Has anyone taken the CBT version of the FE?

[neworleans]

CTRL + F works for flagging the questions, in order to search a term in the reference book, you need to type it in the search box and it will list all the related terms on bottom of the search box, by clicking on it, it will take you to the page.

Yes, the bookmarks on the reference is same as that is available online.

 

[Kamba]

neworleans,

can u give some examples for the civil exam ?
have u tried the practice exam at NCEES website? is it similar to the real one?

 

[knight1fox3]

neworleans,

can u give some examples for the civil exam ?

I do not recommend that as it would be in violation of the NCEES disclosure agreement that is signed prior to taking the exam.

 

[Kamba]

neworleans,

can u give some examples for the civil exam ?

I do not recommend that as it would be in violation of the NCEES disclosure agreement that is signed prior to taking the exam.

I think you are correct about the first part.

but below question is ok; nothing to disclose.

"have u tried the practice exam at NCEES website? is it similar to the real one?"

 

[Mike in Gastonia]

I take the test in less than two weeks and consistently have been getting 60% on practice exams...eek. Anyone have any idea of % is needed to pass on the new exam?

I think the question about ctrl F is can you search the reference manual for specific terms so you can quickly jump to the correct page, not about flagging questions within the exam. Also, is there a list of bookmarks in the reference manual so you can easily jump to a particular section, such as civil, ethics, safety, etc?

Here's a video on ncees youtube page that describes how to search the reference book.

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvob3-PUAPc&list=PLiZ0hjHNi9jzR8RW69ndkjIgH8bzj0ew-&feature=c4-overview-vl

 

[neworleans]

Yes I tried the NCEES practice exam, it is pretty decent, I can't give you example problems sorry.

My advice to you is just make yourself familiar with the reference book, for example, if you are asked to find the capacity of a concrete beam you will need to know where to find it, I am sure you can find it somehow even if you are not familiar with it but will spend more time which is against you. This exam is all about working problems quick and in order to do that you need to be familiar with the book. So the bottom line, practice as many problems as possible to get you a speed, the downside of taking the Civil part is there is not enough good study guides out there, the ones I've given above are ok but not enough.

 

[UKentuckyEngineer]

neworleans,

I know someone above had mentioned that the subjects are grouped together but you are not specifically informed at the beginning of the test like in the previous version. My question is that with these subjects grouped together, will you be able to differentiate where the more complex problems (2pt) are as opposed to the former (1 pt) problems? Also, after how much time has passed were you allowed to take your break. I'm sure I may ask additional information prior taking the exam myself during the last week of February. Thanks for any insight and I hope you passed the exam, taking that next step towards your P.E.

 

[neworleans]

Thank you for your good wishes.

The more complex problems are in the second section or I would say questions from 51 to 110 (The Civil Part).

They divide the exam in two sections, this was the 50th question for me, it could be different in the other disciplines more or less. The break is not up to time, you could spend 5 hours for the first 50 questions and the system will give you the break option after and you will only have 20 minutes left for the rest of the problems.

Ask any questions, I will try to answer,

 

[chibibenz]

After the break, are you allowed to return to the first 50 questions if you want to review/double check? Or are you locked out of them once you begin the second section?

 

[Kamba]

After the break, are you allowed to return to the first 50 questions if you want to review/double check? Or are you locked out of them once you begin the second section?

As per NCEES examinee guide:

"After approximately 55 questions, you will be prompted to review those questions and then submit them. You will no longer have access to those questions after you have submitted them."

 

[leo]

I took the FE exam (other disciplines) last week monday and receive and Passing score today, I would say the exam was fear, however i studied for about 4 months so maybe i was just prepared, I think its better than the old version just because its less questions and u dont feel mentally drain by the evening section.

 

[Jennalelv]

I took the FE exam (other disciplines) last week monday and receive and Passing score today, I would say the exam was fear, however i studied for about 4 months so maybe i was just prepared, I think its better than the old version just because its less questions and u dont feel mentally drain by the evening section.

Congrats on passing Leo. If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to take the Other Disciplines rather than Electrical?

 

[leo]

I took the FE exam (other disciplines) last week monday and receive and Passing score today, I would say the exam was fear, however i studied for about 4 months so maybe i was just prepared, I think its better than the old version just because its less questions and u dont feel mentally drain by the evening section.

Congrats on passing Leo. If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to take the Other Disciplines rather than Electrical?

In my opinion i think the questions get way too indept when u take the discipline specific exam other disciplines are more general, medium difficulty, also all my study materials was for the other discipline exam

 

[knight1fox3]

In my opinion i think the questions get way too indept when u take the discipline specific exam other disciplines are more general, medium difficulty, also all my study materials was for the other discipline exam

I would agree with this as it was also the case with the old exams. The general discipline was more robust than the discipline specific. Meaning you had a better chance at having seen material on the general discipline as opposed to the discipline specific.

For instance, I had very few courses with power or control systems because my degree focused on computers and communications. Therefore, some of the material listed on the Electrical FE exam I would have had no exposure to. Which was not the case with the general or "other" discipline.

 

[pxt123]

I just learned I passed

I took the FE Civil exam last week on Monday. This was my first time taking the exam, but I did prepare well (about 3.5 months), as I've been out of school for about 5.5 years now and I have an international degree which is not ABET accredited, so I had not taken a few of the courses on the specifications.

As neworleans said, you have to distribute your time well between the two sections. My first section also had 50 questions with 60 questions on the second section, although this might change, but you will be told before the exam starts. I knew this from some research I had done, so I took about 1 hour and 55 minutes on the first section, leaving me with 3 hours and 25 minutes for the second.

It's something that's said over and over again, but I'll say one more time: learn how to use your calculator and know the reference handbook from top to bottom, this will save you lots of time on the exam, specially on the math and probability sections.

These were my study resources:

-FERM3: I studied only the topics that appear on the new Civil specifications (about half of the book)

-Civil Discipline Specific Review Manual (by Lindeburg): There are a few problems that you shouldn't waste your time doing, as they have taken these out of the new reference handbook (ex. T-Beams in the Structural Design section)

-Civil Engineering Preparation Workbook (by Mo Iqbal): Lots of practice problems, but lots of mistakes too. Overall it was very helpful if you know how to spot the mistakes.

-Practice exam for the General + Civil FE exam (by Indranil Goswami): Longer and harder than the actual test, but helpful.

None of these books include review material for the Civil Topics, only practice problems. So I had to research for the theory on my own through google, where I was able to find university lectures for the topics I didn't understand well. But seems like Lindeburg will be releasing a new review book with all the Civil topics included: http://www.amazon.com/Civil-Review-Manual-Preparation-Fundamentals/dp/1591264391/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1392238074&sr=8-4&keywords=fe+civil+exam .... Wish this had been available when I started studying.

Allow some time (2 or 3 weeks) before the test to do practice exams. It was really helpful for time management, which is one of the keys to passing the exam. I bought a 30 day access to Civil Quiz Bank at feprep.com. The questions are a lot harder, the most I was able to score was 73% once, so don't worry too much about it. And I also bought the practice exam from NCEES, which is very similar to the actual exam in terms of difficulty, maybe a little easier.

Well, the above answers some questions I had while I was studying and were my keys to passing, hope it helps.

 

[chiwen1z]

were there many concept/theory questions ? are the ethics questions straight forward ? any questions on concrete mix design or construction stuff, like cpm charts?

 

[gpoli111]

As for the FE in general, not particularly the CBT, I thought the other disciplines was much harder than the CE I had taken before. The other disciplines seemed like the collection of the most difficult questions of the morning session. Versus the CE section which had a broader spectrum of normal difficulty questions IMO.

 

[CaptainKip]

Be careful when signing up for the Other Disciplines version of the FE. Some states (like mine) don't allow you the freedom to choose Other Disciplines. That is, if your degree was in electrical, then you must take the electrical discipline version of the FE, or your exam score will be rejected. Just saying to be careful.

 

[leo]

What state is that I never hear of that

 

[Surf and Snow]

First post, but I've been lurking for a bit. Mainly trying to gleam bits of advice for the FE exam. I'll be taking it tomorrow, 13 hours from now!

I'll give all of you looking for feedback on it any advice I can. This is my first attempt, so I can't offer comparison with the old paper exam. I've only been studying for the FE exam for about 4 weeks now, but not much due to my school work load, and my job.

Background: In school currently - graduating this coming June w/ a BSEE specializing in power. I also work in the power industry.

Well, I took it today. Pretty sure I nailed it. kept a tally of the # I knew I had right, as well as the ones I was pretty sure of and those that I had no idea and just guessed. Based on that I should be in the 75-80% correct range, so I should easily be good to go. But, I'll know for sure in 7-10 business days…

I received my results today. As I expected, I passed. Woohoo! Glad to have that weight off my shoulders!

FYI: Ive been keeping track and have determined that all those taking the new CBT based FE exam receive their results on Wednesdays at 10:00 am EST, 7:00am PST. They do the tests in one week batches ending on Sundays, and give the results the following Wed. That is, if you test on a Sat, you will receive your results 4 days later on Wed, if you test on a monday, you will receive your results a 9 days later on Weds the following week. Just letting you all know so you you aren't going crazy watching your email inboxes. Anyway, glad I don't have to study anymore!

http://s999.photobucket.com/user/surfandsnow71113/media/75767A23-967A-4377-8CAB-5514999D5DFA_zpsf2rroips.png.html