# Notes to the Exam



## Twofrogs (Jul 9, 2008)

Firstly, I'd like to extend congratulations to anyone reading this who has recently passed the PE exam .... God only knows this is truly a monumental task! I have recently received approval to sit for the electrical PE exam and plan to take the exam in April of 2009, with power selection .... I am now assuming for both AM and PM. My question for anyone experienced with taking the exam - Has anyone made their own notebook of solved problems and brought this to the exam, if so, did you find it useful or was a textbook better for reference material. (Regardless, I do plan on taking hardcopy reference material to the exam.)

Basically I am trying to strategize the best approach for handling problems during the exam. With nine months to study, I plan on doing a lot of problems. So any guidance on your behalf would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks


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## roadwreck (Jul 9, 2008)

I can't speak from experience on the electrical exam, I took the civil exam, with that said the study strategies will overlap. First, you'll want to check to be sure that your state will allow handwritten notes in the exam room, I believe there are a handful that don't (although I can't recall which ones). If your state does allow handwritten notes then it's best that they be written in pen or are xeroxed copies of your pencil written notes. This way there is no confusion that you may be copying exam problems. As far as how useful they may be? That may depend on your situation and personal preferences and I can't really respond to that. I did not use any of my own solved problems or notes during my exam. I did use the 'other boards' practice problems &amp; solution manual on one problem (I just happened to remember that their was a very similar problem in the book to what was on the exam and used it as guidance). Again, you'll have to check to make sure that solution manuals are allowed in your state, if I recall some don't allow them either.


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## hhildebrand (Jul 9, 2008)

As you have already planned to do, work as many problems as you can. I passed the EE/Power April 2008. I didn't reference my problems during the exam, but I had them with me in order, in a notebook, and tabbed. You never know if you will have a similar problem or one that will help guide you to a solution.

Study hard and good luck!


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## TXengrChickPE (Jul 9, 2008)

I am also a Civil, so I can't help with any EE stuff.... but, I HIGHLY suggest that you read EVERY word on your state board's web site to be sure of what you can take into the exam with you. In TX, anything handwritten must be in ink, but that information is pretty buried, so it would be easy to miss.

Also, check the state board's website again in November. That way, if they've made any changes since the October exam, you'll know about them.


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## odentonpe (Jul 9, 2008)

Twofrogs said:


> Firstly, I'd like to extend congratulations to anyone reading this who has recently passed the PE exam .... God only knows this is truly a monumental task! I have recently received approval to sit for the electrical PE exam and plan to take the exam in April of 2009, with power selection .... I am now assuming for both AM and PM. My question for anyone experienced with taking the exam - Has anyone made their own notebook of solved problems and brought this to the exam, if so, did you find it useful or was a textbook better for reference material. (Regardless, I do plan on taking hardcopy reference material to the exam.)Basically I am trying to strategize the best approach for handling problems during the exam. With nine months to study, I plan on doing a lot of problems. So any guidance on your behalf would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thanks


I just recently passed the April 2008 PE exam in Power.

I tabbed my references according to subject (computers, power, communications, etc.) I had class notes first, followed by example problems. Let me tell you time flies so looking at problems is time consuming. Sometimes you know it or you just don't. Expect these types of problems.

I did have handwritten notes, but in MD they are not allowed so I made copies of ALL my handwritten problems and solutions. Time consuming but at least I had it with me for reference.

Text books were my last resort if I didn't know a problem. Depending on your references, you can find the solution or not. Small quantity of good references helps, lots of bad references takes up time and time is precious.

Advice from previous posts that helped me A LOT was the following:

Go through the exam entirely. Read each problem word for word and write down what they are looking for and the units. Write it big enough to always see it and remind yourself of what you are trying to solve for and most importantly UNITS. This can hurt you if you don't remember it, and sometimes the wrong unit answer can be on the exam. Play close attention to this.

As you write down the units and answer they are looking for, label the problems as easy, medium or hard. Do this till you get to the end of the exam.

Know go back to te beginning and do the easy ones, followed by medium, and then hard problems.

When I took the exam I was mentally prepared to pass but when I started doing all the easy ones I got really excited and realized I knew more than I thought. This helps during the exam because it is exhuastive, and after the morning exam I was burned out but felt good going into the afternoon. Sometimes people go problem per problem and lose sight of time and stay on a problem longer than they should. This can fail you easily.

I think this method helped me out a lot, since I breezed through the easy and medium type problems and then realized I had time to research the harder type problems. Just a suggestion on what helped me pass this time around.

Good references I used for the exam were the MGI PE readiness power program, my HP-33s and the Dr. Blank DVD which I am selling in the yard sale section of this website.

Also get the power system anaylsis book by Wildi and the other one by Bergen. Good texts for the afternoon especially for transmission lines.

Ugly's is also good for quick reference and code problems. The rest of my books were from a review class I took for the PE exam. That really helped me as well. Try to take one if you can.

Lastly, the most helpful of all texts and references is this board. They help you before, during and after the exam. Browse topics or do a search and information comes up that helps any and everyone of us.

Good luck

OdentonPE


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## Twofrogs (Jul 9, 2008)

odentonpe said:


> I just recently passed the April 2008 PE exam in Power.
> I tabbed my references according to subject (computers, power, communications, etc.) I had class notes first, followed by example problems. Let me tell you time flies so looking at problems is time consuming. Sometimes you know it or you just don't. Expect these types of problems.
> 
> I did have handwritten notes, but in MD they are not allowed so I made copies of ALL my handwritten problems and solutions. Time consuming but at least I had it with me for reference.
> ...


Wow! Thanks very much for all the advice.... I really really appreciate it!! Now I have a game plan ... woo hooo!


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## Dexman1349 (Jul 10, 2008)

I took the civil in CO and I can tell you first hand that handwritten notes are allowed as long as the papers are bound (3-ring binders are ok). To be safe I had all of my notes either in ink or photocopied, but I have coworkers who siad they were able to take notes that were handwritten in pencil. The notes I had were more helpful with the studying aspect of the exam than the exam itself. I didn't even take my notes out of the box for the entire 8 hours. By handwriting alot of practice problems I was able to become very familiar with my resources and was able to learn where to find most of the critical equations. By the time the exam came around I knew most of the methodology, and all I really had to do was look-up the equations as necessary.



odentonpe said:


> Advice from previous posts that helped me A LOT was the following:
> Go through the exam entirely. Read each problem word for word and write down what they are looking for and the units. Write it big enough to always see it and remind yourself of what you are trying to solve for and most importantly UNITS. This can hurt you if you don't remember it, and sometimes the wrong unit answer can be on the exam. Play close attention to this.
> 
> As you write down the units and answer they are looking for, label the problems as easy, medium or hard. Do this till you get to the end of the exam.
> ...


Some people find that reading and evaluating each question can become very time consuming in and of itself.

I did a modified version of what was described above. I would read the question, circle the units requested, and take a few notes of things I found critical. I would start working the question and if I wasn't within striking distance of the answer within 5 minutes, I would write a quick one or two line note on my thought process, the reference page number(s), circle the problem number in the booklet and move on. By doing this method, I ended up working about 45 questions in the morning (had to come back and re-do 5), and about 47 in the afternoon (redo 7). However because I had kept an eye on my watch I was able to make sure I at least had an answer for every question with at least 45 minutes to spare (which was spent double checking a few of my calculations that I wasn't entirely sure of).

There were a few problems that the first time I read them I was way off on my initial difficult assessment and I would have skipped a few very easy questions and I would have spent alot more time working a few very difficult ones had I followed the advice above.

The only other real bit of advice on taking the exam with this method would be to WRITE OUT EVERYTHING!! It doesn't take that long and even if you know how to do the problem, you don't want to come back to a question you're double checking and ask, "Where did that 20 cfs come from?" and force you to spend more time trying to decipher what was already done.


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## Techie_Junkie_PE_LEED_AP (Jul 13, 2008)

Twofrogs said:


> Firstly, I'd like to extend congratulations to anyone reading this who has recently passed the PE exam .... God only knows this is truly a monumental task! I have recently received approval to sit for the electrical PE exam and plan to take the exam in April of 2009, with power selection .... I am now assuming for both AM and PM. My question for anyone experienced with taking the exam - Has anyone made their own notebook of solved problems and brought this to the exam, if so, did you find it useful or was a textbook better for reference material. (Regardless, I do plan on taking hardcopy reference material to the exam.)Basically I am trying to strategize the best approach for handling problems during the exam. With nine months to study, I plan on doing a lot of problems. So any guidance on your behalf would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thanks


I brought a 3-ring binder of solved problems, organized, and didn't look at it once. I guess it depends on if you're lucky enough to see a problem you recognize, but even then, you'll probably waste time trying to find it. That's the trap, to get you to waste time flipping around. That is why you have to know it cold.

Bring it if it makes you feel more comfortable, but don't rely on it.


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