BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!

[jeb6294]

However, I know a lot of people who read through things, were sure they "knew the concepts", never worked any problems and flunked.

Guess I should have specified...I still worked plenty of problems, but I think I got as much out of breaking down the ones I couldn't do and figuring out how to solve them rather than just skipping them and moving on to the next problem.

I'd go through the solution and figure out where in my CERM they were getting their concepts and formulas for every step in the solution (little hint for ya', sometimes they ask a very similar question on the exam that may simply be the "first half" of one of the difficult sample problems). Usually I'd go back through a book after a few weeks to see if everything still stuck and that was I'd work on solving those harder problems I couldn't get the first time.

Hey, if it was as easy as going through the sample problems and just doing all the ones that were easy to do, then everyone would pass.

 

[NSEARCH]

One of the stategies that I used while taking the exam was numbering the problems 1,2, or 3. 1 being that I KNOW I can solve it within just a couple of minutes or can look the answer up very quickly, and 3 being I'm probably going to have to guess or at least work pretty hard to get the right answer. As soon as the proctor said "you may begin.....good luck" I opened up the exam and read (quickly scanned) over every problem and put a 1,2, or 3 next to it. Probably took about 6 minutes to that for the entire section (morning and afternoon). Next I started answering all the 1's first, then moved onto the 2's, then the 3's. I was very surprised to find that in both sessions that many of my 2's a couple of my 3's ended up really being 1's.

I think this is a great strategy for a couple of reasons:

1. It warms up your brain working easiest to more difficult.

2. Gives you confidence because you start with problems you KNOW you can answer correctly.

If you use this strategy you MUST BE CAREFUL when marking your anwsers because you can very easily mark the wrong number. This is VERY IMPORTANT and after 4-6 hours of working problems your brain becomes tired and it's VERY easy to make this mistake.

One more piece of advice.......maek your answer as soon as you get it, don't mark it in the book and expect to go back and fill in the answer sheet. If you run out of time you will be seriously screwed.

 

[hail2pitt98]

My thoughts:

Circle your answer in the book and mark the answer sheet at the same time. This way, when you check your work, you can make sure you put the correct letter on the answer sheet. I marked the wrong letter once on my answer sheet and was able to correct it.

Keep your references is an easily accessible place during the test. I left the CERM on the table, but stored most of my references in a box/rubbermaid tub on the floor. I kept the spine of the books facing upward, so I could immediately pull the book I wanted.

I made an index of the type of problems (open channel, bearing capacity, etc.)in the 6-minute solutions books. I used my 6-minute books for at least 2 problems on the exam. (May not have needed to, but it was nice to have them.)

Be very familiar with CERM. Don't overtab the book. I saw guys with hundreds of tabs in the book. Can't imagine how they actually used them. After working enough problems, I was familiar enough with the chapters in the book that I could quickly flip to them.

Don't leave early. If you have time, rework the problems.

 

[cement]

speaking of the rubbermaid tub, I carried one in, figuring i could use it as an auxillary table. it worked nice but was hard to carry. i saw a guy with one on wheels, pretty sweet. now if you put a nice paint job on there....

 

[petergibbons]

....there were plenty of problems that I couldn't figure out when I was going through my sample problems. Instead of just skipping them I went through the solution step by step to figure out what concepts they were using and, more importantly, where in the CERM the formulas were coming from.
Apparently this worked well for me...your results may vary.

This worked for me also and I think is the best piece of advice. Also, I would advise to keep your review material to a minimum and not get bogged down in rounding up references.

 

[OR_CE]

.... For Civil Transpo I used the CERM, green book, HCM, MUTCD in that order.? Did not touch the roadside design guide, but I am glad I brought it.

I have to second that. I used the same references in the same general order for the same test. Imagine that. I also used the CERM practice problems book at the end to work out a couple retaining wall problems I was stuck on. It worked.

My advice to civils (repeated often), is to familiarize yourself with the tables in the CERM for pipe flow, intrest rate factors, etc. Using tables will save you lots of time.

Buy the NCEES Sample test. Work through the problems until you have them mastered. Take the sample test on the CD. Repeat, Repeat.

I also highly recommend the PE review course at the University of Portland if you are within a couple hours driving distance. That course teaches you the test. It's a bit of an investment but it was worth it. I took both part 1 and part 2 and studied my butt off the week prior to the test and really felt like I nailed it.

Lastly, if you are a person of faith you need to pray. Ask your friends and family to pray for you too. I don't know if it helps but it will give you confidence.

;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns;

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

Circle your answer in the book and mark the answer sheet at the same time. This way, when you check your work, you can make sure you put the correct letter on the answer sheet. I marked the wrong letter once on my answer sheet and was able to correct it.

I did the same thing. I think it's a great idea. I marked my selection in the test book first by circling my answer. I then bubbled in the answer form.

When I was finished, I compared the answer sheet to the booklet to make sure they were consistent. I am terrible with going from the answer I pick out, to bubbling in the form. Always have been, ever since high school. I spent a good 15 minutes on both AM and PM sessions checking back and forth. Caught a couple goof-ups.

speaking of the rubbermaid tub, I carried one in, figuring i could use it as an auxillary table. it worked nice but was hard to carry. i saw a guy with one on wheels, pretty sweet. now if you put a nice paint job on there....

I brought a big duffle bag in with the majority of my references, as well as a backpack with my personal notes, as well as calculators, water, tissues, etc...

I had that duffle bag for 10 years. The PE was the straw that broke the camel's back as far as that thing goes. I didn't realize at the time. (I was too busy unpacking my references and pickling my liver that day to notice.) But, I went to pack it for a weekend getaway a couple months later, and the seems were ripping apart. :true:

I am going to approve a demolition plan for the bag with my stamp! :woot:

 

[Dark Knight]

Hello there,

I agree with the believe of nailing the morning part . This time around I came very pleased with my morning performance. I believe it was the key for me. At the afternoon I felt overwhelmed at one point, then took a deep breath and charged again. After that point I felt on a roll again. Bottom line is... :dsgt: DO NOT LET A DEFEAT FEELING TAKE OVER. :dsgt: Keep fighting and when you are tired of fighting, fight way much harder.

Ther is more than one way to attack the test. Is like a boxing match. There are the dominating stylist-hard punching guys. These are the ones that after the test will be sure they pass and they surely will B) . Some of you here are in this group. Then there are the Rockys. The ones that only know one way to fight. Charging, charging, charging and charging. Taking all the punches from the other and falling but getting up and fighting to the end( I think I am in this last group)

No matter which is your approach, without preparation you are done. It is funny but I tried that thing about ranking the problems according to the difficulty from 1 to 3, with 1 being the easiest. At one point I thought all the problems had a 3. I did not let that dissapoint me. NEVER GIVE UP :fool: I still think is a good method. It just did not work for me. Guess I am not that smart. But the "Rocky" method worked well.

Trust yourself and say......

;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns; ;guns;

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

DO NOT LET A DEFEAT FEELING TAKE OVER.

I kinda had the opposite feeling. I came out of the AM session feeling really good. I kept thinking at lunch, "I'm gonna pass!!", and I had to ground myself and focus my mind to go back and take the PM part. Because I didn't want to waste a good showing in the morning by daydreaming through the afternoon.