glad my book was the final piece of your puzzle to pass. 

Thank you for buying my book and the kudos!

 
Congrats on passing. I'm glad my book was the final piece of your puzzle to pass. 

Thank you for buying my book and the kudos!
My honest fear is that your book is so good that NCEES takes notice and rewrites the test to up the difficulty, bridge-wise.

 
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Just wanted to drop my two cents here, you can refer to my full review on EET's prep course on the other thread.  I took PPI my first time and was severely disappointed by the lack of lateral material .  It had huge gaps, wasn't thorough, and regurgitated information off slides and the SERM.  I ended up passing vertical in April (because most of this can be found in the SERM with a few extra references), and did abysmally on lateral.   Then I took the EET course - it was night and day.  The course is so well planned, packed with information to help you feel competent on the basics of each material and concepts of lateral design.  My confidence at work has even skyrocketed since my time studying so rigorously for the course because I just feel like an overall better engineer.  If you're having trouble passing either portion of the exam, I highly recommend EET.  Good luck to you all!

 

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