allanford86
Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2015
- Messages
- 10
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First off...I'd like to thank Engineerboards.com for helping me pass the exam. I visited this site on a regular basis during the most miserable four months of my life. Found out I passed the exam a few weeks ago and now I'd like to share my study habits with everyone.
First off....I'd like to say this exam cost me a fortune. I work on a remote military base in Japan and just getting to Tokyo plus hotel room to take the exam was close to $700 dollars alone.
I'm sure you've heard it before but skip the first 13 chapters. I started to review from chapter one and probably wasted 3 weeks until I stumbled onto this web site. You'll learn conversions as you go through all the other chapters. That's the only real math that was on the exam.
With some advice from people on this board, I bought all three SMS books and the NCEES practice exam. I only had time to do the AM problems for the TF & M&M Exams, but I think they really helped me understand the type of problems that would be on the exam. I did all the HVAC AM & PM problems. I know the books are supposed to teach you how to solve the problems in 6 minutes, but there was no way I was going to do that. I just went at my own pace and learned how to solve the problems.
I signed up for the School of PE Mechanical Prep Course. I think this was the sole reason for me passing my exam. I only paid for the OnDemand course since I live in a completely different time zone and didn't want to waste my nights listening to lectures. Instead, I did it on my own time which requires some serious will power. The teachers are very knowledgeable and they really focus on what you need to know for the exam and what will most likely not be on the exam. Also, the calculator prep was a life saver.
Two weeks before the exam, I tool the NCEES Practice Exam and scored a 50...This was a complete buzzkill and I almost fell into depression. The Practice Exam is a great tool for time management and to get an idea of what type of problems will be on the exam but don't worry if you scored low. It will also help you understand how to catch the distractions. When it came time for the exam, I remembered the mistakes I made during the practice exam and made sure not to make them. Also, I think about 3 questions were identical to the exam. I just found the problem, plugged in the new numbers and that's it.
For anyone taking the HVAC exam, it's absolutely crucial that you use the 13th Edition of the MERM vs. the 12th. All the major changes were made to the HVAC chapters. The test is not as easy as it apparently used to be. Also, the day before the exam, I printed out the important sections of the ASHRAE Fundamentals (Chillers, Boilers, Compressors, Pumps,...etc) and about 3-4 questions were directly from there.
So that's about it...I'm also available through messenger or at allanford86 at gmail dot com to offer advice.
I'm selling the SMS's and the Practice Exam in the classifieds page (link below) or you can contact me directly if you're interested.
http://engineerboards.com/index.php?app=classifieds&module=core&do=view_item&item_id=336
Also, for anyone not taking the HVAC course of if you just want some additional study material, I have the 12th edition MERM, companion practice problems, and a PPI sample exam (photo below) that I'd like to get rid of for $70-shipping included. The books have some highlights and notes that I took down, but it's great material for some additional
problems.
Hope this helps....Good luck to anyone taking the exam this Fall.
First off....I'd like to say this exam cost me a fortune. I work on a remote military base in Japan and just getting to Tokyo plus hotel room to take the exam was close to $700 dollars alone.
I'm sure you've heard it before but skip the first 13 chapters. I started to review from chapter one and probably wasted 3 weeks until I stumbled onto this web site. You'll learn conversions as you go through all the other chapters. That's the only real math that was on the exam.
With some advice from people on this board, I bought all three SMS books and the NCEES practice exam. I only had time to do the AM problems for the TF & M&M Exams, but I think they really helped me understand the type of problems that would be on the exam. I did all the HVAC AM & PM problems. I know the books are supposed to teach you how to solve the problems in 6 minutes, but there was no way I was going to do that. I just went at my own pace and learned how to solve the problems.
I signed up for the School of PE Mechanical Prep Course. I think this was the sole reason for me passing my exam. I only paid for the OnDemand course since I live in a completely different time zone and didn't want to waste my nights listening to lectures. Instead, I did it on my own time which requires some serious will power. The teachers are very knowledgeable and they really focus on what you need to know for the exam and what will most likely not be on the exam. Also, the calculator prep was a life saver.
Two weeks before the exam, I tool the NCEES Practice Exam and scored a 50...This was a complete buzzkill and I almost fell into depression. The Practice Exam is a great tool for time management and to get an idea of what type of problems will be on the exam but don't worry if you scored low. It will also help you understand how to catch the distractions. When it came time for the exam, I remembered the mistakes I made during the practice exam and made sure not to make them. Also, I think about 3 questions were identical to the exam. I just found the problem, plugged in the new numbers and that's it.
For anyone taking the HVAC exam, it's absolutely crucial that you use the 13th Edition of the MERM vs. the 12th. All the major changes were made to the HVAC chapters. The test is not as easy as it apparently used to be. Also, the day before the exam, I printed out the important sections of the ASHRAE Fundamentals (Chillers, Boilers, Compressors, Pumps,...etc) and about 3-4 questions were directly from there.
So that's about it...I'm also available through messenger or at allanford86 at gmail dot com to offer advice.
I'm selling the SMS's and the Practice Exam in the classifieds page (link below) or you can contact me directly if you're interested.
http://engineerboards.com/index.php?app=classifieds&module=core&do=view_item&item_id=336
Also, for anyone not taking the HVAC course of if you just want some additional study material, I have the 12th edition MERM, companion practice problems, and a PPI sample exam (photo below) that I'd like to get rid of for $70-shipping included. The books have some highlights and notes that I took down, but it's great material for some additional
problems.
Hope this helps....Good luck to anyone taking the exam this Fall.
