Everything you wanted to know about the CA-Survey/Seismic Civil PE Exams

[doubleH]

Thanks for chiming in!

Yes and No. Yes, you are correct that the email had two attachments for failing results and one attachment for passing results in the past. 
HOWEVER, all three of my coworkers who just got results on last Wednesday got one attachment with 'FAIL' results in red. I believe they no longer attach refile form anymore starting now. I feel bad for them because they thought they passed after they saw one attachment...

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[engineeringforfun]

Yes and No. Yes, you are correct that the email had two attachments for failing results and one attachment for passing results in the past. 

HOWEVER, all three of my coworkers who just got results on last Wednesday got one attachment with 'FAIL' results in red. I believe they no longer attach refile form anymore starting now. I feel bad for them because they thought they passed after they saw one attachment...

I can confirm. Failed surveying and only had one attachment. Oh well. Passed the 8-hour and seismic on the first try. Can't win them all right?

 

[doubleH]

I can confirm. Failed surveying and only had one attachment. Oh well. Passed the 8-hour and seismic on the first try. Can't win them all right?

OK, so at least we know attachments don't matter.

You'll get it. It's only a matter of time.

 

[doubleH]

I'm trying to find something useful for future test takers...

Two things:

1) Whether you pass or fail, the Board seems to provide everyone the re-examination link in email body

2) When I passed the surveying exam, I felt absolutely sure on 35 problems, I was so-so on 5 problems, and completely guessed on 15

Maybe this info will help someone out there

All the best!

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[wannacape]

I was wondering if I fail one or both exams what is the process to retake. Do I get authorized for the next quarter? Does the board charge fees to retake? I assume I pay prometric the same fees like first time scheduling? Thanks!

 

[engineeringforfun]

I was wondering if I fail one or both exams what is the process to retake. Do I get authorized for the next quarter? Does the board charge fees to retake? I assume I pay prometric the same fees like first time scheduling? Thanks!

You need to fill out the re-examination form and send it to the board. Once you get approved, you can take the exam in the quarter following the one in which you were approved. It's $150 per exam as far as fees go + prometric fees.

 

[quique07]

So I'm still waiting for my results for my seismic from last month... However, based on the board's website, if I was to fail, I won't able to retake the exam in Quarter 3 anymore... is that right?

It kinda sucks because i had email someone from the board back in May, and they told me otherwise. 

 

[engineeringforfun]

So I'm still waiting for my results for my seismic from last month... However, based on the board's website, if I was to fail, I won't able to retake the exam in Quarter 3 anymore... is that right?

It kinda sucks because i had email someone from the board back in May, and they told me otherwise. 

You'll probably get results next week. If you failed, you wouldn't be able to take the exam until Q4 just because of timing of the application, which sucks.

 

[quique07]

You'll probably get results next week. If you failed, you wouldn't be able to take the exam until Q4 just because of timing of the application, which sucks.

Yes it sucks!

But I'm more confused than ever... I email the board again, and they pretty much told me that I may be able to... per the response i got, they say re-examination forms don't need any processing time, and that they authorized you to schedule as soon as they get the form...  :huh:

 

[engineeringforfun]

Yes it sucks!

But I'm more confused than ever... I email the board again, and they pretty much told me that I may be able to... per the response i got, they say re-examination forms don't need any processing time, and that they authorized you to schedule as soon as they get the form...  :huh:

That sounds like a lie. I sent in re-examination form a few weeks ago and it got there on like 5/21 or something. They cashed my check a week later. I haven't gotten a single e-mail from the board in that time frame.

 

[quique07]

That sounds like a lie. I sent in re-examination form a few weeks ago and it got there on like 5/21 or something. They cashed my check a week later. I haven't gotten a single e-mail from the board in that time frame.

Yup, I'm taking that with a grain of salt. 

I'm settling with the fact that if I failed the seismic I'll take it after September.. 

 

[thebruce44]

Hey, apologies if this has been answered elsewhere on this board (I looked but didn't find anything), but I am now ATT for both Seismic and Survey for Q3 2018. If I take the tests too late in Q3 (say Semptember), don't get the results for a few weeks, and don't pass does that mean it will be too late to retake in Q4?

In other words, is there a cutoff date that I need to take the tests by in order to retake them in Q4 in the event of a fail?

 

[engineeringforfun]

Hey, apologies if this has been answered elsewhere on this board (I looked but didn't find anything), but I am now ATT for both Seismic and Survey for Q3 2018. If I take the tests too late in Q3 (say Semptember), don't get the results for a few weeks, and don't pass does that mean it will be too late to retake in Q4?

In other words, is there a cutoff date that I need to take the tests by in order to retake them in Q4 in the event of a fail?

You would need to take the tests in August, get the results mid-September, and reapply before October to be eligible to test in Q4. 

 

[thebruce44]

So I should schedule both tests before August 31st? Do all tests from August get results back in mid-September?

Thanks!

 

[engineeringforfun]

So I should schedule both tests before August 31st? Do all tests from August get results back in mid-September?

Thanks!

All tests from August get results back mid-September. So as far as scheduling for August, it's just when it's convenient for you.

 

[HMAmaster]

For reference, I took the Civil Surveying exam  Monday June 25, 2018. I got my results on Thursday July 12, 2018 at 3:45 PM. I saw somewhere on this forum that someone had their results letter with the wrong date (June 12 instead of July 12). I also had this mistake on my results letter. No biggie.

This was my first time taking the exam and I passed. I took Kirk Torossian's class at https://www.civilpesurveyingreview.com/.

The class provides online access to various lectures which include quizzes at the end of each lecture. There's also 4 timed computer based exams simulating the actual test. You also get a manual. The manual is very basic but will get the job done. There's plenty of notes space for you to add additional test problems and information you may find useful during the test. His class is still based on the old test plan. I took the exam last month with the Board's new test plan and it sort of threw me off during my exam. Hopefully Kirk tailors his course to reflect new test plan for next cycle for future students. Kirk knows how to communicate the subject matter clearly and easy to comprehend. I highly recommend his course.

I also had reference materials for Mansour's course (https://passpe.com/product/surveying-review-professional-license-sur/) that my colleague gave me after he passed the exam. I don't recommend Mansour's materials. His lectures and manual are extremely difficult to comprehend. It left me confused on certain topics. I had to go back to Kirk's lectures to clear my head the right away again. Plus the Mansour course is a couple of hundred bucks more expensive than the Torossian course.

My exam experience highlighted below:

- I finished the exam with ~5 minutes left. I skipped about 5-8 questions which I had to go back and just click on an answer (didn't make any educated guesses). I ran out of time when I was on the last question that I skipped. Failed to submit an answer to this last question.

- To summarize: 55 questions total. Wild guesses on 8 questions, educated guess on another 5-8 questions. The rest I was confident I got right. So if I got all the wild guesses and educated guesses wrong, I would have gotten a 39/55 = 71% AT BEST on the exam.

Hope this helps some!

 

[FaridAzar]

Finally, I Passed Seismic Exam ! ! ! 

I tried that many times...I recommended Dr. Shahin Mansour Books.

 

[HMAmaster]

The supplementary exam statistics have been published on the California Board website. As expected, both Seismic and Survey pass rates have dropped due to the new test plan. Survey pass rate is the lowest its been ever at 39%

 

[wannacape]

:sharkattack:

 

[Scofield]

1.  Why would the new test plan lead to a lower passing percentage?  The test plan didn't seem all that different

2.  Why would they not adjust the cut score to keep passing scores in line with previous years?  It's completely unreasonable for this test to only have 39% pass rate imo