# BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!



## Dark Knight (Jul 19, 2006)

Hello there,

Now that California, the last one again, released results, starts the test prep. I would like to try something. Can be fun and helpful at the same time. B)

Lets have a thread here with advices for the next wave of FUTURES PEs :beerchug

Write in this thread an advice, one and only one so everybody would have the chance to contribute. Please, no soap operas(that goes for me)  . I will start with this one:

*Never go to the test without preparation!!!!!*

How many of us have done that? Just went to the test without studying just to "feel" it, to get an idea. You will find yourself :brick: :brick: :brick: at you at the end thinking: "If only I had studied I would have passed"

Don't make that mistake. If you pay for, *prepare for it*

Be ready!!!!! Put your game face and say....

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


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## Seajay (Jul 19, 2006)

Know your enemy: Look at the exam breakdown from the NCEES site and develop a comphrensive schedule which mirrors it and stick to it!

Know yourself: Work on your weak topics and hone your strong ones. Actively review subjects: take notes as you study; do the example problems as the come up in the chapters; and complete as my problem sets as you can.

Train as you fight: Select your weapon systems (References and Calculator) and use them religiously till you are one.

Enlist Allies: See if you can garner support from both work and home with either time to study or technical asistance. You'll be surprised what people will do for you if they know its in support of a noble pursuit.

DON'T GET FRUSTRATED  Nothing worthwhile ever come easy and the only easy day was yesterday. F.I.D.O! Bring it on!

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


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 19, 2006)

I passed this April myself. A couple morsels of wisdom not posted yet...

Start early: Studying a couple hours a day over 4 months or more is less stressful than power cramming in 6 weeks. You can study at a steady, consistent pace, and still give yourself time to take the occasional day off and deal with life's surprises that make you miss a day or two. I also think you will learn the material better if you learn a little at a time, rather than trying to memorize an entire textbook chapter in a day.

Ignore external distractions: I don't mean turn the TV off when studying, that much is obvious. What I mean is don't let others affect your study routine. Everyone here probably had coworkers, boss, friends, etc. telling them what's going to be on the test and how they should study if they want to pass.

"When I took the test, there were 5 questions on activated sludge...", or "If you want to pass, here's what you need to do..."

Look at the current test breakdown on NCEES, and study the most effective way for you. Your test might not look like your coworker's, and the way he studied might not be the way for you.


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## benbo (Jul 19, 2006)

This is apparently not true for everyone for every test, but in general the advice I have seen and my experience is ;guns; KILL the morning session of the test. In general, if you don't come out of the morning feeling pretty good you'll be feeling pretty bad by the end of the exam. In some ways, the morning could even be classified as "easy"


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 19, 2006)

^ I agree. I felt really good coming out of the morning, like I nailed it.

This way, there is less pressure on you to nail the afternoon. You know that all you need to do is have a respectable showing to pass. :kick:


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## DrFranz (Jul 19, 2006)

My advice, know the concepts of whatever you are doing. Solving tons of problems won't do any good if you are doing them like a machine, you know garbage in, garbage out. Learn why are you doing (solving) a problem a certain way. Forget the advice of "as many problems as you can". Just make sure you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it that way (versus doing it a different way). Remember, there's more than one way to skin an engineer.

B)


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 19, 2006)

> Forget the advice of "as many problems as you can".


That is seriously the mantra they promote everywhere on the PPI website. Every one of their testimonials says that the person did every practice problem, 6 minute solution, and practice exam out there, and that's how they passed.


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## Hill William (Jul 19, 2006)

I did a ton of problems and I think it helped me b/c by doing them, I became very familiar with my CERM. I used it for 90% of the test and I did fine. I think doing problems just makes you learn more by looking up the way to do them. I dont know if the practice that they actually provide does that much. We have all taken tests before and know how to get unknowns from a set of givens.


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## DrFranz (Jul 19, 2006)

yup... that's crap. I have seen their 6 min and didn't even try to solve on of their problems... afterwards, I'm glad I did not follow their selling strategy since the actual problems in the exam were not similar to those 6 mins (at least for geoetch).

For me, if you don't understand the concept of what you are doing, regardles of how many times you do it, a small variation in the setup of the problem will cause you to make a mistake.


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## DrFranz (Jul 19, 2006)

Again, different people have different ways to learn... I really did not use the CERM that much... only to look up the environmental terms in the morning because there were words there I had never heard about. Most of my hydraulic problems I solved w/ charts (same as those in the back of the CERM) and that's about it... everything else were just concepts so I did not even need that many books... I actually used more the ACI 318 more than the CERM in the morning portion (I took the geo afternoon)... that was the oddest thing that happened to me, since I brought it just in case. Did not use the green book or highwas capacity manual at all (so it was just dead weight I brought).


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## Hill William (Jul 19, 2006)

> Again, different people have different ways to learn... I really did not use the CERM that much... only to look up the environmental terms in the morning because there were words there I had never heard about. Most of my hydraulic problems I solved w/ charts (same as those in the back of the CERM) and that's about it... everything else were just concepts so I did not even need that many books... I actually used more the ACI 318 more than the CERM in the morning portion (I took the geo afternoon)... that was the oddest thing that happened to me, since I brought it just in case. Did not use the green book or highwas capacity manual at all (so it was just dead weight I brought).


Im not trying to sell "the other board" products or anything, but I think I could have passed with just my CERM and a calculator. :true:


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## DrFranz (Jul 19, 2006)

well, if we are going to go to extremes, I probably could have passed it with the graphs, a protractor and a pencil h43r:


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## Hill William (Jul 19, 2006)

> well, if we are going to go to extremes, I probably could have passed it with the graphs, a protractor and a pencil h43r:


You would have to make sure it was a protractor from the approved list and a NCEES supplied pencil


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## jeb6294 (Jul 19, 2006)

> My advice, know the concepts of whatever you are doing. Solving tons of problems won't do any good if you are doing them like a machine, you know garbage in, garbage out. Learn why are you doing (solving) a problem a certain way. Forget the advice of "as many problems as you can". Just make sure you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it that way (versus doing it a different way). Remember, there's more than one way to skin an engineer.
> B)


Couldn't agree more....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.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 19, 2006)

I could have passed with nothing but an 8 ball of coke and 5 hookers. :true:


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## cement (Jul 19, 2006)

> I could have passed with nothing but an 8 ball of coke and 5 hookers. :true:


great advice Lord Vader :claps:


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 19, 2006)

On a serious note, as far as what you bring with you:

If you didn't use it for your review, don't bring it to the exam. I was soooo tempted to bring a couple books I never really used to the test, in the unlikely event they asked something I might find in there.

But, I figured I was unfamiliar with those books. And I didn't want to waste time digging through it, then mis-read it. :hung:


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## benbo (Jul 19, 2006)

now I am speaking for the electrical exam, the ECC afternoon, and of couse, my experience. Reading and assuring that you know the concept may work well for some people. However, I know a lot of people who read through things, were sure they "knew the concepts", never worked any problems and flunked. To some people, reviewing the concepts means going through and highlighting them with a yellow highlighter. They don't have a clue. At least in Electrical, I think it is a good idea to work some problems. True, there are some "qualitative" problems, but by working problems I was able to quickly go through all the computational probelms and have to time to make sure I got the nuances of the qualitative problems.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 19, 2006)

You definitely need to work a decent number of problems. It gets you comfortable using your references, calculator, etc. And it exposes you to the different ways they can ask a questions.

When I say reviewing the concepts, I mean reading through an old textbook/manual until you can look at a problem and explain how to solve it.


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## cement (Jul 19, 2006)

I agree that there is no substitute for working problems. You work enough problems in your core areas and they become second nature. Practicing with the allowable calculator is a huge benefit too. While reading the chapters in CERM was time consuming, it refreshed some general knowledge in my head that was useful in the exam.

I took the NCEES sample test abouta week before the exam to get myself used to the 6 min format. The test on CD was a good excersize too. I had been taking more time on the practice problems, so I learned that I had to go with the best answer in the allowable time. That was also when i found how useful the seperately bound index for the cerm was. after reviewing for 4 months, I had forgotten where the good stuff was in the WR chapters that I had studied first.

Pacing myself kept me focused and calm on exam day. On the answer sheet are 4 collumns of 10 answers each. you have 4 hours (for each session) check your watch, if you have completed a collumn in 40 or 50 minutes, you are golden.

I didn't read all the problems first the way some others did, that would just get me anxious and confused. When I came to one that was too hard (were there any?  ) I would fill in a best guess and marked my exam book to follow up.

Have turkey for dinner the night before and you will sleep like a baby. Bring small snacks and drinks for during the exam. If the proctor takes them, tough break, but they will help with fatigue, esp about 3 in the afternoon. Pack a lunch. have some tictacks to stuff up your nose if someone smells like a dead cow is nearby like in my exam :true:

I did not use my "did not read college refrences". I got a workout carrying them back and forth though :blink: 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.

DO NOT FALL INTO THE TRAP of bringing tons of sample exams and hoping to find similar. that may have worked in the old format (my boss) but you do not have time here. Practice the problems. seems too simple, eh?


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## jeb6294 (Jul 20, 2006)

> 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.


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## NSEARCH (Jul 20, 2006)

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.


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## hail2pitt98 (Jul 20, 2006)

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.


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## cement (Jul 20, 2006)

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....


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## petergibbons (Jul 20, 2006)

> ....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.


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## OR_CE (Jul 20, 2006)

> .... 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;


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 20, 2006)

> 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:


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## Dark Knight (Jul 20, 2006)

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;


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jul 21, 2006)

> 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.


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