So now that FE is behind us for now..how did you think the test was ? was it easier than you thought it might be ? was it harder ? did u take discipline specific or general in the PM ? Lessons learned from April FE if any ?? I took electrical in the PM thought few questions were very tough and i had to guess and in the AM module i ran out of time in the end and had to guess on atleast 15 or so. so not sure where i stand at this point. How were your AM and PM modules ??
So... How was it ?
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I took the general exam. I'm an ME who graduated 14 years ago and it's been 12 years since my MSME. I started studying January 1st (this was a new years resolution).
I thought the AM was about the same level of question as the NCEES sample exam, and similar to the level of the morning test at the end of FERM, a little easier than the PPI sample practice tests AM sections. I had time to do all the problems, and review the handful I needed more time on.
The afternoon - some of the questions on the general seemed MUCH more difficult than the NCEES sample questions, closer to the PPI sample test questions. But there were enough simple questions that I was able to finish in 3 hours.
As for timing references, I was able to do both AM and PM sample Lindeburg (PPI) tests with some time to spare (about 20 minutes extra time), the NCEES sample test (which is only a half test 2 hours each) took me almost the full two hours for both parts.
For the morning I went through the whole thing in about 3 hours and 15min. Of course the ones I could not work right away I skipped to come back to later. I skipped about 12 (fluids/thermo) and some other scatterd questions. Some I got some I could not figure out. So I just guessed since the proctor called five minutes. I felt pretty good about the morning and did a quick review over lunch for afternoon. I took the EE for afternoon since Im EE major. I have a decent GPA 3.785, so I "thought" I would be good so I really only looked at EE stuff when studying........ it was a nightmare. I could not figure out some of the most simpilist problems. I stuck to the same strategy though and left the ones blank I could not get. When I got through the test the first time I had around 17 blank........ it was truely pathetic. I only had a half hour left so I went and tried to do the rest and basically made the best guesses I could. Now the 43 I got answers for I am sure I got about ten wrong two I know of. So unless I am a good guesser or I got 5 of the 17 I guessed right I should sit anywhere between 25 to 35 right. My overconfidence was definately my pitfall, I have a somewhat photographic memory so I can remeber in detail the ones I had trouble with. Upon getting home I looked at the notes I thought I knew and appllied the basic principles taught, to the problems on the test that I could remeber, wow it was sad since I could do most of then ethier in my head or with minimal calculations. My advice no matter how comfortable you feel in any subject at least give it more then a look. Grab some paper and do some examples no matter how easy you think it is. hopefully Ill skate by. But I do agree witht the original poster there were a few on there that I had never seen. Also 8 to 12 weeks for scores......... really...... I still cant get over how poorly I think I did.
guitarjamman
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I am a first time taker and all in all, the test was about what I expected. I have been out of school for 1.5 years (stupid me for not taking this while I was still smart) and I studied for about a month, utilizing about two hours a day and felt pretty confident both before and after the exam. On the drive home I know I made a stupid mistake on one of the AM problems *slams palm on forehead* and had to guess on a total of about 10 (mainly probability and stats). After my initial run through of answering the easier ones, I counted them all and got 62; made a second run through with the harder ones that required opening and searching the reference manual and had 10 left unanswered. Not too painful, just would not want to repeat it at all.
The Civil PM section was an interesting story to say the least. I knew how to answer a lot of them and am left with just a few questions lingering in my head. Some of the structural problems were very conceptual, which I normally do not have a problem with, but caught me off guard a few times. I was expecting to have to crunch some hard core numbers like I did in school, I mean hell, my college exams consisted of four problems and I had two hours to do them, using every second right up until the "pencils down" statements. During the drive home I had a heated debate with a friend on a few questions but in the end, I still feel confident I am right. A few of the problem were very tricky in that if you did a poor unit analysis, you were doomed from the get go.
Here is the one complaint I have and am still rather bothered by: one of the afternoon questions honestly had more than one correct answer. Two of the answers were a correct answer and which one to choose had a lot more to do with the budget associated with the project rather than the ethical background; hopefully this question was not the tipping point for my passing. There were two other questions that I could argue two of the four answers as being correct which both makes me a little worried but a little more confident at the same time; it shows me that I actually stopped and read all the answers and thought logically through the exam. The time was never an issue for me, I made it through the morning and afternoon section with enough time to spare to go back and revisit some that I was not so sure of my answers on (finding a mistake too). I am one that could re-read every question ten times and re-work a problem six ways to sunday which I am glad I did not have enough time to do. I tend to answer a question and then think about it too much, almost over analyzing a simple problem and am tempted to change my answer (theoretical problems apply here; plug and chug numbers are do it once, get the answer and then re-do it only focusing on units).
To wrap up my total experience, it was neither good nor bad. It is just another exam and I feel confident enough that I passed but a fail would not be the end of the world either. It seems in all honesty that the worst part of this whole exam process was/is going to be the waiting for the results, letting the little questions you had at the end of the day fester and grow into confidence/soul eating monsters by the time the 8 to 12 weeks passes by. I mean we are all engineers here and taking an exam written/graded by engineers. Someone should have been able to streamline the process a little more.
Why not just bring a scantron computer to the test site and scan it then? Give a first run score that may be subject to change after review? I know I surely will not be able to forget about the exam and move on with life until I have the results in hand.
Here is an interesting side note that I want to share: I took the exam with the notion that a lot of people fail based upon what I have found while searching online but I think a lot of people need to remember that the online information is heavily skewed. People who fail the exam come back online and post their failing attempts and say how hard it was. The people who passed their first time just move on with their lives and leave this test in the dust; never to post online anywhere how the exam really was. When I typed "F.E. Exam Stories" into Google I was led to hellish recounts of near impossible exams. This is surely not how the exam is for everyone and I think more people need to remember this. My nerves were racing as I was sitting down with the pencil in hand, ready to crack the seal on the booklet. I thought I was going to open it and see the blood of christ spill all over the exam table based upon some stories I read. Just remember, all the questions have a solution and somewhere in the 200 page reference manual you will find it. (The Index was my savior at the end of the book).
The Civil PM section was an interesting story to say the least. I knew how to answer a lot of them and am left with just a few questions lingering in my head. Some of the structural problems were very conceptual, which I normally do not have a problem with, but caught me off guard a few times. I was expecting to have to crunch some hard core numbers like I did in school, I mean hell, my college exams consisted of four problems and I had two hours to do them, using every second right up until the "pencils down" statements. During the drive home I had a heated debate with a friend on a few questions but in the end, I still feel confident I am right. A few of the problem were very tricky in that if you did a poor unit analysis, you were doomed from the get go.
Here is the one complaint I have and am still rather bothered by: one of the afternoon questions honestly had more than one correct answer. Two of the answers were a correct answer and which one to choose had a lot more to do with the budget associated with the project rather than the ethical background; hopefully this question was not the tipping point for my passing. There were two other questions that I could argue two of the four answers as being correct which both makes me a little worried but a little more confident at the same time; it shows me that I actually stopped and read all the answers and thought logically through the exam. The time was never an issue for me, I made it through the morning and afternoon section with enough time to spare to go back and revisit some that I was not so sure of my answers on (finding a mistake too). I am one that could re-read every question ten times and re-work a problem six ways to sunday which I am glad I did not have enough time to do. I tend to answer a question and then think about it too much, almost over analyzing a simple problem and am tempted to change my answer (theoretical problems apply here; plug and chug numbers are do it once, get the answer and then re-do it only focusing on units).
To wrap up my total experience, it was neither good nor bad. It is just another exam and I feel confident enough that I passed but a fail would not be the end of the world either. It seems in all honesty that the worst part of this whole exam process was/is going to be the waiting for the results, letting the little questions you had at the end of the day fester and grow into confidence/soul eating monsters by the time the 8 to 12 weeks passes by. I mean we are all engineers here and taking an exam written/graded by engineers. Someone should have been able to streamline the process a little more.
Why not just bring a scantron computer to the test site and scan it then? Give a first run score that may be subject to change after review? I know I surely will not be able to forget about the exam and move on with life until I have the results in hand.
Here is an interesting side note that I want to share: I took the exam with the notion that a lot of people fail based upon what I have found while searching online but I think a lot of people need to remember that the online information is heavily skewed. People who fail the exam come back online and post their failing attempts and say how hard it was. The people who passed their first time just move on with their lives and leave this test in the dust; never to post online anywhere how the exam really was. When I typed "F.E. Exam Stories" into Google I was led to hellish recounts of near impossible exams. This is surely not how the exam is for everyone and I think more people need to remember this. My nerves were racing as I was sitting down with the pencil in hand, ready to crack the seal on the booklet. I thought I was going to open it and see the blood of christ spill all over the exam table based upon some stories I read. Just remember, all the questions have a solution and somewhere in the 200 page reference manual you will find it. (The Index was my savior at the end of the book).
snickerd3
Taking suggestions
did you fill out a comment card about the questions you think have multiple answers? They only way they know to go back and check is if people tell them. They may have been new questions that needed vetting.]
My biggest mistake was buying the 2 sample tests off the NCEES site ( 1 online, 1 book). I took the EE PM test and the practice tests for the morning and afternoon were SO much easier than the real thing. Based on those tests I figured I was prepared and I would do fine. Not the case. It was a lot harder and I'm thinking that I did not pass. We'll see...
ya my buddy gave me the EE NCEES pratice book. And from what I saw in there most of the problems were elementry. However it did not show a problem from each of the tested areas listed in the reference handbook. Ill admit I did not look at my class notes on stuff I thought I was good on, due to time constraints. However that was my downfall, as I missed some easy problems or had to guess because I forgot basic concepts. My advice to those who havent taken it yet, just look at your notes and if your good youll know it if not do some problems. Jrambeau Ill keep my fingers crossed for the both of us.
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