Repeat Takers Strategies - Civil PE CBT

[Gen]

Well here we go attempt #4. I finished half the morning problems in less than an hr. Thought I was going to be able to bank some extra time for the afternoon but ended up using the last 3 hrs on the remaining 21 problems and ended feeling ok with 4 50/50’s and 6 guesses. The afternoon was much tougher and I ran out of time because some of the problems were so long and ended with 4 50/50’s and 16 guesses mostly because of time. Rodr nailed it in a previous post I agreed with that you need to have as much memorized as possible. A few problems requiring AISC and OSHA references were time killers for me due to pdf search capabilities being limited. If a question comes up where you need a table you pretty much need to know the chapter or page rather than being able to search the entire reference which is disappointing. Luckily the HB search options are better. Got stumped on one easy problem I just reviewed but couldn’t locate the table and had to go with my 50/50 which I verified was incorrect when I got home. Overall I still feel like this is a college designed exam and while some people disagree that passed the first time many questions are written to trick you imo. I feel closer than ever to passing this damn thing but I am learning test taking skills are essential for passing. Thanks for the good vibes!

Let's hope for a positive outcome. Rest for now and eat good food. That's what I did last Thursday. I was so hungry after the test. All I wanted after is to eat.

 

[Pra4surf1]

Let's hope for a positive outcome. Rest for now and eat good food. That's what I did last Thursday. I was so hungry after the test. All I wanted after is to eat.

Good luck! Did you get your results yet?

 

[Gen]

Good luck! Did you get your results yet?

I did at 3 AM (Hawaii Time). I passed finally.

 

[Pra4surf1]

I did at 3 AM (Hawaii Time). I passed finally.

That’s awesome congrats!!!!

 

[Gen]

That’s awesome congrats!!!!

Thank you

 

[rodr]

I did at 3 AM (Hawaii Time). I passed finally.

CONGATS!! That's amazing!

 

[rodr]

Well here we go attempt #4. I finished half the morning problems in less than an hr. Thought I was going to be able to bank some extra time for the afternoon but ended up using the last 3 hrs on the remaining 21 problems and ended feeling ok with 4 50/50’s and 6 guesses. The afternoon was much tougher and I ran out of time because some of the problems were so long and ended with 4 50/50’s and 16 guesses mostly because of time. Rodr nailed it in a previous post I agreed with that you need to have as much memorized as possible. A few problems requiring AISC and OSHA references were time killers for me due to pdf search capabilities being limited. If a question comes up where you need a table you pretty much need to know the chapter or page rather than being able to search the entire reference which is disappointing. Luckily the HB search options are better. Got stumped on one easy problem I just reviewed but couldn’t locate the table and had to go with my 50/50 which I verified was incorrect when I got home. Overall I still feel like this is a college designed exam and while some people disagree that passed the first time many questions are written to trick you imo. I feel closer than ever to passing this damn thing but I am learning test taking skills are essential for passing. Thanks for the good vibes!

Sending good vibes your way! Your assessment feels promising

 

[Gen]

CONGATS!! That's amazing!

Thanks

 

[Pra4surf1]

Well here we go attempt #4. I finished half the morning problems in less than an hr. Thought I was going to be able to bank some extra time for the afternoon but ended up using the last 3 hrs on the remaining 21 problems and ended feeling ok with 4 50/50’s and 6 guesses. The afternoon was much tougher and I ran out of time because some of the problems were so long and ended with 4 50/50’s and 16 guesses mostly because of time. Rodr nailed it in a previous post I agreed with that you need to have as much memorized as possible. A few problems requiring AISC and OSHA references were time killers for me due to pdf search capabilities being limited. If a question comes up where you need a table you pretty much need to know the chapter or page rather than being able to search the entire reference which is disappointing. Luckily the HB search options are better. Got stumped on one easy problem I just reviewed but couldn’t locate the table and had to go with my 50/50 which I verified was incorrect when I got home. Overall I still feel like this is a college designed exam and while some people disagree that passed the first time many questions are written to trick you imo. I feel closer than ever to passing this damn thing but I am learning test taking skills are essential for passing. Thanks for the good vibes!

So yesterday I got my results. Failed again for 4th time. By my calculations looking at the diagnostic I got 64% so I was pretty damn close. I had perfect score in 5 categories. My worse categories were Trans, Means and Methods, and Scheduling. Last exam I had close to perfect scores in these categories except Trans. and scheduling is one of my areas of work that I am very good at but the questions on this exam for scheduling were out in left field and not real world. Hell I bet NCEES could make a grocery list difficult to understand. The way I come up with 64% is in each section a 15 is perfect. 15 x 15 sections is 225. My scores in each section total 144. If 70 is passing then 157/225 would do it. That puts me at 13 points short which I figure is around 3 questions. Pretty bummed I was so close and pissed that several questions I knew I just couldn’t find in the references in a timely manner. Guess I’ll have to memorize the chapters since you can’t search the entire pdf’s. Oh well this was my best attempt and funny thing is because this was a make up from previous attempt when the building lost power I didn’t have time to study at all for 3 weeks before this exam due to work. Guess I’ll give NCEES some more money today and thinking I’ll try again pretty soon since I was close. One thing that did get me in the afternoon section was brain fatigue. I ate a light lunch with crackers, hummus, meats, and cheese and just felt slow and tired first two hours of afternoon. I’m sure this played a part in failing as well. I can’t do coffee it makes me jittery but if anyone has any suggestions for afternoon energy please share. Thanks.

 

[AngelaK]

So yesterday I got my results. Failed again for 4th time. By my calculations looking at the diagnostic I got 64% so I was pretty damn close. I had perfect score in 5 categories. My worse categories were Trans, Means and Methods, and Scheduling. Last exam I had close to perfect scores in these categories except Trans. and scheduling is one of my areas of work that I am very good at but the questions on this exam for scheduling were out in left field and not real world. Hell I bet NCEES could make a grocery list difficult to understand. The way I come up with 64% is in each section a 15 is perfect. 15 x 15 sections is 225. My scores in each section total 144. If 70 is passing then 157/225 would do it. That puts me at 13 points short which I figure is around 3 questions. Pretty bummed I was so close and pissed that several questions I knew I just couldn’t find in the references in a timely manner. Guess I’ll have to memorize the chapters since you can’t search the entire pdf’s. Oh well this was my best attempt and funny thing is because this was a make up from previous attempt when the building lost power I didn’t have time to study at all for 3 weeks before this exam due to work. Guess I’ll give NCEES some more money today and thinking I’ll try again pretty soon since I was close. One thing that did get me in the afternoon section was brain fatigue. I ate a light lunch with crackers, hummus, meats, and cheese and just felt slow and tired first two hours of afternoon. I’m sure this played a part in failing as well. I can’t do coffee it makes me jittery but if anyone has any suggestions for afternoon energy please share. Thanks.

Sorry to hear that. But you were close. So don’t feel down now and try it again. Also, eat a cup of blueberries with lunch next time. They help keeping brain alert. Drink coconut water (I like it because it’s natural) at the break or something with electrolytes. Search for other brain food for internet and if it work for you build that into your breakfast. Also, get a good high intensity workout the day before, if you have the habit of working out. I did all of these as I was not ready to take any chances.

One thing to stress a lot is you need to know all your references. There will be questions that throw you off. It’s your ability to find things in timely manner that helps getting the right answer. Being familiar with all the references helps a lot. If you are on Reddit, it has updates most Wednesday or so where people will say what reference is searchable as a whole, what is searchable by chapter. Use that information when practicing.

 

[keviv]

Sorry to hear that. But you were close. So don’t feel down now and try it again. Also, eat a cup of blueberries with lunch next time. They help keeping brain alert. Drink coconut water (I like it because it’s natural) at the break or something with electrolytes. Search for other brain food for internet and if it work for you build that into your breakfast. Also, get a good high intensity workout the day before, if you have the habit of working out. I did all of these as I was not ready to take any chances.

One thing to stress a lot is you need to know all your references. There will be questions that throw you off. It’s your ability to find things in timely manner that helps getting the right answer. Being familiar with all the references helps a lot. If you are on Reddit, it has updates most Wednesday or so where people will say what reference is searchable as a whole, what is searchable by chapter. Use that information when practicing.

Angela, can youi please post the reddit link here..

 

[keviv]

For some reason I didnt get any notifications from here. I could not edit the excel sheet file. I have registered for my exam on Nov 21 (4th time) for now. My classes end on oct 10 and 1 month for practice tests. Anyone PE civil structural please share some valuable feedback from who have taken CBT Exams.

Thanks guys

 

[AngelaK]

Angela, can youi please post the reddit link here..

I don’t have the exact link. On wednesdays of results release people posts their tips etc. I followed Reddit heavily for all the tips when I took the exam. It is in the PE group

 

[AngelaK]

For some reason I didnt get any notifications from here. I could not edit the excel sheet file. I have registered for my exam on Nov 21 (4th time) for now. My classes end on oct 10 and 1 month for practice tests. Anyone PE civil structural please share some valuable feedback from who have taken CBT Exams.

Thanks guys

Start taking tests before that. I needed at least 2-3 months of test practice alone.

 

[Gen]

So yesterday I got my results. Failed again for 4th time. By my calculations looking at the diagnostic I got 64% so I was pretty damn close. I had perfect score in 5 categories. My worse categories were Trans, Means and Methods, and Scheduling. Last exam I had close to perfect scores in these categories except Trans. and scheduling is one of my areas of work that I am very good at but the questions on this exam for scheduling were out in left field and not real world. Hell I bet NCEES could make a grocery list difficult to understand. The way I come up with 64% is in each section a 15 is perfect. 15 x 15 sections is 225. My scores in each section total 144. If 70 is passing then 157/225 would do it. That puts me at 13 points short which I figure is around 3 questions. Pretty bummed I was so close and pissed that several questions I knew I just couldn’t find in the references in a timely manner. Guess I’ll have to memorize the chapters since you can’t search the entire pdf’s. Oh well this was my best attempt and funny thing is because this was a make up from previous attempt when the building lost power I didn’t have time to study at all for 3 weeks before this exam due to work. Guess I’ll give NCEES some more money today and thinking I’ll try again pretty soon since I was close. One thing that did get me in the afternoon section was brain fatigue. I ate a light lunch with crackers, hummus, meats, and cheese and just felt slow and tired first two hours of afternoon. I’m sure this played a part in failing as well. I can’t do coffee it makes me jittery but if anyone has any suggestions for afternoon energy please share. Thanks.

I am so sorry to hear this. Do you want an invite at Discord? I joined this discord group and it’s supposed to be for construction folks.

 

[Gen]

So yesterday I got my results. Failed again for 4th time. By my calculations looking at the diagnostic I got 64% so I was pretty damn close. I had perfect score in 5 categories. My worse categories were Trans, Means and Methods, and Scheduling. Last exam I had close to perfect scores in these categories except Trans. and scheduling is one of my areas of work that I am very good at but the questions on this exam for scheduling were out in left field and not real world. Hell I bet NCEES could make a grocery list difficult to understand. The way I come up with 64% is in each section a 15 is perfect. 15 x 15 sections is 225. My scores in each section total 144. If 70 is passing then 157/225 would do it. That puts me at 13 points short which I figure is around 3 questions. Pretty bummed I was so close and pissed that several questions I knew I just couldn’t find in the references in a timely manner. Guess I’ll have to memorize the chapters since you can’t search the entire pdf’s. Oh well this was my best attempt and funny thing is because this was a make up from previous attempt when the building lost power I didn’t have time to study at all for 3 weeks before this exam due to work. Guess I’ll give NCEES some more money today and thinking I’ll try again pretty soon since I was close. One thing that did get me in the afternoon section was brain fatigue. I ate a light lunch with crackers, hummus, meats, and cheese and just felt slow and tired first two hours of afternoon. I’m sure this played a part in failing as well. I can’t do coffee it makes me jittery but if anyone has any suggestions for afternoon energy please share. Thanks.

I made sure I rested before the exam. Brain fatigue is hard to deal with. I had this and regardless how good i am at certain topics, i still could get it wrong. When you hit at certain point of brain fatigue just rest watch TV or listen to music. I did walked around our neighborhood and it did helped.

During the exam, I had rice, banana and hard boiled egg. I would consume carbs like I would when training for marathon.

Stretch during my 50 mins break.

Before the exam (while waiting outside Pearson), I walked back and forth the hallway. Just to keep this blood flow into my brain. I had coffee as well. I made sure i peed before the exam.


Goodluck on your next attempt.

 

[Pra4surf1]

I am so sorry to hear this. Do you want an invite at Discord? I joined this discord group and it’s supposed to be for construction folks.

Thanks that would be great!

 

[Pra4surf1]

I made sure I rested before the exam. Brain fatigue is hard to deal with. I had this and regardless how good i am at certain topics, i still could get it wrong. When you hit at certain point of brain fatigue just rest watch TV or listen to music. I did walked around our neighborhood and it did helped.

During the exam, I had rice, banana and hard boiled egg. I would consume carbs like I would when training for marathon.

Stretch during my 50 mins break.

Before the exam (while waiting outside Pearson), I walked back and forth the hallway. Just to keep this blood flow into my brain. I had coffee as well. I made sure i peed before the exam.


Goodluck on your next attempt.

Excellent feedback thanks! I was thinking something similar with rice and smoked salmon for lunch. Read it’s good for brain function and alertness. Conveniently some friends just got back from Alaska and brought us some. I like the walk idea and will try that.

 

[Pra4surf1]

Sorry to hear that. But you were close. So don’t feel down now and try it again. Also, eat a cup of blueberries with lunch next time. They help keeping brain alert. Drink coconut water (I like it because it’s natural) at the break or something with electrolytes. Search for other brain food for internet and if it work for you build that into your breakfast. Also, get a good high intensity workout the day before, if you have the habit of working out. I did all of these as I was not ready to take any chances.

One thing to stress a lot is you need to know all your references. There will be questions that throw you off. It’s your ability to find things in timely manner that helps getting the right answer. Being familiar with all the references helps a lot. If you are on Reddit, it has updates most Wednesday or so where people will say what reference is searchable as a whole, what is searchable by chapter. Use that information when practicing.

Thanks great info! Working out has helped me a lot to relieve stress. I’ll definitely try the blue berries too and check out Reddit. I think over the next month I’m going to review references, spend more time on transportation, and work through some Goswami problems. I backed off of those problems because they were very in depth and some people said it was way harder than the real exam and to be careful spending too much time. One thing I like about Goswami is the problems are long and cover different scenarios. At this point I think most of the exams I’ve purchased such as PE Prepared and NCEES are way easier than the real exam so I’m going to try to find more difficult practice problems. Thanks again for the good vibes!!!

 

[Gen]

Thanks that would be great!

Here’s the link:

https://discord.gg/K43mf4bK