# Civil PE review courses



## jrf500 (Jan 3, 2011)

Hi there. I'm new to this forum, but have already read some good advice and tips. Thanks to all for sharing.

Now to my question, I'm preparing for the April 2011 Civil PE Exam (Construction Module) and live in an area where there are no on-site review courses available for me. Therefore, I'm researching webinar/on-line review courses. Bottom line is, I'm looking for advice as to a good, worthwhile on-line civil PE review course for this spring.

The two I've researched the most are the "School of PE" one.....which I have heard good things about. And the "MN Society of PE's" one....which I've heard is OK.

Any thoughts on these courses, or other ones would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help!


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## sac_engineer (Jan 3, 2011)

The review courses depend on how much you've already covered in school. If you have a Civ Eng degree and have had classes in the classics such as structural, geotech, enviro, transpo, etc., then you'll probably have better use of your time studying on your own than taking a class. Those I know who benefited from taking classes didn't take many of the basic civ eng courses in school and needed the tutelage. I know folks who were taking 16 hours of classes per week in preparation for the CA PE exam, which has additional state-specific surveying and seismic exams. To me, that's way too much time in a class room and/or watching a webinar. Studying time is precious, especially if work and personal life are busy already.

Good luck!


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## kengineer (Jan 3, 2011)

I took the live version of the School of PE and it worked for me as I passed the first try after taking the course. I had failed previously doing it on my own. Call them and ask if you get the same binder of notes as the live students. If so, it's probably going to work out the same. The live versions of the class did a thorough job of teaching only what you needed to know to pass the exam, nothing more. It's refreshing because I think the CERM tends to overwhelm and confuse you. The School of PE narrows it down and makes it manageable.

I took the 5 subject binder they provide and divided it into 5 separate binders to make it quicker to flip through each subject during the test. I tabbed pages too. I probably answered 75-percent of the morning questions from their binder info, and split the rest between the CERM and Goswami books. At most, I feel like I only missed 5 in the morning and only guessed on 1.


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## jrf500 (Jan 4, 2011)

kengineer said:


> I took the live version of the School of PE and it worked for me as I passed the first try after taking the course. I had failed previously doing it on my own. Call them and ask if you get the same binder of notes as the live students. If so, it's probably going to work out the same. The live versions of the class did a thorough job of teaching only what you needed to know to pass the exam, nothing more. It's refreshing because I think the CERM tends to overwhelm and confuse you. The School of PE narrows it down and makes it manageable.
> I took the 5 subject binder they provide and divided it into 5 separate binders to make it quicker to flip through each subject during the test. I tabbed pages too. I probably answered 75-percent of the morning questions from their binder info, and split the rest between the CERM and Goswami books. At most, I feel like I only missed 5 in the morning and only guessed on 1.


Thanks for the advice!

"kengineer" - your commment begs another question from me....you stated that you got the remainder of the morning questions answered from either the CERM or Goswami books. I have the CERM and am slowly hearing more about the "All-in-one civil engineering PE" Goswami book. Is that the Goswami book you reference? I'm assuming it is....if so, would you suggest a civil PE test taker has it on top of the CERM?

Thanks again!


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## kengineer (Jan 4, 2011)

jrf500 said:


> kengineer said:
> 
> 
> > I took the live version of the School of PE and it worked for me as I passed the first try after taking the course. I had failed previously doing it on my own. Call them and ask if you get the same binder of notes as the live students. If so, it's probably going to work out the same. The live versions of the class did a thorough job of teaching only what you needed to know to pass the exam, nothing more. It's refreshing because I think the CERM tends to overwhelm and confuse you. The School of PE narrows it down and makes it manageable.
> ...


I used the 'All-In-One' Goswami to start studying and refresh on old subjects. It's far more narrative and the format is easier to read than the CERM so it is good for helping you figure out how to solve a problem or re-learning a subject. The Goswami gives enough example problems that I didn’t have to bring other reference books for hydrology, transportation, soils, etc.

The CERM presents things in a more technical manner and difficult to scan visually. The CERM is best for using a formula you already know how to use. Goswami has less overall material than the CERM and I don’t really believe the Goswami can help all that much in the afternoon, although I did structures which is extremely code dependent.

With that said, I know of one person who passed the PE-Transportation using Goswami instead of the CERM. For me, the Goswami helped a lot on the knowledge based questions and I know I got a few right just by looking it up in that book. In the CERM I was able to find a few formulas for some lesser known concepts.

For an average price of $75 on Amazon, the Goswami is worth getting in my opinion. Between the Goswami, CERM and School of PE notes, there was only one morning question I wasn’t 100% sure about and had to guess. That one question was on wastewater which I’m absolutely clueless on anyway.

One thing I did in both books was write the units of each variable next to the formula. For example, some units may have to be in inches or feet for a formula to work properly. Those crafty test makers know this and sometimes throw in units you can’t plug directly into the formula. Then for good measure, they will still give you the answer with the given unit just to make you feel good about your wrong answer.

Writing the formula units saves a lot of time in the test not to mention the nagging internal dialogue asking if you are doing things right.

Hope that helps.


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## jrf500 (Jan 5, 2011)

kengineer said:


> jrf500 said:
> 
> 
> > kengineer said:
> ...



This helps a lot! I ordered the "all in one" Goswami book this morning. Thank you!!


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## mlv (Feb 28, 2011)

Can I bring the School of PE notes into a three ring binder to the PE exam in Georgia?


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## JoeBoone82 (Mar 1, 2011)

mlv said:


> Can I bring the School of PE notes into a three ring binder to the PE exam in Georgia?


I would think so. I know that you can in TN. As long as your things are in a binder and not loose, they should allow it. I took 3-ring binders of notes and solved sample problems last October.


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