TNSparky
Well-known member
I've been seeing some reviews on PPI and School of PE and others and feel I need to give a disclaimer on all of them. I took School of PE and passed the PE exam. That being said, there's a few things to say about it.
1. I agree with the reviews the instructor just read off the slides and wasn't good at elaborating on topics. There was also one or 2 cases where wrong information is given. That is really frustrating for a $990+ course. (Specifically, a Buchholz relay IS NOT, NOR WILL EVER BE the same thing as a sudden pressure relay. They're similar and perform similar functions, but are not the same. Buchholz relays rely on a flow and float switch setpoint in order to operate. A sudden pressure relay is a bellows-type device that operates purely on pressure.)
2. With Item 1 being said, the course was not designed to teach theory. If it's been awhile since you've done circuit analysis, per unit analysis or looked at a machines book, I HIGHLY recommend pulling out some old college textbooks to review these subjects BEFORE taking a review course. The review course WILL NOT teach you theory behind these concepts because there's just no time. There's entire college courses on these subjects. School of PE is only 6 weeks. You do the math.
3. The key to passing this exam is PRACTICE PROBLEMS. Before I took School of PE, I worked the entire Complex/Imaginary tests, all 4 of them. I graded them, see what I missed and figured out what I would really need to pay attention to in School of PE and what I needed to go back and review. In my opinion, this is a very successful strategy and I highly recommend it. If you're retaking in April, NOW is the time to go back and start working practice problems before you get into either retaking the course or taking the course for the first time in March. When you have completed the Complex/Imaginary test set and review course, I recommend working the entire NCEES practice exam from start to finish like it's a simulated real test and figure out where you're still struggling.
4. Recommended reference materials:
-Complex/Imaginary Complete Set
-Camara Power Reference Manual
-NEC with the tabs they sell
-School of PE and/or PPI notes, tabbed out and labeled by major topics/subjects
-School of PE and/or PPI practice problems, tabbed out and labeled by major topics/subjects
-Chapman Machines book (there will be questions on machines and there are formulae you will need out of this book)
-Blackburn Protective Relaying book (probably the best presentation on symmetrical components I've seen; has all the sequence networks already drawn out)
-NCEES practice exam
5. Most importantly: DON'T GIVE UP AND DON'T BE DISCOURAGED! You CAN do this! It's easy to get down about it. I was really upset about it the week of the exam and felt I wasn't ready, but if you prepare and work hard at it, you can do it!
1. I agree with the reviews the instructor just read off the slides and wasn't good at elaborating on topics. There was also one or 2 cases where wrong information is given. That is really frustrating for a $990+ course. (Specifically, a Buchholz relay IS NOT, NOR WILL EVER BE the same thing as a sudden pressure relay. They're similar and perform similar functions, but are not the same. Buchholz relays rely on a flow and float switch setpoint in order to operate. A sudden pressure relay is a bellows-type device that operates purely on pressure.)
2. With Item 1 being said, the course was not designed to teach theory. If it's been awhile since you've done circuit analysis, per unit analysis or looked at a machines book, I HIGHLY recommend pulling out some old college textbooks to review these subjects BEFORE taking a review course. The review course WILL NOT teach you theory behind these concepts because there's just no time. There's entire college courses on these subjects. School of PE is only 6 weeks. You do the math.
3. The key to passing this exam is PRACTICE PROBLEMS. Before I took School of PE, I worked the entire Complex/Imaginary tests, all 4 of them. I graded them, see what I missed and figured out what I would really need to pay attention to in School of PE and what I needed to go back and review. In my opinion, this is a very successful strategy and I highly recommend it. If you're retaking in April, NOW is the time to go back and start working practice problems before you get into either retaking the course or taking the course for the first time in March. When you have completed the Complex/Imaginary test set and review course, I recommend working the entire NCEES practice exam from start to finish like it's a simulated real test and figure out where you're still struggling.
4. Recommended reference materials:
-Complex/Imaginary Complete Set
-Camara Power Reference Manual
-NEC with the tabs they sell
-School of PE and/or PPI notes, tabbed out and labeled by major topics/subjects
-School of PE and/or PPI practice problems, tabbed out and labeled by major topics/subjects
-Chapman Machines book (there will be questions on machines and there are formulae you will need out of this book)
-Blackburn Protective Relaying book (probably the best presentation on symmetrical components I've seen; has all the sequence networks already drawn out)
-NCEES practice exam
5. Most importantly: DON'T GIVE UP AND DON'T BE DISCOURAGED! You CAN do this! It's easy to get down about it. I was really upset about it the week of the exam and felt I wasn't ready, but if you prepare and work hard at it, you can do it!
uke:
