# With 10 days to go, what are you focusing on?



## Firefly

My plan is:

-Complete some MERM problems on: Compressible Flow, Heat Exchangers, Engineering Econ, Psychrometrics

-Re-work the depth SMS for T&amp;F

-Re-work the NCEES sample exam (for a confidence boost as I made stupid mistakes while earning a low score).

200 hours of studying should be enough, but I'm burned out at this point.


----------



## gaidox

I'm already burned too..the only things that keeps me going is looking at all the time and effort I've already invested on these..plus i dont want to regret by not doing my best since we still have time..

My plan for remaining days are:

-More Depth (Refresh Merm Depth, Rework SMS TF, Re-work errors on Practice PRob/NCEES/Lindeburg Depth)

-Work on Ncees Sample Other Depth

-Work few problems a day on HVAC/MD/Others.

-If have time work some problems on Lindeburg SAmple exam other depth.

I'll just maximize what I could do (If cant do it all)..but my priority is my depth now

while keeping fresh on others.


----------



## Bman

I am working through the NCEES exam again as well. I reworked the morning problems last night to see where I went wrong. I'll do the same with the afternoon tonight (if I can finish before Lost comes on...). Then I am going to retake the exam this weekend (I am expecting to get a near perfect score since I will have worked through all of the problems). I am also going to go through the SMS for HVAC again (I've already done this twice) and the breadth SMS problems for MD and T&amp;F. I figure if I know how to work all of the NCEES and SMS problems like the back of my hand I should have a good chance of passing.


----------



## roadwreck

I took the civil exam, not mechanical, but in the final week leading up to my exam I stopped working problems and focused on organization. Organizing my notes, references, materials, etc.. I made sure I had a way to transport my materials to and from the exam and devised a method to access them quickly and easily during the test. I set up binders with materials and clearly labeled everything. I put together an exam day "survival kit" with snacks, cough drops, asprin, cold meds, etc (I was suffering from a cold the week leading up to the exam). The only problems I studied at all was a few engineering economics type questions, "simple" subjects that I thought would be good to review, but I ceased all my real studying.


----------



## mechgirl

I hope to go through HVAC SMS two more times (like maybe tomorrow, then again in a week), NCEES exam once, and maybe the PPI exam if I have time. Today is mechanics / mach design, and maybe some econ.


----------



## Dexman PE

roadwreck said:


> I took the civil exam, not mechanical, but in the final week leading up to my exam I stopped working problems and focused on organization. Organizing my notes, references, materials, etc.. I made sure I had a way to transport my materials to and from the exam and devised a method to access them quickly and easily during the test. I set up binders with materials and clearly labeled everything. I put together an exam day "survival kit" with snacks, cough drops, asprin, cold meds, etc (I was suffering from a cold the week leading up to the exam). The only problems I studied at all was a few engineering economics type questions, "simple" subjects that I thought would be good to review, but I ceased all my real studying.


+1. The survival kit is one of the least discussed, but equally important things for the exam. My kit included klenex, some granola bars, hard candy, some drinks, a seat cushon, a wristwatch (I don't normally wear one), some ear plugs (in case the silent shuffling of papers got annoying), a sweatshirt, my reading glasses (I only need them when working on the comp, but just in case), a backup calculator, and about $10 in loose bills &amp; change (vending machines, parking, etc).

I recommend visiting the exam site the day or two before to scope out parking, access, etc. When I did it, I found out that the other half of the building was hosting a home &amp; garden convention and that there would only be 1 reserved parking area for exam takers. Because of the convention, ALL parking had a $5 fee and since I don't normally carry cash I would have been screwed.

Preparing your lunch the day before and bringing it with you would also be recommended. You don't really want to count on being able to just run down the road and hitup a drive thru.

Get to the exam early. The exam starts at 8, but they want you settled into your seats by 7:45 to start going over the rules, which means you really need to be there between 7 and 7:15. I showed up at 7:30 and was scrambling to get ready in time.

Don't change your normal routine. Eat your usual dinner &amp; breakfast, go to bed at your usual time. Try to avoid caffene (coffee, energy drinks, etc) if you don't normally drink them, and if you do, limit yourself to your usual amounts.

You have spent hours and hours preparing yourself for the material on the exam, the last week should be focusing on preparing yourself for the physical ACT of taking the exam. Be ready to sit in one place for two 4-hour stretches with only a 30-45 minute break (they give you 1 hour, but you need to be back in your seat at least 15 minutes before the session begins). Be ready to adjust clothing as the day goes by because the room temp never stays constant, the adrenaline changes how your temp adjusts and how you feel. Be ready to write for 8 hours. I know this sounds simple, but since so many of us use computers for our day-to-day activities, you forget how cramped your hands can get if you have to constantly write for that long.

Biggest help for me: Take the day off before the exam. I mean COMPLETELY off. No work, no studying, no thinking. Go out and do something you find enjoyable and relax. I actually went out and test drove new cars. Nothing is more fun than absolutely raging a car that isn't mine, then just handing the keys back to the salesman, thanking him for his time, and leaving to the next dealership.


----------



## MechGuy

That's some damn great advice there, Dex. We should keep that post around for every future exam taker!


----------



## Dexman PE

MechGuy said:


> That's some damn great advice there, Dex. We should keep that post around for every future exam taker!


Thanks. I just find it amazing that we all focus on the material, but not that much on actually taking the exam. We all automatically return to our college days where the tests were only 1-2 hours long, so you never really think about the physical and mental strain just to sit there and write for 8 hours. I can't even focus long enough at work to go for more than an hour without an eb.com visit...


----------



## John_NY

In my ticket provided by Castle Worldwide, it states No Food and Drink is allowed in the test room. This is NY

I think that is very unfair in that it will be hard for me to get thru without eating anything between Lunch and the end of the day.

Does anyone know if that rule is enforced?


----------



## John_NY

I Should answer the original question before posting one of my own... Sorry.

I took the NCEES sample on about March 15th and made a list of what to go through after that.

What I am doing now:

-- I am out of new problems to do as I have done basically all of MERM, 60MS (MD), Lindberg Sample, NCEES sample (all sections)... Have also done alot of problems in my textbooks.

-- On this Friday I am taking off work and I am going to redo the NCEES test 8 hour simulation to prepare for the physical portion as noted and maintain sharpness.

-- On Sat / Sun, i wlil be redoing some MERM problems in areas of my depth (MD) that I am weakest: Focus Areas: Kinetics (F=MA), Vibrations, the lest common gears (i.e. bevel / worm gears).

-- Would also love to do some more thermal fluids but am probably going to run out of time... Will do here and there in the evenings etc.


----------



## Bman

John,

Were are you taking the exam? I am taking it in Rochester. I took my FE exam there also and they did enforce the no food or drink. They had some hard candy up at the proctor desk though, so I stocked up so I could keep my blood sugar levels elevated. Hopefully they have some up there again cause I think it helped a little bit.


----------



## jldavis2

I'm afraid I spent too much time going thru all the subjects - being a generalist - and not enough time on my chosen depth session (T&amp;F). If there was a general afternoon session like there was on the FE, I would be golden. I'm pretty good at all 3 depths, but not great at any.

I was a little frustrated and doubting myself after finishing MERM and the Practice Problems book because it consistently took more than 6 mins (sometimes 10-15) to work those problems, although I did learn a lot. Then last week I took the NCEES morning part of the sample test and got some confidence by answering about 80% correctly. So now I started working the 10 minute solutions book (as I've re-named it) and have lost some confidence again at not being able to finish most of them quickly enough, not to mention their solutions methods and terminology are often different than MERM.

Someone tell me they have had the same thoughs....alternating between burned out and frustrated here


----------



## Shanks

Finally I got done with all SMS and now I plan on going through Lindeburg sample exam problems until the weekend and then I plan on taking NCEES sample exam on Saturday. Then I plan to re-organize my notes and go through MERM once more on the surface to refresh everything. My exam is in Fort Worth, 3hrs drive from my place, so I plan to take at least Thursday and Friday off.

My admit notice doesn't say explicitly about no foods/drink in exam hall, I agree that's brutal. My last take was in Austin and they never restricted food/drink in the exam hall which for sure helped me a lot.

I agree that get familiar with the center and the exam hall to be specific, you wouldn't know otherwise which side of the building you need to park your car or how far you'll have to haul the cart. If you can get a ride, do it, it was really convenient for me.


----------



## Bman

Congrats Firefly, you created a winning thread!

Since I have to travel for my exam, I'll get there a day early. The hotel is connected to the exam site, a convention center, so I don't have to worry about driving or parking the day before. The best part is that the hotel will have a lunch buffet set up for the exam takers. They did this for my FE exams too (yeah, I had to take it twice...). I think even if I was taking it locally though, I would stay at the hotel. It's well spent money for the convenience of waking up and walking into the exam, IMO. The only problem I have is that I won't have a crate to bring my reference books in, but I think I will be able to get a box or something from the hotel. If nothing else I will go out and buy something from Target, wallmart, or whatever.

jldavis, remember, the practice problems are practice. I look at it from the perspective that once you work all the practice problems, you should be able to solve them in about 6 minutes average. Some of the quantitative questions and easier qualitative questions will take a lot less then 6 minutes and others will take more. Since you seem to be doing good on the breadth, I would focus on your depth. I think we're all in the same boat at this point, feeling somewhat bipolar; confident one day and freaking out the next..... Just take your time and keep a cool head and I think you'll be fine. Good Luck!


----------



## John_NY

I'm taking it in the Albany area.

I am going to bring a bottle of water and 2 power bars and if the Proctor takes it, so be it.

I too am staying in a hotel but will be driving to the exam since the exam is not in a hotel.


----------



## HokieME

Bman said:


> I think we're all in the same boat at this point, feeling somewhat bipolar; confident one day and freaking out the next.....


I could not agree more! I took the Lindeburg exam on Saturday, thought about quitting entirely, and then started working it through. Turns out I just needed to refresh my memory on the things I studied in January and not automatically assume I don't know how to do something because I see one or two words in the problem. Now I'm working through a lot of the problems in 6 minutes or less (but then 20 minutes or more for some problems, bipolar much?). I'm a morning person, it turns out. If I try to study after I get home from work, I get frustrated. If I get up early and work in the mornings, I'm much more confident. Thank goodness the exam isn't after a day of work.

I'm going to take the NCEES exam this Saturday. I've set up in the guest room with a hard chair. I'm going to put my ear plugs in to make sure I can take the exam with them in without getting a headache. And I plan on trying to go through my full morning routine that I'll do exam day. Same breakfast, same time getting ready, etc. Plus, I'm going to make the same lunch I would have the day of the exam. I'll even practice not reading the problems out loud (I realized when I took the Lindeburg exam I was actually reading some outloud). Yes, overkill, but the unknowing what a lot of this is going to be like is killing me. If I can control some of the variables, I'm much happier.

One of the managers in my office suggested I take all of next week off, so I'm going to do just that. Working through the SMS and going back through the Lindeburg and NCEES exams and making sure I have all of the tabs I want without too many tabs. I'm going to do the drive to the test site in rush hour traffic the day before. Again, controlling the variables.

Now, if I could just get the sheet from EES that tells me all of the important information about where to go and when to be there. They've received my money, charged my credit card, sent me a "you're registered, do we have your info correct" sheet, but I haven't received my admission ticket. But, I'm supposed to wait until Friday before I contact them if I don't have it.


----------



## jldavis2

Thanks for the suggestions folks, I appreciate it.

One other question WRT prep: is anyone else using the MERM Quick Ref Guide? At over 100 pages it's almost too much in itself to be a "quick" guide. I can almost find the topic in MERM (i.e. in context) as fast as I can in QRG. In fact, after tabbing my MERM, I actually thought about putting tabs in my QRG because I couldn't immediately find topics.

I don't want to overwhelm myself with tabs here, but at the same time I've seen the benefit of QUICKLY finding a path to a solution in your references.

any suggestions in this area (organization, thought collection, speed tips, etc) would be great!

p.s. don't know that I'll even crack my PPI Sample Exam unless I want to frustrate myself even more, although I do need some practice in a weak area like Heat Transfer. Will be taking the afternoon NCEES (timed) session tomorrow.


----------



## mechgirl

For those of you that aren't allowed to have food, How about bubblegum? I'm not a gum chewer, but my nephew insisted on giving me a piece of juicy fruit which I put in my pocket and pulled out right before working my sample exam. The flavor of that stuff dies pretty quickly, but I chewed it the entire morning session because I didn't want to waste any time getting up to throw it away. I had a couple sips of water, but I didn't miss having snacks, I guess because I was chewing gum. I plan to take gum to the real exam. I've recently rediscovered Big League Chew (again from my nephews), and the grape tastes just like it always did, and it helps to keep your mouth moist... so maybe you won't drink as much water, or need snacks. I think I"ll be fine doing this. My state allows quiet snacks, but I don't want to waste time on them. I might have a reserve snack just in case, since I have issues with my blood sugar diving. Anyway, thought I'd suggest the gum, for what it's worth...


----------



## Master slacker

Remember, everyone, that you don't have the luxury of giving in to "burn out" at this point. I've been where you are right now and I know it isn't fun. Push through it and focus on your final prep (tabs, formulas, etc...). I took the day prior to the test off to ease the burn out sensation - I watched Baseketball and The Big Lebowski. Continue to focus on what you need to do right now.


----------



## gaidox

jldavis2 said:


> Thanks for the suggestions folks, I appreciate it.
> One other question WRT prep: is anyone else using the MERM Quick Ref Guide? At over 100 pages it's almost too much in itself to be a "quick" guide. I can almost find the topic in MERM (i.e. in context) as fast as I can in QRG. In fact, after tabbing my MERM, I actually thought about putting tabs in my QRG because I couldn't immediately find topics.
> 
> I don't want to overwhelm myself with tabs here, but at the same time I've seen the benefit of QUICKLY finding a path to a solution in your references.
> 
> any suggestions in this area (organization, thought collection, speed tips, etc) would be great!
> 
> p.s. don't know that I'll even crack my PPI Sample Exam unless I want to frustrate myself even more, although I do need some practice in a weak area like Heat Transfer. Will be taking the afternoon NCEES (timed) session tomorrow.


I have the QRG but has lots of notes and addtl eqns on it (I did it when still reviewing the merm). I used it for refresh and quick eqn finding and seems beneficial to me now(with those notes).

I'll stick with merm if you've already used it the whole time and already quick with it.

For organization, you could check the effectivity of your tabbing in doing timed sample exams.

Adjust by adding tabs in things that took you long time to find or cant find.

I recommend to list repeated mistakes, take note repeated conversion and constants (if you havent memorized it), and list of

things you will prepare come exam day (as recommended by dexman).

I'm also not quick enough, gaining speed i guess relies on practice/repetition and no. of encountered problems. I'm doing my best to cover what I dont know in my depth (important ones) and keep repeating problems that I already know but still slow on doing. I also have refresh merm on subjects that I've stuck up or get confused.

Have all the indexes of your references (that will brought in exam) in 1 binder starting with merm.

If you dont know where to find the eqn needed in prob, quickly go to indexes. I have photocopied also the merm appendices and impt tables in my index binder. it helps me.

I recommend to do ppi sample exam even untimed, it will be helpful especially for depth. You seems already ok overall..focus now on depth.

These are the things that I'm doing now, might be helpful to share it with you. You could follow if you think it will be useful for you or share what you think you can add for the benefit of other takers.


----------



## MechGale

Dexman PE said:


> +1. The survival kit is one of the least discussed, but equally important things for the exam. My kit included klenex, some granola bars, hard candy, some drinks, a seat cushon, a wristwatch (I don't normally wear one), some ear plugs (in case the silent shuffling of papers got annoying), a sweatshirt, my reading glasses (I only need them when working on the comp, but just in case), a backup calculator, and about $10 in loose bills &amp; change (vending machines, parking, etc).
> I recommend visiting the exam site the day or two before to scope out parking, access, etc. When I did it, I found out that the other half of the building was hosting a home &amp; garden convention and that there would only be 1 reserved parking area for exam takers. Because of the convention, ALL parking had a $5 fee and since I don't normally carry cash I would have been screwed.
> 
> Preparing your lunch the day before and bringing it with you would also be recommended. You don't really want to count on being able to just run down the road and hitup a drive thru.
> 
> Get to the exam early. The exam starts at 8, but they want you settled into your seats by 7:45 to start going over the rules, which means you really need to be there between 7 and 7:15. I showed up at 7:30 and was scrambling to get ready in time.
> 
> Don't change your normal routine. Eat your usual dinner &amp; breakfast, go to bed at your usual time. Try to avoid caffene (coffee, energy drinks, etc) if you don't normally drink them, and if you do, limit yourself to your usual amounts.
> 
> You have spent hours and hours preparing yourself for the material on the exam, the last week should be focusing on preparing yourself for the physical ACT of taking the exam. Be ready to sit in one place for two 4-hour stretches with only a 30-45 minute break (they give you 1 hour, but you need to be back in your seat at least 15 minutes before the session begins). Be ready to adjust clothing as the day goes by because the room temp never stays constant, the adrenaline changes how your temp adjusts and how you feel. Be ready to write for 8 hours. I know this sounds simple, but since so many of us use computers for our day-to-day activities, you forget how cramped your hands can get if you have to constantly write for that long.
> 
> Biggest help for me: Take the day off before the exam. I mean COMPLETELY off. No work, no studying, no thinking. Go out and do something you find enjoyable and relax. I actually went out and test drove new cars. Nothing is more fun than absolutely raging a car that isn't mine, then just handing the keys back to the salesman, thanking him for his time, and leaving to the next dealership.


In addition to taking off the day before the exam, I took last Thursday off (Good Friday was company holiday), and I have taken Thursday and Friday off this week to get some more study time in. Also, it gives you chance to try sitting still for long periods of time while doing problems, and you can see how different you work them starting in the morning, as opposed to coming home and studying after a long day at work.

Since the exam is next Friday, I plan on doing a dry run tomorrow morning to see how long it will take to get there, as well as get an idea of where I need to go once there. I will have everything packed to go in the morning, and will get up like it is exam day, targeting being on-site by 7:00 am. I will make sure I have my kit ready to go at the back door, get the car loaded, eat breakfast, and go.

A good idea of what your exam kits should consist of can be found in the MERM Introduction chapter, starting on page XXVIII. Not sure if everyone has seen that or not, but it is a good thing to look at.


----------



## jldavis2

That's good insight folks. I think I have been neglecting to take note of what is hanging me up during timed practice tests on certain types of problems and take specific action to address those issues. I haven't been taking time afterwards to make note of particular hangups. I've been in too big of a hurry to just get on with working more problems and reviewing more text. I think this may be more of the source of burnout and frustration than anything. I have a few ideas now to help keep me from spinning my wheels during timed sessions.

Seems like the challenge is three-fold:

1. technical knowledge of engineering concepts

2. organized references/resources for quick recall

3. test taking and logistics prep

I just wish I had more than 1 week to pull everything together!!


----------



## Firefly

At this point I think I'm losing all of my knowledge. Getting dumber by the second as I re-work these problems. Hurry Up Friday so I can relax!


----------



## heath014

I agree completely Firefly


----------



## Shanks

Four months and 300+ more into preparation and I feel less confident than the last time when I prepped barely for 100hrs...Now I believe more into the quote that "ignorance is bliss"....  ...I knew very less last time and was more confident (as matter of fact missed it by 3 pts), now when I can tackle more of the problems I never touched last time, I am not sure if I am there yet...

Well now with less than a wk to the exam, I am almost done with the arrangement of reference material ...got done with red-lining all PPI reference and NCEES sample exam in accordance to errata, something which I should have done earlier. I would recommend everyone to get the latest copy from PPI and NCEES as I found some additions in comparison to December last year.

I also plan on taking AM/PM test tomorrow and hope that it'll help me feeling more confident. For the rest of the week as I might go though the problems based on the exam evaluation plus economics. I've taken Thursday off to drive to the city and take a quick look to the center.


----------



## Firefly

any tips on when to use Log Mean Temp Diff? I'm willing to bet a paycheck it will appear on the test, but I sometimes get confused on when to use it and when not.

It seems that it is used on problems where tube area or number of tubes is required.

Does anyone have a helpful hint for when to use LMTD vs Bulk, etc?


----------



## mechgirl

Firefly said:


> any tips on when to use Log Mean Temp Diff? I'm willing to bet a paycheck it will appear on the test, but I sometimes get confused on when to use it and when not.
> It seems that it is used on problems where tube area or number of tubes is required.
> 
> Does anyone have a helpful hint for when to use LMTD vs Bulk, etc?



LMTD is used when calc-ing overall heat transfer for the HX. When given an overall heat trans coeff, that's a big hint. Other hints are fouling factor, # tubes, and tube area. It's not used when calcing heat transfer from one side (one fluid side, just use the fluid enter and exit temps) though the heat transfer for one side is the same as for the other side and the same as overall when neglecting fouling factors, which most of the problems seem to neglect.

When calc'ing LMTD, I always draw the direction of flow, with temps at each side, for each fluid. This helps when the system is counter flow.


----------



## mechgirl

Bulk temp is the ave temp, which is used to find properties, density, cp, etc.


----------



## Bman

Good info to have, thanks Mechgirl. I haven't seen too many of these problems yet, so I'm not too worried about them. I think I've finally got a good hold on the power cycles/psychrometrics which is a big part of the HVAC depth, so I got a little boost of confidence yesterday. I'm starting to get a little anxious at this point and can't wait to just get this over with already.....


----------



## gaidox

mechgirl said:


> Firefly said:
> 
> 
> 
> any tips on when to use Log Mean Temp Diff? I'm willing to bet a paycheck it will appear on the test, but I sometimes get confused on when to use it and when not.
> It seems that it is used on problems where tube area or number of tubes is required.
> 
> Does anyone have a helpful hint for when to use LMTD vs Bulk, etc?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> LMTD is used when calc-ing overall heat transfer for the HX. When given an overall heat trans coeff, that's a big hint. Other hints are fouling factor, # tubes, and tube area. It's not used when calcing heat transfer from one side (one fluid side, just use the fluid enter and exit temps) though the heat transfer for one side is the same as for the other side and the same as overall when neglecting fouling factors, which most of the problems seem to neglect.
> 
> When calc'ing LMTD, I always draw the direction of flow, with temps at each side, for each fluid. This helps when the system is counter flow.
Click to expand...

she's correct. If your dealing with Heat exchanger, you will need LMTD for heat transfer. Its' best to draw the flow especially for Counterflow for knowing temp diff. easily.

BUlk temp is normally used for getting film temp and film coefficient or other prop. for tubes. Its just the ave. temp of Tin and Tout.

For quick refresh go to merm 36-5 and merm 36-32.

I think its beneficial to refresh this area of heat transfer especially t&amp;f depth.


----------



## jldavis2

if you have the NCEES 2008 practice test, Problem 508 of the T&amp;F depth module is a good exercise in understanding and calculating LMTD. I'm hoping that one of the questions will be on this because a lot of the rest of heat xfer is just not staying with me. I wish I had a college text on the subject because I don't feel that MERM is thorough enough in this area in the way it covers other fluids/energy principles.

At this point is anybody working brand-new problems or just reviewing worked problems and working on organization? I have my hands full just with that.


----------



## Bman

I'm mostly just focusing on problems I've already gone through. Particularly the NCEES and SMS (HVAC-all, T&amp;F- breadth, MD-breadth). These problems I have worked several times and I am pretty confident that I can solve any similar types of problems that show up on the exam. Feeling somewhat confident, but fearing the worst at this point. I figure any new material is just going to throw me off my game at this point. I feel like I've worked hard, learned a lot, and should have a good chance at passing as long as I take my time, check my units and calculations, and just don't freak out in general....


----------



## gaidox

At this point, I'm just reworking stuff that i've gone through but missed (Ncees, Lindeburg, SMS T&amp;F Depth) especially those short ones. As I go through it, I browse those topic on merm and refresh a little bit. I think at this point of time (less 3 days), we have to focus on our strength and make sure we count them on during exam day. Lot's of us are already burned out (or on a brink) and new stuff (especially long/or complicated ones) will just burn us more. The more new probs you solve the more you get frustrated and feel fatigue and not ready. We've done a lot for past months. We just have to believe on all the efforts we did. We need a fresh mind, high spirit, and good mood come friday.

Organization is important now and make sure we could find stuff easily.


----------



## gaidox

I plan to end my prep and review on thursday afternoon. Plan to have a nice dinner with family,watch a good movie, and sleep early. Thursday morning will just few probs, quick refresh, and organization.

Anyway, Good luck to all of us. We can do it.. have faith.


----------



## jldavis2

yeah I too feel like I've worked hard and learned a lot. Been at this thing like a part-time job since Dec 1. My challenge is going to be making myself skip problems that I don't have a clear solution plan for, even if there's quite a few. I did a bad job of this on my timed test and ran out of time and STILL had to guess.

I'll try to keep myself from much review at all Thursday.

Going into this thing with a negative attitude doesn't help anything. Indeed let's keep the faith and know we are able to do this.


----------



## tsumi

Good Luck to everyone taking the exam! This forum has been a great help and mental sanity check! We all studied hard, and can pass this test!

Good Luck to all!


----------



## ikesdsu

I plan to drink a beer becuase I passed the PE test last April :laugh:

But in all seriousness, I took the test twice and the second time I took it my supervisor recommended I take the last couple of days off from studying and help clear your head. I took the last three days off and did things like watch my favorite TV shows, played with the kids, went for a run and didn't worry about the test. I was amazed how much more relaxed I was when I took it a second time. He told me "If you don't know it three days before the test you won't know it the day before the test. A clear relaxed mind it better that a crammed tired mind." Well I think that was the reason I passed the test the second time. I wasn't stressed out.

Try it, it just might work for you.


----------



## mandileng

Please please , could anyone help me to find out free mechanical (Hvac ) PE sample exam . I'm preparing for October exam .

And is it possible to find free PDF of ncees or 6 minute solution .

Thanks and regards


----------



## roadwreck

^^

I'm pretty sure you aren't going to find free copies of those publications, unless you find someone who will lend you a copy. Ask co-workers or colleagues if they have any exam prep material that they used still around? You might find used copies online if you want to save some money on buying them new.


----------



## nsgoldberg

I'm focusing on what kind of whiskey I'll be drinking Friday night... After I smoke this exam.


----------



## RIP - VTEnviro

Cocky and unfocused. Great combo.


----------



## jgusa

My study goal was 200 hours, I'm sitting at 198 after yesterday (yes I did track my study hours, wanna fight about it?).

Final 2-3 days are to go back and review all the major topics/equations/tables/charts for thermo, fluids, heat transfer, and HVAC.

Hopefully I won't burn out by Friday....


----------



## ikesdsu

Remember it is always good to take the last couple of days off to rest your mind.


----------



## nsgoldberg

Just finished the NCEES practice exam, timed for morning, lunch, afternoon, etc. That was the culmination of my studies.

Felt really good about it, then I tallied the results - 57/80. Not as good as I had hoped. Some of the problems I thought I had were tricky... Still confident I'll pass this.

VTEnviro, how is that cocky and unfocused? I've been studying for the past 4 months, have 200-300 hours into this, and am feeling pretty good about the test. And going into the exam with the right state of mind is important.


----------



## Ramnares P.E.

This seems about the right time to start posting in this thread. At this point I'm re-working the Lindeburg 500 Problems during the week and working SMS and NCEES during the weekend. Hoping for the material to penetrate my thick skull in time.


----------



## SNAPE/SMOTT PE

I'm finishing up NCEES thermo fluids, 2008. Then taking a mock exam using the NCEES 2001 this weekend. No more problems after this weekend, only review of trouble areas.


----------



## lundy

I've went through the SMS and the NCEES test several times and feel confident on 90-95% of those problems. Now I'm on to going through the MERM practice problems.


----------



## IlliniWood

Good luck. MERM practice problems are (in my opinion) a lot harder, but they are good practice. I tried to do every problem from the relevant test sections (especially when I got to my afternoon discipline). It was worth it. There were at least 2-3 problems that were very similar to exam problems. I was able to use the solutions manual to walk through the problem without much of a thought.


----------



## lundy

I started last night with the overview chapters in the MERM. I blasted through that since it is pretty much mathematics. I'm planning on going through the actual practice problems in the MERM book rather than the companion book linked here http://ppi2pass.com/practice-problems-for-the-mechanical-engineering-pe-exam-mepp13.html I regret buying this book now from what I've heard from others. But it should still have a good resale value for after the test.

This way I will have an understanding of chapters that I didn't look at or flip to during the SMS and NCEES tests. I'm using a sticky note to block the answers to the problems so I can solve the problem first.


----------



## TheBigPig

Seems like a good time to revive this 5 year old thread. With 10 days to go, I'm working on HVAC &amp; Heat Transfer the rest of this week, and then working and reworking the NCEES practice exam up until next Tuesday 4/7. Retabbing the MERM on Wednesday, since my tabs are in pretty bad shape, and organizing to be sure I have everything ready to go.

What's everyone else's plan?


----------



## lundy

I've been through the NCEES practice test and SMS solutions multiple times and at this point I have memorized/know how to do most problems.

So now I'm going through the Practice Problems that accompany the MERM. Since I'm taking the HVAC and refrigeration test I'm going through chapters 23-37ish. Hoping to get through all the questions by test time but that's a lot of problems.


----------



## TheBigPig

@Lundy

I've also been through the PE practice test and SMS problems quite a few times, figured it was a good way to wrap things up one last time before the exam.

I'm just ready to get it over with at this point.


----------



## lundy

Me too TheBigPig. Me too. I want my free time back. Have you worked any other sample tests/problems? I'm tired of looking at those two tests and figured the Lindeberg Practice problems from the depth section.


----------



## TheBigPig

Most of the other problems that I worked came from Dr. Tom's 20 week review course, which I recently completed. I also completed examples outlined in the MERM where I found appropriate. I bought the Lindeburg problems that accompany the MERM, but never touched it. I hear the problems in there are mostly too challenging and take up a lot of time. Luckily my company paid for it.


----------



## lundy

Very nice! I wish you the best of luck on the test!


----------



## akvudaiyar

I am gonna complete the sms probs (almost done) and have the ncees probs taken coming weekend. I might do sms and ncees one more time before the exam (Probably just the ones that went wrong first time). Planning to catch up the PM topics next 4 days (esp Dynamics and Vibrations)

If time permits, I had to catch up on some merm examples that I worked weeks before on some AM topics.

Can't wait to get this over with, seriously.


----------



## MechE_in_PA_PE

Retabbed MERM last weekend, replaced my mess of ratty yellow 1 inch post it notes with durable plastic tabs color coded by topic, similar to the Shaggy Method.

Finished up some HVAC and Thermal problems last night, now I'm going to freshen up on the AM topics through thrusday then switch to PM problems Friday and Saturday. I'm planning on reworking the sample exam Sunday (I took a mock sample exam about a month ago). Will skim through the plant engineering sections of the MERM early next week and then make sure I have everything organized and ready to go for exam day.


----------



## lundy

Wow. So going from ncees and SMS problems to the practice problems that accompany the merm is totally killing my confidence.


----------



## salsill

It's killing mine too, but I am planning on reworking the ncees next week to bring it back up.


----------



## Ramnares P.E.

lundy said:


> Wow. So going from ncees and SMS problems to the practice problems that accompany the merm is totally killing my confidence.




You're far better off running into problems you can't solve or formulas you haven't seen now than during the exam. The MERM companion problems, while more difficult than the SMS/NCEES shouldn't be impossible for you to do at this point. It is well worth the time working the MERM companion problems in the core areas and then revisit the SMS/NCEES just before the exam.


----------



## Phenomenon083

At the moment anything other than studying sounds attractive to me, don't have the same motivation the way I had like a month before   From now on I'll just focus on SMS and NCEES.


----------



## SK82 P.E.

Plan on working the SMS TF and MM until Thursday. So far I've worked the NCEES and SMS exams about 4 times each. 
 
I feel comfortable with most problems but not so sure about qualitative problems. I may buy the PPI flash cards app to help. 
 
I worry that maybe I don't really know what I'm doing since a couple of the qualitative probs I missed. I'm thinking the qualitative problems should be a automatic. 
 
After I finish this round of the SMS, I will create a cheat sheet of frequent conversions, equations, tips, and reminders. Then I will tab my MERM and other reference materials this weekend. 
 
I will take all of next week off from work. Work some select MERM PP's, maybe some problems out the FERM, pack up my materials, make sure of no lurking loose papers in my references this time, drive to the test site Thursday and hopefully finally seal the deal that Friday. 
 
This past Sunday night I kept having a reoccurring dream of a pump horsepower problem where I kept punching values in my calculator but didn't get any of the answers listed then time was called and I didn't get to the other 39 problems. I woke up around 2:45 and could go back to sleep so at 3:30 I just went to the gym. Crazy tired from lunchtime on.


----------



## Habib

SK82 said:


> This past Sunday night I kept having a reoccurring dream of a pump horsepower problem where I kept punching values in my calculator but didn't get any of the answers listed then time was called and I didn't get to the other 39 problems. I woke up around 2:45 and could go back to sleep so at 3:30 I just went to the gym. Crazy tired from lunchtime on.


You are not the only one I guess if that makes you feel better ?. As many have pointed out in this thread, the key is to be as calm as possible to succeed in exam.

I am not planning to study much for the last week and will just hit the gym hard so that I can get a better, sound sleep.

Best of luck for everyone!


----------



## LifeSucks

I'm so ready for this to be over, I got sick over the weekend and studying has been miserable. I can't focus because I feel so crappy but I must keep pushing forward while trying to feel better in the process.

I have all of my notes and MERM tabbed plus equation sheets ready to go. I've made myself a reference book that is my go to for the exam with commonly used items such as steam tables, psychometric charts, econ tables, MERM index etc.

I am feeling rather comfortable with all the information on the NCEES practice exams, I can complete those under 8 hrs. I can't say the same for SMS, some of the problems just take me way more than 6 minutes. I will be taking next week off from work as well. My focus will be on re-working SMS, NCEES problems, and core MERM subjects for TF depth (Power cycles, Fluids, Thermo, Heat Transfer).

Take care everyone, Best of luck!


----------



## SK82 P.E.

Good luck everyone.  I hope you get to feeling better soon LifeSucks!


----------



## lundy

I don't know if you can get them in time but I bought these for the MERM and they helped out a lot. I would have done the shaggy method but this saved me some time and personally think it looks cleaner http://peexamtabs.com/


----------



## Audi Driver P.E.

lundy said:


> I don't know if you can get them in time but I bought these for the MERM and they helped out a lot. I would have done the shaggy method but this saved me some time and personally think it looks cleaner http://peexamtabs.com/


Those look like they might be helpful, but I think there is more value in making a customized tab set yourself.  I think the ones in your list might be better for those who continue to use the book as a resource (i.e. I may get them.     )


----------



## JHW 3d

lundy said:


> I don't know if you can get them in time but I bought these for the MERM and they helped out a lot. I would have done the shaggy method but this saved me some time and personally think it looks cleaner http://peexamtabs.com/


I will second these. I think they were around $25. Used these to tab sections at the top, chapters on the side. Supplemented these with colored coded tabs at the bottom, and a numerical/color coded appendix. Is this similar to the "Shaggy" method? IDK -- last I checked the pics had expired.

On these bad boys... Word of advice: be careful putting them in. They are permanent... right away.


----------

