Speeding up time to solve problems

[KatyLied P.E.]

I swear by the 3-pass system. I got all the low-hanging fruit, solved the ones I knew how to do, and then had an hour or more left to attempt the ones I knew would be hard. That way I didn't get hung up on anything and accidentally waste too much time.

I know some people worry about messing up the order of their answers on their scantron, but honestly, on a test this important, I would be double-checking which question I was answering no matter what.

Mult-pass system worked very well for me.

 

[adamn185 PE]

I took the chemical exam last October (and passed). One piece of advice that is somewhat counter intuitive for a timed exam: take the time to thoroughly read the problem, and understand what is being asked; then, all your preparation work in understanding/applying concepts and working problems will (or should) kick in and help you focus on the relevant information and correct approach to solve the problem efficiently. Good luck on the exam!

Hey thanks for the advice - how did you think the exam was difficulty wise compared to sample exams and content. I took the ppi course (or am about to finish it, rather) and would love to hear any feedback.

In general, I thought most of the available sample exams and the PPI 6-minute solutions were more difficult than the actual test; the added difficulty of the practice exams definitely helped in preparation. I took the environmental exam several years ago, and thought the chem exam was easier overall. One tip (that has been repeated several time) is know your references and where information is in them. Do not bring any reference that you haven't used in you preparation (it will just take up space on the table or floor). Good luck on the exam!

Hey - did you do the PPI practice exam? I'm doing it today, trying to simulate exam conditions. Finished the morning session and going to do the PM shortly. None of them were particularly difficult technically but took way more than 6 min. To finish in 4 hours I had to guess on quite a few. Did you notice this as well?

Thanks a lot.

 

[IlliniWood]

As far as simulating exact exam conditions for practice, I'm not a big proponent of it. I know some swear by it, and by all means, do what works best for you, I'm just saying that you do not need to do it in order to pass.

I tried it with the PPI, after 30 minutes I gave up. It almost killed my confidence. My instructor for PPI's online course was also not a big fan of doing a practice 8-hour test run. In his words, "you've only got so many bullets in that gun, so be careful using them."

 

[adamn185 PE]

I've been saving the NCEES practice exam for a simulated test run this weekend. Maybe not a great idea?

 

[CU07]

I did it in 2 4-hour blocks about a week apart and thought that was reasonable. I didn't burn out and it gave me a good feel for what the exam would look and feel like.

 

[IlliniWood]

Do whatever you thinks will work best for you. Everyone is different.

 

[MechE_in_PA_PE]

I did a full four hour morning and four hour afternoon dry run with the ncees practice exam one day about a month ago (although I had previously worked about 60-70% of the problems at least once before). I thought it was worth it, as it gave me a chance to try pacing myself and practice keeping moving forward. I skipped a few problem that I didn't know how to do and came back to them at the end.

 

[P-E]

I've been saving the NCEES practice exam for a simulated test run this weekend. Maybe not a great idea?

I tried that with sms and what a mistake that was. It was demoralizing and I almost quit. Should have spent the time reviewing pm material.