October 2014 Electrical Power Exam was Tough

[poosri]

Me too...Failed Maverick and Ken, can you please share any specific books/notes that helped you pass? esp. to tackle design type problems? It would be greatly appreciated.

 

[eBreak]

Passed. Didn't expect I would pass with 91%. However I will still stick to my original post. This exam was tough so if u didn't make it, April will be easy You will only do better.

Wow, maverick... you pretty muched aced this exam! 91%? that's a pretty high score.

 

[InfluenzaRemix]

There is no way to know the score Maverick got. It just says "Pass" if you Pass.

Some advice from my experience:

1. Try to get involved with actual electrical designs/plans being submitted. Real world experience is surprisingly helpful.

2. Look up specific references for individual topics listed. Make a good binder of printed references and know it. I wish I had done this more, even though I did pass. For example, it says you should know about power factor correction, so I included a section on using capacitors and synchronous condensers.

3. The problems in Spin-Up were too easy, IMO. I would just do them once early on in studying, to find out more areas you need to study. I think working the NCEES practice more times was significantly more helpful.

4. Study things that aren't covered in the NCEES practice test. Without getting into specifics (because let's be real, I can't remember very much), much of the October 2014 test was on subjects not even mentioned in the practice test. However the NCEES practice test gives a great idea of the types and difficulty of questions you're likely to find on the test.

 

[eBreak]

There is no way to know the score Maverick got. It just says "Pass" if you Pass.

Texas gets a scaled score. I assume he/she is located in Texas.

 

[J-Dubbs]

I passed the Power exam as well in Texas with a 90%. First attempt.

I do agree though and hold to the opinion that it was a very hard exam. I have no idea how I scored that high, but I'm guessing some of it was insecurity in myself and probably also had a few of fhe guessed questions swing my way. I think anyone who didn't pass should definitely try again in April and will likely fair better.

I don't really have any specific advice or notes that would help. I took the Testmasters course in Houston and honestly didn't feel like it prepared me as well as I hoped it would. Much of the content on this exam was not covered in much depth in the Testmasters course. That said, the notes the course gave you were pretty useful in the exam, and it got me in the habit of working through as many problems as possible. If there's any advice I would give, that's it. Just work as many problems as you can. Don't just read and study a textbook or the NEC. Find a good study book with lots of practice problems and burn through them, multiple times if necessary.

Good luck guys, and congrats to those who passed!

 

[maverickPEPower]

There is no way to know the score Maverick got. It just says "Pass" if you Pass.

Some advice from my experience:

1. Try to get involved with actual electrical designs/plans being submitted. Real world experience is surprisingly helpful.

2. Look up specific references for individual topics listed. Make a good binder of printed references and know it. I wish I had done this more, even though I did pass. For example, it says you should know about power factor correction, so I included a section on using capacitors and synchronous condensers.

3. The problems in Spin-Up were too easy, IMO. I would just do them once early on in studying, to find out more areas you need to study. I think working the NCEES practice more times was significantly more helpful.

4. Study things that aren't covered in the NCEES practice test. Without getting into specifics (because let's be real, I can't remember very much), much of the October 2014 test was on subjects not even mentioned in the practice test. However the NCEES practice test gives a great idea of the types and difficulty of questions you're likely to find on the test.

I don't care if you believe or not what my score is however for everyone else, Texas do list our score. I am very willing to help you guys. Let me compose a list of documents I read and if possible I can send some documents I downloaded online.

 

[maverickPEPower]

I passed the Power exam as well in Texas with a 90%. First attempt.

I do agree though and hold to the opinion that it was a very hard exam. I have no idea how I scored that high, but I'm guessing some of it was insecurity in myself and probably also had a few of fhe guessed questions swing my way. I think anyone who didn't pass should definitely try again in April and will likely fair better.

I don't really have any specific advice or notes that would help. I took the Testmasters course in Houston and honestly didn't feel like it prepared me as well as I hoped it would. Much of the content on this exam was not covered in much depth in the Testmasters course. That said, the notes the course gave you were pretty useful in the exam, and it got me in the habit of working through as many problems as possible. If there's any advice I would give, that's it. Just work as many problems as you can. Don't just read and study a textbook or the NEC. Find a good study book with lots of practice problems and burn through them, multiple times if necessary.

Good luck guys, and congrats to those who passed!

Totally agree with you J-Dubbs. I took the test masters too in Houston. However it might not have helped me completely but it helped me keep going and keep up with the topics.

 

[maverickPEPower]

[SIZE=10.5pt]I didn't start studying that early however I already went through the topics of what need to be covered and put together all my college books covering those topics. I went with my college books instead of popular books recommended here because I am most familiar with those books and they are the books that I learnt stuff from. However you can always read books like Wildi, Grainger. My favorite book from college was B.L Theraja (electrical machines). This book also talks about transformers too. You can find pdf online however I have hard copy. I again stress the fact that if you still have your college text books read from that instead of buying a new one. It will help you to have good strong basics. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]I took all the standards to the exam. People say just print the index from some however it helped to take the entire standards. Print on two sides and two pages per sheet. That way you save paper and you don’t have to carry huge binders. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]I seriously started studying from August. I completed major topics before the test masters classes started. I just skimmed through NCEES problems but didn’t solve any problems until the start of test masters class.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]· [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Very very important. This helped increase my morale: ABC method of shirt circuit. You should be able to find it easily online. It’s an old pdf document by Moon H. Yuen.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]· [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Formula sheet: Very important. I took test masters. Every day I use to go home after class and write down the formulas or you can write them with in the class if you have time. Divide by topic that way it’s easier to find.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]· [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Important: Watch all the YouTube videos by complex imaginary. This will help you big. Do this before you start taking classes[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]· [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Power factor correction: There are several documents online. Read carefully and become familiar with every kind of problem they can ask. If you understand the basics behind this you will be able to solve any problem. I was really good at these problems[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]· [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]Even though I didn’t study much protection. They did ask lot of protection questions. So go through a good book.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]· [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]I did print all these topics from online sources: Batteries, parallel operation of alternators, Introduction to PLCs, Energy cost calculations, NEC mike holts index [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]· [/SIZE][SIZE=10.5pt]If you can I would recommend test masters classes. Also I am aware they don’t give these classes everywhere however I recommend you take some sort of class if possible.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]After I go home tonight, I will add more points to this from my notes. I am sure that will be helpful too. In the mean time let me know if you have any questions.[/SIZE]

 

[maverickPEPower]

I did solve all the problems from Spin-up, Complex imaginary and NCEES. I took the camara manaul (this will help). Also NEC code book is very important. Put tabs on important topics.

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

4th and thankfully final attempt. This was, by my own experience, the hardest of the tests.

I guess the difference to me was I was methodical in my approach, and even after I was ready to give up at lunch, the afternoon portion wasn't bad.

Stay focused and determined.

 

[eksor_PE]

4th and thankfully final attempt. This was, by my own experience, the hardest of the tests.

I guess the difference to me was I was methodical in my approach, and even after I was ready to give up at lunch, the afternoon portion wasn't bad.

Stay focused and determined.

Congrats, Ken! Cheers! :beerchug:

 

[Ken PE 3.1]

4th and thankfully final attempt. This was, by my own experience, the hardest of the tests.

I guess the difference to me was I was methodical in my approach, and even after I was ready to give up at lunch, the afternoon portion wasn't bad.

Stay focused and determined.

Congrats, Ken! Cheers! :beerchug:

Same to you. Still in a bit of a daze.

 

[reyit0]

I'm from Puerto Rico.

I left the exam site on October with a tear on my eye, I really though that I would not make since it was awfully harder than April-14(my first attempt). But this morning I received my score notification today and passed!!! I really used a lot of information on this forums. And it helped for sure!!!

Thanks a lot and I guarantee that this forum is an excellent resource for exam takers!

Merry christmas and happy new year for all of you!

 

[maverickPEPower]

I'm from Puerto Rico.

I left the exam site on October with a tear on my eye, I really though that I would not make since it was awfully harder than April-14(my first attempt). But this morning I received my score notification today and passed!!! I really used a lot of information on this forums. And it helped for sure!!!

Thanks a lot and I guarantee that this forum is an excellent resource for exam takers!

Merry christmas and happy new year for all of you!

Congrats. Happy holidays.

 

[seandapaul24]

I made a total of 5 blunders in the exam ,even after came/found the correct answer. I was in doubt of my work and chose the wrong answers (2 problematic and 3 theoretical). I hope somehow I can get to the passing mark. I am damn sure on 54 questions that were right and 21 wrong. (yesterday 53 right and 19 wrong. please don't ask me about the answers as I am not supposed to talk on any forums about the questions asked in the exam). I still cant find a specific answer for 5 questions.

dude that like 4 + 1 blunders...haha

 

[iwire]

I'm from Puerto Rico.

I left the exam site on October with a tear on my eye, I really though that I would not make since it was awfully harder than April-14(my first attempt). But this morning I received my score notification today and passed!!! I really used a lot of information on this forums. And it helped for sure!!!

Thanks a lot and I guarantee that this forum is an excellent resource for exam takers!

Merry christmas and happy new year for all of you!

congrats..considered donating to the forum as well

 

[Cityking007]

I failed the exam on my first attempted due to the same reason. However, I took a review course in nyc. And the first thing they made me do is to buy and tag Wilidi book. I would say at least 8 questions were directly from Wilidi book. So for theory problem ( motor, generator, VFD, electric rate, transmission and transformer) you must have the Wilidi book. Schoolofpe.com and Saamce.com both use the same book notes.