# Left early?



## forelsu (Dec 28, 2007)

How many people left early from the exam? Either due to finishing early and feeling confident or to giving up. I left 20 minutes early in the AM. In the PM there were a few problems that I wouldn't have been able to solve with another 4 hours.

I don't think I could have reworked any problems to get different (maybe correct, if wrong) answers, but now I'm regretting leaving a little.


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## Jennifer Price (Dec 28, 2007)

forelsu said:


> How many people left early from the exam? Either due to finishing early and feeling confident or to giving up. I left 20 minutes early in the AM. I don't think I could have reworked any problems to get different (maybe correct, if wrong) answers, but now I'm regretting leaving a little.



I finished in about 3 hours for both the morning and afternoon portions and then spent about 20-30 minutes checking numbers and then left (I was one of the first to get up both times and I got some strange looks...especially since I sat on the very front row and had to walk a ridiculous way to the back of the room to leave). I couldn't sit still any longer and I felt that there was absolutely nothing more that I could do. Even still today, there is only 1 problem that I would have changed if I could.

I think my confidence/quickness came from knowing my material. I knew my CERM inside and out and I knew my transpo reference books too.

If you feel there was no other way to rework the problems, then you are doing pretty good. I had read many times about those who figured out how to work certain problems the moment they walked out the door or as they were going to sleep that night.


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## Brianne (Dec 28, 2007)

I was finished after about 2.5 hours in the morning but I didn't realize you could leave early so I spent another half-hour checking bubbles and going to the bathroom. In the afternoon, I left with a little more than an hour left.

Of course, I don't know if I passed or not yet (thanks California) but I felt pretty confident after both morning and afternoon. It just seemed a lot easier than I expected.


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## nperr (Dec 28, 2007)

I took the PE, SE1, SE2. The only exam that I left early from was the SE2. I passed and left about 30 minutes early.


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## FL PE (Dec 28, 2007)

I left with about 30-45 min. left in each session. I didn't want to second guess anything so I didn't spend a lot of time looking over questions I thought were right. I spent time going over questions that I had marked as unsure and left.


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## dmercado_PE (Dec 28, 2007)

I finished about 30 minutes early in the AM and PM. I spent another 20 minutes just making sure the bubbles were filled in completely and erasing any sign of stray pencil marks on the answer sheet. I also counted the problems I felt really confident about and "self graded" myself. With about 10 minutes left, I just closed my test and just sat there. By the way, my estimated "self graded" score was 85% and was right on with what I actually got.


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## LionCE (Dec 28, 2007)

I left the PM with about 40 minutes left. There was one problem that was just giving me fits and I worked on it for something like 20 minutes and actacked it from a couple of directions and still couldn't come up with an answer. So I said "C looks good" and that was that. Hope it went as well as I thought, still waiting...


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## FL PE (Dec 28, 2007)

dmercado_PE said:


> I finished about 30 minutes early in the AM and PM. I spent another 20 minutes just making sure the bubbles were filled in completely and erasing any sign of stray pencil marks on the answer sheet. I also counted the problems I felt really confident about and "self graded" myself. With about 10 minutes left, I just closed my test and just sat there. By the way, my estimated "self graded" score was 85% and was right on with what I actually got.


How do you know what you actually got? NCEEs hasn't released scores for a couple years.


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## brick_27 (Dec 28, 2007)

forelsu said:


> How many people left early from the exam? Either due to finishing early and feeling confident or to giving up. I left 20 minutes early in the AM. In the PM there were a few problems that I wouldn't have been able to solve with another 4 hours.
> I don't think I could have reworked any problems to get different (maybe correct, if wrong) answers, but now I'm regretting leaving a little.


I worked right up to the last second for both morning and afternoon sessions. I used the morning time to double check answers. In the afternoon, I was guessing on probably six questions. I passed.


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## sreedy (Dec 28, 2007)

I left about an hour early in the morning and about two hours early in the afternoon. I have always been a very fast test taker. With my significant breadth of experience and recent schooling (I went back to school full time for 2004) I was pretty confident about the vast majority of my answers. Luckily, I passed, because I would have felt really stupid if I hadn't.


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## csb (Dec 28, 2007)

I took the Civil-Transportation exam and finished early in the morning, but since I was in the very front row I just stuck around and checked answers and breathed and took it all in. The afternoon was not quite as nice and I used my extra time to actually change a geotech answer...the CERM was horribly vague about the topic but my Soils book explained it in great detail with a quick and dirty equation, so I recalculated what had been a bad guess.


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## EL Nica PE (Dec 28, 2007)

forelsu,

Where did you get that pic?


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## forelsu (Dec 28, 2007)

I got it from an LSU board, but don't use it there. I thought it was neat.


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## EL Nica PE (Dec 28, 2007)

forelsu said:


> I got it from an LSU board, but don't use it there. I thought it was neat.


Can you send me the link? I use it as my wallpaper!


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## dmercado_PE (Dec 28, 2007)

FL PE said:


> How do you know what you actually got? NCEEs hasn't released scores for a couple years.


Scores are given to us in the great state of Texas.


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## forelsu (Dec 28, 2007)

EL Nica PE said:


> Can you send me the link? I use it as my wallpaper!


If you want it, just right click on the picture and save it to your hard drive. i don't have a link.


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## FL PE (Dec 28, 2007)

dmercado_PE said:


> Scores are given to us in the great state of Texas.


That's weird. I know the director of the WV PE Board pretty well. She told us that the Boards didn't receive the scores anymore per NCEES. I wonder how Texas still gets them? I wanted one several times after I failed. I would like to know how well I did now that I've passed.


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## BluSkyy (Dec 28, 2007)

> The boards don't receive the scores anymore...


that's not true in Oklahoma.

In any case, NCEES has no "authority" over the boards.(although I'm certain the organization has a degree of "clout") If the Board of a particular state wants the scores and wants to distribute them to its examinees, it without question has the authority to do so. If a particular board chooses to accept NCEES' recommendation, it certainly can do that as well.

In Oklahoma's case, the board does receive and file each examinee's score, but will not disclose it to any examinee. I understand these scores are filed in the case they are necessary for an application for comity in another state.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Dec 29, 2007)

I finished with 45 minutes left in the AM and simply made sure I had filled out my answer sheet correctly. I didn't really look over any problems becuase I didn't want to get into a situation where I was second guessing myself. Just kinda scanned it over. I finished with 30 minutes or so left in the PM I think and did something similar.

I was one of the earliest to leave each time. That's unusual for me, as I was never a speedy test taker in college because it's not a race.


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## NCcarguy (Dec 29, 2007)

I finished early....but I didn't leave, both in the AM and PM portions. I went back and on the ones that I wasn't 100% confident on, I dug deeper into the materials I brought. I had come SOOO close on the other 3 attempts that I realized I could not afford to give even ONE single question away, if there was a chance for me to get it correct.

Trust me.....If you have ONE problem that you think you might know the answer to, or that you're close to solving, you're better to stay and just work that one question, than to leave early, and find out you failed by one or two questions 2 months later!!!!!

It must have paid off for me!!!!


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## Dark Knight (Dec 29, 2007)

First try....left 1 hour early on both AM and PM and failed

Second try...used the four hours for each AM and PM and failed

Third try...used the four hours for both parts again and passed

[SIZE=36pt]WGASA????[/SIZE]


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## fmullner (Dec 30, 2007)

I left 45 minutes early in the morning and an hour early in the afternoon. That's after checking all my answers, erasing stray pencil marks, praying fervently, etc.

I passed the one and only (?) PE exam I will ever take.


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## EngRanger (Dec 31, 2007)

Stayed for entire four hours in the AM. I was picking away at the last couple of problems that I wasn't sure how to solve.

PM was different. I "finished" in about three hours and spent about 15 mins checking bubbles. There was no point in staying any longer and I wanted to make sure I got out before they called 15 mins (I think it was 15), because you couldn't leave early after that point.


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## kevo_55 (Dec 31, 2007)

I have never left early from any portion of any PE exam.

I've passed and also failed a few of these exams but I've never left early. I just like to look over my answers and take my time with tough questions.


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## bigray76 (Dec 31, 2007)

I finished the AM portion (Civil) in about 3:15, but hung around to check my answers and make sure I didn't make a stupid math error, I was ready to leave the room with 15 minutes to spare, but the proctor never got to me in time so I sat there until the end.

In the afternoon, I finished the exam and had check my answers in three hours. I felt like I was in the zone and on the first pass through answered 35 questions (right or wrong, I felt good about them). The other five got either narrowed down to a good guess or I was able to find the answed after digging in some other references.

When I took the EIT, I left both the morning and afternoon session over an hour early.

When I am under pressure like these exams, I just get in a zone or a rhythm and block everything but the test out.


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## busbeepbeep (Jan 2, 2008)

I didn't have much time to spare. But I passed so I guess it doesn't matter.

I finished the Electrical AM with about 20 minutes left to go back and check answers. I finished the PM Power with about 5 minutes left, so no time to go over answers.


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## GTScott (Jan 2, 2008)

When I took it (October 06) the weather was horrible so I stayed the whole time as I was hoping maybe the rain would pass. Also, I didn't see any prizes for leaving early, so I stuck around.


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## superbee69 (Jan 2, 2008)

morning session I used up all of the time. I did manage a bathroom break in the morning and afternoon sessions. Afternoon I left with a little over an hour to go. I had worked all that I knew how to. I could have had 10 days to work the remaining ones that I threw darts at and still not got them.


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## gymrat1279 PE (Jan 2, 2008)

I finished the morning in about two and a half hours and checked all my answers twice. I left with 20 minutes to go. In the afternoon I used the entire time. I did Civil-Structures and passed.


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## Capt Worley PE (Jan 3, 2008)

I fought til the bitter end in both am and pm sections. I refused to go down without a fight.


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## Guest (Jan 3, 2008)

^^^ Same here. I knew that my previous efforts were decided by one or two problems AT MOST; therefore, I was going to take all of the time afforded to insure my problems were as 'correct' as they could be! That meant double and triple checking a few problems. :true:

JR


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## IlPadrino (Jan 3, 2008)

Captain Worley said:


> I fought til the bitter end in both am and pm sections. I refused to go down without a fight.


Same here!

I think the only way I would have left early was if I was sure I had all the problem methodologies done right, I double checked all my answers, and each answer matched exactly one of the four choices. Hell, if I was missing just one definition, I'd have kept rereading the CERM until I ran out of time.

I think I guessed on about five problems (even if I could eliminate one or two answers) each session, so there was no way I was going to leave early. But I did take a bunch of bio breaks (who can concentrate with a full bladder?)


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## Capt Worley PE (Jan 3, 2008)

^^ I took one bio break, right before the 15 minute warning on the pm section.


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## Guest (Jan 3, 2008)

IlPadrino said:


> But I did take a bunch of bio breaks (who can concentrate with a full bladder?)


It isn't referred to as a head call anymore?? hmy:

I always wondered who coined the term 'bio-break' - I have my suspicions. 



JR


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## IlPadrino (Jan 3, 2008)

jregieng said:


> It isn't referred to as a head call anymore?? hmy:
> I always wondered who coined the term 'bio-break' - I have my suspicions.
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah... it's still "head call" in the Navy, but things are more "joint" than ever! I'm pretty sure "bio" is short for "biological" and refers to eliminating the biological wastes that have accumulated.


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