# October 2007



## Capt Worley PE (Oct 29, 2007)

Well, I don't have a really good feeling about it.


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## busbeepbeep (Oct 29, 2007)

you and me both


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## Capt Worley PE (Oct 29, 2007)

BTW, the pencils were black.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Oct 29, 2007)

^ Nice, I won the bet.

DV has to sing my school's fight song while wearing a PPI Rules t-shirt!


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## busbeepbeep (Oct 29, 2007)

Captain Worley said:


> BTW, the pencils were black.


they were trying to collect the pencils at the end of my test...I said no way, I paid $200 for this souvenir.


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## benbo (Oct 29, 2007)

Very few people have a REALLY good feeling about it, except a few geniuses. I thought I failed, but somehow I passed.


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## Capt Worley PE (Oct 29, 2007)

I actually had a really bad feeling afterwards, but after thinking about it, there is a glimmer of a hope that I passed. I think I failed, but it'll be a very close thing if I pass.

But I'm 100% OK with a very close thing.

Post a picture of DV in his "the other board" shirt.


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## BORICUAZO (Oct 29, 2007)

busbeepbeep said:


> they were trying to collect the pencils at the end of my test...I said no way, I paid $200 for this souvenir.


Wow! Only $200! In Puerto Rico we pay $355, each. Our pencils should be 14K gold, special edition.


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## TXengrChickPE (Oct 29, 2007)

I felt really good after the morning session. The afternoon (structural) kicked me in the ass!


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## jartgo (Oct 29, 2007)

I feel OK, I think if I fail it will be because of mistakes, which is not unlikely for me. I don't think there's anyway you can truly feel OK, considering the required % correct is unknown.

Things I didn't like:

-I often wished I had more paper to work the problems...when I work fast, I tend to space everything out...then when I have to rework something, I'm stuck with no room and a crappy eraser.

-I got really tired of sitting in that chair after about 2 hours into the afternoon portion. I could feel myself wanting to not spend as much time on the problems. It was a struggle to continue thoroughly working the problems, even when I knew how.

Thing's I did like:

-Not really much about the exam. I certainly don't want to have to go through that again.

-I saw a lot of people from school that I recognized and had basically forgotten about...of course I couldn't remember their names, but I thought it was neat to hear what everyone was doing and what their experiences have been since graduation.


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Oct 29, 2007)

> -I got really tired of sitting in that chair after about 2 hours into the afternoon portion. I could feel myself wanting to not spend as much time on the problems. It was a struggle to continue thoroughly working the problems, even when I knew how.


That's a big reason why it's important to do a full length practice exam beforehand. It's hard to focus for that long.


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## GTScott (Oct 29, 2007)

Black pencils? How ominous.


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## jartgo (Oct 29, 2007)

GTScott said:


> Black pencils? How ominous.



damn, my pencil was white...I hope I was in the correct exam.


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## csb (Oct 29, 2007)

Man, I wish I would have worn astronaut diapers. I had to go to the bathroom during the morning portion. I felt a little ridiculous turning in my test, getting a hall pass, and then going as fast as I could go. I also enjoyed the NO TALKING IN THE RESTROOM signs. It made me want to belt out a showtune.

I have no idea if I passed or if I failed but I do know this...after the EIT I was a wreck and required a lot of liquor and sleep. After the PE, I still had enough go to drive home the 2.5 hours it took.

At least the countdown clock isn't mocking me anymore!

And I agree...they could have chosen a peppier color for the pencils that 1. smudge and 2. don't erase.

:mail-296:


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## DVINNY (Oct 29, 2007)

BLACK!!!!!!!!!! Damn VT


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## TXengrChickPE (Oct 29, 2007)

I kind of wish that the depth section was in the morning instead of the afternoon. I was pretty brain-dead by 4pm and there were a lot of afternoon problems that I feel like I would have understood better if I had been more awake.

Also, we were told (in Houston) that we couldn't have our books "standing up" in front of us because that would block the proctor's view of what we were doing. I ended up having to put my crate of binders on the floor next to me and lay down my books in several piles in front of me. I know it seems minor, but I had gotten used to having my books and binders in a certain order. A lot of the "prep" books say to bring boxes or crates to use as bookshelves... but we weren't allowed to use them.


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## csb (Oct 29, 2007)

TXengrChick said:


> I kind of wish that the depth section was in the morning instead of the afternoon. I was pretty brain-dead by 4pm and there were a lot of afternoon problems that I feel like I would have understood better if I had been more awake.
> Also, we were told (in Houston) that we couldn't have our books "standing up" in front of us because that would block the proctor's view of what we were doing. I ended up having to put my crate of binders on the floor next to me and lay down my books in several piles in front of me. I know it seems minor, but I had gotten used to having my books and binders in a certain order. A lot of the "prep" books say to bring boxes or crates to use as bookshelves... but we weren't allowed to use them.


I had my watch set on the table in front of me with all of my books and the proctor came over and told me it would need to be either on my wrsit or on the floor. She then said it was a new rule. I honestly wonder what they tell these people, because you better believe I had a wall of books on my table. Of course, we had 3 proctors for about 20 of us and they made frequent laps around the room. Oh, and one the proctors was so kind as to leave the volume on her cell phone set to "loud." I nearly threw up on my test when that sucker went off.


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## ODB_PE (Oct 29, 2007)

Table was horribly small - two people at an 18x72 table - somehow my neighbor and I avoided each other.

Structural I - AASHTO questions on morning rattled me pretty good. By comparison, afternoon was "simple" - but we'll see. In the end I think there were probably 58 that I felt good about, but of course that won't hold up so hopefully my good guesses and blind guesses will offset. Probably 8 blind guesses max.

LONG DAY - reported at 7:10, released at 5:45 or so - 1/2 an hour for lunch. Almost 300 people in Austin so check in took a while.

Pencils were lousy and they only gave us one.

Someone in my area farted during the entire morning session - SBDs - It was horrible - overwhelming at one point.

The guy next to me would almost yell out "bless you" every time somebody in the room sneezed. Seriously. Remember, this was a very large room.

Someone in the room had a medical emergency with about an hour left. the proctors actually yelled out "call 911" - the test takers pretty much kept on going. After the tests were collected, the proctors told us that "the gentleman who had the medical emergency was OK" and the bless you guy yelled out "thank you"


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## ODB_PE (Oct 29, 2007)

oh yeah, my pencil was the standard white w/ black lettering.


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## Dark Knight (Oct 29, 2007)

ol said:


> Someone in my area farted during the entire morning session - SBDs - It was horrible - overwhelming at one point.


Fudgey????????????????


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## DVINNY (Oct 29, 2007)

^^^^ That's what I was thinking


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## Jennifer Price (Oct 29, 2007)

I thought the morning was ridiculously easy and the afternoon ridiculously hard (transportation). But I started thinking about the problems and I wouldn't change the answers to any of them that I put down. I honestly feel that I did the best I could and I really hope that was enough. I don't know if there was any additional information that I could have studied that would have made a difference. I am very grateful that I knew my reference material inside and out b/c that was key to me answering some of the questions pretty quickly.

I took the exam in Orlando and they had enough room for all of us to sit at a table by ourselves. We started late b/c of all the people who had to check in and I think they got our proctors from a nearby nursing home. And I had the honor to sit directly under a vent (even the 2 pairs of socks didn't help).

They had one clock that was tiny in the front of the room and they wouldn't let us put our watches on the table either.

The woman at the table next to me talked to herself in a sing-song voice most of the exam (thank God for the earplugs). I almost threw my pencil at her to make her stop.

The good thing about the exam is that I saw a lot of people from the FDOT that I used to work with and got to play catch up with them.

It will be either a good Christmas or a very sad Christmas this year.


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## Capt Worley PE (Oct 29, 2007)

For some reason, they didn't let us into the exam room until 8:00 (doors were suposed to be closed at 7:15), and the test didn't start until 8:35. I got there at 6:45 so it made for a pretty long day. Plus, it was raining while we were waiting around outside. Nice.

I went mechanical/machine design.


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## kevo_55 (Oct 29, 2007)

I took the Civil/Structural exam.

The morning was harder than the afternoon for me. I felt that some of the enviro/water resources questions were tough. Since this is the last NCEES exam for me, I damn well should have had an easier time for the structural afternoon.

I believe that I made or broke the exam on the morning portion.

We'll see if I pass. :dunno:


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## roadmonkey (Oct 29, 2007)

Standard white pencil for us, I am starting a collection with the one I got from the EIT.

Our morning session started a little late 8:15 because of some guy that couldn't decide if he wanted to change seats. We were released late for lunch as well because of the same guy got up and was talking to the proctor after he turned in his exam to the wrong person.

The afternoon was late because one of the proctors waited to pass out her exams. Her section got theirs after everyone else in the room had theirs, I felt bad for them as it would only raise my stress level.

The proctors were a good mix, however a lot of them were older. The "head" proctor read the instructions and got stuck by saying we had 2 hours to complete, on top of that she called 15 minute warning with an hour 15 minutes remaining, the roar from the mob in both instances was a little satisfying.

Best part was the woman complaing before it started that she needed an hour lunch to pump, the prcotor walked away from her leaving her with an OMG expression on her face. hmy: I think she ended pumping during the exam.


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## ccollet (Oct 29, 2007)

jenevans said:


> It will be either a good Christmas or a very sad Christmas this year.



Christmas will be the same in NY, as our results don't arrive till just after New Year.

I'm glad i heard others get told not to leave their watches on the desk, my proctor (kinda gruffly) told me pick up watch and put it on my wrist, he didn't explain that it was a "new rule" and i almost started to argue with him, but i figured it wouldn't be a good way to start the day. What could be the reasoning behind the rule anyway?


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## busbeepbeep (Oct 29, 2007)

> What could be the reasoning behind the rule anyway?


They explained to us that some watches/clocks have vibrating function so they don't want it vibrating on the desk.


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## jascia1919 (Oct 29, 2007)

I did Str II (Bridge) this time. The questions are more difficult and in depth than Str I.

Seismic problems in the afternoon are harder. But the time is still enough.

Although there are many stuffs I am not quite sure. But there are definitely chances to pass.


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## robiam (Oct 29, 2007)

another silly rule :

NO HOODIES??

it POURED down rain friday morning . . . so of course there were a bunch of people with rain jackets . . .

"anyone wearing a jacket with a hood please place them in a box in the hallway"

what the ??!?!!!

as for the exam . . . i get SOOOO tired of playing the "convert the units" game.!!!

you'd figure at this point in our lives we are done playing games.


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## csb (Oct 29, 2007)

roadmonkey said:


> Best part was the woman complaing before it started that she needed an hour lunch to pump, the prcotor walked away from her leaving her with an OMG expression on her face. hmy: I think she ended pumping during the exam.


My friend is in med school and they have to take similar long exams and there is a woman suiing nationally because of a pumping issue. I so would not be able to concerntrate if someone was doing that next to me.

Also, I'm pretty sure that if 911 had been called, I would have lost all concentration.


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## Capt Worley PE (Oct 29, 2007)

They let us wear the hooded jackets, you just couldn't put the hoods up over your head. I was glad because I all I had have are hooded jackets and it got pretty cool in the testing room.


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## IlPadrino (Oct 29, 2007)

jenevans said:


> I thought the morning was ridiculously easy and the afternoon ridiculously hard (transportation).


It's been said that's the way to pass... get a solid 35 in the morning and all you need are 20 in the afternoon. Even if you only knew 10 in the afternoon, you could likely guess well enough to get 10/30 on the rest if you eliminate one of the choices.


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## chavez (Oct 29, 2007)

The room was comfortable, and the table space was fine. I thought the temperature was perfect, not too cool, not too hot...I felt like crap because i was getting over a sickness, but not directly the fault of the exam Gods (i think).

The table actually was about the size of the desk I had been using at home for my studies so i laid out my resources in the same manner and it was great.

No speculation on how i did...it was about what i expected. I could have been a little better prepared, but i knew that going in.

I'm just glad it's over...for now! :bananalama:


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## ODB_PE (Oct 29, 2007)

csb said:


> Also, I'm pretty sure that if 911 had been called, I would have lost all concentration.


It was really weird - all of the proctors (and there were probably 12-15) immediately ran over to that area. Everybody taking the exam kind of stopped and looked at each other as if to say "what do we do" which quickly turned into "sucks to be you" and went right back to work. There was a bit of commotion in the area where it was going on - I suppose fortunately it was kind of in the corner so was fairly easy to tune out - but I'm sure it was very distracting for people close to the action. I wondered if the person ended up staying to finish the test.

I did notice one guy came back with his bathroom pass while all this was going on and probably waited 5 minutes to get his test back since all the proctors were occupied. No additional time was given or anything so I bet somebody may use the incident to protest.


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## csb (Oct 29, 2007)

ol said:


> It was really weird - all of the proctors (and there were probably 12-15) immediately ran over to that area. Everybody taking the exam kind of stopped and looked at each other as if to say "what do we do" which quickly turned into "sucks to be you" and went right back to work.


One time in college the fire alarm went off during a soils lab. We all continued to work until our professor came back in the room and said to us, "Are you crazy? There's a fire! Get out of the building!" They had to do the same throughout the building...engineers don't sway off course very easily.


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## jartgo (Oct 29, 2007)

IlPadrino said:


> It's been said that's the way to pass... get a solid 35 in the morning and all you need are 20 in the afternoon. Even if you only knew 10 in the afternoon, you could likely guess well enough to get 10/30 on the rest if you eliminate one of the choices.



now where did you hear that? I was thinking the same thing about 60% correct to pass...I could get 55 correct and be a "shoe in" but on test day I heard that you need 60 correct (75%) and then today someone told me you need 80% to pass...Obviously, my confidence is fading with people throwing numbers like that around.


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## roadwreck (Oct 29, 2007)

jartgo said:


> now where did you hear that? I was thinking the same thing about 60% correct to pass...I could get 55 correct and be a "shoe in" but on test day I heard that you need 60 correct (75%) and then today someone told me you need 80% to pass...Obviously, my confidence is fading with people throwing numbers like that around.


I don't think you really need to get yourself to worked up, I doubt the people who are giving you those numbers really know anything about the grading of the exam. You did your best, relax for a little while and hope that your efforts paid off.


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## IlPadrino (Oct 29, 2007)

jartgo said:


> now where did you hear that? I was thinking the same thing about 60% correct to pass...I could get 55 correct and be a "shoe in" but on test day I heard that you need 60 correct (75%) and then today someone told me you need 80% to pass...Obviously, my confidence is fading with people throwing numbers like that around.


There's plenty of anecdotal evidence on what it takes to get a 69% converted score... it's close to 55 answers give or take a handful. I don't think there's any anecdotal evidence that someone got a raw 79% (nor probably even a 75%) and failed.

Regardless, you shouldn't care what your score is if you pass... and if you don't, you'll get some diagnostics that will answer it definitively for you.


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## NCcarguy (Oct 29, 2007)

jenevans said:


> I thought the morning was ridiculously easy and the afternoon ridiculously hard (transportation).



Jenevans,

I agree with you, and I also took the transpo afternoon. I felt like I left at lunch with a solid 30 in the morning, and fairly comfortable with 4-5 more. I think I could easily get 33 in the morning, I sure hope that turns into a PE number!!! I felt OK with about 30 in the afternoon too, but I found this test to be WAY more ambiguous than the past exams I've taken, so I can't be as confident as I would like.

I also agree that I don't think I could have studied one more thing that would have helped me pass this test. I'm not sure what the goal is with this one, but it sure seems like they've changed the format slightly. It'll be interesting to see the pass percentage. I can't really tell if overall it was easier, or harder than the past 3 i've taken, but it sure was different.

Good luck to you though!


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Oct 29, 2007)

> i get SOOOO tired of playing the "convert the units" game.!!!


Convert the units problems are easy money. I'll take all I can get. Any problem I can stare at and just cancel/convert units without applying real engineering concepts to it works for me.


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## slates (Oct 29, 2007)

"I can't really tell if overall it was easier, or harder than the past 3 i've taken, but it sure was different."

I also took the transpo in the afternoon after still being undecided between that and WR. I had never taken the test before so not really sure what to expect outside of what I'd seen in sample problems and exams. The afternoon to me seemed easier than the morning, I was able to answer about 20 questions or so without too much hunting for info or even using a calculator within the first hour leaving lots of time to look up obscure items and double checking the ones I felt seemed too easy. Do you think they were practicing questions for the construction depth they plan to roll out in April? A lot of the questions I felt were construction related just curious if any repeat takers felt the same way.


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## rudy (Oct 29, 2007)

Took exam in Austin, TX. I felt better about this one, than the last two times. But it depends on the cutoff score this time around. It seems like the exam started later. Got there at 7:20, exam started at around 8:10. It seems like they mixed examinees around. ChE's were at the front tables last two times. This time I was in the middle of the room with Civil guys on either side of me -- unless I was the only ChE (but I doubt that).

Before the test, the proctor annonunced that there was a conference going on and that they would be serving food on the other side of the wall. So it would get noisy; they should have planned better. It was a National Spine Conference.

Again, the tables were too small, with my books hanging a little over. Heard my neighbor's books fall once. As usual had to sit with one set of table legs between my legs or else I would have been too close to my neighbor.

Oh, I was able to keep two watches on my table. Maybe the new watch rule hasn't reached Texas yet. I was also able to get two pencils. I always ask for an extra one before the test, and use one as a book mark, or to switch them when my hand starts to hurt.

The afternoon started late too. We were to report back at 1:15, but the exam didn't start till 1:40 or so. The head proctor at the head of the room kept starring at the back of the room. Don't know what she was waiting for. Again, better organization was needed.

Then, as ol' deadbeat mentioned, there was a guy who needed medical attention. Some examinees were actually standing around him (maybe they were all proctors -- don't know). Said a quick prayer for him and tried my best to continue test -- felt bad. But I had to keep going. In Texas, you are only allowed 4 chances (no excused ones) to take test. If you fail, then you have to go thru the whole application process. Even with the commotion, no extra time was given.


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## EngRanger (Oct 29, 2007)

Mechanical Engineering / Machine Design Depth in Columbus OH

The tables were about the right size and the temperature was comfortable. I had a stadium seat for a cushion and it came in very handy.

I brought an old pocket watch to keep time and was told I couldn't have it on the desk. &lt;_&lt;

The morning was hard for me, the afternoon seemed a lot easier. I took all the time in the morning, but left about 30 mins early in the afternoon.

I'm not a morning person. Didn't get good sleep in the hotel the night before and got up at 5:30. My head just wasn't sharp.

After the morning session I thought I was gonna get killed in the afternoon.

The afternoon was good, not perfect, but solid. The best indicator is probably how little time I spent looking at ref's compared to am.

I was one of the first guys in the exam room and had time to watch the others file into the room. Most people had a milk crate full of books and some had just Merm/Cerm. One dude had a rolling 3 shelf bookcase packed with books! I had to chuckle. :laugh:


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## SSmith (Oct 30, 2007)

I took the exam in Lexington, KY.

Only memorable event was that the transformer that provided power to the room blew during lunch. After a delay, they told us at 130 that if the utility company cant get it fixed by 2, then they would have to reschedule the test. Thankfully they didnt have to worry about it because power was back on almost exactly at 2.

I thought the Industrial Engineering portion was fair. The morning was quite a bit easier than the afternoon, unless it was "brain fry" setting in. Unfortunately, the unit conversion for our test wasnt listed on any material I brought with me. Even when I got back with the internet as a resource, I still couldnt find the formula to make the conversion.

There were about 10-15% of the problems that I thought were "non-problems." That is they gave a ton of information and then posed a question where without working the problem you could see that only 1 answer would work. That was surprising.

I work as a reliability engineer, and felt reasonably confident about the reliability questions that were asked. Thats always a plus.


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## busbeepbeep (Oct 30, 2007)

> Only memorable event was that the transformer that provided power to the room blew during lunch


.
that's great...should have been first EE to get the power back on automatically passes.


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## PE-ness (Oct 30, 2007)

ol said:


> Someone in my area farted during the entire morning session - SBDs - It was horrible - overwhelming at one point.


Sorry - got some bad dietary advice over on "the other board".


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## SSmith (Oct 30, 2007)

busbeepbeep said:


> .
> that's great...should have been first EE to get the power back on automatically passes.


Before they told us it was a transformer that blew, I made a bet with some guy beside me that it would be an EE to tell us that the circuit breaker tripped. 

I also forgot to mention that this is the only test that I have no idea how I did. If I pass, then Ill be comfortable knowing that I knew what I was taking. If I fail, then Ill be comfortable because I missed the "trick" of the problem and underthought it. But I dont really have a handle on either way.


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## floridaengineer4now (Oct 30, 2007)

Been a while since I've been on here.

I thought the morning was pretty straight forward and I'm fairly confident I did well in most although I can think of a few stupid mistakes I made.

I took transporation in the afternoon and did not feel very confident afterwards. I felt as though NCEES purposely tries to look for problems that you will not have in any of your review material. There just didn't seem to be a lot of practical knowledge questions for transportation engineers. Maybe I focused on the wrong material while preparing, but there were several topics I would consider to be very important for engineers that just weren't covered. With the amount I prepared, I was hoping to leave the exam confident that I would pass, but unfortunatly, I didn't.


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## GSavant (Oct 31, 2007)

Did anyone take the afternoon water, i thought it was fairly easy. But now I have a bad feeling about it because no-one seems to agree, either I did really good or I laid a goose egg.


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## Jennifer Price (Oct 31, 2007)

NCcarguy said:


> Jenevans,
> I agree with you, and I also took the transpo afternoon. I felt like I left at lunch with a solid 30 in the morning, and fairly comfortable with 4-5 more. I think I could easily get 33 in the morning, I sure hope that turns into a PE number!!! I felt OK with about 30 in the afternoon too, but I found this test to be WAY more ambiguous than the past exams I've taken, so I can't be as confident as I would like.
> 
> I also agree that I don't think I could have studied one more thing that would have helped me pass this test. I'm not sure what the goal is with this one, but it sure seems like they've changed the format slightly. It'll be interesting to see the pass percentage. I can't really tell if overall it was easier, or harder than the past 3 i've taken, but it sure was different.
> ...


So what do we do if we fail? If I already feel like there are no other problems I could have worked to have passed this thing...what do I study if (please God don't let it be) I fail? I guess pick up some different problem books and work through them???

And good luck to you too


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## JunkerJorg (Oct 31, 2007)

GSavant said:


> Did anyone take the afternoon water, i thought it was fairly easy. But now I have a bad feeling about it because no-one seems to agree, either I did really good or I laid a goose egg.



I found the afternoon WR to be pretty tough. I finished and went back to 3 problems , but only had 30 min left. As opposed to the morning which I finished in under 3 hours and had an entire hour to check answers, work on the harder questions and double check calcs.


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## NCcarguy (Nov 1, 2007)

jenevans said:


> So what do we do if we fail? If I already feel like there are no other problems I could have worked to have passed this thing...what do I study if (please God don't let it be) I fail? I guess pick up some different problem books and work through them???
> And good luck to you too



Honestly, I think I'm to the point that I just keep taking the test until I pass. I don't think I could study another thing! The ones that I could have missed were mainly the lookup problems, and those tend to be random, and not really something you would know, or be able to study....so I think we're just going to have to hope it's behind us!!! I have a good feeling about it, so maybe it's not going to even be an issue.


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## roadmonkey (Nov 1, 2007)

I thought there was a lot of lookup questions on the Transpo. Afternoon


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## IlPadrino (Nov 1, 2007)

jenevans said:


> So what do we do if we fail? If I already feel like there are no other problems I could have worked to have passed this thing...what do I study if (please God don't let it be) I fail? I guess pick up some different problem books and work through them???


Pick another depth! The advice I was given by Testmasters was that Transportation was a hard depth if you didn't have hands-on experience in the right areas.


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## Jennifer Price (Nov 1, 2007)

IlPadrino said:


> Pick another depth! The advice I was given by Testmasters was that Transportation was a hard depth if you didn't have hands-on experience in the right areas.



I might go with the construction depth since that is where most of my work experience is. Hopefully, it will be non-issue though


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## benbo (Nov 1, 2007)

jenevans said:


> I might go with the construction depth since that is where most of my work experience is. Hopefully, it will be non-issue though


Really, I am thinking positive thoughts for you folks. Almost everyone is uncertain whether they passed, and a lot of people get pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't start studying now anyway, they might end up changing the specs again!


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## bigray76 (Nov 1, 2007)

jenevans said:


> I might go with the construction depth since that is where most of my work experience is. Hopefully, it will be non-issue though


When I took the test in April '07, I had heard a construction module was coming out for the April '08 exam, but decided to just give Transpo a shot anyway despite working in construction. I ran across several afternoon questions I had to really try to figure out, but I think I was able to reverse engineer them from some of the answers. As long as you feel that you couldn't have prepped any more than you did, you did good. It is impossible to study every last topic. I left feeling I gave the test a good effort... and I did pass.

Good luck and I hope you get some good news in 10 - 12 weeks!

-Ray


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## IlPadrino (Nov 1, 2007)

bigray76 said:


> When I took the test in April '07, I had heard a construction module was coming out for the April '08 exam, but decided to just give Transpo a shot anyway despite working in construction. I ran across several afternoon questions I had to really try to figure out, but I think I was able to reverse engineer them from some of the answers. As long as you feel that you couldn't have prepped any more than you did, you did good. It is impossible to study every last topic. I left feeling I gave the test a good effort... and I did pass.
> Good luck and I hope you get some good news in 10 - 12 weeks!
> 
> -Ray


Is it bad form if I start a pool where we can bet on results? After all, those that passed won't care and those that didn't can at least see the utility of their results. Should I get some sensitivity training soon?

Personally, I'd have bet against myself... at least $100. If I passed I'd still be glad and if I didn't the $100 would buy an awful lot of beer!


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## ktulu (Nov 11, 2007)

bump

I thought that the new members would like to give their opinions about the exam.....

ktulu


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## civilsid (Nov 12, 2007)

Well folks, I must say that it is very relaxing to read all these stories since I faced the brutality in April. I still wish I knew what my score was but, oh well, as long as I got the stamp, that is what matters.

Regarding the varied confidence levels that you are all talking about, I had two extremes. I felt very confident about the national exam but very NOT confidant about the California seismic exam. Thankfully, I passed both. I really thought that state exam was a damn train wreck; I figured there was no way I passed.

I feel bad for all you guys (and ladies) because there is nothing worse than the wait. It sucks. Welcome to hell. Several months of it.


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## Polysloman (Nov 12, 2007)

I feel bad

there is nothing worse than the wait.

It sucks. Welcome to hell. Several months of it.


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## Guest (Nov 12, 2007)

Polysloman said:


> Dude, It's not that bad. I feel relieved that they finally let me sit for it and I have a lot of free time again. I block it out with alcohol, thoughts of death relatives and porn. Not necessarily in that order.
> 
> It's like death and taxes. We are all going to get a letter...


Wow ... we haven't seen this side of you. I hope that wasn't my doing .. I have been told I can convert the most cheerful, engaged employee to a lump of coal in a matter of a week based on my cynicism. :mellow:

JR


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## bigray76 (Nov 12, 2007)

^^^Darn it JR, you made another one stray over to the dark side!


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## Jennifer Price (Nov 12, 2007)

bigray76 said:


> ^^^Darn it JR, you made another one stray over to the dark side!


Seriously! I enjoyed Polysloman's enthusiasm even if it was a bit far out there at times...


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## Jennifer Price (Nov 12, 2007)

civilsid said:


> I feel bad for all you guys (and ladies) because there is nothing worse than the wait. It sucks. Welcome to hell. Several months of it.


As of now, it hasn't been too bad. I have got to do a lot of things that I put on hold while studying and it has kept me busy (reading, hiking, going out of town for the weekend, etc). Plus with Thanksgiving around the corner, I have to start preparing our home for my in-laws and come up with a Thanksgiving menu (yikes!).

Beyond the first couple of days after the exam and when people ask how I did, I don't give much thought to it. Of course, I know that will change around the third week of December.


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## Flyer_PE (Nov 12, 2007)

The worst part of the wait for me was between the first states reporting results and when Illinois finally got around to it. On the bright side, it would suck worse to be waiting in California.

Jim


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## TXengrChickPE (Nov 12, 2007)

I'm trying to decide if I want the results before or after Christmas. We've got 18 people coming in from all over the country starting on December 22. The last ones leave on December 29. I'm thinking that during that week, I'll be so busy, I won't really care if I haven't gotten the results yet. But, if I find out before, I run the risk of being really sad for Christmas.


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## chavez (Nov 13, 2007)

TXengrChick said:


> I'm trying to decide if I want the results before or after Christmas. We've got 18 people coming in from all over the country starting on December 22. The last ones leave on December 29. I'm thinking that during that week, I'll be so busy, I won't really care if I haven't gotten the results yet. But, if I find out before, I run the risk of being really sad for Christmas.


i'm with you TX...if i'm going to wait that long, why not wait another week...so I Christmas isn't somehow ruined.


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## roadwreck (Nov 13, 2007)

TXengrChick said:


> But, if I find out before, I run the risk of being really sad for Christmas.


Or on the flip side you could be really happy for Christmas!!!


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## chavez (Nov 13, 2007)

roadwreck said:


> Or on the flip side you could be really happy for Christmas!!!


That's true, but very risky. I think I can be happy at Christmas without the results.


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## rudy (Nov 13, 2007)

In Texas, the board posts the results on-line the same day they receive them. The mailed results are received about 1 to 2 weeks later. Last year, the results were posted on Dec. 27. I debated whether to check on-line or wait for the letter. I figured not knowing was better untill after New Year's. But... With everyone else posting their results and feeling that I did better than the last time, I checked. Well, I did do better, got a 69. FAILED!

Lucky for me HBO happened to be showing The Hills Have Eyes 2. opcorn: I watched it and felt much better... my life wasn't that bad compared to those poor saps stranded in the desert. :suicide1:

My plan this year is to check on-line again, but to have The Hills Have Eyes 3 handy, just in case it's bad news.


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## PEsoon2B (Nov 13, 2007)

Captain Worley said:


> Well, I don't have a really good feeling about it.


I agree


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## Transpo_Girl (Nov 13, 2007)

oh dear god I forgot that we might get the results back before christmas, thats going to be tough!


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## Dark Knight (Nov 20, 2007)

Do you guys realize that the results are probably less than a month away? :17:

Just a friendly reminder. :17: :17: :15:


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## ODB_PE (Nov 20, 2007)

rudy said:


> In Texas, the board posts the results on-line the same day they receive them. The mailed results are received about 1 to 2 weeks later. Last year, the results were posted on Dec. 27. I debated whether to check on-line or wait for the letter. I figured not knowing was better untill after New Year's. But... With everyone else posting their results and feeling that I did better than the last time, I checked. Well, I did do better, got a 69. FAILED!


I'm predicting a slight delay between TX's receipt of results and posting due to the PE 100,000 nonsense. Or maybe not....

Seems like it might require a wee bit of additional coordination on their parts.

Do you know anyone who submitted an essay? I didn't. I was going to ask for 99,999 but then one of my buddies said he actually did ask them for 99,999 and they already had a handful of others request it.

Personally I can't see any advantage to the little bit of extra attention the 100,000 would no doubt bring you.


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## csb (Nov 20, 2007)

BringItOn said:


> Do you guys realize that the results are probably less than a month away? :17:
> Just a friendly reminder. :17: :17: :15:


I hope you get coal for Christmas!!!

I can't believe it's only been 24 days since we took that damn test. Do you know how much I've already forgotten??


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## frazil (Nov 20, 2007)

24 days 21 hours 6 minutes and 15, 16, 17... seconds to be exact


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## Dark Knight (Nov 20, 2007)

How hard would it be to set the "watch clock" the following way?:

You have waited X weeks and Y days.....Z more weeks to go.

All based on a minimun 8 weeks waiting period.


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## BORICUAZO (Nov 21, 2007)

BringItOn said:


> Do you guys realize that the results are probably less than a month away? :17:
> 
> Just a friendly reminder.
> 
> [SIZE=12pt]Great!! Last year some states receive their results on December, others on January. This time, the last ones should be the first ones. Let see which one will be the first. (Sorry California :smileyballs: )[/SIZE]


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## HERO (Nov 21, 2007)

I'm not sweat’ in it. CA will get its chance. I'm ready to wait as long as it takes. I got thirty six months of food and ammo stored in the basement. I'm ready for Armageddon baby! 10940623:


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## ODB_PE (Nov 27, 2007)

31+ days so far

Truthfully, I haven't thought much about it but I'm guessing that changes with everybody becoming nutso once some idea of dates comes out and the first states start reporting. That's based on the fact that on 6/27/2007 882 users were on EB

If you're really bored, I theorize that the raw scores are sitting there somewhere on NCEES' website - free to look at if we only knew the URL....


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## Jennifer Price (Nov 28, 2007)

ol said:


> 31+ days so far
> Truthfully, I haven't thought much about it but I'm guessing that changes with everybody becoming nutso once some idea of dates comes out and the first states start reporting. That's based on the fact that on 6/27/2007 882 users were on EB



I was just thinking about this morning when I logged in how long it has been since we took the test. I wasn't very anxious right after the test, but the closer the dates for the results gets (with December looming over the horizon), I feel myself getting a bit more panicked.


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2007)

^^^ Even the most resolute exam taker (except perhaps TMckeon) begins to second guess how well they might have done. I think it is just natural to get become more anxious as more time goes by because the details and assuredness become sketchier in your mind.

I would say that phenomena is similar to that of persons who witnessed a crime and then are shown contradicting information about the details - it invariably clouds thier memory. Hanging out at an engineering board listening to how others' felt they did on the same exam is really no different - it begins to cloud your memory which ultimately leads to doubt.

Hang in thier jen ... one more month. 

JR


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## Dark Knight (Nov 28, 2007)

I second JR on this. The Confidence (Y axis) vs Time (X axis) graph has a negative slope.

What I learned was that if your level of confidence was high just after the test your chances of passing are greater than 80%.


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## Capt Worley PE (Nov 28, 2007)

I'm just assuming I phailed. That way, if I did, I'll be, "meh," and if I pass I'll be overjoyed.

I do have everybody rooting for me, though.


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## Jennifer Price (Nov 28, 2007)

BringItOn said:


> I second JR on this. The Confidence (Y axis) vs Time (X axis) graph has a negative slope.



Only an engineer would explain this in graphing terms.

Does it look like this:


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## Undertaker (Nov 28, 2007)

jenevans said:


> Only an engineer would explain this in graphing terms.
> Does it look like this:


Nice work jen lusone:


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## Jennifer Price (Nov 28, 2007)

Or would it look like this?






(boring day at work...I hate writing specs!)


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2007)

^^^ You guys beat me to the punch of the graph!! 

I was actually thinking of something with a few more inflection points that slowly dampened towards a central tendency as the limit approaches the END OF THE WAITING ....






I unfortunately have work to do today and cannot generate pretty graphs at this point h34r: h34r:

JR


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## Dark Knight (Nov 28, 2007)

jregieng said:


> ^^^ You guys beat me to the punch of the graph!!
> I was actually thinking of something with a few more inflection points that slowly dampened towards a central tendency as the limit approaches the END OF THE WAITING ....
> 
> 
> ...


Speak English JR, or Spanish. You went too deep on the issue.


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## Dleg (Nov 28, 2007)

Your guys are dead on. I left the Oct. 2006 exam feeling quite confident. There were a few questions I made guesses on, and when I got back home I looked up info and confirmed a handful of wrong ones. Couldn't remember more than that, though. Still, you would think I should have been confident. But then I started thinking about how the ones I was able to answer might have turned out to be wrong (tricked by units, whatever), and then I started thinking about how old I am, how long out of test taking practice I am, and pretty soon I began to think that there was actually a pretty good chance that I might have failed. Obsessing on EB didn't help alleviate that feeling, either, though it did help pass the time and was fun to commiserate.

In the end I passed, so I say BIO is correct - if you felt reasonably confident leaving the exam, then you are probably in good shape.


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2007)

BringItOn said:


> Speak English JR, or Spanish. You went too deep on the issue.


If I didn't major in engineering I would have wanted to be a mathematician. :true:

I was waiting for someone to pick up my piece and offer an equation of The Waiting as a function of time. Perhaps that is a bit too deep ... 

I can't be the only person that puts concepts to graphs, charts, or figures?? :sniff: But then again, if I am going with graphics it is usually to spin out an excellent joke or pun. :asthanos:

JR


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## Dark Knight (Nov 29, 2007)

jregieng said:


> If I didn't major in engineering I would have wanted to be a mathematician. :true:
> I was waiting for someone to pick up my piece and offer an equation of The Waiting as a function of time. Perhaps that is a bit too deep ...
> 
> I can't be the only person that puts concepts to graphs, charts, or figures?? :sniff: But then again, if I am going with graphics it is usually to spin out an excellent joke or pun. :asthanos:
> ...


OK...OK...But let us keep it simple. Let it be a simple, easy, linear relationship.


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## csb (Nov 30, 2007)

I'll admit that I was all perky and okay back on October, with an attitude of "I could take it again and it wouldn't be that bad" and all that jazz.

This month I had a dream that I failed.

I'm not gonna make it to January...

My materials are still in the basket I took them in in my kitchen. They are mocking me.

BABY JESUS BRING RESULTS!!!!


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## C-Dog (Nov 30, 2007)

NCcarguy said:


> Honestly, I think I'm to the point that I just keep taking the test until I pass. I don't think I could study another thing! The ones that I could have missed were mainly the lookup problems, and those tend to be random, and not really something you would know, or be able to study....so I think we're just going to have to hope it's behind us!!! I have a good feeling about it, so maybe it's not going to even be an issue.


I thought you can only take the test 3 times? Or is that dependent on the state?

Why does it take so long for the results? They are all electronically graded now!


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## DVINNY (Nov 30, 2007)

C-Dog said:


> I thought you can only take the test 3 times? Or is that dependent on the state?


Dependant upon the states



C-Dog said:


> Why does it take so long for the results? They are all electronically graded now!


Question of the century right there.

http://www.ncees.org/exams/scoring/exam_results.php#why


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## Capt Worley PE (Nov 30, 2007)

It depends on the state, but after so many tries you have to show that you've taken prep classes, etc to test again.


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