Exam Day Prep.

[Matt-NM]

What exam day preparation, or I should say exam morning preparation, has worked for everybody in the past?

1. What time does everybody get up? (I think all exams begin around 8:00, so time zone should not be an issue here). I know it takes me quite a while sometimes to get to the point where my mind is clear and ready to function properly.

2. Sometimes when I study, I find that it takes me an hour or two to really get into a "zone". How can this "zone" be best achieved on exam morning? I was actually thinking of working a few simpler proplems from each subject before the exam just to get the thoughts instilled in my mind. Of course adding to an already long 8 hours may not be the best choice. I just don't want to finally achieve the "zone" on problem 20 of the morning section. That's basically an advanced ticket for October.

Any thoughts or is this too much thinking into the exam?

Thanks.

 

[Casey]

So far my morning exam prep involves me eating some bread type products and drinking as little liquids as possible...

I don't want to take a bathroom break half way through the exam....

My only problem is that I have a bladder of an 8 year old girl!

 

[roadwreck]

I wouldn't advise working any problems the morning of. I thought I was better severed by taking plenty of time to eat a substantial breakfast (something that's going to last a few hours), give myself plenty of time to get to the exam location, check in, get myself situated and relax. It's going to be a long day, I wouldn't worry about making it longer by working problems before the exam to 'get in the zone'.

Drink enough to keep yourself hydrated. You are allowed to go to the bathroom, but a proctor will take your exam materials before you are allowed to go. You most likely won't be able to prevent yourself from needing to go to the restroom all day. It's better to be comfortable then fight those urges all day long.

 

[roadwreck]

I wouldn't recommend working problems the night before either. I sat around and watched a football game (Boston College vs. Virginia Tech, where Matt Ryan lead BC to a victory in the waining seconds of the game). It was a great way to take my mind off the exam the next day and I hadn't spent an evening just sitting around watching tv in a long time at that point. I had spent most of my evenings studying.

 

[ODB_PE]

I'm in agreement with the no studying the day (or at least half day) before. For me, the stress leading up to the exam had reached a point where I needed to cool down. Though my boss gave me the day before off to study, at about noon I blew it off, put all my books into the suitcase and did mindless stuff until a relatively early bed time. I was new to EB at the time and spent a lot of time in shoot the breeze. In the end, I was pretty relaxed come go time.

 

[Casey]

I plan to take it easy the night before.... I might just go over the 6 minute solution to remind myself where some key practice problems are... that's about it.

Plus I am staying at my mom's friend's place... It would be rude to ignore them, so I will socialise... They are buying me dinner after all!

But I think the idea of relaxing is the best way to go... no need to stress yourself up until the last minute.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I agree with ODB. I took the day off before the exam and just puttered around the house, took a walk, etc.

 

[maryannette]

Don't be too concerned about getting in the "zone". You're going to be so pumped up with adrenalin (sp?) that you'll be ready to go. Be careful about drinking caffeine the night before or eating anything that might keep you from getting a good night's sleep. For exam day, eat enough to keep you from being hungry. Something with protein will stay with you. A small snack pack of nuts is a good snack to take with you.

 

[ufcfan]

Try to relax when the exam is about to start. When I took it I was so nervous that I did some stupid mistakes in the first problems and spent some extra time fixing these. Also, try to work through the exam in a relaxed but consistent way. If you are too nervous you will not be able to get all details when reading problem's statements may lead you to do mistakes.

Good Luck!

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I did take a zip-lock bag of peanuts and some bottled water to eat and drink during the exam.

 

[roadwreck]

I did take a zip-lock bag of peanuts and some bottled water to eat and drink during the exam.

I took some granola bars and a couple bottles of water...

...and cough drops, and cold medicine , and tissues, and aspirin. I was getting over a cold that week. :\

 

[Capt Worley PE]

In retrospect, I should have taken some beer.

 

[Vishal]

Agree with all the brave warriors here... whatever is at stake for the exam will get you in the zone itself... i took some energy bars and a water bottle. i took one restroom break in each session and i think that did not hurt me at all. take it rather than suffer thru it and then not being able to concentrate. coz when the 15 minute warning is given you don't want to be holding the urge, rather just concentrating on any not so straightforward questions..

just take time off the books half a day before and make sure you organize your suitcase, prepare your clothes, jacket, exam confirmation ticket, driving license, etc...

 

[rudy]

1. What time does everybody get up? (I think all exams begin around 8:00, so time zone should not be an issue here). I know it takes me quite a while sometimes to get to the point where my mind is clear and ready to function properly.

I got up about 6am. I remember from my college test-taking tips that I should be awake at least 2 hours prior to an exam. A shower helped me wake up. Ate a high protein breakfast (a breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs). No bread -- since that would make me feel sluggish. I also had coffee. I made sure I was finished with breakfast early in case I had to go to the restroom. I also made sure I got to the exam site early.

2. Sometimes when I study, I find that it takes me an hour or two to really get into a "zone". How can this "zone" be best achieved on exam morning? I was actually thinking of working a few simpler proplems from each subject before the exam just to get the thoughts instilled in my mind. Of course adding to an already long 8 hours may not be the best choice. I just don't want to finally achieve the "zone" on problem 20 of the morning section. That's basically an advanced ticket for October.

Don't worry about getting in the zone. My first try, I tried a few practice problems in the exam room before the exam. But I was then paranoid about the scratch sheets I used. I had to get rid of them because I wrote on them in pencil. We were not supposed have any penciled notes. I asked the proctor to take them.

By my third time around, I just used my time to organize my books. By the time the test started, it was all fresh, and I was ready to.

 

[ROBIAMEIT]

i have taken the exam a number of different times . . . .

i am getting ALOT of pressure at work to pass the darned thing . . .taking a review class . . . . taking the WEEK off of the exam . . .

as i sit here and write this i am getting nervous just thinking about this stupid thing . . . it has been the BIGGEST monkey on my back since anything else i can remember . . . .

last time i scored a 68% (or so i have figured with the help of this board!)

i cant even IMAGINE how i will feel if i fail yet again this time . . .

at least THREE people i know who i consider idiots passed the damend thing . . one of them even went out to a bar the night before and didnt study a lick for it . . .PROVING i guess hes NOT an idiot.

just concerend . . . . when i sit down to study (which has been almost every night now fro a month for at least 2 hours or so a night. . PLUS the eight or nine hours on the weeknds i have been in class) i just freak out because there is SOO much crap to learn . . . .

i know . . i need to settle down and concentrate and relax and . . . . yeh right.

shall i start drinking??!?!?!

sorry . . just sounding off

 

[ODB_PE]

As most will attest, half of the exam is state of mind. You've been so close before that controlling your stress could very well be the difference.

It sounds like you've got pretty good discipline, but you will still feel the need to study. I recommend taking a day or two off on both sides of your class immediately to calm down. At a point you've got to make peace with it - you're not going to learn anything more in the last week before the test. True, you may just hit one or two more problems that will directly benefit a specific problem on the exam, but I would take my chances with being calmer during the exam. Good command of your resources will help you with problems you're not quite sure of but familiar with.

 

[Guest]

i know . . i need to settle down and concentrate and relax and . . . . yeh right.

I found that I did the best on the exam the first time that I took it and then the last time (fourth attempt). In each of those attempts I wasn't obsessed over the score that I needed to make or the reasons why I HAD to pass it at that moment - I just went in there and did my best. I think if you can break it down the same way you will get A LOT more mileage out of your preparation.

sorry . . just sounding off

No problem!! We are here to support!

JR

 

[Bellebot]

I agree with much of what is said here.

For myself, the day before, I took off from work. I organized my exam materials, got all the proper documentation ready to go, and made my lunch for the next day. Then, I took the dogs for a walk, and enjoyed the somewhat nice day. After that, I just watched t.v., and then a really mindless movie, the Condemned with Stone Cold. Just relaxed, and it was really nice.

The day of, I got up at 6 a.m., had a leisurely breakfast, played with the dogs a little bit, and arrived early at the exam site. I had nerves somewhat, but just knowing everyone else is in the same boat makes it better. It was nice to see some people from school I had not seen in awhile too. The nerves somewhat dissipated seeing everyone there knowing there was kind of a "we are all in this together" mentality somewhat. That may not make sense, but everyone there knows what everyone else has been going through the previous few months.

Really, just trust your preparation, as each person knows what works best for them from all the previous exams taken in the previous academic life. Trust your prep, and go in there and do it. The best advice I got was to carefully read each question, and think about it somewhat before furiously scribbling away.

Trust your prep, you can do it!

 

[Guest]

I will mention one more thing that I don't think can be overstated ....

[SIZE=36pt]Check Your Units !!!![/SIZE]

There is a ChE, PhD in my office that is taking the FE exam in April. He has started taking the practice exams and noticed that he has slipped up on several problems because he wasn't careful.

Example: He was given a pressure in MPa and an intial temperature and final temperature in C and asked to calculate the final pressure due to drop in temperature. He proceeded to use the Ideal Gas Law directly plugging those numbers into the equation thinking it was a simple plug-n-chug problem. Logically, he knows that you MUST convert C to K in order to use the Ideal Gas Law but he was so focused on finishing 'in time' that he made several goofs like that while making a practice run at the exam.

Moral of the story ...

1. Work on the exam at a brisk pace but make sure it is YOUR pace. Don't just run through it for the sake of getting it done; and

2. Check your units BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER you complete the problem. Make sure they are in agreement because that is an easy, quick check to see if you are on track.

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I will mention one more thing that I don't think can be overstated ....
[SIZE=36pt]Check Your Unit !!!![/SIZE]

2. Check your units BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER you complete the problem. Make sure they are in agreement because that is an easy, quick check to see if you are on track.

Just checked...lookin' good! :thumbs:

OK on a serious note, I can't agree with you more. I'm the type of person who's their own worst enemy on an exam. I know the material, but jinx myself by goofing up a conversion or messing up the units.

Since the NCEES problems do not list units in the answer, rather in the problem statement, I made it a point to underline the unit as I was reading through the problem.

One problem I recall involved finding a distance. EVERYTHING in the problem statement was in metric, including something in kilometers. They wanted the answer given in miles.

I calculated my answer in km, then saw I had underlined miles in the problem. I converted it and got the right answer. The km answer was listed as a distracter.

1. What time does everybody get up? (I think all exams begin around 8:00, so time zone should not be an issue here). I know it takes me quite a while sometimes to get to the point where my mind is clear and ready to function properly.

I got a motel 10 minutes from the test site. The evening before the exam I wondered around Montpelier for a couple hours to blow off some steam then treated myself to a nice dinner. After dinner, about 9 PM, I felt drowsy and let myself go to sleep. I slept well and woke up at 5 AM, wired.

So I got up, took a shower, ate breakfast, double checked that all my stuff was in order and headed out. Got to the site at 6:45. Glad I did, parking was tight. Hung out for a bit, saw them letting people in around 7, and headed in.

Had plenty of time to organize my 'war room' once I was seated. I skimmed the paper a little bit while waiting, then once they said they would begin the directions soon, just closed my eyes and tried to relax.