Failed Exam - Register for April 2014

[Mark Leyner]

My $0.02 w/r/t NCEES practice exams - I found that the NCEES published Civil/Structural PE and SE practice exam problems were highly correlated to the questions on the actual exams both in terms of scope and difficulty. In fact, I recommend using only the NCEES sample exams because those questions are "retired" exam questions in contrast to the independently published practice exams, which have a much wider dispersion of scope and difficulty, for various explicit and implicit reasons.

For the O.P. - if you're looking for additional morning problems, try older versions of the NCEES sample exams. You can find them on amazon, abebooks, or whatever book-selling service you prefer. Check the ISBN, different cover art is not always enough differentiation, but as I understand it, the pool of questions varies between versions. I would, however, expect some duplication from version to version.

 

[Jdsmith PE]

Stealth, I'm trying to give you some solid advice.

It's a trap (intentional or not)... Don't fall for it. They must have "sampled" an easier Water Resources & Environmental Exam than the one my comrades and I took down here in FL.

Say I'm crazy, call me a Conspiracy Theorist, belittle me... I don't care. Stealth, you should trust my words.

 

[engrstructural11]

I've heard many people say they aren't good "test takers". I too have even said that about myself. It's really just an excuse. The only way you can be a bad test taker is if you suffer from anxiety and time management, both problems can be addressed by building pre test confidence and an effective test taking strategy. If you don't know the breadth material on the test, then you aren't a bad test taker, you just don't know the material well enough.

As far as test taking time management, you need to be able to realize when you are spinning your wheels on a particular question, flag it, and move on. Come back to it when you have completed the rest of the test. I took this very strategy on the morning session this past october and problems that at first appeared very difficult and overwhelming ended up being quite easy when you go back to them knowing you have an hour and a half to finish the five or so questions you skipped. When you first read a question, if you don't have a direct route to solving the problem figured out after inspecting the question, checking your references, then move on. best advice i can give.

 

[dana]

Never give up! I failed twice and my third time was successful, just study harder, do a lot of tests!

 

[peguy]

I have a question for people who took the exam for the second time, were all the problems similar or totally different from the first time?

 

[BigWorm]

The NCEES sample problems are good practice but I have to agree that my actual exam was much trickier especially the afternoon. Be ready for that. The majority of questions aren't as straightforward as they are on the sample exams.

To answer your question about whether the morning examples would be different if you bought the Geotech and Evironmental, I'm pretty sure each one has the same morning questions.

 

[NJmike PE]

^^^^

On a side note and this is referencing the NCEES sample exams.  Are the morning exams in each of these sample exams different than say my Water Resources/Environmental exam?  In other words, is it worth picking up the GEOTech one along with the environmental?

 If you look at the ncees website under each one of the sample books it says in big red letters that the morning questions are the same in all books.

 

[Stealtharsenal_PE]

JD, I spent a similar time studying for the exam as you. It was definitely a time management issue for me. I overwhelmed myself and well the results are the results (this is how the FE was for me the very first time I took it). I did find that this past exam had a few of the problems from the AM portion of the NCEES sample exam. Looking back through it, I counted 4 or 5. Slightly different variations, but the methodology was identical. Since obtaining my results, I haven't wasted any time getting more problems. I have obtained Metcalf and Eddy (Wastewater Book), Goswani's Sample Exam, NCEES Construction and Geotech (this is to further reinforce and see different problems), 2004/2007 NCEES Sample Exams (same reason as the other two exams) and several other sample exams that I have found on the internet.

Following some of NJMike's recommendations, I have taken the NCEES exam syllabus for water resources (AM and PM Sections) and went through my CERM and made myself a table of contents that tells me what chapter every one of those topics areas are located. With that said, if you recall from my very first post in this thread, I stated that I read the CERM 95% cover to cover. After making this table of contents, I found that maybe a 1/4 of the book was necessary. I plan on just working problem after problem as I did prior to taking and passing the FE the second time. I'll still run the clock until the end, but I will certainly know even better where everything is in the CERM and my other references.

My plan as of right now (this is subject to change between now and the end of this week when I begin studying again) is to work a sample exam and then jump into the Water and Environmental sample problems from the CERM's companion. This will then be followed by working more sample exams encompassing both the AM and PM portions of the exam. My initial scan of the NCEES construction PM portion of the sample exam also revealed a number of very similar problems found on the AM portion of the October exam. The Geotech exam is a bit more of a toss up, as a majority of the afternoon questions are as you would expect, designated for the PM portion. There are however a number of problems that could be found in the AM as they literally take 1-2 minutes to solve.

 

[psucivil23]

Steal...where did you find the 2004/2007 NCEES exams?

Also, what is Godwin's exam? Thanks

 

[Stealtharsenal_PE]

blg,

2007 - http://www.amazon.com/PE-Civil-Sample-Questions-Solutions/dp/1932613315/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1386969606&sr=8-11&keywords=ncees+PE+civil+books

2004 - http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Practice-Engineering-Questions-Solutions/dp/1932613102/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1386969555&sr=8-21&keywords=ncees+PE+civil+books

Goswami - http://www.amazon.com/Civil-Engineering-PE-Practice-Exams/dp/0071777113/ref=pd_sim_b_4

 

[psucivil23]

Thank you sir! (Meant Goswami and auto correct got me)...I wonder how different 04, 07 and 11 versions of the NCEES practice exam are.

 

[rc10gt]

Stealth, here is my 2-cents.

Pare down your morning books to 1 maybe 2 and add another 2-3 for your depth. That's it. Use just these books for every practice problem and practice test. Take timed tests. I used a free app called iExam Pacer Lite. You can set it up for any number of questions and minutes per question. It really made a difference for me when I took practice tests, knowing that I was on the clock. Use your practice tests as a gauge on how well your study schedule is working and where you need to spend more focus. All of your practice tests do not have to be full-blown 40 question exams. You could just do 7 question quizzes for 42 minutes max, 5 correct would be 71%. For practice problems and tests, I did not focus on just one "company", for example only using NCEES practice problems because they administer the exam. I used questions and problems from everywhere I could find them for free, borrow or buy. Doing it this way I was able to see the same question asked several different ways by several different authors. With the exception of code specific questions, there is nothing wrong with using problems/questions that are a few or several years old (within reason), the math and engineering is still the same and you can save some money. I did not make this up this strategy completely on my own, I read what many people said worked for them and molded it into what successfully worked for me.

Good luck.

 

[Stealtharsenal_PE]

Joel,,

Thanks for the response. You described essentially my plan. Its basically what I have done in the past (still cannot for the life of me figure out why I decided to do something different). I have several different sample exams from all different sources. I think there was a combination of time management for me as I stated and not knowing everything I should. That issue can be remedied quite easily as I do remember quite a few of the questions from the October exam and I have found a majority of the material I was looking for to solve those problems. Seeing the exam for the first time gives me a better understanding of what I need to do, but at the same time now I know and I will be less jittery and anxious. As far as morning books go, I only used one during this past exam (primarily the CERM). I don't think I knew my way around it as well as I thought, but then again, I didn't have my own table of contents at the time telling me where everything was. Now I do, this should easily cut down a significant amount of time. I will continue doing timed tests, but honestly, when I do them at home, I am not really stressed out, so I don't run into the same time management issues as I did on the exam. I do appreciate everyone's input and I will continue to follow suggestions.

Thanks again.

 

[peguy]

No motivation to start over for April exam. Help.

 

[Stealtharsenal_PE]

PEguy,

Not quite sure what to say. I do however understand where you are coming from in terms of not wanting to start studying again. Start over though? Even though I didn't pass, I don't see it as starting over as much as it is refining what I did and did not know on the exam. The diagnostic is quite helpful in telling you where you were strong and where you weren't. For me, it's all about passing. I don't like failing at anything I do, this just tells me I need to work harder and in the end you have the satisfaction of passing the exam and calling yourself a Professional Engineer. The perks of being a PE aren't a half bad thing to desire as well.

 

[dana]

peguy:

Take some time for yourself and your family and start again opening the notes, at the beginning it will be a little frustrating, believe me I was there twice but keep going and change something in your study habits, the key is study smart this time, for the morning I was more focus in the CERM this last time, for the afternoon do a lot of tests, you already know everything, the only thing you need now is practice, organize very well your notes and start practicing doing a lot of tests, I have some of them if you need them, my email address is [email protected].

Good luck this time, never give up! I am a very good example, you will get this soon, believe in yourself.

 

[rc10gt]

It's not a start-over, just a re-focus. Don't jump right in and start grinding out problems, take a short break and hit it hard after the start of the new year. Always, keep your eye on the prize. I had to tell myself these same things after I received my seismic "fail letter" last Friday. It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, you are defined by how many times you keep getting back up.

 

[peguy]

Thank you guys for your advice.