How do you feel if a person tells you she spent only one night to prepare and pass the exam?

[Mr. Zane]

I am not posting this for no reason. One person told me she passed the exam with only 1-night preparation before the exam.

Well, does she have time to tab the CERM and obtain all manuals? Really don't know what is in her mind.

 

[engineeringforfun]

She's either an amazing test taker, a genius, or she's lying (the most likely one). I feel like stuff like this you need to take with a grain of salt. Passing a test/having a PE doesn't make someone a good engineer. If it's me I say congratulations and move on, knowing that said person is just seeking validation/attention.

 

[Mr. Zane]

She's either an amazing test taker, a genius, or she's lying (the most likely one). I feel like stuff like this you need to take with a grain of salt. Passing a test/having a PE doesn't make someone a good engineer. If it's me I say congratulations and move on, knowing that said person is just seeking validation/attention.

BTW, I congratulated her... arty-smiley-048:

 

[Maine PE PLS]

Some people are simply incredible test takers.  I knew people in college that spent no time studying, woke up 10 minutes before an exam, stumbled into class, and aced exams nearly every time. 

I, on the other hand, would study for hours, stress, lose sleep, and barely pass many classes.  I am a self-proclaimed awful test taker.

FYI - she could have easily spent 1 night by taking a practice exam, if she inherited reference material that had already been tabbed out. 

 

[RBHeadge PE]

 

[JB_TXENG]

Yeah... I don't believe this person. They probably didn't study too much but they're definitely exaggerating 

 

[txjennah PE]

I mean...for someone who is on exam attempt #3, I'm not going to say those stories fill me with joy. But hey, good for them that they passed and that they got this out of the way.  Everyone takes a ~different journey~ on the road to certification.

 

[leggo PE]

These sorts of people drive me nuts, as it took me three tries and many hundreds of hours put in before I got my pass.

I think they're probably not lying, but are either incredibly smart and a good test taker, or a good test taker and very lucky.

Ultimately, when I encounter them, I smile and congratulate them. It really doesn't make you a better engineer to have passed the PE exam with less studying vs. more studying, as mentioned above. And it certainly doesn't inherently make them a better engineer than you!

 

[RBHeadge PE]

Everyone who passes gets the same two letters after their name...

 

[matt267 PE]

I am not posting this for no reason. One person told me she passed the exam with only 1-night preparation before the exam.

Well, does she have time to tab the CERM and obtain all manuals? Really don't know what is in her mind.

I don't let it bother me. Sounds like she's trying to make herself feel good. Good for her. 

I worked my a$$ off studying and passed. It makes me feel good to see my hard work pay off. 

 

[new_at_this]

Did she take the exam right out of college/within 2-3 years of graduation. Also how's her academic grade? Were those outstanding/straight A's?

If so, I want to believe her. If not, I would say she was downplaying her effort. I know multiple people who passed the exam with 30-40 hrs of preparation. 

 

[wvengineer]

I am not posting this for no reason. One person told me she passed the exam with only 1-night preparation before the exam.

Well, does she have time to tab the CERM and obtain all manuals? Really don't know what is in her mind.

You should have looked at her with a straight face and said "You wasted a whole night !?!". 

 

[CivilGuy00]

I also know a couple amazing test takers. I, just like @Maine PE PLS am NOT one of those people. It doesn't seem fair, especially when you know the ethics and morals of these people and they still succeed with minimal effort. Oh well, it rains on the just and unjust. 

 

[Vel2018]

BTW, I congratulated her... arty-smiley-048:

Thats just EGO maniac thing...If you believed her she fooled you...so she can feed her ego....I know a lot of people like that...many even said they took it once only but later on I found out they did it 3 times...its not like there's something wrong taking it morethan once, but she lied because she wanted to get praised because she thought she's a genius...even scientist like Einstein do a lot of research and testing before to get a conclusion...lol...I've seen a lot of this already so take my words for it...

The best response is just say "OK" see what her reaction is....and youll see what I am talking about...

 

[txjennah PE]

Did she take the exam right out of college/within 2-3 years of graduation. Also how's her academic grade? Were those outstanding/straight A's?

If so, I want to believe her. If not, I would say she was downplaying her effort. I know multiple people who passed the exam with 30-40 hrs of preparation. 

Yeah, I have a good friend who passed it first attempt...didn't do a review course, didn't start studying until about a month or two before, if even that.  But he works pretty closely in the field he took his exam in, was in grad school recently, and also just has a solid sense of the concepts on the exam.  I wasn't surprised to hear he passed on the first try.

 

[Jbone27 PE]

I'd probably just slap her books out of her hands and call her a nerd. At that point she has really left you with no other option. 

 

[lsurouge]

she probably took a course and studied just the night before the exam, which was pretty much what i did. 

 

[sayed]

I am not posting this for no reason. One person told me she passed the exam with only 1-night preparation before the exam.

Well, does she have time to tab the CERM and obtain all manuals? Really don't know what is in her mind.

risk taker

doubt it takes a genius to do this. but how many people wanna risk failure by doing that?

 

[DoctorWho-PE]

I am not posting this for no reason. One person told me she passed the exam with only 1-night preparation before the exam.

Well, does she have time to tab the CERM and obtain all manuals? Really don't know what is in her mind.

That is pretty much what I did for the FE.  Oh, wait.  I failed that the first time.

 

[whatever]

Unlikely, but possible.  Some people are really good at retaining information, and can be really good test takers.  Although bragging can be in poor taste.

I spent about 1 month studying (about 100 hrs total) and used testmasters class to pass the mechanical MDM exam on 1st attempt.  I don't think that's a ridiculous amount of study time, but the course and correct resources made the difference.  I was a C student in college but always considered myself "born to be an engineer" - aka: using engineering in other parts of my life besides at work.