Didn't Pass! Help..!

[Mech_april2019]

All,

Unfortunately I didn't pass this April! Sucks! I thought I did good enough to  pass. Took the Mechanical - MDM version. Sucks to see the pass % also! Terrible! 

Questions:

1. Did you'll attempt the 2nd time immediately the next available exam? Or does it help to wait and take a year later? (April 2020?)

2. What different did you'll do the 2nd time? Different materials? I took Testmasters prep and thought it didn't cover the depth of the MDM which is where I think I lost more problems! How are the other offered courses? SoPE? Dr. Tom's? EngPro? Any suggestions?

Very de-motivated to go through the process again, but I want to. So any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[DKS]

Something to keep in mind when making your decision to write at the next sitting or waiting a year to write again is if you feel more comfortable with pencil and paper (P&P) or computer based testing (CBT).  All three mechanical tests are scheduled to transition to CBT in 2020 so that October 2019 is the last chance to write P&P, if that's your preference.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

I don't have experience with MDM (I'm Power) but I've failed numerous times as well.

After the first time I failed, I immediately signed up for the next offering. Dumb idea. I was so burnt out from work (I was severely overloaded at work) and burnt out from trying to pack into studying around work, that I didn't study for my second attempt. 

Look at how you feel post-exam and with your workload. If you feel burnt out, I suggest a break. But if you feel that fire, go for it.

 

[Kevo_303 P.E.]

I failed last October and signed up immediately, the day I found out, for the April Exam which I passed. MDM for both. Here is what I did differently:

1. Started studying that day (when I got my results) with the goal of hitting 300 hours total before the test. (I was mostlikely at 300 to 350 but I stopped counting in February)

2. I purchased several new practice problem books, and then worked through them all.
3. I read textbooks. 1.5 hours everyday (Taking the light rail) plus 2 to 3 hours of problems.

4. I tabbed as I went along.

5. I focused on 4 resources (MERM, Mechanical design book, materials book, and machinist handbook) so that I could navigate it with out much effort. I brought about 10 books in total, but only if the others had a table I thought I needed. During the test, I only opened books I focused on.

6. I made notes of what I needed to brush up on, tables I used and stuff I needed to go back to before the test and then went back to it the weeks leading up to the test.

7. I took a day off occasionally. 

Really, when I received my diagnostic I took an honest look at my study habits before the failed test and determined that I tried to get away with doing the bare minimum of effort. I spent so much time  studying the second time around that by the end I couldn't come up with something I needed to look at. It is safe to say I was burnt out. I think doing it again was the way to go. It can be done! Hope this helps!

 

[ChooChooEngineer_PE]

I would recommend avoiding PPI for MDM prep. The NCEES practice exam was the best way to gauge if you are ready, do it timed. Shingley's Machine Design book is the best IMO, perhaps getting a version past 9 to have a most up to date chapter on analytical methods. I would say to get back on the horse ASAP, do you really want to be the first wave of CBT test takers? All the test prep offering will still be re-calibrating for some time.

 

[Rebeccah623]

1. I would look at your state’s rules about numbers of attempts and all that.  Sometimes there are rules about number of attempts in a certain time period. You may also be able to skip the lengthy application process if you take the next available exam. If you skip it they may require you to go through the entire application/approval process again. It all depends on your state’s rules. I would say unless you have something major happening from now until October, keep the momentum up and keep studying. You probably won’t have to relearn as much stuff and you can focus the majority of your time on practice problems. Best of luck!

 

[Oakleycm]

@Mech_april2019 I took HVAC not MDM but I used SoPE on my first attempt and I don't recommend it. I used Engineering Proguides on my second attempt and it was a game changer.

 

[ATDoel]

I took the FE right when it went over to CBT.  Some of the people I took it with said the CBT was easier than the paper exam, so take that as you will.  With the CBT it was REALLY easy to find information in the reference manual, you just did word searches in the program.

 

[Drewism]

I failed the Power exam in October 2018. It was my first time and I immediately signed up again to take it in April 2019 and ended up passing on my second try.

I had mixed feelings about taking again shortly after. My failing score the first time was kind of high and people on here suggested I take it again immediately. I also wanted to get it out of the way. I didn't want to spend another summer being stuck indoors and studying. It's easier to study during the winter months when it's cold. However I was hesitant because I was overloaded with work, very tired, burnt out and discouraged.

It literally took every ounce of strength I had to take it again. I really didn't want to and I wasn't feeling up to taking the exam again but I did it. It ultimately comes down to your own personal preference. From my experience, I'm just glad I pushed myself to get it out of the way. It's  a very rewarding feeling and I have peace of mind now.

 

[DKS]

I took the FE right when it went over to CBT.  Some of the people I took it with said the CBT was easier than the paper exam, so take that as you will.  With the CBT it was REALLY easy to find information in the reference manual, you just did word searches in the program.

I wrote my FE exam (CBT) after my PE exam (MDM) and found that the PE exam was a more comfortable experience than the FE exam from a human factors perspective.  I found the paper and pencil experience less stressful than the computer based test.

My boss had similar feedback with the paper and pencil format versus the computer bases testing experience.

To @Mech_april2019 did you write a CBT FE exam?  How did the experience compare versus the P&P format of the PE exam?  Have you reviewed your diagnostic report? 

I took Testmasters prep and thought it didn't cover the depth of the MDM which is where I think I lost more problems!

I found that the best source for identifying what kinds of questions I would see on the MDM exam was the NCEES practice exam.  This gave me a feel for how NCEES would format/phrase questions, which I found wasn't always obvious.

As for encouragement, I think all on this board are pulling for you.  I would suggest that you pick which exam format you feel most comfortable with and prepare to write the next available offering in that format.  Note that if you do choose to go the CBT route:

1) the mechanical reference manual that will be made available to you can be downloaded from your NCESS dashboard

2) the exam will be offered year round (which might be good or bad depending on if you need a hard deadline to motivate yourself to prepare)

 

[Mech_april2019]

I failed last October and signed up immediately, the day I found out, for the April Exam which I passed. MDM for both. Here is what I did differently:

1. Started studying that day (when I got my results) with the goal of hitting 300 hours total before the test. (I was mostlikely at 300 to 350 but I stopped counting in February)

2. I purchased several new practice problem books, and then worked through them all.
3. I read textbooks. 1.5 hours everyday (Taking the light rail) plus 2 to 3 hours of problems.

4. I tabbed as I went along.

5. I focused on 4 resources (MERM, Mechanical design book, materials book, and machinist handbook) so that I could navigate it with out much effort. I brought about 10 books in total, but only if the others had a table I thought I needed. During the test, I only opened books I focused on.

6. I made notes of what I needed to brush up on, tables I used and stuff I needed to go back to before the test and then went back to it the weeks leading up to the test.

7. I took a day off occasionally. 

Really, when I received my diagnostic I took an honest look at my study habits before the failed test and determined that I tried to get away with doing the bare minimum of effort. I spent so much time  studying the second time around that by the end I couldn't come up with something I needed to look at. It is safe to say I was burnt out. I think doing it again was the way to go. It can be done! Hope this helps!

Can you please provide me a list of books you followed? I used MERM, PPI Practice Problems, NCEES Practice Problems, Testmasters manual. Also which book you followed for Material Properties? I scored so low on that as I did not have any direct ref!

 

[Mech_april2019]

I would recommend avoiding PPI for MDM prep. The NCEES practice exam was the best way to gauge if you are ready, do it timed. Shingley's Machine Design book is the best IMO, perhaps getting a version past 9 to have a most up to date chapter on analytical methods. I would say to get back on the horse ASAP, do you really want to be the first wave of CBT test takers? All the test prep offering will still be re-calibrating for some time.

I scored 80% in my NCEES Practice test at home but didnt clear the exam!!! Not sure what different I need to do now!!!

 

[Mech_april2019]

@Mech_april2019 I took HVAC not MDM but I used SoPE on my first attempt and I don't recommend it. I used Engineering Proguides on my second attempt and it was a game changer.

I really liked their ref they had. I might look more into them! Thanks.

 

[Mech_april2019]

I wrote my FE exam (CBT) after my PE exam (MDM) and found that the PE exam was a more comfortable experience than the FE exam from a human factors perspective.  I found the paper and pencil experience less stressful than the computer based test.

My boss had similar feedback with the paper and pencil format versus the computer bases testing experience.

To @Mech_april2019 did you write a CBT FE exam?  How did the experience compare versus the P&P format of the PE exam?  Have you reviewed your diagnostic report? 

I found that the best source for identifying what kinds of questions I would see on the MDM exam was the NCEES practice exam.  This gave me a feel for how NCEES would format/phrase questions, which I found wasn't always obvious.

As for encouragement, I think all on this board are pulling for you.  I would suggest that you pick which exam format you feel most comfortable with and prepare to write the next available offering in that format.  Note that if you do choose to go the CBT route:

1) the mechanical reference manual that will be made available to you can be downloaded from your NCESS dashboard

2) the exam will be offered year round (which might be good or bad depending on if you need a hard deadline to motivate yourself to prepare)

I did take the FE CBT. I don't have a preference on the exam format, either is okay. But I'm so unsure of what differently to do (study) this time to be able to score better next! 

 

[Mech_april2019]

I failed the Power exam in October 2018. It was my first time and I immediately signed up again to take it in April 2019 and ended up passing on my second try.

I had mixed feelings about taking again shortly after. My failing score the first time was kind of high and people on here suggested I take it again immediately. I also wanted to get it out of the way. I didn't want to spend another summer being stuck indoors and studying. It's easier to study during the winter months when it's cold. However I was hesitant because I was overloaded with work, very tired, burnt out and discouraged.

It literally took every ounce of strength I had to take it again. I really didn't want to and I wasn't feeling up to taking the exam again but I did it. It ultimately comes down to your own personal preference. From my experience, I'm just glad I pushed myself to get it out of the way. It's  a very rewarding feeling and I have peace of mind now.

Thank you. How differently did your second study go? what did you change and focus on?

 

[Mech_april2019]

1. I would look at your state’s rules about numbers of attempts and all that.  Sometimes there are rules about number of attempts in a certain time period. You may also be able to skip the lengthy application process if you take the next available exam. If you skip it they may require you to go through the entire application/approval process again. It all depends on your state’s rules. I would say unless you have something major happening from now until October, keep the momentum up and keep studying. You probably won’t have to relearn as much stuff and you can focus the majority of your time on practice problems. Best of luck!

Thanks! 

 

[cbjorklund]

@Mech_april2019 I am in a similar boat. I tested at home really well and then bombed the test.  This was my 2nd time taking MDM.   

Has anyone used Eng Pro Guides purchased study guide? Is it worth it?

 

[ChooChooEngineer_PE]

I scored 80% in my NCEES Practice test at home but didnt clear the exam!!! Not sure what different I need to do now!!!

When you took it at home did you do it timed and on a small desk with all your stuff laid out like it would be in the real thing? Also like I said, after lunch you get part 2 of the exam combined with the post lunch crash from the sandwich you ate and its something I definitely did not foresee. Also, you gotta be really good about knowing where to find the data in the books you bring.

 

[Drewism]

Thank you. How differently did your second study go? what did you change and focus on?

I don't think it was my study process that was the problem. It was the fact that I didn't take the exam correctly the first time. My movements throughout the first exam seemed directionless. In hindsight, I should have been a bit more tactful with the way I approached each question. The second time I took the exam I felt like I was a little more level-headed.

 

[JefeAK]

I failed MDM 1st time april 2018

Passed Second time this april.

My first time i concentrated my studies in MERM in sections Machine-Materials-Dynamics, and didn't take any practice exams. Did well in those areas but was not ready for how broad the exam can be.

Second time:

-studied for 5-6 months averaging 3 hours a day, no joke, but I'm a weak test taker so needed like 500 hours. And did the 3 sweep method taking the exam the second time.

1) go through the problems you know how to do with confidence first. If it is a lookup type problem, skip it, mark L.U. or something on the sheet, even if you think you know where to look it up skip it. If it is a problem you think you might be able to do but might take a little time to work it mark a 1, if its a problem you think youre lost mark 2.

2) Do all the look up type problems

3) do the 1s, then do the 2s.

Time management is super important, its not worth spending 20 minutes getting 1 problem right.

-took three months to go through the MERM with a fine tooth comb: materials, basic machine, advanced machine, pressure vessals, kinematics, kinetics, power trans, vibrations, plant eng. 

-I went through the first 1/4 of Thermo and Econ. I felt good about statics, so just brushed through. 

-Make sure you have Machinery's handbook (big version) and Shigley & Mischke at the beginning of your studies. I really blew it the first time on this.

I took three practice exams:

Eng Pro, NCEES, and Lindenburg (super difficult)

Also get the MERM practice problems, I did almost all the practice problems in the main sections relevant to the exam, and the first 10 in about every single section.

More practice problems the better.

And DO NOT just study stuff only from the 1st time you took it. They change this exam up.