Full Length Test

[lion]

Hello All,

I was thinking on buying practice tests. Which one is better? Any suggestions?

Environmental Engineering Practice PE Exams (ENPX3), 3rd Edition

R. Wane Schneiter, PhD, PE, DEE , 2004, 132 pp., paperback

This has 3 practice tests.

$54.95

OR

NCEES PE Environmental Sample Questions and Solutions Book

This has 1 test.

$39.95

Thank you all.

 

[Guest]

While I realize that Dr. Wane Schneiter, PE, DEE has been retained by 'the other board' for developing the publications under the Environmental prep materials, I have viewed his material with a grain of salt. In a number of cases, his examples confuse or misrepresent the underlying points and his explanations leave the casual reader to a stage of befuddlement that typically leads to anxiety because you would be lead to believe this is the 'simple' answer.

While I am not saying to avoid those examples - I am saying do NOT rely on the accuracy of the solutions or explanations if you feel there is a conflict.

:2cents:

JR

 

[Capt Worley PE]

NCEES writes the tests, so I think I'd go with them.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I used both. I used Schneiter's book to build up my speed and repetition on a wide variety of problems. I didn't treat them as full length timed exams.

I took the NCEES sample exam as a full blown, as close to exam conditions as possible, 8 hour test a couple weeks before the exam.

I found the NCEES book to be much harder and not as representative of the actual exam than Schneiter's.

While I realize that Dr. Wane Schneiter, PE, DEE has been retained by 'the other board' for developing the publications under the Environmental prep materials, I have viewed his material with a grain of salt. In a number of cases, his examples confuse or misrepresent the underlying points and his explanations leave the casual reader to a stage of befuddlement that typically leads to anxiety because you would be lead to believe this is the 'simple' answer.

I noticed that too. There were a number of questions in there with unstated assumptions and skips stepped (not shown on paper) in the calcs. Overall I liked the book though.

 

[Dleg]

I'm a bit opposite of what VTEnviro says. I found the NCEES test to be very similar to the real thing, but I did not take it under test conditions.

I took the first of the Schneiter exams in a fully realistic, timed environment. I don't think it represented the overall content of the real exam very well (too many multiple-part questions, not enough breadth), but it did represent the overall difficulty and time exceptionally well. My finish times for monring and afternoon were almost identical to the real thing.

Either one, I think, would do for your purposes. But if you were only to buy one, I would highly recommend the NCEES exam, first.

 

[lion]

Thank you all who replied. This is all very useful information. Thanks again.

 

[lion]

Thank you all who replied. This is all very useful information. Thanks again.

Does anyone have the Environmental Engineering Practice PE Exams by Wane Schneiter?

 

[Dleg]

I do, but it's written all over and I'm saving it for the day when I have another environmental engineer I can abuse. Oops, I mean, mentor!

 

[lion]

Not a problem. I don't even think I will have time to get to that. I will only do the NCEES test.

 

[APepperToo]

Not a problem. I don't even think I will have time to get to that. I will only do the NCEES test.

Taking the Enviro PE for the first time in April. Lion - I'm curious how much time do you figure you've put in - and what has been your strategy? I've been at it for a few months now, trying to split my time between problems, reviewing subject matter, refamiliarizing myself with my references, and reviewing what appear to be some important regs.

For those who have been around, what's the best strategy for the last month? Just drilling? I havent done a timed exam yet, is it very important to do this?

 

[Dleg]

I found the times exam to be very helplful. I think I took it early in the final month. After that, I just worked through more problems (the other two sample exams in the Schneiter book), read stuff I felt weak on, and read and organized (tabbed) my regulations. The day before the test I breezed through the NCEES practice exam again, which took maybe 3-4 hours, since by then I already knew how to approach each of the problems.

 

[lion]

Taking the Enviro PE for the first time in April. Lion - I'm curious how much time do you figure you've put in - and what has been your strategy? I've been at it for a few months now, trying to split my time between problems, reviewing subject matter, refamiliarizing myself with my references, and reviewing what appear to be some important regs.
For those who have been around, what's the best strategy for the last month? Just drilling? I havent done a timed exam yet, is it very important to do this?

I haven't studied much. But I will at least try and skim through EERM most topics. I think I will leave out thermodynamics, HVAC etc. I'm in the water field so won't worry much about water and wastewater. I will mostly focus on solids, air quality and other misc topics in Section 7. Have you covered all topics?

 

[APepperToo]

I haven't studied much. But I will at least try and skim through EERM most topics. I think I will leave out thermodynamics, HVAC etc. I'm in the water field so won't worry much about water and wastewater. I will mostly focus on solids, air quality and other misc topics in Section 7. Have you covered all topics?

I work in hazardous waste remediation, but I've spent the last 3 years managing an air team that has been working on a haz waste site, thats given me an education in air. I've tried to cover most of the topics - and have spent quite a bit of time on water, its probably my weakest of the big three. I've also not spent much time on thermo & HVAC - nor do I plan to.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

For those who have been around, what's the best strategy for the last month? Just drilling? I havent done a timed exam yet, is it very important to do this?

I studied overall for 4.5 months. For the first three months, I studied the technical material in depth. I would look at the practice problems in 101 Solved Envl, see what they were asking, the dive into my old texts and refernces and teach myself that topic in and out. I didn't use those problems for speed or repetition as much as guide to the scope and difficulty of the topics. During this time I developed a very comprehensive set of condensed personal notes for each topic - xeroxed tables and charts, printouts, handwritten summary notes, etc. I personally learn well when I write something down as opposed to just reading it.

The remaining 1.5 months was devoted to doing as many problems as I could. When I found a weak point, I went back to my references. I took a full length exam 2 weeks before the test and went into cool down mode after that. I did light review, but also took care of the 'soft' test prep then - what am I bringing my references in, reserve a motel room in the town, etc.

As for a timed exam, I think you need to fit at least one into your prep. Focusing that hard on something for 8 hours is not natural or easy. You need to work yourself up to it. It's also helpful to simulate the exam conditions so on test day it doesn't feel so different.