I failed again (UGH!) help please :(

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Klox23

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So, this is the second time I take the FE (April 2009 and 2010) and I just got my new scores... failed again. I thought the passing score was 50%, but I guess that's not the case for my state. I calculated I got a 52%. I did prepare myself: FERM, practice tests, eitexperts... I'm depressed :( , but I gotta take it again. If you guys could give me some tips on how to pass this freakin' test that would be very much appreciated.

Mathematics 42

Engineering Probability and Statistics 50

Chemistry 73

Computers 62

Ethics and Business Practices 88

Engineering Economics 20

Engineering Mechanics (Statics) 38

Engineering Mechanics (Dynamics) 20

Strength of Materials 38

Material Properties 62

Fluid Mechanics 50

Electricity and Magnetism 64

Thermodynamics 62

Advanced Engineering Mathematics 67

Engineering Probability and Statistics 100

Biology 67

Engineering Economics 50

Application of Engineering Mechanics 38

Engineering of Materials 43

Fluids 67

Electricity and Magnetism 29

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer 33

 
Did you receive email or you found from my records

 
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There's really no excuse not to get 80-100% on Engineering Economics questions since you are given the tables in the FE equation book. A little more time dedicated to that subject may have put you over the edge to pass this time. There aren't that many Econ equations, and it doesn't take very long to learn how to apply them.

 
So, this is the second time I take the FE (April 2009 and 2010) and I just got my new scores... failed again. I thought the passing score was 50%, but I guess that's not the case for my state. I calculated I got a 52%. I did prepare myself: FERM, practice tests, eitexperts... I'm depressed :( , but I gotta take it again. If you guys could give me some tips on how to pass this freakin' test that would be very much appreciated.
No guarantee, but I heard passing score is around 55%. Not 50%. So you were probably close.

 
There's really no excuse not to get 80-100% on Engineering Economics questions since you are given the tables in the FE equation book. A little more time dedicated to that subject may have put you over the edge to pass this time. There aren't that many Econ equations, and it doesn't take very long to learn how to apply them.
I second this advice. Learn how to read the interest tables and use the equations. There are only a few cases to learn and it's fairly straightforward. A little work in this area could go a long way, especially since you did well in math and probability/statistics.

Statics is also an area that you could focus on to get some additional points.

How did you feel timewise on the exam? Did you run out of time or did you finish with time to spare? There are some strategies for time managment that I could share as well.

Keep with it. You will pass and it will all be worth it.

 
There's really no excuse not to get 80-100% on Engineering Economics questions since you are given the tables in the FE equation book. A little more time dedicated to that subject may have put you over the edge to pass this time. There aren't that many Econ equations, and it doesn't take very long to learn how to apply them.
I second this advice. Learn how to read the interest tables and use the equations. There are only a few cases to learn and it's fairly straightforward. A little work in this area could go a long way, especially since you did well in math and probability/statistics.

Statics is also an area that you could focus on to get some additional points.

How did you feel timewise on the exam? Did you run out of time or did you finish with time to spare? There are some strategies for time managment that I could share as well.

Keep with it. You will pass and it will all be worth it.
Thank you, I did run out of time in the morning section and had to guess on 30 or so problems. What do you recommend? and I will definitely work on Economics better next time.

 
So, this is the second time I take the FE (April 2009 and 2010) and I just got my new scores... failed again. I thought the passing score was 50%, but I guess that's not the case for my state. I calculated I got a 52%. I did prepare myself: FERM, practice tests, eitexperts... I'm depressed :( , but I gotta take it again. If you guys could give me some tips on how to pass this freakin' test that would be very much appreciated.
Mathematics 42

Engineering Probability and Statistics 50

Chemistry 73

Computers 62

Ethics and Business Practices 88

Engineering Economics 20

Engineering Mechanics (Statics) 38

Engineering Mechanics (Dynamics) 20

Strength of Materials 38

Material Properties 62

Fluid Mechanics 50

Electricity and Magnetism 64

Thermodynamics 62

Advanced Engineering Mathematics 67

Engineering Probability and Statistics 100

Biology 67

Engineering Economics 50

Application of Engineering Mechanics 38

Engineering of Materials 43

Fluids 67

Electricity and Magnetism 29

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer 33
Looks like you took the general exam but your discipline is environmental? Why didn't you take the environmental exam? Looking at your afternoon scores, it looks like you didn't do well in thermo, electrical, materials and mechanics. I would think if you're enviro, you might do better in solid waste air, wastewater, etc. Just my $.02 but I can imagine taking the general if there was an exam in my discipline. You might want to try that next time - good luck!

 
This is the strategy I used for the FE/PE/SE and it has worked well every time. You do need to pay attention to your scantron sheet to make sure you are on the correct problem, since you will be skipping lines.

As you go through the test break each problem into one of 3 categories. I usually circle those in category 2 and 3 and write the category # next to it, so I can identify them quickly.

Category 1 - Those you know how to do and can do quickly (<3 min/problem)

Category 2 - Those you think you know how to do, but will take longer (these may be ones with multiple steps, or something you need to look up, but the content looks familiar)

Category 3 - Those you have no idea on

Do categories 1 and 3 as you come to them and skip all of the ones in category 2. With category 3, if you can eliminate an answer or two, great, but if not, just guess. Once the 1s and 3s are done, go back do the category 2 problems starting with the ones you are most comfortable with. When you get to the category 2 problems, you can take the amount of time left and divide that by the number of problems to get a feel for how much time you can spend on each one. If you get stuck on a problem, just guess and move on. I really can't stress this enough. There is nothing worse than spending a lot of time on a problem, only to still not have the right answer at the end. When I got stuck, I literally would take a deep breath and say to myself, "let it go!" It was frustrating, because I knew I could do the problem, but in a timed exam it wasn't worth spending the time on it. You have to look at is as a risk/reward equation. Each problem is worth exactly the same amount, so the time spent per point on the quick ones has a greater reward. If you have time at the end go back and review the category 2 and 3 problems you guessed on.

This strategy will allow to get most of the easy points (category 1) and you won't be frantically bubbling at the end, since you will have already answered the category 3 questions, instead of skipping them.

Make sure you are studying with the reference guide and learn the layout. Being able to look up formulas quickly can make a big difference.

 
Thank You so much IL-SE!!, I will definitely try that next time. Also, when you guessed on your questions did you go for the answer that looked the 'most' right. Or did you guess a letter an stuck to it through all your guesses?. I'm asking this since one of my professors told me that is better to always guess on the same letter since you will get 25% or so of them right,much more than if you just guess randomly. What do you think?

 
[quote

Looks like you took the general exam but your discipline is environmental? Why didn't you take the environmental exam? Looking at your afternoon scores, it looks like you didn't do well in thermo, electrical, materials and mechanics. I would think if you're enviro, you might do better in solid waste air, wastewater, etc. Just my $.02 but I can imagine taking the general if there was an exam in my discipline. You might want to try that next time - good luck!

 
Funny you should ask. If I thought one or two of the answers looked best, I would guess one of those, otherwise, I just used whatever the answer bubble above it was. Not sure why I did it that way, but it does seem like sometimes the answers are in pairs or triplets. I don't think it really matters too much, as long as you don't leave them all to the end. If you don't know how to do the problem at the beginning of the exam, you aren't going to learn in the next 4 hours, and it's best not to waste any time by having to come back to them just to have to guess anyway.

 
Category 1 - Those you know how to do and can do quickly (<3 min/problem)Category 2 - Those you think you know how to do, but will take longer (these may be ones with multiple steps, or something you need to look up, but the content looks familiar)

Category 3 - Those you have no idea on

Do categories 1 and 3 as you come to them and skip all of the ones in category 2.

This strategy will allow to get most of the easy points (category 1) and you won't be frantically bubbling at the end, since you will have already answered the category 3 questions, instead of skipping them.

Make sure you are studying with the reference guide and learn the layout. Being able to look up formulas quickly can make a big difference.

If you don't know how to do the problem at the beginning of the exam, you aren't going to learn in the next 4 hours, and it's best not to waste any time by having to come back to them just to have to guess anyway.
Disagree here. You want to maximize your ability to score points for the stuff you know, or believe you can solve. Putting the stuff that registers a 'no clue' reaction upon first blush off till the end ensures you're not losing points along the way by having to guess at solvable probs when time gets tight. Obviously, your cat 3 probs should be the smallest % of probs (hopefully). And sometimes, problems that were originally category 3 become solvable after seeing a similar problem that maybe was a category 2. thus I'd rather 'speed bubble' at the end of exam on the 'no clue' probs, than have to guess on probs I likely could have solved

 
Disagree here. You want to maximize your ability to score points for the stuff you know, or believe you can solve. Putting the stuff that registers a 'no clue' reaction upon first blush off till the end ensures you're not losing points along the way by having to guess at solvable probs when time gets tight. Obviously, your cat 3 probs should be the smallest % of probs (hopefully). And sometimes, problems that were originally category 3 become solvable after seeing a similar problem that maybe was a category 2. thus I'd rather 'speed bubble' at the end of exam on the 'no clue' probs, than have to guess on probs I likely could have solved
But it doesn't take any time and is actually faster to bubble as you go. You've already read through the problem once, so guess an answer and move on. It's faster than trying to find which problems aren't bubbled in at the end of the exam, and you are less likely to miss one entirely. By skipping all of the category 2s, you've basically guaranteed that you'll have time to read all of the problems through and answer all of the category 1s and 3s. Then instead of 6 min/problem for the 2s, you should have significantly longer. If you get to the end of the exam and have time left, you can go back and review some of the 3s.

If inspiration hits and you remember how to do a problem you guessed on, it's usually pretty quick to find it and change your answer. I wouldn't leave all of the "no clue" problem to the end on the chance I might be reminded how to do them.

Obviously everyone finds the way that works best for them.

 
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I took general and passed FE. My suggession is to study books other than FE review book. I did some problem from books for Mechanics,electrical and thermo. I think this is the reason I passed the exam. I skipped Material portion. But my suggession if you have time please don't skip any -study everything. Try to answer correctly what you know, take your time. If you don't know the answer don't try first -you can come back and try latter if you have time-if you don't have time then you can just guess it. Barron review book helped me -specially it is helpful to answer Chemistry, Statistics and Thermo. Please master how to use calculator for vector and matrix. This forum will help you to prepare for your next try. Good Luck!

 
So, this is the second time I take the FE (April 2009 and 2010) and I just got my new scores... failed again. I thought the passing score was 50%, but I guess that's not the case for my state. I calculated I got a 52%. I did prepare myself: FERM, practice tests, eitexperts... I'm depressed :( , but I gotta take it again. If you guys could give me some tips on how to pass this freakin' test that would be very much appreciated.
Mathematics 42

Engineering Probability and Statistics 50

Chemistry 73

Computers 62

Ethics and Business Practices 88

Engineering Economics 20

Engineering Mechanics (Statics) 38

Engineering Mechanics (Dynamics) 20

Strength of Materials 38

Material Properties 62

Fluid Mechanics 50

Electricity and Magnetism 64

Thermodynamics 62

Advanced Engineering Mathematics 67

Engineering Probability and Statistics 100

Biology 67

Engineering Economics 50

Application of Engineering Mechanics 38

Engineering of Materials 43

Fluids 67

Electricity and Magnetism 29

Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer 33
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Category 1 - Those you know how to do and can do quickly (<3 min/problem)Category 2 - Those you think you know how to do, but will take longer (these may be ones with multiple steps, or something you need to look up, but the content looks familiar)

Category 3 - Those you have no idea on

Do categories 1 and 3 as you come to them and skip all of the ones in category 2.

This strategy will allow to get most of the easy points (category 1) and you won't be frantically bubbling at the end, since you will have already answered the category 3 questions, instead of skipping them.

Make sure you are studying with the reference guide and learn the layout. Being able to look up formulas quickly can make a big difference.

If you don't know how to do the problem at the beginning of the exam, you aren't going to learn in the next 4 hours, and it's best not to waste any time by having to come back to them just to have to guess anyway.
Disagree here. You want to maximize your ability to score points for the stuff you know, or believe you can solve. Putting the stuff that registers a 'no clue' reaction upon first blush off till the end ensures you're not losing points along the way by having to guess at solvable probs when time gets tight. Obviously, your cat 3 probs should be the smallest % of probs (hopefully). And sometimes, problems that were originally category 3 become solvable after seeing a similar problem that maybe was a category 2. thus I'd rather 'speed bubble' at the end of exam on the 'no clue' probs, than have to guess on probs I likely could have solved

I agree with ME_PS.

Leave the no clues toward the end. Why read something you know you will not be able to answer. Do no waste any time because in the morning time is golden. Use your time on problems on subjects that you know. At the end you will have plenty of time to bubble in the no clue questions. If you have more than 50 no clue in the morning, then hit the books for next time and pray you pass.

 
Did they start releasing scores? When I took it in 2005, in PA, all I got was a letter stating that I passed, and the envelope had an insert that stated that numeric scores were no longer reported. I passed on the first shot, but it would have been cool to get a number.

 

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