OK, take a CHILL PILL and relax-- RELAX. This is NOT the big deal that you make it out to be. I have been an Exam development Chair/Co-Chair for the past 10 years-- let me put your mind at ease here-- this is NOT the big deal that you think it is. Yes, you need to pass, yes there is pressure on you, but there is no reason to put anymore artificial pressure on you either. I promise, the sun will rise tomorrow regardless if you pass or fail this exam. If you fail, then try again.
A. The test is designed to ascertain the minimally competent engineer-- the C- student. The test is written to ascertain if the candidate is minimally competent, nothing else.
B. All of the testable material is listed on the test specification-- you should know all of the material on the specification, understand what is being asked for and be able to answer a question(s) related to that.
C. All of the formulae needed to work the exam is in the PE Reference Handbook, which you got from NCEES when you registered for the exam. Any formula you need to work the CBT exam is in the handbook. NOW-- you need to know the handbook-- really know where the formulae are located and how to use the formulae-- time management is crucial on any exam-- if you flounder for 20 min trying to find a formula, then a) you don't understand the concept being measured or b) you are headed down the wrong path or c) you don't know the handbook. Makes no difference which it is-- you lost 20 min. Don't allow this to happen to you.
D. Work the problems to understand the principles being measured. Really understand what is being tested. Sure, you can memorize concepts, but if you don't know the concepts, you are stuck. Really understand the concept that is being tested. Once you have this, you are home free!
E. Each question is designed to take 6 min or less to answer. In some cases, you should be able to answer the question by inspection-- "Oh, that answer is A." Others, you may have work 4-5 calculation steps-- it may take 12 min to do so, however, you had 3 questions that you should have been able to answer by inspection.
F. The exam committee has reviewed each exam probably 5-6 times BEFORE it is administered. We have worked the problem every possible way to be sure that the options listed for answers are viable, with only 1 answer correct.
G. Make sure that your units and conversions track-- if you forget to take the square root of something, you might find an answer option on the exam. Of course, it is the wrong answer, because you failed to take the square root of the intermediate result-- just go slow and carefully.
To further put your mind at ease, I took the PE exam after being out of school for 30 years and not in the discipline that I originally studied at the undergraduate level. Yes, I was just as spooked as you are today, yes, I stewed just as hard as you are now, but I decided that this is just a bachelor's level examination, I had good undergraduate preparation (and great graduate preparation) and I was going to crush this exam. Did I? Will never know, I passed-- that is all that counts. Makes no difference if you get a 71 or a 99, you passed. You can do this-- one and done.
I got my results about a week before Christmas-- was the best Christmas present that I got that year. Good luck-- you can do this-- walk in acting like you know what you are doing and then do it. Just do it! When you get your results-- take your wife/husband/spouse out for dinner-- buy a good bottle of wine and a big juciy steak-- you earned it.
I keep telling myself that I should have done better.Mistakes and errors that are minor were much more depressing when I saw the solution. We still have 47 days before the exam and hope we could still correct all those errors.
