April 08 Electrical PE

[PEGILL]

For all you guys contributing to this forum …thank you all. I have been keeping myself up to date with all the information shared on this forum so far. All those notes and tips are helpful. Taking the PE Electrical (Power) in April 08.

Now its to the point where I am starting to get scared. Had done as much as I could so far and now just drudging along as the time fly by.

Any words of confidence boosting as what to do in next 3 weeks. If you open a new topic it looks like you have to read whole thing over and it seems like you have forgotten everything you have studied so far.

:brickwall: :screwloose:

 

[Dark Knight]

Now its to the point where I am starting to get scared. Had done as much as I could so far and now just drudging along as the time fly by.
Any words of confidence boosting as what to do in next 3 weeks. If you open a new topic it looks like you have to read whole thing over and it seems like you have forgotten everything you have studied so far.

These are normal feelings. It shows you are just human. In these few weeks review the topics that gave you a hard time and also check your logistic plan(ID, admission ticket, hotel reservations (if any), what are you going to use carry the books.

Be sure you try the NCEES Practice Test and , if possible, do a dry run to get familiar with the time constrains of the test.

G'luck mate arty-smiley-048:

 

[maryannette]

First of all, take a deep breath and exhale all the way. If you have done your studying and preparation as best you could, you don't need to be afraid. In your situation, I would probably work problems to get used to the process of understanding the problem, finding the best resource, getting units correct, etc. Make sure you can flip to the page you need without wasting any time. Get your stuff together. Then, don't sit around and worry. Most of us have been there. We survive. Good luck. We're here if you need us.

 

[Wolverine]

When training for a 10k road race, one training technique is to build your base miles up for several months, then do hill-repeats to strengthen your muscles for a few weeks while continuing to build base, and then run a few practice races prior to the BIG race to test yourself and get prepared. I applied the same strategy to taking the PE.

I built my base up over a couple months with a pre-packaged study schedule. Then while that continued, I hard-hit a few selected subjects to make sure I could soar with my strengths. Then I did some practice tests under real world conditions to find where my strengths and weaknesses were. Then I worked to shore up some of the weaknesses I found so they wouldn't kill me. A few subjects I even had to abandon as not worth the effort.

Whatever you do, try to get energized and embrace the challenge. This is an exciting time in your career. You've trained and trained, and now you're getting ready to face the dragon. Savor the moment.

I heard a good story from Coach Rick Patino about his college basketball team during a major championship game. They were ahead, but there was still plenty of time on the clock and he noticed his players slowing down, looking at the clock, waiting for it to run out. He called a T.O. and got his team in the huddle. "Savor the moment", he said. "This is a championship game. Your whole life has led you to this point in time. You will never be here again. Go out and play for the win. You may win, you may lose, but savor the moment." I like that story and recall it when faced with a difficult challenge. Good luck.

 

[KEG]

I'll be taking my second try in April. I've been studying since January, putting in about 2 - 3 hours in the evenings 3 -4 days/week, then about 8 hours on the weekends (I have taken an entire weekend off now and then). What I am really concentrating on now is working practice problems and making sure I know my reference material. My first try was unsuccessful because I did not prepare at all for the test (studying or otherwise) due to work and/or family. If I fail this time, it won't be because I didn't put forth the effort or time studying. Sounds to me like you have prepared yourself well. Good Luck!

 

[PEGILL]

Thank you all for these kind words and helpful advice.

I did took NCEES practice exam under real life conditions. One thing I learned out of it is, not to forget to bring Tylenol to the exam and not to have heavy lunch. When I took evening portion of the exam after lunch, I was too sleepy to think straight and made some stupid mistakes. And in the process lost some confidence in tackling the afternnon exam in first hour of the exam.

:thankyou:

 

[Techie_Junkie_PE_LEED_AP]

Sounds like you've got a good plan. Like BIO said, make sure your arragements are in order so that doesn't strees you out last minute. Here's a post with a handy checklist of items to bring on exam day: http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=5507

I used this "home stretch" time to lightly review AM stuff I was weak on, and rotate through the sections for PM Power; Transformers, Motors, Generators, etc. I did a ton of problems throughout, but didn't do any full sample exams until the week of the exam. Don't do that, give yourself time, it stressed me out unnecessarily.

The PM section was what I wanted to plenty of reference for, to cover the non-calculation questions like "which is better, A or B?" or "what is the biggest concern for X?" those you may need to look up sentence type answers in references.

Sounds like you thought it out and put the time in, so don't stress, just study.

Good luck!