PPI2PASS - WR&E Depth Online Review Course?

[pip]

Hi all,

Has anyone taken or heard of this course? Sounds helpful since it focuses on the depth portion only.

http://ppi2pass.com/civil-pe-water-resources-environmental-live-online-review-course.html

Thanks!

 

[K19]

I took and passed the PE (WR&E depth) in Oct 2012 using the CERM as my primary reference for both the a.m. & p.m. While it served my purposes well enough, I would not recommend the PPI's other materials. My general criticisms are:

- They cover way too broad of a base of topics (too comprehensive) rather than following the lead of the NCEES syllabi. Even the CERM (the one product of theirs I actually rate favorably) is half full of material that is of absolutely no use for someone taking the exam, regardless of p.m. depth. Erring on the side of being more comprehensive is one thing, but providing an overabundance of information and then having the reader sort out what is/isn't important for the exam is doing a disservice.

- Their practice problems are generally an order of magnitude more difficult and/or time consuming that what you'll see on the exam. If you know this going in, working these problems can be quite beneficial. I worked several sets of from the CERM's companion practice problems before even cracking the NCEES sample exam, and at first I so was astounded at how relatively easy the sample problems were that I had to ask here on EB whether they were in fact representative of the actually difficulty exam questions. For example, on the actual exam they'll never ask you to look up the temp.-dependent viscosity of water and the relative roughness of an 8" schedule-40 cast iron pipe just so you can calculate the Reynolds number, and from that, the friction factor f; just to pass go and start computing the friction loss. 9 times out of 10 they'll simply give you a value of f; the other 1 of 10 they might have you look it up on a Moody diagram.

- I took one of PPI's guided study programs (a week-to-week study schedule, access to a user forum where professionals and other test takers could discuss topics & questions), and apart the materials included in the cost (CERM) I found it to be a complete waste of time & $$. Had I followed that schedule I would have agonized over several structural chapters with zero relevance to the a.m. portion, and more egregiously, NOT covered the one chapter most important to navigating the a.m. structural.

 

[pip]

I took and passed the PE (WR&E depth) in Oct 2012 using the CERM as my primary reference for both the a.m. & p.m. While it served my purposes well enough, I would not recommend the PPI's other materials. My general criticisms are:

- They cover way too broad of a base of topics (too comprehensive) rather than following the lead of the NCEES syllabi. Even the CERM (the one product of theirs I actually rate favorably) is half full of material that is of absolutely no use for someone taking the exam, regardless of p.m. depth. Erring on the side of being more comprehensive is one thing, but providing an overabundance of information and then having the reader sort out what is/isn't important for the exam is doing a disservice.

- Their practice problems are generally an order of magnitude more difficult and/or time consuming that what you'll see on the exam. If you know this going in, working these problems can be quite beneficial. I worked several sets of from the CERM's companion practice problems before even cracking the NCEES sample exam, and at first I so was astounded at how relatively easy the sample problems were that I had to ask here on EB whether they were in fact representative of the actually difficulty exam questions. For example, on the actual exam they'll never ask you to look up the temp.-dependent viscosity of water and the relative roughness of an 8" schedule-40 cast iron pipe just so you can calculate the Reynolds number, and from that, the friction factor f; just to pass go and start computing the friction loss. 9 times out of 10 they'll simply give you a value of f; the other 1 of 10 they might have you look it up on a Moody diagram.

- I took one of PPI's guided study programs (a week-to-week study schedule, access to a user forum where professionals and other test takers could discuss topics & questions), and apart the materials included in the cost (CERM) I found it to be a complete waste of time & $$. Had I followed that schedule I would have agonized over several structural chapters with zero relevance to the a.m. portion, and more egregiously, NOT covered the one chapter most important to navigating the a.m. structural.

Thank you for the response K19. My goal is to find a review course which focuses only on Water Resource and Environmental. I can study for the AM portion on my own, but I would like a more in-depth review on the WR&E. I wasn't planning on purchasing any other material from PPI, except for the CERM, since I already have the 6-Minute Solutions and NCEES Sample Questions, but I was curious as to how beneficial is the live review course. Based on the class's schedule, it looks like they will cover only the depth topics mentioned in the NCEES syllabi. I do understand and agree how most courses cover a wide range of topics though, and this is why I was interested in this course.

 

[K19]

Sorry my response wasn't directed more at the live course you've considering - I've haven't taken this or any of their review courses myself - so in retrospect take my earlier comments more as "things to bear in mind when doing it the PPI way." If the course looks like it'll serve your studying purposes for the WR&E depth and you're satisfied it's worth the money then it's definitely worthy of consideration. Note that the cost is inclusive of all the required texts, 2 of which you already have. Best of luck in your preparations!

 

[ptatohed]

pip, you can consider EET. They continue to get good reviews from students. They have depth-only for $500, Breadth-only for $500, or $900 for both. Classroom or webinar. I think they provide the study materials too. Good luck.

http://www.eet-california.com/civil_pe_class_info

 

[pip]

Thank you for the responses all. I decided to register for the PPI WR&E depth/PM review. I signed up for the course only and purchased the WR&E reference manual separately to cut on cost. I wouldn't have purchased the ref manual if it wasn't used in the course. I hope it has more information than the CERM, but I am doubtful. Class begins this Sunday. I will provide feedback at a later date to share my experiences on this class.

 

[matt267 PE]

pip,

I'm looking to take that course when I start preparing for my PE. I will be interested in what you think of it.

 

[staemail]

PIP Did you attend the PPI WR Depth on Sunday? How was it? I am thinking of taking it but am not sure how good it is. For example how many practise problems are there etc.

 

[pip]

Staemail - I did attend the 2/16's session. It is difficult to judge how beneficial it is for 2 main reasons: 1) it is the first time, 2) it is what you make of it. Everyone is expected to have read the required chapters from Water Resource and Environmental Depth Reference Manual prior to each class. Having the familiarity before the class is helpful because the class is pretty fast-paced and you can easily get lost if you don't review beforehand. The professor/instructor will highlight the main topics for the lecture and go through problems. The problems are typically from the ref. manual or made up by him. The example problems he makes are in-depth and highlights the main points. He points out the type of problems which are typical and what sort of info you can typically expect to be given. If you were to do all the expected work (read, homework) without taking the course, I have no doubt it will be beneficial as well. The class provides structure to your schedule, tips and insight to the test, and a great place to get feedback from an experienced professor and peers. After the class started I have adjusted my study schedule for the better. I study from the WR&E ref manual, and do the problems in the CERM's companion practice problem book. The WR&E ref manual is very focused and the CERM is to broad, I expect the test to be somewhere in between. I plan to continue with the review sessions. I will keep you all updated. I hope that answers your question for now.

 

[staemail]

PIP thank you so very much. This information has been tremenously helpfull. I am already enrolled in SOPE class and was more interested in learning if this class will have any added benefits to the depth section. Your infomation has helped me decide that SOPE is probably enough as i have that as structure just like you do with this class. The rest i can get from buying the book and doing some problems. I am struggling with finding material that is more like the exam -- in other words the depth manual is much harder than the exam .

Thanks again and i wish you well and do drop a note if you need any tips from me.

Sheila

 

[pip]

Sheila - sounds like you are set! From what I have heard, the NCEES Sample Question and Solution books are the closest to the test. I plan on taking that as my practice test on 3/22/2014. That should give me enough time to evaluate where I stand a couple weeks before the actual test. I wish you the best as well!

 

[matt267 PE]

pip, did you pass the PE? Do you think the ppi class helped?

staemail, did you pass the PE? Do you think the SOPE class helped?

Hopefully you both passed!!!

 

[rc10gt]

matt267, this may not answer your question directly about the PPI classes or any review class, but hopefully it will help you decide.

I took the WR&E exam in April 2013 and failed. I did not take any review courses, just worked problems from almost all of the problem & solution books. In September 2013, I took both of PPI's review classes: breadth review and WR&E depth. It was not cheap, but I certainly wasn't getting it done on my own. I passed the WR&E exam in October 2014. Did I pass only because of the review classes, I am not sure. I was pretty far along in my October exam prep already, but I did get something from each of the classes. From both of the classes I was able to "connect the dots" on some of the areas I was struggling with. The classes also reaffirmed the areas I felt strong and gave me overall confidence going into the exam. One very helpful benefit from the taking the classes, they helped me focus/concentrate my studying effort on the key areas. One of the things I noticed working only with the problem & solution books, some of the problems used formulas that I could not find in any of my reference books and I spent (aka wasted) a lot of time on-line trying to find the background information behind the formula they used. During the classes each of the instructors helped explain the formulas being used and that was a big time saver for me. Was I prepared for every question on the exam, no, but I think this is the feeling from most people. If I was in the same situation again would I take the review classes again, yes.

The money spent on the classes, books, time away from my family...it's all good now because I am a Civil Engineer.

 

[matt267 PE]

rc10gt, thanks for the insight. I think I'm going to take the ppi depth review course. I want the help to keep organized.

Congrats on passing!

 

[staemail]

matt267 and others -- this is staemail.

First -- I passed and i was a first time taker.

In response to my own emails -- here is what i did and what worked for me. I took School of PE and started studying online on demand via video late November 2013. I cranked it up after Christimas and was pretty much done with all the material by middle of February. At that point i really felt that i was well set for the Breadth exam but was very concerned about the depth. I was doing Water Resources/Env depth and after going through School of PE's 12hr depth thought to myself " Is this really it". So i desperately started looking for anything out there that would give me more. I came across two resources -- one was PPI depth and the other was EET -- http://www.eet-california.com/.

I wanted material that was exam focussed and not from the Lindeburg book. I kept hearing through these boards that Lindeburg was too much in depth.

In the end i took EET Water Resources Depth. I talked with Nazrul the instructor who teaches the course and was reassured that the course was exam focussed.

And i can tell you folks -- this Water Resources Depth course was what saved me. If you study all the material and do all the work it is a SURE bet for the PM Water Resources. Now you will HAVE to do the work and Nazrul really covers a lot of material -- so it is only a sure bet if you do the work. But again not only did i do the work -- i enjoyed it. Serious -- studying for the PM section was a pleasure.

I know they also have a section focussed on the AM -- I did not do that. For the AM i went with School of PE. Yes in the end i spent a lot of $, but i was determined to take this exam only once and give it my all in that one go. The $ will pay off eventually. Also i have small kids and could not afford to lengthen the process.

Again -- I am convinced EET depth is what saved me on this exam for the PM. I guess some folks say do well in the AM and ride for the PM. I was approaching it with a mindset of do well for the AM and PM so that you have the best shot as you just do not know what kind of questions to expect. I am so convinced about this course, i recommended that my husband take it as well. He has taken the exam a couple times and could never get over his lack of knowledge in WQ depth. So he is going to do exactly what i did -- School of PE AM, and EET PM.

OK --if you have questions feel free to email me.

Cheers and wish you all well.