Failed two times...what can I do to pass the FE Mechanical Exam next time?

[Gusisa]

Hi guys!  This is my first post on EngineerBoards.com, and I'm here to take advice on what I can do to improve my chances of passing the next FE Exam.  I took it two times:  first time in September (a month after graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering) and the second time in November.  I happened to fail both times.  For the first time, I studied for only 1 month or so.  I only used the FE Mechanical Review Manual (2014) by Michael R. Lindeburg for the first attempt, and I pretty much went over every section in it.  I also did not do any practice exam.  Then I failed, so for the second time, I decided to use the same review manual and along with that, I took an online Fundamentals of Engineering Exam review course on Coursera.  I used the FE Mechancial Review Manual along with the online course.  I also took a practice FE exam about 3-4 days before the exam.  I took the exam, and I failed again.  I looked over my diagnostic reports, and I noticed that I did slighlty better on my second attempt.  I was at or above average for three sections on my second attempt while on my first exam I was above average for only one section.  On both exams though, the last section (Mechanical Design and Analysis) was a complete disaster for me as I couldn't get any of the questions right.  I probably spent too much time trying to solve the other questions, and then couldn't get any time to properly solve the mechanical design and analysis problems.  Could this be the reason I failed?  I'll put my diagnostic reports here so that you guys can get an idea of how I did on both times.

What sections shoud I focus on?  What kind of resources did you use to pass the FE Exam?  Please let me know, and thanks in advance!

 

[Sheshtawy]

- Focus on topics from 7 to 13. They represent 60% of the exam questions and you seem to be doing relatively well in them. If you could get 80% of these questions right (which with a bit more practice you can!) you'd already have around 50% in the bag.
- I'm not sure about Mechanical Design and Analysis. Did you really have zero time to even guess one single answer correctly in both exams, or is it just your weakest subject? I'll let you be the judge of that. Focus on your strengths!
- Practice exams, practice exams, practice exams! I guess you already used the NCEES one, buy the PPI one (it's online) as well and try to do the exams with the same constraints as the real one. T[SIZE=11pt]ake them more than once - if you can - until you feel confident. [/SIZE]
- You can get Lindeburg's Practice Problems book as well. It's much more difficult than the real exam but it will give you a lot of extra practice.
- Get extremely familiar with the NCEES reference manual. Have it open on your computer whenever you're studying and always use it when you're solving problems. 
 

 

[Dean Agnostic]

Gusisa,

Statistically, you did slightly better on your 2nd attempt, and that's a great progress. On your 2nd Attempt, you probably solved the same type of practice problems from your 1st Attempt plus (additional 4.5% more practice problems from the 1st Attempt). With respect to Mechanical Design and Analysis, we would like to see a nonzero scale on your performance on your next attempt, and statistically, you should get 2 to 3 problems correct if you stick to just one letter out of the 9 problems. Perhaps, the cutoff score to pass is  77 and above correct number of items. Perhaps, you needed an extra (24 and/or above) correct number of items on your 2nd attempt to pass. 

On your next attempt, I suggest the following:

1. Do more practice problems (not the same problems you solved from your 1st and 2nd Attempt)
   
2. Do the same type of practice problems you solved from your 1st and 2nd Attempt 
   
3. Repeat (1.) 
   
4. Repeat (1.)
   
5. Repeat (1.) and (2.)
   
6. Practice all the problems you solved one more time. 
   
7. Review all the problems you have solved.
   
8. Finally, I suggest you follow the test taking strategy of Fire_PE in this forum. His strategic approach is similar to mine and this will increase your chances of passing. 
   

In addition, since NCEES introduced alternative type questions, Repeat (6.) and (7.) again.

Hope this helps. 

Sincerely,

Dean Agnostic (supporting member)

P.S.: Subscribe as a supporting member  . Good Luck!

 

[Gusisa]

Sheshtawy and Dean Agnostic, sorry for posting really late but thank you very much for your responses!  I will make sure to practice different problems!  

 

[COMechanical]

Hey man, I know how you feel.

The first time I took the FE was in school and I failed because I had not been in the zone.

The zone is where you are ready for something because you have over-prepared to the point where it is easy.

Have you ever ran a race, or biked or done any sports stuff? Currently you are that out of breath kid who knows you did not prepare enough deep down and now are facing the consequences.

That was me the first time,

After that, I took an actual University course and studied for an entire year for the test and I went in there and just destroyed it like it was easy. I have never felt more confident on a test in my life (and I barely passed college, trust me).

So you need to look deep inside yourself and prepare better in the way you know you need to. This probably means studying on the weekends more, exercising more, smoking less (if you do). The reason people cannot pass a test is not because they are stupid - it is because their lifestyle is not ready to be thrown into that kind of hardcore academic situation.

You got through engineering school, act like it!

that being said - You should take a class or review the one you took. The mechanical design section looks like you literally just gave up and guessed on all 9 and missed them. I did the same ****, but I still passed! That section is ridiculous and I wouldn't spend time on weaknesses for this test.

Focus on the majority sections like that guy up above mentioned. Do multiple 6-hour tests beforehand and time/evaluate what went wrong. If you take a test 4 times, you can pass it.

The month before the test, don't drink a lot or smoke a lot and try to exercise a lot. You need to be alert and not tired. Drink just the amount of coffee you always do.

Anything else ?

-E 

 

[Gusisa]

I don't drink or smoke actually, and I try to excercise 5 to 6 days a week.  My test is next month, and I started to use the Practice Problems book by Lindeburg.  I've been using the FE Mechanical Review Manual for all the time I'm studying for the FE Exam.  This time I've also been watching the FE Review Playlist by Joseph de la Fuente on Youtube (link in this post).   I thought that this playlist might be helpful since it provides info for pretty much all of the sections on the FE Exam (although these videos are kinda old).  What do you guys think about it?  Seems like I should probably focus on Thermodynamics since that's a large part of the FE exam iirc.  What other advice would you suggest?

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH3WkhKo7u5xy1dZnDaXyyw/playlists

 

[Gusisa]

I watched the Material science video and realized that it talked about things like Miller indices and other crystallography concepts, then I tried searching in my handbook and I couldn't find anything related to them.  Are they not included in the FE Exam now?

 

[squarepegs]

Here's many solved problems, with more added weekly-ish: https://www.sqrpgz.com/c/credentialing-FE

 

[Gusisa]

Just got my results back from my third attempt...I PASSED!!!  :laugh:

Just want to say thanks for all the advice you gave to me, I greatly appreciate it!

 

[Dean Agnostic]

@Gusisa Wohoo! Congrats! 

 

[Rick P]

I am planing to take FE mechanical exam with in next 2-3 months looking for some advise and preparation material.

All your help is deeply appreciated.  I have finished my engineering 8 yr back so its tough to recall old theories but need your guys support to start preparation.

Thanks

RP

 

[squarepegs]

Do as many problems as you possibly can.  Visit https://www.sqrpgz.com/c/credentialing-FE and good luck!!

 

[noor.k.essa]

I took the fe exam other discipline twice and I failed, any advices for course review or additional resources .. I use the review manual by Lindeburg and practice problem from NCEES .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[haidy]

Yes, me too. i went to Fe mechanical exam for two times and failed.

i studied before from  the FE review manual and Practice problems for Lindeburg along with the fe exam of NCEES.

Furthermore, this  kupdf.com_fe-cbt-mechanical-problems-solutions, someone advise me with it.

Really need an advice.

i can't open also the above links also!!.

 

[Abraham5G PE]

Change to FE "Other Disciplines" I also failed the FE Mechanical twice and passed the FE general exam on my first try. It was way easier.

 

[justin-hawaii]

Yes, me too. i went to Fe mechanical exam for two times and failed.

i studied before from  the FE review manual and Practice problems for Lindeburg along with the fe exam of NCEES.

Furthermore, this  kupdf.com_fe-cbt-mechanical-problems-solutions, someone advise me with it.

Really need an advice.

i can't open also the above links also!!.

View attachment 12152

View attachment 12153

I am not sure if you still needed help but here is a discount code to more practice problems and a guide on the key concepts and skills for each of the topics.  It seems like something may be missing in your understanding of Material Properties & Processing, Mechanics, E&M and Computational Tools, Engineering Economics and Ethics. 

Website:  http://engproguides.com/fe-mechanical-exam-guide.html

10% Discount code:  EBMECHFE

 

[Seattlite]

So I just got my diagnostics. FE Civil, how do I figure out how many right answers I got? This is my diagnostic, calculated my score = 57.24...Trying to figure out how far I am from passing... 

 

[csb]

So I just got my diagnostics. FE Civil, how do I figure out how many right answers I got? This is my diagnostic, calculated my score = 57.24...Trying to figure out how far I am from passing... 

View attachment 12497

Don't aim for "passing." Hit the sections you didn't do well on (Structural Design, Materials, etc.) and then refresh the ones you nailed (math, computational tools). 

 

[cvanwy02]

My advice is concentrate on Perfecting the NCEES practice exam and nothing else!  The Lindeburg type books are nice but are overkill and destroy your confidence.

When I studied for the FE I practiced on a computer with the NCEES Reference Manual on the screen so I could mimic the test format.  I got to where I knew the FE Reference Manual very well!

I also started every morning with an FE Question of The Day: http://fe.eng.usf.edu/

Good luck in your studies!  

 

[Rodriguez Deng]

Change to FE "Other Disciplines" I also failed the FE Mechanical twice and passed the FE general exam on my first try. It was way easier.

Do you mean the Mechanical Subjects (Thermodynamics,  Statics, Dynamics, Fluids) on the FE Other or General Exam are easier.?