Any terrible exam day experiences?

[ptatohed]

In Alabama, the room (and apparently 4 city blocks) lost power for over an hour... it happened an hour or so into the PM session. It was a mess and the proctor's had a hard time knowing what to do... we sat and were told not to continue working (so little light it was almost impossible to see anything anyway) and were given back that time when the power finally came back on... Very disconcerting in the middle of the session

Yikes! That'd be rough.

Wow these are some true horror stories...other than the room being like 75 degrees for half of the morning session (the proctor eventually got the AC turned on) and getting to see a number if people dressed up in some very, very strange costumes for a Japanese pop culture / anime convention that was occurring on the same floor, my experience was great.

I was a little concerned when we went out on the third floor terrace for lunch, and had to make sure a little block of wood kept the door open so that we did not get locked out, luckily to my knowledge no one did.

75 isn't that bad, is it?

I remember reading it on some forum that every thing has to be in a clear container..

FE only.

 

[mustang462002]

Precise reason why I commuted from northern Virginia for this exam. Had to wake up at 4:30 for the 1:30 commute. It had rained the night before and traffic was very heavy with and accident and low visibility. But I luckily had a good nights rest.

The exam room was very hot.

 

[ptatohed]

Precise reason why I commuted from northern Virginia for this exam. Had to wake up at 4:30 for the 1:30 commute. It had rained the night before and traffic was very heavy with and accident and low visibility. But I luckily had a good nights rest.

The exam room was very hot.

What is the precise reason you commuted?

1 hour and 30 minutes is nothing, the nearest test center to my house is 90 to 120 minutes away. My house is about halfway between the San Diego CA center and the Pomona CA center.

 

[mustang462002]

Sorry, in reference to the first post about having a terrible night in a hotel so as to not have a commute in the morning.

 

[team1887]

I was super nervous for the exam. Barely got any sleep the night before (3 days prior I flew into NJ from Japan where I currently live) so between jetlag and anxiety I wasn't doing so well. Woke up and my neck/chin was a little itchy. Got to the exam site and went to the restroom and realized I broke out in some kind of rash all around my neck, must have been from the stress and anxiety. Never had anything like this happen before. I was panicky up until I opened the morning session questions, then my nerves started to settle. Glad its over and I pray I dont have to do it again

 

[team1887]

BTW, OP- 5 hour energy is 2 servings! Most people don't realize that. Its not supposed to give you a rush of energy like redbull, but more of a natural boost of energy.

 

[matt267 PE]

You flew to NJ? Well, that was your first problem. It likely explains the rash too.

 

[P-E]

Why would anyone want to go there is beyond me.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

Why would anyone want to live go there is beyond me.

fixt

 

[John QPE]

Lets cut the bridges and let it float away, so I can have beachfront property in Philly.

 

[iwire]

BTW, OP- 5 hour energy is 2 servings! Most people don't realize that. Its not supposed to give you a rush of energy like redbull, but more of a natural boost of energy.

Cocaine has the same effect like bull..but it's good lol

 

[mustang462002]

BTW, OP- 5 hour energy is 2 servings! Most people don't realize that. Its not supposed to give you a rush of energy like redbull, but more of a natural boost of energy.

Cocaine has the same effect like bull..but it's good lol

I like how you know the effect of Cocaine!

 

[Bcbillings]

I failed in October because when i opened my binders for HCM, roadside design guide, and geometric design binders came open so all the pages were considered "loose" and not only that, they were all mixed up. i learned this time for April to check them very well before the exam started.

good news is this time I feel it went very well, there was no question I had to guess on and I finished both parts of the exam with A LOT of time remaining.

 

[John QPE]

whaaaaaaaaaat!!!!

 

[Bcbillings]

whaaaaaaaaaat!!!!

For the October 2014 exam I lost 5 reference binders from my blunder (I only had 8 references total with those so their loss was keenly felt). So i used JB weld and better binders for the exam this April.

 

[mikeyd917]

Nothing too stressful happened for me. I had checklists to make sure I had everything packed, started packing 3 days in advance, drove to the newly constructed convention center, sat in fairly comfortable chairs, temperature was nice, folding walls and windows were all covered so no sun got in... my biggest issue was my table partner was extremely nervous and disorganized, throwing books around, huffing and sighing...and i drank a 5 hour energy at lunch and spent the first hour vibrating.

the only reason i post this is a reminder that preparation is key! i got a full night sleep, arrived with a smile, and worked through the test systematically. If i have to retake the exam, I'll set myself up the same way, except the 5 hour energy...ha

I was pretty nervous about the 3 ring binders. When I was running through my binders the night before the exam to make sure everything I needed was packed, I found loose pages in the pockets...yikes. If those were discovered, I'd have been kicked out. We have a book binder at the office, if I retake the exam, my loose pages will be bound that way.

 

[Ramnares P.E.]

One of the best things about taking it at Pratt is that they had the single desks so there was no sharing of workspace. It would have driven me crazy having to share a desk with someone else.

 

[iwire]

BTW, OP- 5 hour energy is 2 servings! Most people don't realize that. Its not supposed to give you a rush of energy like redbull, but more of a natural boost of energy.

Cocaine has the same effect like bull..but it's good lol

I like how you know the effect of Cocaine!

What...of course from what I read on the internet !

 

[Porter_]

my biggest issue was my table partner was extremely nervous and disorganized, throwing books around, huffing and sighing...

when i took the APR 2014 exam my table partner was like this, huffing and sighing and throwing materials around. about halfway through the afternoon portion he just stopped and sat there with his hands folded, looking pissed off. it was weird that he didn't get up and leave but at least he was being quiet. on the flip side when i took the OCT 2014 exam my table partner was extremely calm and quiet and i was probably the rowdy one. i was jacked up on caffeine and in the zone flying through problems. No time to gently set down the CERM!

 

[mikeyd917]

my biggest issue was my table partner was extremely nervous and disorganized, throwing books around, huffing and sighing...

when i took the APR 2014 exam my table partner was like this, huffing and sighing and throwing materials around. about halfway through the afternoon portion he just stopped and sat there with his hands folded, looking pissed off. it was weird that he didn't get up and leave but at least he was being quiet. on the flip side when i took the OCT 2014 exam my table partner was extremely calm and quiet and i was probably the rowdy one. i was jacked up on caffeine and in the zone flying through problems. No time to gently set down the CERM!

I'm sure the last hour in the afternoon i could be heard throwing fits, caffeine had worn off, and I was down to those last 2 problems that were like none of my review problems.