# How was your testing Venue?



## Daisy (Apr 27, 2009)

I took my exam in the basement of the Elks Lodge, and it was a less than ideal location. It was a pain in the butt to lug my books down two flights of stairs, the lighting was horrible, a majority of the plastic table tops were cracked, and the noise from the kitchen prep. for the evenings event was a little distracting. But, I did have a padded chair, and I got my own table, so that was a positive. There was a lady from the NCEES 'observing' who actually apologized for the venue location, and she was kind enough to buy us all ear plugs for the afternoon portion, which I really appreciated.

How was everyone else's test site?


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## Sschell (Apr 27, 2009)

^at least it was a short walk to the bar at the end of the test!


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## Parks and Rec (Apr 27, 2009)

My test site was as I expected because it is the same location I took the FE exam. Large room, with good lighting. Our room was pretty quiet. I took earplugs, but didn't use them. The room was freezing, I was glad I wore pants and brought a jacket even though it was mid 80's outside.


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## rynodawg (Apr 27, 2009)

The McKimmon Center at NC state wasn't bad. It was a conference/meeting center, everyone tested in one giant room. Nice courtyard to walk around and relax in during lunch. That said, I hope I never have to go back!

Much different than the Tulane classroom that I passed the FE in 5 years ago.


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## dastuff (Apr 27, 2009)

Pomona Fairplex, CA...

Huge testing site (there were probably 1000 people in one room). Noise wasn't that bad.. The one thing that drove me nuts is I sat under one of the huge air conditioners for the 2nd day and FROZE MY BUM OFF...

Other than that everything went rather smoothly...


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## Mech2Civil (Apr 27, 2009)

Cow Palace, Daly City, CA

$10 to park and the parking lot was a good 5-10 minute hike to the exam room. The seats were okay, temperature was okay, noise level was okay, however, the place smelled.

Overall, was not a bad test site.


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## Sschell (Apr 27, 2009)

had to pay to park... had to hike to th exam room... it smelled bad.... if thats NOT a bad test site... how would you define a bad test iste???


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## Mech2Civil (Apr 27, 2009)

dude said:


> had to pay to park... had to hike to th exam room... it smelled bad.... if thats NOT a bad test site... how would you define a bad test iste???


Bad test site would be if during the test, it was too cold/hot or it was noisy -- pretty much anything that would have disrupted my concentration.


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## Kephart P.E. (Apr 27, 2009)

Mech2Civil said:


> Bad test site would be if during the test, it was too cold/hot or it was noisy -- pretty much anything that would have disrupted my concentration.



Took it at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall.

All in all pretty good except the tables where the plastic folding type that have sort of a rough surface, and this made it difficult to fill in the answer sheet without putting holes in it. Very annoying once you are in hour 6+ and are mildly freaking out and you just want to fill in the damn circle and move on.

I did like the pencils, I was afraid they would give us the super cheap ones with the really thin lead that breaks every time I try and use it.

Oh and I didn't have this problem, but the parking structure right across the street had only 1 pay gate operating and the line of cars was backed up way around the block. The woman I shared the table with said she was nearly late and was freaking out got in the door with like 3 minutes to spare after spending 25 minutes trying to park.


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## testee (Apr 27, 2009)

I had a table with a rough plywood finish with random bolt holes so I used the back of an unused text under the answer sheet to avoid the punch thru concern.


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## jmdennis (Apr 27, 2009)

Best Western, Hillside (Chicago) IL - Big room with tight table spacing. You had to put suitcases/milk crates to the side of the room after you unpacked, so it was kind of annoying when people started to pack up and leave. Still, the room was pretty quiet and stench free. The adjacent landfill was surprisingly mild for such a warm spring day.


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## WantsPE (Apr 27, 2009)

Reynolds Boy Scout Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

No complaints at all about the venue. Very nice and very comfortable. Quiet and peaceful.


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## GulfCoastCivil (Apr 27, 2009)

Took it at the Vicksburg Convention Center. Quiet venue, comfortable seating, lots of space. My only issue is once you left for lunch they would not let you in to use the bathroom until the next session was to start. Kind of a pain because you had to drive to a bathroom. The guard caused a hub bub in the morning by announcing no food or drinks allowed, but when she saw us about to riot said she was going to go confirm it, then came back and admitted she was wrong. My other issue is with Vicksburg in general. No sit down breakfast place opened before 8am, even at the casino. I didn't have time to drive the few miles to McDonalds.

My sister took her FE in the Ponchartrain Center in Kenner, LA. She said it was nice and quiet. The first time I took it there a car alarm went off outside the double loading doors in the testing room for over an hour. Her biggest problem was the test started late. Really really late. They were all checked in and seated when they announced that the tests had not arrived yet. They were being loaded on an armored truck and would be there in 45 minutes. 2 hours later the test arrived. They ended up taking a shortened lunch so it wouldn't go on forever. She left before the end of the session and left at 7pm.


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## humner (Apr 27, 2009)

Took mine in Northfield VT. Took mine in a middle school classroom. Table was large, chair could have been a little bigger. Ramp access was great so I could wheel in my cart with books. Only 32 people were in room. I am surprised with that one posting of the person who had to carry their books down the stairs. What if someone was in a wheel chair or was unable to make use of stairs, due to a walker. These tests should be open to handicap access.


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## geofs_PE (Apr 27, 2009)

The NCEES has a process for requesting such accommodations:

http://www.ncees.org/exams/special_accommodations/


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## Mike in Gastonia (Apr 27, 2009)

Daisy said:


> I took my exam in the basement of the Elks Lodge, and it was a less than ideal location. It was a pain in the butt to lug my books down two flights of stairs, the lighting was horrible, a majority of the plastic table tops were cracked, and the noise from the kitchen prep. for the evenings event was a little distracting. But, I did have a padded chair, and I got my own table, so that was a positive. There was a lady from the NCEES 'observing' who actually apologized for the venue location, and she was kind enough to buy us all ear plugs for the afternoon portion, which I really appreciated.
> How was everyone else's test site?


What was the lady observing? Did other sites have observers as well?


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## SPSUEngineer (Apr 27, 2009)

Took it in Knoxville, Tn. I thought it was very nice accomadations. The lighting in the room left a little to be desired but it wasn't too bad at all. The lights were a little noisey above me and I used my ear plugs at first.

The proctors were very professional and diligent. I had to put my books on the floor and water on the floor and no more than 2 straight edge's. I was a little surprised by all of that but they were very nice. Thought I was in boot camp there for a minute but rules are rules I guess.


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## EnvEngineer (Apr 28, 2009)

Pomona also but really there were over 2000 people in the room. I wish someone could take a camera the sight of all those tables with people and books was unreal. 8' plywood table and a plastic chair. They did keep the room cool, I was afraid it would get hot with all the people. I cant see how they would find another venue to take its place. Parking 12$ lined down the street a couple of miles the first day.


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## Daisy (Apr 28, 2009)

Mike in Gastonia said:


> What was the lady observing? Did other sites have observers as well?


I don't know who the lady was, all I know is she was from NCEES (she had an official shirt) and helped our proctors when they had a hard time passing out the right test the the surveyors.


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## pugsx (Apr 28, 2009)

Maryland State Fairgrounds 4H building.

+Free parking

+very large room, climate controlled

+Large wood tables (rough surface but they provided a large piece of cardboard to write on)

+ 2 to a table so ample room to place references

+ overall quite quiet

+ Padded chair was decent

+ can bring water and snacks. Drinks must be kept on the floor

+fastfood nearby

+ Lighting was ok. Not great.

- For future Maryland PE takers, do NOT bring suitcases/luggages! Only Milk crates/folding cart/large clear plastic containers.

- Cannot hang jackets on chair, must be placed in a box by the proctor table.

- Don't bring an expired ID or the cops will escort you out the door.

Interesting happenings:

1) yeah, one guy was escorted out coz of expired ID

2) A cell phone rang *GASP* hmy: after the head proctor started giving instructions. The next 10 minutes was wasted looking for cell phone (they couldn't find it). Finally, everyone in my section needed an escort to the restroom during the exam.


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## goodal (Apr 28, 2009)

Took mine in Franklin,TN. The only thing they could have done better was provide padded seats. I brought my one cushion but had to adjust it every 5 minutes. The place was in an isolated wing of a fairly new community bldg. Very quite and comfortable. The proctors were also very accomodating and reasonable. I was very pleased with the site.


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## CPuerta (Apr 28, 2009)

So glad to hear that at all the test sites folks were allowed food/snacks in some capacity during the exam. In NYC, there were NO food and NO drinks allowed in the room. After I checked in and was walking to my seat I was eating a pop tart, my proctor approached me and told me I would be immediately dismissed if the pop tart did not disappear, and this was at 7:15, 45 mins before the exam even started. I thought this was a little abusive and a little "power trippy".


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## AlaskaPE (Apr 28, 2009)

Anchorage Alaska exam site was very nice with one exception - cheap padded folding chairs for 8 hours. I brought a memory foam pillow to sit on this time and was fairly comfortable (up to the last hour or so). Room was well lit (with some natural lighting from skylights which was nice), the perfect temperature, and very quiet. Test location was in a church, so the audible profanity was kept to a minimum. No escorts to the bathrooms, and food and drink were allowed, but not on the tables.

The proctor said several times that we were a great group (everyone showed up, we were quiet and followed instructions) but I don't think we get any points for good behavior.

Nice Irish Pub right across the street that served a really good Rueben sandwich. No parking close, but I got dropped off, so it didn't matter too much.

All in all, a good location.


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## FLBuff PE (Apr 28, 2009)

Could you see Russia from your testing location?


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## wilheldp_PE (Apr 28, 2009)

FLBuff PE said:


> Could you see Russia from your testing location?


You would need really good eyesight to see Russia from Anchorage.


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## FLBuff PE (Apr 28, 2009)

wilheldp_PE said:


> You would need really good eyesight to see Russia from Anchorage.


One word: Lasik. Or telescope.


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## NEED2009 (Apr 30, 2009)

Perry, GA site is good with climate control and park right outside the testing site.


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## Capt Worley PE (Apr 30, 2009)

NEED2009 said:


> Perry, GA site is good with climate control and park right outside the testing site.


Do you work at Wormy Robins?


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## KEG (Apr 30, 2009)

NEED2009 said:


> Perry, GA site is good with climate control and park right outside the testing site.


It was a pretty good site but it would have sucked if it had been raining (like the October '08 exam).


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## NEED2009 (May 1, 2009)

nope


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## Capt Worley PE (May 1, 2009)

^Lucky you.


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