Oct 2019 - Failing scores

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tmntjmc said:
Congrats on your passing!!! I know it's subjective, but do you think you really did something different this time to pass!? I failed my 4th attempt but I have baby #2 coming in April so I'm not sure I'll take it but then again, I know people who have passed the test with literally 1 week of studying.. any advice? What did you do? I'm not giving up as hard as it is to keep going after fails
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Thank you!

It really is hard to keep going. As you know, I know that very well. 

I did do something different this time. I finally sucked it up and paid for a course. I took @Zach Stone, P.E.'s course -I did it for 3 months. I studied virtually with @FelizENG. I had most of the guides from @justin-hawaii from last time but when he released new ones I bought those. I had 234 hours of study this time and 147 from April 2019 under my belt plus my feeble attempts from studying previously.

I let studying become my life. And it sucked but most of my weekends and weeknights were studying. I recognized when I wasn't productive and didn't study. A cutback week or taper time if you're a runner like I am. And doing that definitely helps prevent burn out. 

A book that doesn't show up on anyone's list but helped me answer numerous questions and understand some fundamentals better is the ABB Protective Relaying: Principles & Applications. I read the first 11 chapters I think and took detailed notes. I used my notes to answer multiple questions both in April & October. 

 
LyceeFruit said:
I also took 4 timed practice exams: NCEES bok then Zach's then Justin's then Zach's again
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Wow. I'm just happy the time you put in have you the result deserved! I tried Zach's class 3 months for Oct 2018 and free retake for April and I still fell short.. this time around I just did practice problems but it's so hard to study for a test you don't know what's on it.. it's disheartening.. 

 
tmntjmc said:
Wow. I'm just happy the time you put in have you the result deserved! I tried Zach's class 3 months for Oct 2018 and free retake for April and I still fell short.. this time around I just did practice problems but it's so hard to study for a test you don't know what's on it.. it's disheartening.. 
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It is, I keep saying that the Power exam is a crapshoot. Because it really really is. I have 7 tests to look at and all are very very different 

 
Is ABB Protective Relaying the one by Blackburn?  That was one recommended at one point by Zach but I found it difficult to read.  I read the Glover book this past time but maybe I'll back to ABB and spend more time on it.

 
LyceeFruit said:
It is, I keep saying that the Power exam is a crapshoot. Because it really really is. I have 7 tests to look at and all are very very different 
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Seriously like no kidding I don't think there was any amount of studying I could've done for this last one that I feel would've made me pass. But then again luck is a big part of it. It just hasn't been my turn yet.. just not sure what to study anymore. I have tons of practice problems, Zach's notes and tests, pro guides sample problems, gaffeos, etc. Just don't know where to turn to anymore! 

 
43/80 first time. Power Electronics shhhmacked me so thats probably going to be my focus next time around.

 
MEtoEE said:
Is ABB Protective Relaying the one by Blackburn?  That was one recommended at one point by Zach but I found it difficult to read.  I read the Glover book this past time but maybe I'll back to ABB and spend more time on it.
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no it isn't by Blackburn. I messed up the title, my apologies.

It's this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Protective-Relaying-Theory-Applications-No/dp/0824709721

And that book will reference this one, but I haven't read thru it yet:

https://www.amazon.com/Protective-Relaying-Electrical-Computer-Engineering/dp/0824781953/ref=pd_sim_14_8?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0824781953&pd_rd_r=4cba61d9-ac69-41e3-8a0e-e420b769b77a&pd_rd_w=X7JiW&pd_rd_wg=XAWdT&pf_rd_p=04d27813-a1f2-4e7b-a32b-b5ab374ce3f9&pf_rd_r=DJKD7ZPBH3NNYHE88PXR&psc=1&refRID=DJKD7ZPBH3NNYHE88PXR

 
Failed - 46/80 here. First timer, fresh out of college. Trying to stay optimistic about my future chances. Your perseverance is encouraging. Keep trying, don't give up on it!

 
AlabamaEngineer said:
Failed - 46/80 here. First timer, fresh out of college. Trying to stay optimistic about my future chances. Your perseverance is encouraging. Keep trying, don't give up on it!
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You too @AlabamaEngineerdon't give up!

Right now the worst part is hearing from friends and family (and even some co-workers who have never taken it).  Even before the results came I hated hearing **** like, "Oh, you got this" or "I know you'll pass", or "I just KNOW you passed.  I can feel it!" and things like "You're the smartest person I know.  You were at the top of your class.  Why would you doubt you could pass a test?"  Even my boss (who never took it) said, "I know so-and-so passed and he's an idiot so SURELY you can pass" and I even got the comment "I heard the masters electrical license exam is harder than the PE).  It pisses me off that people form opinions about stuff they know nothing about.  I know they're all well-meaning but I'd rather they not act like this thing should be so easy.

You just have to learn to put blinders on and keep plugging away.  That's why these forums are so great.  Everyone understands what you're going through.  

 
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Everyone in my office was the same way. They want to encourage you but in all actuality its a lot to tell someone you failed when they've been saying you'll pass etc. 50% of all 1st timers failed the power exam, 75% of retakers failed. Those facts didn't make it any easier telling my wife and my boss that I failed by a couple questions today though.  

 
LyceeFruit said:
power electronics was my constant nemesis 
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Me too.  I got 3/7 and then 2/7 (went backwards) this time.  And I thought I was pretty good at these.  There's something wrong here (with me and this section) that I will have to figure out.

Hmmm I wonder if there's a way to contact NCEES and request an audit?  Like can you go and at least review your own exam so you can see exactly which ones you got wrong?

 
Spickett said:
So is the consensus that the passing score was probably a 49 or 50? I haven't seen anything higher go by.
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I think a 50/80 is the lowest possible passing score so far. I think we had a 49/50 failing score here already. As more results come out and people post that number may go up some

 
NCEES just released their pass rates for the October 2019 exam.  https://ncees.org/engineering/pe/pass-rates/

For context, I have the last pass rates.  Feel free to check my math, but it seems like this test was harder than previous tests.

October 2019 - Overall pass rate - (1106 x 50% + 726 x 26%) / (1106 + 726) = 40.4%

April 2019 - Overall pass rate - 50%

October 2018 - Overall pass rate - 43%

April 2018 - Overall pass rate - 49%

https://www.engproguides.com/power-pe-survey.html

 

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