Gameplan for the October 2019- SE Lateral Exam

Hey Guys,

I took both components of the SE exam this past April 2019 and received Unacceptable. I am planning on breaking up the exam into two sessions and will be taking lateral component first this October 2019. I have the following references,

1. All code references per the NCEES specs.

2. All SEAOC manuals.

3. Seismic Design Review- Hiner

4. Bridge problems- David Connor

5. PPI 6 minute solutions for SE exam.

6. PPI Practice Exam

7. PPI SERM 9th Edition- Alan Williams

8. Concrete, Steel, wood and Foundation design Textbooks (McGregor, Segui, Breyer and Bowles).

9. EET Lateral Binder.

10. NCEES Practice Exam.

I am already very familiar with SERM, SEAOC vol 1 and the practice exam from NCEES. Initially, I was thinking of going through the SERM, Hiner, Connor, PPI 6 min, NCEES and PPI practice exams. However, I somehow managed to purchase the EET lateral binder from a friend who took and passed the exam this past April. I am considering switching over to EET binder to spearhead my study schedule instead of the SERM and Hiner combo to tackle the test (I will still be reading through these but will spend bulk of my time on EET). Got about 17 weeks left. Will be spending 18-20 hours studying every week.

Do you guys have any recommendations or suggestions to this approach? On a side note, I will also be taking the PE Civil Seismic exam 3 weeks before the lateral (Contingent upon my application being approved to sit for it next quarter). Thanks!

Only thing I can recommend is to really work out the problems before looking at any solutions, etc. This will help to find the "tricks" that the SE exam could have to cause you to apply the incorrect factor, etc.  Just reading over the solutions doesn't let you get "into" the problem in my opinion. 

As far as study materials, I think you have everything you can get. 

Also, thanks for using my book.  I hope it helps you out!

That's a pretty exhaustive list and it should provide enough practice material to get you through. 

TheLoneStarEngineer said:

I am planning on breaking up the exam into two sessions and will be taking lateral component first this October 2019.

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Do you feel more comfortable with the lateral component? Usually, people take the vertical component first. Mastering the vertical component could help you on a couple of tricky lateral questions. Just my $0.02. 

TheLoneStarEngineer said:

am already very familiar with SERM, SEAOC vol 1 and the practice exam from NCEES.

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I am sure everyone here would agree when I say that NCEES practice exam is in no way a representation of the actual exam. Maybe it once was, but that's no longer the case. PPI's practice exam would give you a much better idea, IMO. 

TheLoneStarEngineer said:

I am considering switching over to EET binder to spearhead my study schedule instead of the SERM and Hiner combo to tackle the test (I will still be reading through these but will spend bulk of my time on EET).

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SERM's content should be adequate to cover most, if not all, topics for the building portion of the vertical exam. However, it's severely lacking in the bridge and lateral departments. For bridge problems, I don't think we have a reference that's better than David Connor's book. I also opted for EET's live classes when I started preparing for the lateral test and it turned out to be very beneficial in my case. They provided a lot of practice material throughout the course to the point that I had a hard time keeping up with all the assignments and mini-tests. If you somehow end up hunting for more practice problems, I have been told that Seismic and Wind Forces Structural Design Examples by Alan Williams can also help with the preparation.

This may seem obvious and perhaps goes without saying, but there's no substitute for thorough comprehension of the concepts themselves.  Whether it's strain compatibility in reinforced concrete or the actual hows and whys of applying an overstrength factor, feeling confident in your understanding of the concepts behind the tidy equations into which numbers are ultimately plugged and chugged goes a long way.  Your afternoon sessions will thank you.

Absolutely crank away on practice problem after practice problem after practice problem for time.  But this tactic will stick that much better if you do it with a solid grasp of the "science" behind it all.

And you'll find that your library of books and references might end up getting streamlined along the way.