19 replies to this topic

[gotCMKX]

How realistic is this practice exam as compared to the real exam?

Very Similar? Easier than actual exam? Tougher than actual exam?

[ptatohed]

This has been discussed in length on this forum. In my opinion (and I believe many others) the NCEES practice exam is spot on as far as difficulty and required time needed to complete. Most all of the other practice exams I did were harder/longer than the actual exam.

[geo pe]

I think its very similar to the actual exam, in fact this time (Oct 2011) there were 3-4 questions exactly similar to the NCESS booklet

[Jacob_PE]

I think that one lesson to be learned from the NCEES pratice test is that several of the PE exam questions are easy to solve, easy to look up, and easy to figure out, even if they at first appear to be foreign. Another lesson is that you must be careful at all times, with units and with providing the requested answer.

[Construction PE]

It is as close as it gets! Treat it as a real exam... sit down and time yourself, break for lunch, make a bubble sheet... the most realistic test prep out there.

[miloc]

Where can I find that practice exam?

[ptatohed]

mil,

The NCEES "Sample Questions and Solutions" can be purchased from........................... NCEES.

http://www.ncees.org...als.php?exam=PE

Other sources have it (Amazon, PPI) but I think it's cheapest from NCEES, even after their hefty shipping charge.

Good luck.

[Grilledcheese17]

I agree, the NCEES practice problems are the best. Last time I studied I only put in about 3 days. I worked my way through most of the practice problems but didn't finish them because I'm a bum. Based on my research, I likely failed by 1 problem (and definitely not more than 4). If I had just finished the practice problems I believe I would have passed. That being said, there's only so many times I can work my way through the 2011 NCEES PE Civil Water/Environmental problem set. Does anyone know what other years are available? Like what was the edition before 2011?

[TrussGuy85]

I think its very similar to the actual exam, in fact this time (Oct 2011) there were 3-4 questions exactly similar to the NCESS booklet

Ditto, several times I thought to myself, I've seen this problem before. Bar none though, the sample exam is a great resource, especially if you do it as your last preparation of studying. It's a super confidence booster if you know your stuff!

[Jayman_PE]

Yeah, compared to the other sample exams this one is the best. Mike's AM Exam is good too. It's probably the closest to the NCEES in terms of style. To think it was written by someone who is not a "Ph.D.", or has penned a thick book is remarkable. No sustitute for substance and style. I'll reach for those sample exams any day over Lindeburg or Goswami.


Jason

[divs]

On the same lines as the discussion above, I was wokring on the sx-minute sample questions and solutions (PPI) and the sample exam by Lindeburg. I felt that the problems were more lenghty and more difficult as compared to the sample exam published by NCEES, infact I felt that the NCEES sample exam seemed pretty easy compared to the other two if you know your stuff well, and probably took much less than 6 minutes for each prolem on an average (esp the AM questions). The one thing I realized is to be careful about the units and also the tricky answers. Answers were either very close or were in difefrent units (if you forgot to do the unit conversion in some step, you would get that answer).

[kenny911]

You're exactly correct and thats one of the reasons I was one of the lucky ones to get a 54/80 last fall. Now, I am going to read everything carefully and slowly in April and obviously reamped my studying the last 3 months. I realized it by studying intensively for a second time, all the little stuff I missed and the wrong charts I was using. But I can now reclaim myself in a few weeks.

[divs]

Other than the 2011 practice exam, does NCEES have any other practice exams which are similar to the actual exam?

[miloc]

You're exactly correct and thats one of the reasons I was one of the lucky ones to get a 54/80 last fall. Now, I am going to read everything carefully and slowly in April and obviously reamped my studying the last 3 months. I realized it by studying intensively for a second time, all the little stuff I missed and the wrong charts I was using. But I can now reclaim myself in a few weeks.

I got 54/80 too. I did the NCEES morning part last night and got some wrong answers due to not reading carefully (I just got 28 out of 40 correct, even though I had study a lot...... and yes, the answers are a bit tricky creating a false sense of confidence; I did it in 2 hr 20 min). Tonight after work I'll do the pm part (transportation) here in my office with all the recommended codes, let's see how it goes.

[kenny911]

miloc,

The NCEES practice book I use has 20 am problems and 40 pm problems which is the transportation one. Which one are you using that has 40 problems?

[ptatohed]

miloc,

The NCEES practice book I use has 20 am problems and 40 pm problems which is the transportation one. Which one are you using that has 40 problems?

http://www.ncees.org...als.php?exam=PE

[kenny911]

Ok thanks. I actually have that book but I wasn't planning on opening it until this weekend to test myself.

[miloc]

miloc,

The NCEES practice book I use has 20 am problems and 40 pm problems which is the transportation one. Which one are you using that has 40 problems?

Yes, I have the one that ptatohed mentioned before. Which one do you have? if it is the ncees..... what year?

[Jayman_PE]

The 2007/2008 version had a smaller problem set than the current version which is the full 40 AM/40 PM for all disciplines.

[LA07]

I have the 2011 NCEES Sample Exam. For anyone who has both the 2008 and 2011 NCEES Sample Exams (specifically Transportation), are there that many different problems on the 2008 set from the 2011 set? If half of the problems are different than it is probably worth trying to find.