# CERM v All-in-One



## ArcherCat (Dec 7, 2013)

Anyone have any comments about these two books? I have the CERM but it was recommended to me to get the all-in-one to get a second reference book that may have better explanations. Does anyone have any experience using both books?


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## John QPE (Dec 11, 2013)

All in One is a great book, and something you can really study with. The CERM is not a study book, but a reference. All in one does a great job explaining the topics as well. Worth the investment.


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## jarrowsm (Dec 17, 2013)

It depends on how you plan to study. Are you taking a review class? If not, do you have any other material for the other subjects you plan to rely on? If you will be studying completely on your own and lack references to other material, the All In One does a pretty good job of providing some background on the subject areas. If you're taking a review class, it will be completely unnecessary and don't waste your money.

I took a review class at the University of Maryland. I bought the All in One right before the class started. I only spent about a day or two with the All in One- reviewing some Hydraulics and Hydrology (some of my stronger subjects). I found it too be extremely inconsistent in the amount of time and depth treated to each topic. Which is disappointing, because the NCEES has clear specs which should guide how much time to spend on each topic. Some sections I thought were really important (definite exam question areas) were glossed over, and some relatively minor subjects (extremely unlikely exam question areas) were given the royal treatment. Also, at the end of the day, I thought the book was still more oriented towards theory- and could easily put you in the mindset of attempting to understand each topic 100%, rather than giving you the basics to solve PE problems.

I cast the book aside almost immediately. The review class I took was far better for providing the basic review of the morning subject areas I needed. I supplemented it with some links to material from http://www.learncivilengineering.com . I chose not to bring the book the the PE exam, and I did not miss it. The CERM is a much better reference for looking up equations during the exam- there's really not even a comparison.

At the end of the day, do what works for you. If you're starting from scratch, I'd encourage you to go for it with the All in One, but keep the NCEES specs handy, and remember to spend the bulk of your study time on practice problems rather than theory.


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## ArcherCat (Dec 18, 2013)

I am taking the School of Pe class. Which appears to cover the mainly the breadth of the test. They do have some short parts covering the depth section, but I know this is something they do not focus on. For now I have switched to the depth sections for review on my own. Did your review class cover the depth portions?


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## jarrowsm (Dec 19, 2013)

ArcherCat said:


> I am taking the School of Pe class. Which appears to cover the mainly the breadth of the test. They do have some short parts covering the depth section, but I know this is something they do not focus on. For now I have switched to the depth sections for review on my own. Did your review class cover the depth portions?




It depended on the instructor. I had 3 days of review for each section. Some instructors liked to do 2 days of breadth, and focus the final day on depth. Some preferred to stay all breadth. And some just sort of mixed it all together.

My depth was water resources and enviro. The breadth and depth covers a lot of the same material, only the depth problems are much harder- so the review course did cover a lot that was on both sections. However, on the afternoon, there is a lot more coverage of groundwater, wastewater, water quality and water treatment. So, I had to do a lot of practice in those sections outside of class to be prepared.


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