87 replies to this topic

[MetsFan]

I think my results could go either way. My strategy was to read through each problem and if I thought I could solve it in five minutes, I would go ahead and work on it. Otherwise, I would skip it and come back to it on the second run through.

The morning went ok but I blindly guessed on about 3 or 4. I narrowed down another 3 to two or three answer choices. Overall, I would say I missed about 10 counting the guesses and maybe a couple I got wrong along the way. I have to say though, I was feeling pretty down on it until I reached the HVAC questions. That really got my confidence up.

I thought I would make up for it in the afternoon, but there were a lot of questions I wasn't expecting. On my first run through, I had only done about 4 of the first 20 questions. The next 20 went a little better and I was able to get an answer for a good portion of them. On my second run through I was able to get a better understanding of the questions and was able to get an answer for a few more. I went through a couple more times until I had about 30 minutes left. At this point, I had about 10 questions that I either had to blindly guess, or was able to cross out one or more answers.

I felt pretty bummed Friday night. As I thought about it, I was only concentrating on the problems I couldn't get and not on all the questions I think I got right, so I'm hoping for the best. I will be doing some reading here and there though so it stays fresh in my mind in case I have to retake it in October.

How did you guys do?

Edited by MetsFan, 17 April 2012 - 01:59 PM.

[Krakosky]

I pretty much feel the same as you. Overall, I thought the level of difficulty of the exam was on par with the NCEES practice tests. Tho there seemed to be more "legwork" required on some of the am questions. I flew thru the first 20 problems and was making good time. I didn't skip around and look for the easiest problems bc I was able to solve all of the problems I was coming across. Then I got stuck on a problem which seemed like it should've been straight forward and simple. I spent too much time on it and started to feel behind. The last 20 questions weren't as easy for me although most were doable. I ended up having to guess on about 10 questions bc I ran out of time. The majority of them were HVAC. I know I missed out on an easy question bc it was near the end of the exam and I came to it with 1 minute left.

I skipped around a lot more in the pm section to make sure to get all of the low hanging fruit problems. I went thru all 40 problems and did all the ones I could do right away or with minimal lookup. I ended up having to guess on about 12 problems.

I feel good about the problems I did solve and got an answer that matched one of the choices. I just hope I didn't make a bunch of dumb mistakes. I'm hoping I can scrape by but I'm not so sure.

[MizzouMatt]

I took the Mechanical HVAC. I thought that the morning went well. I got answers that I felt good about to every problem except 1. I finished an hour or so early. The afternoon was much harder in my opinion. I skipped about 12 problems on my first pass through but was able to feel pretty good about 35/40 answers in the end and just plain guessed on only 1. I think I probably did ok but who really knows. I could have screwed up units on a whole bunch of problems and I would not really know. I guess the waiting game starts. I hope everyone else feels pretty good about the test.

Metsfan, I agree with you that there were a bunch of problems on the afternoon that I was not really ready for. The first 10 or so really scared me. I had to skip 4 or five of those and come back later. I also started to cruise along on the second half of the morning only skipping a handful of those last twenty. I had about an hour and a half to work on the problems that i had skipped.

[Rockettt]

Well i took the Machine design depth. All i can say is the morning HVAC kicked my butt. I was never good nore did i ever like that stuff. The machine design problems, while harder in my opinion than the Practice tests....i whiddled through fine. guessed on 1 or 2. Morning probably 6 or so educated guesses however educated they were haha.

I wish you all the best though. Heres to not taking it again! I got my hopes high but woudlnt be the end of the world to retake. It eased my mind going into it that around EB i knew that i wasnt the only one worried.

[ksprayberry]

I'm in the same boat. I felt that the morning session was maybe easier than what I anticipated and had prepared for, which makes me second guess myself. Maybe some of them were trick questions or something. I finished early and went back through trying to check for mistakes I may have made. I think I guessed at maybe 5 or so.

I don't feel that the material I used to study by or practice exams accurately represented the types of problems I encountered on the test. I started and right off the bat I had the wind knocked out of my sails. I felt going in that I had a good handle on the HVAC and would have a hard time with the morning session. I couldn't have been more wrong. I started and jumped around quite a bit. I had seen some of the problems before, but they threw that extra twist in there to complicate it a little more. Emiril Lagasse must have written the test.... "BAM! Kick it up a notch" I jumped around and answered the easier ones and mustered a little more confidence and settled in on the harder ones. I know there are several that I got just plain wrong, but there were 5 or so that I problably guessed at straight out. I used the whole time in the afternoon. Even in the last minute I noticed that I had skipped one...So I guessed at it.

We'll see. I can't tell. If I had to guess, I would say I'll be taking it again in October. At least I know more about the process and how to go about it all. Now comes the long wait.

Thanks for the help.
Kelly

[Rockettt]

One thing I do notice this go around at a test, Is i had a good group of friends back in school. We all studied together. Studying alone makes it tough. sometimes you just get stuck and cant get through a problem. I coulda used a few people to kick me in the gut and get me straightened out lol. Plus i used to help alot of people get through their homework as i usually knew what i was doing. So that helped get me even more familiar with the material. By the time I got to the test it was a breeze. Was great to have people here thats for sure. And to the veterans around here too gave all the help!

I think if i had to Ill scope out a review class and hopefully dig up some people around here to maybe study with. hope wont have to be done but....

[gaurav0323]

I am a proud PE Exam veteran . This was my second go for PE Mechanical systems and Materials. If I have to grade Oct 2011 VS April 2012 exam I would give 9.50/10 and 9.45/10 for Oct 2011 morning and Apr 2012 morning. For Afternoon I would give 9.50/10 and 9.60/10 for Oct 2011 and Apr 2012.
Last time there were equal percentage of problems on MD, Thermal and HVAC in morning. I was not that well prepared in HVAC and scored poorly. This time around I really crunched on HVAC in my study time, but alas to my surprise there were very few probelms on HVAC. Also very few problems on MD and thermal and lots of them on general engineering. I feel that I did better this time than Oct -11 for morning.
MD- evening was a nightmare. I did lot of silly mistakes which are un-pardonable. I feel that my afternoon section went the same way or better than afternoon compared to last time.
I remember last time I was only able to get through 20/40 problems in evening and guessed on remaining 20. This time around I was atleast able to go over all 40 and guessed on 6-9 problems. I feel that I will make it through.
PS. I got 68% last time and was one-step away from finishing line. I hope that this time I am through. This is my last chance, my wife is frustrated and cannot take this anymore.

[Krakosky]

If you don't mind me asking what was your # correct last time? You said you got a 68%. How many right was that? Overall how many did you guess on last time? I feel like I had to guess on a lot bc I ran out of time but the ones I did answer I feel confident on. I guess it can go either way...

[gaurav0323]

Krakosy,
I scored 44/80 last time and 46/80 was the passing score. I remember one of the guy in this forum scored 69% with 45/80 correct (MD-Depth). Looking at Apr -12 exam I feel that again 45-46/80 will be the passing score because it was of same/more difficult than Oct -11 exam.
If I dont make it this time I will go to the Himalayas and attain nirvana or become a buddhist priest.

[Krakosky]

Wow. That's a lower cut score than I thought. Maybe I actually have a shot. I also took MD depth.

[Rockettt]

Wow really? that seems low. I was shootin for 70% ! hmmmmm..... now you got my dander up.

Hope NYS gets into high gear and gets the info movin along!

[MizzouMatt]

I guess I am confused on how a 46 / 80 is a 68%.

[aneesu786]

Here are some post on the way people felt about the Mechanical PE from Oct 2011 right after they took it:
http://engineerboard...showtopic=17486

Personally i remembered feeling good and confident when i left the test site. But I knew I had guessed on 6-7 on the AM and an equal number in PM sessions.

I would recommend taking some notes on what you can remember about the questions you guessed on and how you would go about solving them, in the scenario where you might have failed the exam.

Also from last October, the people who posted on EB were pretty confident about doing good and did end up passing. However, this does not say that those who felt mediocre failed. If your study habits were disciplined, then the scores will reflect it. Based on the people's post on this Mechanical Board, I would say that many of you will pass as it was consistent with the study habits from the test takers in the Oct '11 exam.

Now just wait and hope for the best....

[gaurav0323]

MizzouMatt,
Nope 46/80 was passing score for MD last time around. 44/80 was 68% and 45/80 was 69%. PE exams are graded on a curve and not on number of correct answers. If it was graded on number of correct answers like getting 56/80 correct = 70% I would have never made it through .
Krakosky, Rockett,
Reading your posts you guys did far better than what I did last time. I guessed on 30/80 questions in Oct -11. I am pretty confident you guys will make it through.

[MizzouMatt]

I guess I always had heard that you need a 70% and took it to mean 56 / 80. I hope you are right.

[snickerd3]

NO ONE knows the cut score. People hypothesize based on the diagnoistic reports they get and certain states (very few) send the score.

[Jonhnny123]

My immediate thought after the PE exam was "I think I did OK". Much better than my thoughts after the FE exam last year, which were, "Oh god, I failed. That was the worst test I've ever taken!"

I took the Mechanical - Thermal/Fluids Exam

The morning went well. I didn't think it would be too productive for me to read through each problem and rank them based on difficulty. I just started at number 1 and worked straight through. If I knew how to solve the problem, I'd do it. If I was unsure, I'd look around for a formula for a minute or two. If I still couldn't figure it out, I'd guess an answer and mark that question. I was able to go back and verify the answer to two of the 6 questions I was unsure about leaving me with just 4 that were complete guesses. I was done in two hours, so I got a nice extended lunch break. I decided to walk around a bit since it was such a nice day out. I felt confident about the exam at that point and the walk helped clear my head for the afternoon session.

The afternoon wasn' nearly as smooth. The first 15 or so questions I just couldn't answer! I definitely started panicing! I was only spending a couple minutes on each, because I could pretty much tell right away if I knew what approach to take. Thankfully after that stretch, there were a bunch of questions in a row that I was able to confidently solve. There was one question towards the end that I probably spent a little too much time on simply because I knew what needed to be done, but I just could not get the right answer. Anyways, I reached the end and started working on the ones I guessed on. I was able to get it down to about 13 questions that I still didn't feel confident about.

I wish there were more fluid related problems though.. It'd be nice if each exam was tailored to our strengths, wouldn't it?

Of course, I could have gotten more questions wrong than just the ones I guessed on, but I at least feel comfortable. Considering there's always going to be a couple of topics on the exam that you didn't fully study, I felt that my efforts didn't go to waste. I was a nice feeling to see a problem and immediately know what needs to be done. And it happened more often than not with this exam, so I'm happy about that. I just really hope I pass and never have to do it again though haha!

[Krakosky]

Aneesu786,

I wrote out the notes from what I can remember on 59 of the problems. I can't remember all of the details but at least the problem layout, what info was given and what was asked. I did this in attempt to get the questions out of my head. It's hard to make my mind stop thinking about the ones I couldn't come up with an answer for or 2nd guessing the ones I did. At least I'll know what types of problems were asked and what to expect in October if it comes down to that.

[MetsFan]

I thought about writing some notes on the problems I missed, but I think that would make me more depressed. I also read somewhere that they only "recycle" about 20% of the questions so chances are you won't see the same type of problems. I was thinking while working on the exam that I should've studied everything that wasn't on the practice exams.

I do want to say thank you to all of you. You guys definitely helped me get through the week leading up to the exam and it was nice talking to other people in the same boat.

[ksprayberry]

I hate to ask, but as far as the confidentiality, we agreed to not divugle any of the specifics about the test and materials right, specifically questions and answers. Do you think it would be ok to give a review of the test site, the conditions, seating conditions temperature, I know that sounds crazy, but I think if there was anything that made me nervous, it was the not knowing what I was doing or where I was going. I don't want to say too much and be in trouble over it. I think it woudl help someone in my position taking it for the first time....Like I couldn't find my seat at first. I was the dunce that had to be escorted to my seat. Someone was blocking the little seat charts that was on the front row. DOH!

KS

[Krakosky]

Agreed. I was actually surprised to see some problems that were similar to the practice exams and 6MS.

[Outlaw44]

You know, as I've been stewing the last few days, I feel pretty good overall about my exam experience. I don't remember exactly who said it, but someone on EB recommended that you stick in your head the feeling you have when you walk away instead of the weeks of doubt before your results come in. I walked away feeling really good about it, but don't want to jinx it!

Now, that being said, there were a few problems that I was either iffy on how to solve or made a minor mistake in (and thankfully caught) and the answer I came up with was a possible solution. So, hopefully there's not very many I feel good about that I made some minor common mistake they were predicting.

I surprisingly finished both the morning and afternoon ahead of time. I went through the morning and felt 99% sure on 30 out of the 40. There were 5 or 6 that I felt 50% confident on and the remaining I was iffy on but, I don't recall flat out guessing on any. Maybe one or two where I tried to "engineer" a logical guess after digging through the MERM. I took the T/F afternoon and walked away feeling like I kicked its ass. There were a couple that I did have to take an educated guess on, but I had time to look them up and eliminated some answers. I finished the problems in about 3 hrs and 15 mins and took 30 mins to go back through them and/or investigate the ones I was unsure on. Again, hopefully I don't feel good about ones that I made some common mistake and got an available answer.

Overall, I feel pretty good because I didn't have to straight up guess due to time. The ones that I was unsure on, I at least had some time to look into them to cancel out some answers or make an educated guess.

All-in-all, I'd say my thoughts after taking the exam are this: I strongly feel that no one walks away feeling like they scored 100%. There's just no way with an exam like this that covers such a wide array of topics and problems. Conversely, if one were to come nowhere near passing, I believe they would know. So, I think it is perfectly normal for us to feel on the fence about our scores. Another EB member stated that they feel 80% of the people who pass the exam probably pass by 5 or less points. I could not agree with this more. So, I obviously have some doubt (units screw ups, answers from common mistakes, etc.), but I really don't think I could feel any better about the exam, knowing that there will always be some doubt in your mind. But, there's always the possibility of doing the problems just well enough to get one of their wrong answers.

I guess I would say the level of difficulty was equivalent to the NCEES practice exams, but I find it really hard to compare tests with different problems. They might have asked questions on the practice exam that were off from someone's knowledge and then the exam was right in their wheelhouse. Or vice versa.

It's gonna be a long few weeks. I'm trying to keep it out of my head because the more I think about it, the more I doubt how confident I felt walking out. Won't be sure until I get a letter in the mail! If I didn't make it, I'm really not sure what I'm going to do to prep next time. I feel like I did all I could this time.

[Outlaw44]

I guess I always had heard that you need a 70% and took it to mean 56 / 80. I hope you are right.

This is what I was mentally basing everything on as well. I went in thinking if I could miss 20 or less I would be good. I think I did, but who knows how many i feel good about that a screwed up.

There are quite a few "fail score" threads in the "anything about the PE" section of EB. I've seen quite a few people conclude that ~55 has been the arena for a cut score in the past. I have also seen quite a few people, such as gaurav0323, state that something much lower was equivalent to a 70%. 46/80 just seems crazy low to me. The other conclusion out of the fail threads is, no one knows, so don't worry about trying to figure it out (good luck with a group of enginerds ). So, I went in feeling comfortable that if I could miss less than 20, I should be good.

[Krakosky]

Here's the link to the "46" thread.

http://engineerboard...l=&fromsearch=1

[MetsFan]

It's gonna be a long few weeks. I'm trying to keep it out of my head because the more I think about it, the more I doubt how confident I felt walking out. Won't be sure until I get a letter in the mail! If I didn't make it, I'm really not sure what I'm going to do to prep next time. I feel like I did all I could this time.

That's exactly what I'm worried about. I could redo all the problems and practice exams, but it would feel like cheating because I already know how to solve those. Let's not start thinking about that yet though!

[gaurav0323]

Outlaw,
I agree that many disciplines like Civil have a very high cut scores like 55-56/80 question correct = 70%. But you cannot base your assumptions on other branches of engineering. For Mechanical TF/MD/HVAC cut-scores are very low, my buddy who scored 56/80 was on 82% for MD. Also unlike all states Texas releases percentage passing to its candidates. I know my scores and percentage from last time and the reason why I am basing my assumption that 46/80 is passing for MD area.

[Rockettt]

Is this state specific cut scores or developed by NCEES?

[Outlaw44]

^^^ Yeah, I should have caveated my statement, saying that the fail score thread gets input from all disciplines and I don't know which disciplines the ~55/80 come from. I wasn't arguing or trying to refute the score you listed. I have seen those as well. I was just stating that I saw a variety and I was mentally picturing if I could get 60 or more, I should be good.

[aneesu786]

Krakosky,

I think you did fine, don't stress about it! Try to move on with your life....I kinda have not, as I still meander through this board alot.

[Krakosky]

^ LOL. I'll try my best. We need to start a group. Post PE Anonymous. Friday was test day. Saturday was a recovery day of rest and relaxation. And Sunday was like "wait, what's it like to have a life again?"

[Rockettt]

I feel like I am going through studying withdrawl. And i saved a ton of money studying! now that I have free time I can do things! I liked the April test. Study in the wintertime.

[Krakosky]

I agree. I also took my FE in April, last year. It's going to suck if I have to take it again and study in the summer. What people refer to as "summer" here in MI anyways. Definitely a drastic change from TX.

[DVINNY]

How did you guys make out?

Usually in the back of the Buick.........



..... oh... you're talking about the exam.... nevermind.

... We need to start a group. Post PE Anonymous. Friday was test day. Saturday was a recovery day of rest and relaxation. And Sunday was like "wait, what's it like to have a life again?"

The "group" has been started. It's called EngineerBoards.com - it's like a brotherhood (sisterhood) of all of us who have been in this situation

[Charlie Plumb]

I did mechanica/HVAC. I feel like I passed, but definately didn't ace it. I had to guess on about 8 in the morning and 8 in the afternoon. Half of those were educated meaning I could elimated 1 or 2 answers. The other half was a blind guess. After coming home and checking I realized I guessed right on a least 3 that I guess blindly on so that helped me feel more confident. Still the ones I felt good about I could have made a dumb mistake, so I guess you never know.
Regarding passing scores from what I have heard a 47/80 was a passing score on a past exam. Of course it's curved every time, but from reading the responses here that sounds pretty close to the average.

Edited by Major Highway, 27 April 2012 - 05:49 PM.
Requested by Charlie Plumb

[Krakosky]

I think I'd have gone insane by now without this board. It really helped during studying and now during the long wait.

[Rockettt]

Heck yea. boy this is going to be a long 7 more weeks. and knowing NY they'll drag their feet even longer.

[MizzouMatt]

This wait is really driving me crazy. I hope that I don't have to study in the summer too. My wife would kill me if I had to be locked in the basement for another three months. Especially since we are having a kid in June. ohh well. 1 week down 7 more to go!

[Krakosky]

I wonder what will come first, your baby or the PE results?

[gaurav0323]

Heck yea. boy this is going to be a long 7 more weeks. and knowing NY they'll drag their feet even longer.

I feel that we should have results (majority of states) before memorial weekend. Just a guess looking at past result dates.

[Outlaw44]

From the PE Exam Results thread: http://engineerboard...showtopic=10519

Check out the excel sheet. Looks like June 8th, for MO...

[Krakosky]

Wow that would make MI somewhere around May 29.

[Outlaw44]

Dayum. They feel bad about those summers.

[Krakosky]

Lol. That must be it.

[MizzouMatt]

Baby on June 27th so I hope the results are here by then.

[Outlaw44]

Baby on June 27th so I hope the results are here by then.

True dat. I have to leave on June 16th for a destination wedding. Will be gone for over a week. Can't imagine that thing sitting in my mailbox all week...

[MizzouMatt]

You need to have someone check for you if it is not there by then. But only have them call and tell you if you pass. That would kill my vacation if I found that out in the middle.

[Outlaw44]

You need to have someone check for you if it is not there by then. But only have them call and tell you if you pass. That would kill my vacation if I found that out in the middle.

YES. Although, it is a wedding, where I am a groomsmen, so I will be drinking heavily to begin with. My liver might think its worth it to get the "wedding" and "failed the PE" drunk out of the way in the same catastrophe.

[Krakosky]

Do some states still do it by letter?

[Outlaw44]

Yeaaaaa. If you look at that link to the other thread I sent, the last few years have a "method" column. Thank you for pointing out that MO does it by email! I totally didn't see that. Now I will have to look while on vacation...

[dpolet]

In PE exam, does it allow to bring practice problem books?