# Review Course



## Vette388 (May 25, 2018)

Hi all,

I took the Power PE for my first time in April and failed. I did bad on protection and for some reason the code questions, which is odd since I work with the code book everyday. I wanted to see options on review courses. I like to study on my own, but maybe a course would help? I found many questions on the exam I've never seen before in a practice exam or through study material. I want to take it again in October.


----------



## Stephen2awesome (May 25, 2018)

Vette388 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I took the Power PE for my first time in April and failed. I did bad on protection and for some reason the code questions, which is odd since I work with the code book everyday. I wanted to see options on review courses. I like to study on my own, but maybe a course would help? I found many questions on the exam I've never seen before in a practice exam or through study material. I want to take it again in October.


I was in your shoes this time last year. I failed my first time as well. Take a month or two to gather yourself and do things you enjoy. Look at your diagnostics and find material that will help strengthen those areas you did poorly in.  Look on this site for recommendations. For me, I took the GT course and Zachs PE Power Review course. I'm not complaining because I passed on my 2nd try.

ultimately it is up to you which course you take. Study everything again and don't just focus on the areas you didn't do so well in. Good luck I know you can do it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.


----------



## Vette388 (May 25, 2018)

Stephen2awesome said:


> I was in your shoes this time last year. I failed my first time as well. Take a month or two to gather yourself and do things you enjoy. Look at your diagnostics and find material that will help strengthen those areas you did poorly in.  Look on this site for recommendations. For me, I took the GT course and Zachs PE Power Review course. I'm not complaining because I passed on my 2nd try.
> 
> ultimately it is up to you which course you take. Study everything again and don't just focus on the areas you didn't do so well in. Good luck I know you can do it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.


Hi thank you, I just tried, it said you can not accept messages, I will try again in a bit.


----------



## tschnepf (May 25, 2018)

Stephen2awesome said:


> I was in your shoes this time last year. I failed my first time as well. Take a month or two to gather yourself and do things you enjoy. Look at your diagnostics and find material that will help strengthen those areas you did poorly in.  Look on this site for recommendations. For me, I took the GT course and Zachs PE Power Review course. I'm not complaining because I passed on my 2nd try.
> 
> ultimately it is up to you which course you take. Study everything again and don't just focus on the areas you didn't do so well in. Good luck I know you can do it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.


Agreed. Try to unwind before picking up again. I also second Zach's course. His practice problems were fantastic, really made you think about what you were doing and often times made you have to combine several subjects into one to solve which came in very useful during the test for me.


----------



## Jackal301 (May 25, 2018)

Vette388 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I took the Power PE for my first time in April and failed. I did bad on protection and for some reason the code questions, which is odd since I work with the code book everyday. I wanted to see options on review courses. I like to study on my own, but maybe a course would help? I found many questions on the exam I've never seen before in a practice exam or through study material. I want to take it again in October.


I thought the code questions in this exam were very tricky (especially that ONE B*LL SH*T question). Do you have Tom Henry's Code Index? It's amazing. It saved me and helped me pass. My most used reference during the exam for sure. 

I also had a book on protective relaying that I read a bit and thought it helped for the exam. 

Did you go through the Graffeo guide?

I took School of PE but I do not recommend, a $1300 study guide essentially. If you can get your company to pay for it then it's worth it I guess. I don't recommend watching the lectures though, just go through the printed slides yourself.


----------



## KatyLied P.E. (May 25, 2018)

I finally passed it four years ago and was very pleased with GA Tech's course.  I've also heard good things about Zach Stone's course and the School of PE.  If the NEC was a problem I recommend, among their other books, Complex Imaginary's  NEC code drill book.  My approach to the test was to take several passes on exam day as listed below:

1) all easy problems that I could solve without referring to materials

2) All Code problems

3) Problems that I felt good about but required me to use materials.

4) problems that I felt somewhat good about

5) Problems that I had no clue about but had to guess.  In those cases I looked at what my other answers were and chose the letter/number that trended most.

Any problem that could not be worked on their respective pass was moved to the next go around.  By doing all Code problems on the same pass you minimize having to go back and forth between the Code book and other references. 

If you PM me I'll be glad to send you a detailed guide to my study method.  By no means am I an expert.  Just telling you what worked for me.


----------



## Szar (May 25, 2018)

Jackal301 said:


> I thought the code questions in this exam were very tricky (especially that ONE B*LL SH*T question). Do you have Tom Henry's Code Index? It's amazing. It saved me and helped me pass. My most used reference during the exam for sure.
> 
> I also had a book on protective relaying that I read a bit and thought it helped for the exam.
> 
> ...


To be honest, im pretty sure i nailed every code question in this test.

But i live the code... and have done multiple projects in almost every chapter so...


----------



## Jackal301 (May 25, 2018)

Szar said:


> To be honest, im pretty sure i nailed every code question in this test.
> 
> But i live the code... and have done multiple projects in almost every chapter so...


I think I got them all right too, there was one question in particular though... it pissed me off. It was meant to trip you up. Wish I could go into more detail buuuut obviously I can't. 

Prior to studying for this exam I had never touched any code before, so I thought that the Tom Henry's really helped.


----------



## BirdGrave (May 25, 2018)

Jackal301 said:


> I thought the code questions in this exam were very tricky (especially that ONE B*LL SH*T question). Do you have Tom Henry's Code Index? It's amazing. It saved me and helped me pass. My most used reference during the exam for sure.
> 
> I also had a book on protective relaying that I read a bit and thought it helped for the exam.
> 
> ...


I second the Tom Henry endorsement.  I would have been out to sea for most of the code questions without his index of keywords in the book.

Aside from a review course I would recommend bringing the FE handbook to the exam.  I brought it on a lark only to find that there were numerous questions in the exam that I wouldn't have been able to answer without it, as the relevant information was nowhere else in my notes or books.


----------



## jshar17 (May 25, 2018)

I agree with all of the above, although I would not recommend the Georgia Tech class. I found it mostly useless except for the NEC section, I regretted wasting time with it for sure. I would highly recommend Zach's Electrical PE Review (www.electricalpereview.com). The whole course is built off of the NCEES PE exam syllabus with each section containing a 5-15 min video working and explaining a problem. It also includes an awesome live class that's interactive and not some guy reading off slides for 3 hours. I will say however that his code section is a bit weak, and doesn't really get you where you need to be as far as sizing equipment, and doing voltage drops.

Tom Henry's index was totally clutch too. I feel like I got the answers to all but one question with this index. I would recommend the FE handbook too, it has tables that I found very useful--probably because it is from NCEES.

In my opinion there were problems on this exam that no amount of practice exams would've prepared you for, not even the NCEES practice exam. The theory and practice provided in the course gave me confidence during and after the exam.


----------



## jab2508 (May 26, 2018)

Hello Vette388

Keep your head up. If its any consolation, I passed, but on my 3rd attempt. I took the SOPE course first attempt, last April. Overall, decent course, it definitely helped.

For me, the biggest difference was understanding what the question is asking. My first 2 tries, I was solving problems, but not truly understanding the concept.

I wish you the best of luck, and hope you find a method that works for you.


----------



## Zach Stone P.E. (May 29, 2018)

> On 5/25/2018 at 8:21 AM, Stephen2awesome said:
> I was in your shoes this time last year. I failed my first time as well. Take a month or two to gather yourself and do things you enjoy. Look at your diagnostics and find material that will help strengthen those areas you did poorly in.  Look on this site for recommendations. For me, I took the GT course and* Zachs PE Power Review course.* I'm not complaining because I passed on my 2nd try.
> 
> ultimately it is up to you which course you take. Study everything again and don't just focus on the areas you didn't do so well in. Good luck I know you can do it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.






> On 5/25/2018 at 10:20 AM, tschnepf said:
> Agreed. Try to unwind before picking up again.* I also second Zach's course.* His practice problems were fantastic, really made you think about what you were doing and often times made you have to combine several subjects into one to solve which came in very useful during the test for me.






> On 5/25/2018 at 10:41 PM, jshar17 said:
> I agree with all of the above, although I would not recommend the Georgia Tech class. I found it mostly useless except for the NEC section, I regretted wasting time with it for sure.* I would highly recommend Zach's Electrical PE Review (**www.electricalpereview.com)*. The whole course is built off of the NCEES PE exam syllabus with each section containing a 5-15 min video working and explaining a problem. It also includes an awesome live class that's interactive and not some guy reading off slides for 3 hours. I will say however that his code section is a bit weak, and doesn't really get you where you need to be as far as sizing equipment, and doing voltage drops.
> 
> Tom Henry's index was totally clutch too. I feel like I got the answers to all but one question with this index. I would recommend the FE handbook too, it has tables that I found very useful--probably because it is from NCEES.
> ...




@Stephen2awesome , @tschnepf Thank you for the mention.

@jshar17 Thank you for the mention and the feedback as well. We are working on overhauling our NEC portion this semester based on similar feedback so it will be just as challenging as the other topics. 



> On 5/25/2018 at 7:43 AM, Vette388 said:
> Hi all,
> 
> I took the Power PE for my first time in April and failed. I did bad on protection and for some reason the code questions, which is odd since I work with the code book everyday. I wanted to see options on review courses. I like to study on my own, but maybe a course would help? I found many questions on the exam I've never seen before in a practice exam or through study material. I want to take it again in October.
> ...


Hi @Vette388

We would be more than happy to have you. 

Feel free to try out some of our free material by signing up for the Free Trial of our Online Program (no credit card required) and working your way through our Electrical PE Review - Free Articles.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.


----------



## Vette388 (May 29, 2018)

jab2508 said:


> Hello Vette388
> 
> Keep your head up. If its any consolation, I passed, but on my 3rd attempt. I took the SOPE course first attempt, last April. Overall, decent course, it definitely helped.
> 
> ...


Thank you,  I just hope that a class can cover what I didn't get on the test. The ones I didn't do good on the test but for got what type of problems they were. I do agree that they I need to understand the concept more. I can solve problems, maybe just need to get deeper into the concept of them.


----------



## Vette388 (May 29, 2018)

Zach Stone said:


> How is your course on protective relaying, that was my hardest subject on the test. The rest I know I just need more practice.
> 
> @Stephen2awesome , @tschnepf Thank you for the mention.
> 
> ...


----------



## efg (Jun 11, 2018)

KatyLied P.E. said:


> I finally passed it four years ago and was very pleased with GA Tech's course.  I've also heard good things about Zach Stone's course and the School of PE.  If the NEC was a problem I recommend, among their other books, Complex Imaginary's  NEC code drill book.  My approach to the test was to take several passes on exam day as listed below:
> 
> 1) all easy problems that I could solve without referring to materials
> 
> ...


I took the School of PE course and it was horrendous. I do NOT recommend it.


----------



## Owism (Jun 12, 2018)

Vette388 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I took the Power PE for my first time in April and failed. I did bad on protection and for some reason the code questions, which is odd since I work with the code book everyday. I wanted to see options on review courses. I like to study on my own, but maybe a course would help? I found many questions on the exam I've never seen before in a practice exam or through study material. I want to take it again in October.


Did you take the complex imaginary practice tests?  I have it for sale if your interested.  The Complex imaginary code drill book also heped me significantly i felt.  I also took the School of PE course and organized the notes like crazy, practiced with them a lot.  Let me know if you want ot buy the CI books. just PM me


----------



## Owism (Jun 12, 2018)

efg said:


> I took the School of PE course and it was horrendous. I do NOT recommend it.


I have to agree the first itme i took it, but the second time they took my feedback and brought on better instructors which I felt was beneficial.


----------



## roy167 (Nov 12, 2018)

BirdGrave said:


> I second the Tom Henry endorsement.  I would have been out to sea for most of the code questions without his index of keywords in the book.
> 
> Aside from a review course I would recommend bringing the FE handbook to the exam.  I brought it on a lark only to find that there were numerous questions in the exam that I wouldn't have been able to answer without it, as the relevant information was nowhere else in my notes or books.


Did you take the whole FE manual or you just need electrical section?


----------



## BirdGrave (Nov 14, 2018)

roy167 said:


> Did you take the whole FE manual or you just need electrical section?


Whole manual.  Can't speak for other exams but in the April 2018 one, I was referencing the Engineering Economics section a lot.


----------



## DLD PE (Nov 14, 2018)

I brought the whole FE manual too and tabbed the economics section based on what I heard from previous examinees, but I also brought a book titled "Engineering Economic Analysis" and was able to use that for the problem(s) in that particular section.


----------



## BirdGrave (Nov 15, 2018)

Aside from the economics section, there were also some chemistry / strength of materials type questions on my exam that I would have not been able to answer without the FE Handbook.


----------



## DLD PE (Nov 15, 2018)

Yeah I saw nothing of that sort on my exam (that I recall but I'm pretty sure I would have remembered something like that).  The only thing "chemistry" related had to do with batteries and it was briefly covered in the course I took and somehow I remembered exactly what where to look in my notes.

I would expect a "strength of materials" type question to appear on a mechanical PE exam, not electrical, unless it had to do with transmission lines.


----------



## BirdGrave (Nov 15, 2018)

Don't want to run the risk of discussing questions in too much detail, but it was in relation to the effect of temperature on electrical components.


----------



## roy167 (Nov 15, 2018)

Did you guys put FE manual in 3 ring binder or you purchased a bound copy? Also, on Tom henry's index, I read that page numbers don't match index particularly for 2017 code.


----------



## DLD PE (Nov 15, 2018)

For FE manual I downloaded the free PDF (I remember it being a free download anyway) and I printed it 2-sided at work and put it in a 3-ring binder.  You are correct about Tom Henry's index.  Some page numbers don't match but they get you close enough to where you can find it quickly.  I only found a couple of examples where they didn't match on review/practice problems.  For the most part they helped.


----------



## AruT (Nov 16, 2018)

Vette388 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I took the Power PE for my first time in April and failed. I did bad on protection and for some reason the code questions, which is odd since I work with the code book everyday. I wanted to see options on review courses. I like to study on my own, but maybe a course would help? I found many questions on the exam I've never seen before in a practice exam or through study material. I want to take it again in October.


Same thing for me. I use NEC 4 days a week and I only got 7 right past April.


----------



## roy167 (Nov 16, 2018)

MEtoEE said:


> For FE manual I downloaded the free PDF (I remember it being a free download anyway) and I printed it 2-sided at work and put it in a 3-ring binder.  You are correct about Tom Henry's index.  Some page numbers don't match but they get you close enough to where you can find it quickly.  I only found a couple of examples where they didn't match on review/practice problems.  For the most part they helped.


I think if you print Math, Economic and Electrical sections from FE manual that should do it. Trying to avoid taking unnecessary bulky stuff as you are already going to have handful anyway. What do you say? Even the instrument/control portion of FE may be not necessary. I am even debating about math sections but there be question on fourier, laplace etc which are part of Math sections. 

I am thinking electrical and economic section for sure.


----------



## TryingToPassPE (Dec 6, 2018)

Really considering going all in this try for April 2019. Does anyone have any more updates on Review classes to take. Taking this test has been a big struggle for me.


----------



## ZZTops (Dec 6, 2018)

TryingToPassPE said:


> Really considering going all in this try for April 2019. Does anyone have any more updates on Review classes to take. Taking this test has been a big struggle for me.


School of PE got me over the hurdle. I took the exam last April as well and failed. I truly believe the April test was easier than the October test, but they showed me enough information to come to an answer on almost all of the problems this time around. The only thing I would ask them to focus more on is Machines and electric power devices. That and a better economics portion. Their general was phenomenal. Their T&amp;D section was pretty good too. Those 2 sections alone are said to be 60% of your test.


----------



## efg (Jan 4, 2019)

KatyLied P.E. said:


> I finally passed it four years ago and was very pleased with GA Tech's course.  I've also heard good things about Zach Stone's course and the School of PE.  If the NEC was a problem I recommend, among their other books, Complex Imaginary's  NEC code drill book.  My approach to the test was to take several passes on exam day as listed below:
> 
> 1) all easy problems that I could solve without referring to materials
> 
> ...


I took the Ga Tech course this Fall (2018) and its woefully out of date! The instructor, an old retired geezer, seemed more concerned about teaching basic EE circuits than getting us prepared for the actual test. He had the Relay section taught by one of Tech's relay experts but, again, he was more interested in teaching the theory and basics rather than addressing exam type questions. Teaching an undergrad or grad course is a very differente animal than getting professionals ready for an exam.


----------



## knight1fox3 (Jan 5, 2019)

efg said:


> I took the Ga Tech course this Fall (2018) and its woefully out of date! The instructor, an old retired geezer, seemed more concerned about teaching basic EE circuits than getting us prepared for the actual test. He had the Relay section taught by one of Tech's relay experts but, again, he was more interested in teaching the theory and basics rather than addressing exam type questions. Teaching an undergrad or grad course is a very differente animal than getting professionals ready for an exam.


LOL, how insulting. I actually know Dr. Callen and he has a wealth of knowledge as it pertains to electrical and power systems engineering. I'm sure he has not completely kept up with how the exam has evolved since he first started offering his Power PE review course. And some college professors tend to get complacent in their roles using the "copy/paste" methodology. However, when I took the course, it was a fantastic review from being out of school for a number years. Basic circuits is one of the foundational elements to EE and it certainly doesn't hurt to review this information as it does show up on the exam. I agree that a college course can be very different than preparing for the FE/PE exam. However, these courses will offer instruction on various foundational concepts such that can then be applied during one's exam studies. There are other review courses available that are more geared specifically towards exam prep and just rattle through problems. But often times these courses skip over how to understand and apply the concepts accordingly. In my opinion, the GA Tech course focuses more on understanding concepts rather than just doing exam problems and that was quite helpful for my specific studies. YMMV


----------



## rmsg (Jan 10, 2019)

Stephen2awesome said:


> I was in your shoes this time last year. I failed my first time as well. Take a month or two to gather yourself and do things you enjoy. Look at your diagnostics and find material that will help strengthen those areas you did poorly in.  Look on this site for recommendations. For me, I took the GT course and Zachs PE Power Review course. I'm not complaining because I passed on my 2nd try.
> 
> ultimately it is up to you which course you take. Study everything again and don't just focus on the areas you didn't do so well in. Good luck I know you can do it. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.


Eng Pro Guide has also compiled 40 question paper with solutions just for Code. I did purchase that and it was helpful to me in practicing. I believe doing a exercise of looking for how to solve for code questions makes you actually look for solution in the code books and it is good for your memory/practice later on in the exam.

Since I passed , I do not have the breakup of the marks I got, but I was confident that I did good on 13 Code questions..

Cheers..


----------



## KatyLied P.E. (Jan 15, 2019)

knight1fox3 said:


> LOL, how insulting. I actually know Dr. Callen and he has a wealth of knowledge as it pertains to electrical and power systems engineering. I'm sure he has not completely kept up with how the exam has evolved since he first started offering his Power PE review course. And some college professors tend to get complacent in their roles using the "copy/paste" methodology. However, when I took the course, it was a fantastic review from being out of school for a number years. Basic circuits is one of the foundational elements to EE and it certainly doesn't hurt to review this information as it does show up on the exam. I agree that a college course can be very different than preparing for the FE/PE exam. However, these courses will offer instruction on various foundational concepts such that can then be applied during one's exam studies. There are other review courses available that are more geared specifically towards exam prep and just rattle through problems. But often times these courses skip over how to understand and apply the concepts accordingly. In my opinion, the GA Tech course focuses more on understanding concepts rather than just doing exam problems and that was quite helpful for my specific studies. YMMV


Agreed. I'd been out of school for almost 25 years prior to taking the course and passing the PE.  I'd qualified experience wise to take the exam years before but needed a course that would give me a strong review of the basics prior to taking practice exams.  GA Tech and the internet played a huge part in getting me there.  The course may not work for some and that's fine.  However to characterize him as an "old retired geezer'  is crude and unnecessary.


----------

