Sample Power Exams

[da_souljah]

After taking the exam, I feel that all the sample exams I had from, NCEES, spin-up CI, PPI & Kaplan were pretty much useless. The only thing I really gained was practise using the NEC (which I already know) and three phase calculations (which are really basic).

What do you other guys think?

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

This particular test, in my opinion, was drastically different from the previous test.

The practice exams were helpful in preparing for the April exam. However, you are correct about the October exam.

 

[Judowolf PE]

I don't think the practice tests will ever be "just" like the real test. I believe the purpose of the practice tests are to get you familiar with your reference material and point out your areas of need. I took the April test and just missed passing and I did great on the practice tests(85% avg), but was unable to study the last month due to other issues. I didn't tab my books very well and I had a binder that had some information in it, but I wasn't really quick at locating what I needed. This time, I took the same tests(spin up, CI and NCEES) but my focus was different. I tabbed my books as I tested and more importantly wrote out the reoccuring formulas and information in my binder as I graded my test. I hammered the practice tests every night, scored a little better (90-95%), but more importantly, I was faster at getting to the information. I honestly thought the test last week was pretty straight forward and I finished in about 2-2.5 hours each session, double checked my work and turned in the test morning and afternoon with about 30-45 min to spare.

 

[Lielec11]

I thought the NCEES and CI practice test were good prep tools. The difficulty levels were comparable to the real exam, I just think the topics on this October 2012 exam were vastly different than any on the practice exams. There was alot more on motors/gens and lighting protection than I initially figured.

Spin-up exams were basically worthless, in my oppinion. They were way too easy and after taking 5 of the same tests I got bored, which isn't a good thing for test prep.

 

[Wildsoldier PE]

People dont give up just yet, when i took the pe power oct 2011 i felt the same way...a bunch of stuff were different from complex and original NCEES practice test....and i was fustrated because i thought i didnt pass...and much of the people that study for the oct 2011 felt the same way....when the results came i passed and many of the others that felt bad also passed...you cant do anything at this point just wait....take a vacation from study is my best suggestion...and forget about the test for now.

 

[da_souljah]

Thanks Wildsoldier PE. I studied by the NCEES syllabus for the exam. I didn't really go through my sample exams until 4 days before the test. I wasn't depending on them, it's just that based on the sample exams I was caught off guard with some of the VFD questions, the rest of the stuff I figured out.

 

[nebo]

For me the morning section was more challenging compared to the afternoon section. There were about two are three questions out of the 80 questions that were similar to the NCEES practice test. Many of the questions in the exam were different from Spinup, Complex Imaginary or even NCEES sample exam in the sense that there were a lot of misleading information not relevant to solving the question or at least that’s what they wanted you to think in most cases.

 

[Berry]

I don't think the practice tests will ever be "just" like the real test. I believe the purpose of the practice tests are to get you familiar with your reference material and point out your areas of need. I took the April test and just missed passing and I did great on the practice tests(85% avg), but was unable to study the last month due to other issues. I didn't tab my books very well and I had a binder that had some information in it, but I wasn't really quick at locating what I needed. This time, I took the same tests(spin up, CI and NCEES) but my focus was different. I tabbed my books as I tested and more importantly wrote out the reoccuring formulas and information in my binder as I graded my test. I hammered the practice tests every night, scored a little better (90-95%), but more importantly, I was faster at getting to the information. I honestly thought the test last week was pretty straight forward and I finished in about 2-2.5 hours each session, double checked my work and turned in the test morning and afternoon with about 30-45 min to spare.

I used the NCEES and SpinUp exams to ensure there were no gaps in my reference materials. I then augmented my reference materials to ensure all areas were covered. I then became very familiar with the reference books by doing the practice exams by not only reading enough to answer the practice question but to go deeper in depth on those subjects. I thought the SpinUp exams were good to get me up to speed quickly on the different concepts that I needed to know. I invested about 300 hrs studying for the exam. I know that I did not ace the exam, but do feel confident that I scored between 85 - 90 %. In my opinion the key is to use the sample exams as a way to navigate to the material you need to know and then take it one step further and get down into the weeds on the material.