# SE Refresher Course Suggestion



## sguru (May 6, 2016)

Has anybody taken EET SE class? I am looking for a course which has a lot of solved problems. I know its kinda early for fall exam but I am hoping to take a refresher course this time. I took both Vert and Lateral April session of exams and did alright, not sure if I will pass or not. I just want to change up my studying strategy for next session. One thing I learned after taking the exam in April is that its all about how many and how different kind of problems you solve.  If anybody can provide some suggestion?


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## SE_FL (May 7, 2016)

I did not take the EET SE, I opted for the Kaplan (which is now Brightwood Engineering) for my SE prep course. The masonry and steel were great, but everything else was disappointing. I learn by examples so it was very frustrating for me that there were very few examples (except masonry and steel).

I think it depends on the professors. Also keep in mind AISC has tons of free webinars, examples and problems on their website for steel.


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## sguru (May 7, 2016)

SE_FL said:


> I did not take the EET SE, I opted for the Kaplan (which is now Brightwood Engineering) for my SE prep course. The masonry and steel were great, but everything else was disappointing. I learn by examples so it was very frustrating for me that there were very few examples (except masonry and steel).
> 
> I think it depends on the professors. Also keep in mind AISC has tons of free webinars, examples and problems on their website for steel.


Ya I heard same things about Kaplan (old name) that it is a good review course for certain areas but it lacks solved examples and practice problems. I don't want to learn too much theory, just want to see as many problems as I can. I hope if somebody can share their EET experience, I am really interested in that.


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## Giuseppe (May 7, 2016)

"I don't want to learn too much theory, just want to see as many problems as I can."

Not sure how you can separate the two.

In my opinion, the SE exam is as much about comprehension as it is about speed.  Without the former, the afternoon sessions likely set up to give a person major fits, and those "on the fence" morning questions potentially turn into a breeding ground for a lot of guessing and frustration.

If anything, comprehension and comfort with "theory" manifests itself in faster problem solving.

Just my own experience and observations.  Best of luck!


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## TehMightyEngineer (May 7, 2016)

Never heard of the EET SE course.

I teach the PPI review course and, while I think we do a decent job, we're similar to Kaplan (light on solved problems during the lectures). The problem I've found is there just simply not enough time to work through problems and focus enough on theory in a typical review course. Thus, the problem with focusing on solving problems is it is very hard to follow for people who aren't familiar in the material. We see a lot of people who are good with X and Y but not Z. This could make it hard for them. I'm sure there's some happy balance and I'm hoping to get the PPI SE review course there.

Sometimes I wonder if there would be some worth it setting up some sort of tailored review course classes with something like 1-5 students to an instructor. The fees would definitely have to be more than a typical review course but I imagine many people would see more benefit as you could do things like focus on problem solving or focus on an area the course taker feels is lacking.


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## sguru (May 7, 2016)

Giuseppe said:


> "I don't want to learn too much theory, just want to see as many problems as I can."
> 
> Not sure how you can separate the two.
> 
> ...


Well I agree with you that this exam is much about comprehension as it is about speed. That being said, I am not saying that I don't want to learn theory. I just realized this past April when I took the exam that I had the concepts locked down, but time was the issue. The part of the reason was not solving enough problems to skip writing irrelevant steps in the afternoon part.


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## sguru (May 8, 2016)

TehMightyEngineer said:


> Never heard of the EET SE course.
> 
> I teach the PPI review course and, while I think we do a decent job, we're similar to Kaplan (light on solved problems during the lectures). The problem I've found is there just simply not enough time to work through problems and focus enough on theory in a typical review course. Thus, the problem with focusing on solving problems is it is very hard to follow for people who aren't familiar in the material. We see a lot of people who are good with X and Y but not Z. This could make it hard for them. I'm sure there's some happy balance and I'm hoping to get the PPI SE review course there.
> 
> Sometimes I wonder if there would be some worth it setting up some sort of tailored review course classes with something like 1-5 students to an instructor. The fees would definitely have to be more than a typical review course but I imagine many people would see more benefit as you could do things like focus on problem solving or focus on an area the course taker feels is lacking.


I couldn't agree more. I don't mind paying for such a course, if it is custom built for specific areas like problem solving. For instance this past exam,  I realized that I knew the material and the code references but I was falling short on speed. I realize speed comes when you solve problems.


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## sguru (May 8, 2016)

Can somebody provide me a review on school of PE? How is their SE review course, in terms of structure? Do they have practice problems and solved examples?


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## TheBridgeEngineer (May 19, 2016)

sguru said:


> Can somebody provide me a review on school of PE? How is their SE review course, in terms of structure? Do they have practice problems and solved examples?


I thought their lectures were a good mix of theory and problems. I have taken their on demand vertical review course.


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