GOOD LUCK - and advice

For those of you that will be taking the exam next Friday, I want to wish you all GOOD LUCK!

I'm not going to be able to join you this time, but should be back in Oct, since I used up my times to take it here in NC.

A few things that I would like to share that I think might be useful......

1. The AM portion of the exam can almost completely be taken with the Lindeburg book. Don't let my failures fool you, I do quite well in the mornings for some reason, it's the afternoon that's getting me.

2. Pay attention to UNITS.....I think it's a good idea to actually WRITE the units that the answer needs to be in, in the booklet, so the whole time you are working the problem, you are thinking about what the answer needs to look like.

3. ANY and ALL look-up type problems will usually have a twist to them. The question might steer you to a chart in a book, and the answer be right in front of you.....MAKE SURE you read the small print below the chart that might have adjustments to the question!!!!!!! I can't emphasize that enough!

4. Spend some time this week ORGANIZING your reference materials. This will become more important during the test than actually being able to work problems. Sure understanding how to work something is important, but you've probably been there, and done that...so now it's time to be able to find the solutions in a hurry.....that's a BIG item.

5. If you have a favorite "Pick me up" beverage.....take one with you! I find myself completely wiped out by about 3:30 and could use an energy boost. I'm probably going to be taking RED BULL with me in October!!! p.s. BEER does NOT work as a pick me up!!!

6. Take your lunch! Don't stress yourself out with leaving the testing location to find lunch, take it with you, and sit in your car at lunch in the parking lot, and make sure you get back inside early!

7. DO NOT stress out about this test. There is PLENTY of time to work the problems....really, there is. Most of the problems are not as tough as the ones you have been working, they realize that you have 6 minutes per problem, so they are designed for you to take about that much time. It really does work out that way.

8. You KNOW more than you think you know! You might open the exam booklet, and at first be in a panic, but when you start to read each problem, you realize that you have seen that one before, and the answer is more than likely in one of the reference books you have with you....you can do them.

9. If the NCEES web site has a list of "RECOMMENDED" reference materials.....TRY to find all of them, and take them with you! I KNOW that I failed the second one because I didn't have these books, and missed out on a couple of EASY look-up items. I have taken the exam 3 times, got 49/80 the first time, 50/80 the second, and 49/80 the third time......do you think 1 or 2 easy answers would have been nice for me to have????

Once again. GOOD LUCK, I'm wishing you all the best, and if you don't pass. It's not the end of the world, I've made out just fine, and you will too!

Lots of good advice here and wishing everyone the best :lmao: on the exam next week.

NCcarguy said:

For those of you that will be taking the exam next Friday, I want to wish you all GOOD LUCK!
I'm not going to be able to join you this time, but should be back in Oct, since I used up my times to take it here in NC.

A few things that I would like to share that I think might be useful......

1. The AM portion of the exam can almost completely be taken with the Lindeburg book. Don't let my failures fool you, I do quite well in the mornings for some reason, it's the afternoon that's getting me.

2. Pay attention to UNITS.....I think it's a good idea to actually WRITE the units that the answer needs to be in, in the booklet, so the whole time you are working the problem, you are thinking about what the answer needs to look like.

3. ANY and ALL look-up type problems will usually have a twist to them. The question might steer you to a chart in a book, and the answer be right in front of you.....MAKE SURE you read the small print below the chart that might have adjustments to the question!!!!!!! I can't emphasize that enough!

4. Spend some time this week ORGANIZING your reference materials. This will become more important during the test than actually being able to work problems. Sure understanding how to work something is important, but you've probably been there, and done that...so now it's time to be able to find the solutions in a hurry.....that's a BIG item.

5. If you have a favorite "Pick me up" beverage.....take one with you! I find myself completely wiped out by about 3:30 and could use an energy boost. I'm probably going to be taking RED BULL with me in October!!! p.s. BEER does NOT work as a pick me up!!!

6. Take your lunch! Don't stress yourself out with leaving the testing location to find lunch, take it with you, and sit in your car at lunch in the parking lot, and make sure you get back inside early!

7. DO NOT stress out about this test. There is PLENTY of time to work the problems....really, there is. Most of the problems are not as tough as the ones you have been working, they realize that you have 6 minutes per problem, so they are designed for you to take about that much time. It really does work out that way.

8. You KNOW more than you think you know! You might open the exam booklet, and at first be in a panic, but when you start to read each problem, you realize that you have seen that one before, and the answer is more than likely in one of the reference books you have with you....you can do them.

9. If the NCEES web site has a list of "RECOMMENDED" reference materials.....TRY to find all of them, and take them with you! I KNOW that I failed the second one because I didn't have these books, and missed out on a couple of EASY look-up items. I have taken the exam 3 times, got 49/80 the first time, 50/80 the second, and 49/80 the third time......do you think 1 or 2 easy answers would have been nice for me to have????

Once again. GOOD LUCK, I'm wishing you all the best, and if you don't pass. It's not the end of the world, I've made out just fine, and you will too!

Click to expand...

Nice post! #4 is the most important. I think that half the benefit of studying is getting familiar with your refs for quick access.

Good luck test takers! :lmao:

just wanted to move this back to the top, just in case those of you that are taking the test FRIDAY haven't seen it...

GOOD LUCK GUYS/GIRLS!!!!

These are really good stratigies. Thanks and good luck all.

Thanks, this is good advice.

Good luck everyone !

Fantastic advice!!! Good Luck to everyone and I hpoe to see everyones names on the banner soon. I know its a timed test, but try to use all the time they give you. If you blew thru a question because it was really easy, go back and take a look to make sure you read it completely before turning it in. But most importantly kick that test in the ass!! :thumbs:

Thanks for the Advice .. I have been pouring the coals to it over the last month and a half. As I have told anyone who asks how the studying is going my simple reply is if the right questions are there I am golden. If not it will be a struggle. Feel better about it over the last few days but still making a lot of stiupid mistakes. As it been said many many times watch the units... and make sure you are looking at the right tables if you need to do that for a problem.

Well the motorcycle is loaded up and I am off to Spokane. Good luck to all by the end of the day tomorrow we can all finally have a night of relaxation without guilt.

^^^^And if you're like me and didn't have enough time to spend on every question, make sure you have all the bubbles filled in before they make you stop writing!

Good luck all, we'll be thinking of you tomorrow.

Also remember to circle your answer in the test booklet so you can double check answers in case you forgot to skip the row on the bubble form for a skipped question.... I made that mistake on the afternoon portion. I noticed with about half an hour left, but since i had all of them circled it was not a problem...still passed.

Good luck to all...

relax, you have more time than you think...pace yourself...get thru the whole test before tackling the tough time consuming problems...they are all worth the same...

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!! GO GET'EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:multiplespotting: :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting: :multiplespotting:

NCcarguy has a bunch of great tips in this thread. I thought it deserved a bump

Take a copy of the MUTCD if you are Civil. There is always one quick lookup on the exam and it may be the difference. Plus the book is pretty small so it doesn't take too much space.

Thanks for bumping this Ktulu! I was just getting ready to do that myself.....

I wanted to add a little to it, First off, I took all of my own advice in October, and now have a certificate hangine on my wall, so it does appear that I knew what I was talking about. Second, I think the thing that made the MOST improvement in my test score this past time was I ABSOLUTELY never got into a hurry! I can't emphasise that enough, I slowly, methodically worked every problem, and I paid extreme attention to not only what was actually ASKED in the question, but also the UNIT that the answer needed to be in.

I truly believe that about 90% of you that are going to be taking this test next Friday are right now today capable of passing it, the ones that fall into that category and still do not pass are the ones that made simple, careless mistakes.....do not be that guy/girl!

On a side note.....I also took 2 5-hour energy drinks with me, I drank one before the exam, and one at lunch time, and I never ran out of energy! I would suggest trying this BEFORE next Friday just to test that you don't have stomach (fudgey type) problems, but I think it made a difference!

Good luck to you all that are taking the test! Make sure you keep coming back here to help those in the future!

LionCE said:

Take a copy of the MUTCD if you are Civil. There is always one quick lookup on the exam and it may be the difference. Plus the book is pretty small so it doesn't take too much space.

Click to expand...

I didn't need it, but to each his own.

Good luck next Friday everyone!

T_McK_PE said:

I didn't need it, but to each his own.

Click to expand...

Since I have MANY test opportunities to draw knowledge from. I will say that on 2 of the tests I probably didn't need the book, and on 2 of them there was certainly a quick look-up question that I needed this book for. My advice.....If it's on the NCEES web-site as "recommended" materials.......BRING THE BOOK!

I failed that dang test 3 times by a SMALL amount, and when you get that close, you can't take a chance on missing even ONE question just because you didn't have the right book!

NCcarguy said:

Since I have MANY test opportunities to draw knowledge from. I will say that on 2 of the tests I probably didn't need the book, and on 2 of them there was certainly a quick look-up question that I needed this book for. My advice.....If it's on the NCEES web-site as "recommended" materials.......BRING THE BOOK!
I failed that dang test 3 times by a SMALL amount, and when you get that close, you can't take a chance on missing even ONE question just because you didn't have the right book!

Click to expand...

I only needed to take the test once, so I will defer to your superior experience level.

That being said, my fondness for the CERM is well known, and I know it good enough that I feel like I wrote it. Worked for me. JMHO.

T_McK_PE said:

I only needed to take the test once, so I will defer to your superior experience level.
That being said, my fondness for the CERM is well known, and I know it good enough that I feel like I wrote it. Worked for me. JMHO.

Click to expand...

Ya know T_McK, all I know about you is that you have been banned from this forum before, and what I can garner from your recent spate of posts. And I can honestly say that smarmy posts like this one are probably why you have been banned in the past, and will likely be banned again in the near future. You are one passive-aggressive little forum troll.