Success Strategy

[Pac73]

I wrote this in the other forum on Nov. 2 2010, fresh out the exam...

I took ME with HVAC/Refrig.

The Morning was pretty close to what I expected. For a specialty as broad as mechanical engineering is very difficult to have all bases covered (in my case mechanical design is my weakness), but I had more than 45 minutes to come back and spend more time in those questions. I?m guessing I got 30-35 out of 40.

The afternoon was a different animal, I was confident about my specialty but they really made me work!! Plenty of variety in the problems, even though I kept my eye on the clock the hole afternoon didn?t have any extra time, when the 15 minutes warning came I till had about 5 questions unanswered, I had to try my best to get to some result on those. I?m guessing 25-30 out of 40.

So best case scenario 65/80, worst case 55/80

My finals thoughts:

-The questions were tricky, more than once I found myself working in one direction (due to the data given) only to realize that I didn?t need all that info.

-They didn?t let me use my extra large, colored, laminated charts (mollier and psychro) because they were not bound, and I found that 5 minutes before the exam (the first proctors said it was fine but the principal said it wasn?t just before the beginning). That definitely affected my efficiency.

-The proctors were as fast as usual! , We waste approximately 2 hours in preparations (that includes both sessions before and after).

-The room was huge, and we had plenty of space but the lights were so noisy!.

 

[high order ent]

Quit smoking weed for a week and borrowed the pre-tabbed CERM from a co-worker. Left the test feeling good and, being Friday, I proceeded to get high-HIGH.

 

[pdm]

I agree with first poster...especially about the prayer and practice exams!!!

 

[pissed_off_eng]

i dont know if i passed yet but i really hope i do. I put the sign of the cross on the first page of my morning and afternoon books

 

[JKG]

1. Put away Lindberg's books, which had me thoroughly discouraged. The problems were *so* much harder than the NCEES sample test, and I just do not have the amount of time in my life that working through his sample questions would require.

2. Worked NCEES sample test questions.

3. Worked through entirety of Indranil Goswami's study book. His sample questions are similar in nature to actual exam questions, and provides more thorough explanations than NCEES sample book.

I paced myself well morning and afternoon, checking my time regularly. However, in the afternoon, I ran out of concentration in the last couple of hours, and ended up missing a few "gimme" questions. Passed anyway, but would work towards my strengths first morning and afternoon if doing it over.

And didn't pray. :^)

 

[SpacedOut31416]

1. Used Villa Nova online course in PE Review Electrical Power

2. Tried to thoroughly understand NCEES sample test in E. Power

3. Worked through some of the Camara problems

4. Studied and worked problems from a couple of EE power course textbooks I had

5. Found a lot of helpful info on the Internet (e.g., protective relaying)

6. Got familiar with the first 4 chapters of the 2008 NEC (plus important tables ch. 9, Annex, etc.)

7. Worked NEC example problems from 2008 handbook, Mike Holt, etc.

8. Bought Tom Henry's index to the NEC

9. Made my own (large) notebook of formulas and example problems from the NEC

10. Made sure I understood how much time I had and not get stuck on one problem

 

[kjeads]

I guess it depends on your study style. Personally, I hate tabs in books, except to mark very specific tables. I found they actually distracted me more during the studying process than not. I learned where to find things in the indices of each book, and that helped me a lot more. My degree is in chemical engineering, but as I am an environment/health/safety engineer, I chose to study up for the environmental exam. Which meant I knew next to nothing about what was going to be on the exam when I started studying, compared to what I would have known if I had taken the chemical exam.

My approach was to purchase the Lindeburg manual, read through each chapter, work the problems, then start on 6 minute solution problems. There was a ton I didn't get immediately, but I wanted to go through it all ahead of my review class, which was through School of PE. That way, when I got to the class, I had the basic knowledge of what would be reviewed, and I could spend a lot more time solidifying concepts and understanding more complex problems rather than learn brand new material. I also got the NCEES sample exam book - that was a huge help.

When I started re-doing problems after the class, I chose not to use my Lindeburg manual except for the tables. I found the reference books I purchased to be much more helpful, and using them exclusively for exam studying was probably a good approach for me. I think I put in about 200+ hours of quality studying over 3 months, including class time.

I put everything down 2 days before the exam and just relaxed after that - well, tried to. Ultimately, I went through the exam one question at a time - I fall into the camp of folks whereby if I don't know how to approach it the first time I look at it, I'm not going to know. Those I skipped and came back to at the end of the exam to try and make educated guesses.

At least it paid off - I passed!

 

[Coastal Engineer]

Just passed the Mechanical PE and took the Mechanical Systems and Materials afternoon. I bought the NCEES practice book and took the test to identify general areas of weakness. From there, I focused on the chapters that needed reviewing by going through the practice problems book with the MERM from Lindeberg. Total study time was about 100 hours spread out over the two months prior to the test. When doing the practice test I did time myself to make it as realistic as possible. No tabs for my books. I did take two boxes of books with me, but in the end all I really used was the MERM, Marks, Shigley, and my Thermo book (Shapiro). Everything else was pretty much overkill.

 

[ezmorningrebel]

the difference maker for me was just working more problems. in the fall i reviewed material but didn't work many problems. since i had to take the civil am this time i needed to go back and review a lot of material. instead of endlessly thumbing through the cerm i just started trying to work problems and going back and learning the material to solve the problem. i worked through through two practice exams in this manner and filled in the rest.

 

[dmparri3]

For the Civil exam:

1. Did all of the AM problems in all of the 6-minute solutions books.

2. Did all of the PM problems in the 6-minute soulution book of my depth area (WR and ENV)

3. Did all of the AM problems in the NCEES problem book.

4. Did all of the PM problems in the NCEES problem book for my depth area.

I set up my study schedule to do 3-4 of these problems a day, which took about 3 months total. I didn't take any practice exams, but I would recommend it.

Bottom line: work as many problems as you can, that seems to be the key. working through these problems will get you familiar with your references.

 

[Deke11]

I took the Civil - Water Resources and Environmental exam and just passed. My strategy was as follows:

1) I took an ASCE review course offered by the local ASCE YMF. The cost and time spent was very reasonable ($150 and 2 nights a week for five weeks). They helped focus in on the likely exam topics you'll encounter on the exam and told you what not to bother with (i.e. reading every CERM chapter is overkill).

2) I took practice exams leading up to the exam. I purchased the NCEES practice exams and treated them like the actual exam. I sat down in a conference room, set a timer for four hours, and took the exam like it was exam day (morning test on one Saturday and the afternoon module the next). The results helped me focus on a couple key areas I was weak in during my last two weeks of studying.

3) I didn't take too many resources to bog down my time. I only used the CERM for the morning questions, and then had maybe three books for the afternoon module.

4) I studied alot, but never did more than about four hours a day. My mind seems to go numb after that. All in all, I'd say I studied about 100 hours total in the three months leading up to the exam.

Best of luck to all of you taking the next exam in October.

 

[Deke11]

Just passed the Mechanical PE and took the Mechanical Systems and Materials afternoon. I bought the NCEES practice book and took the test to identify general areas of weakness. From there, I focused on the chapters that needed reviewing by going through the practice problems book with the MERM from Lindeberg. Total study time was about 100 hours spread out over the two months prior to the test. When doing the practice test I did time myself to make it as realistic as possible. No tabs for my books. I did take two boxes of books with me, but in the end all I really used was the MERM, Marks, Shigley, and my Thermo book (Shapiro). Everything else was pretty much overkill.

I second this strategy as it was pretty much identical to mine (only I took a different exam). I too only ending up using about 3 books of the 10-15 I brought.

 

[ellebee216]

For all those who passed, is it better to review the CERM or go over more problems? I'm trying to correct my studying habits as they did not help me to be successful for the April exam. (I got a 50/80 for transpo) I just bought the NCEES review book for my discipline and I have the 6-minute solutions already. Is it better to do problems (over and over again) or review the topics and theories?

Any advice or help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[sc57]

I passed in 2nd try.

I am class of '79. First time i took review course was at Rutgers university (New Jersey), studied 250 hours, - Failed. RAW score was 47/80.

Second time I took GA tech on line review course. Studied 110 hours. I spent more time on my weak area from diagnostic report.

My study material was mainly GA tech review material, NEC code book and NCEES practice problem. For reference material I had Camara book, and old Raymond Yarborough book.

 

[NBeebe]

For all those who passed, is it better to review the CERM or go over more problems? I'm trying to correct my studying habits as they did not help me to be successful for the April exam. (I got a 50/80 for transpo) I just bought the NCEES review book for my discipline and I have the 6-minute solutions already. Is it better to do problems (over and over again) or review the topics and theories?
Any advice or help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I did both. I followed the recommended study guide in the introduction to the CERM (46 chapters I believe). I would read through the chapter, making sure I understood all the concepts well. Then I would work the problems for that chapter in the companion problem book. I repeated this for all 46 chapters, which took me approximately 200 hours. Then I spent approximately 90 hours on my depth section (structural for me) which was a combination of reading (study guides, code books, etc) and problem solving (6 minute solutions). Then, on the Saturday before the exam, I sat down with the NCEES practice problems, which I had not even opened prior, and took exactly four hours for the morning, took a 45 minute break for lunch, then exactly four hours for the afternoon (structural, obviously). Then I graded it, and was very happy with the result (68/80) - that was a HUGE confidence booster only 6 days before the exam. I found the actual exam to be only slightly more difficult than the practice exam, so I am hoping for the best (still waiting for my letter).

Doing problems is obviously very important, but there is also usually a lot of qualitative questions on the exam as well where knowing the topics and theories will be the difference.

 

[Jamo]

I read through the MERM and did the in-chapter questions and end of chapter questions during my study. I generally followed the schedule that PPI generates, but did each module a bit faster so I would have time at the end to focus on my depth and weak areas. The PPI schedule goes right up to the test date, but I finished my overall review of MERM about a month and a half from the test date. I then worked through my depth's Six Minute Solutions, afternoon modules that were not my depth, and worked a variety of problems in Lindberg's practice test. I did this untimed and mostly to see how quickly I could identify what the question was asking for and locate it in my reference books. About 2 weeks out from the test I took the practice NCEES (timed). I was right on the edge of passing and used the final two weeks to review the practice test and SMS over and over again.

I started my studying very early, but it afforded me the opportunity to take some nights off and, although there was some study on the weekends, it wasn't 8-10 hour marathon sessions. The MERM was pretty daunting to tackle and having that much time let me relax and really re-review the concepts which helped a lot come test day.

 

[johnf]

Passed civil construction - 3rd try.

1st try, did a little studying, bought the CERM and NCEES practice test used my old college texts and got my ass kicked.

2nd try, got serious, spent a ton of cash, bought almost every ppi or amazon civil pe test prep book, did the SchoolofPE web thing, completely ignoring the diagnostic report, studied a little more, maybe 100 hrs total in a month before the exam, brought too much reference material into the exam and got my ass kicked again.

3rd try, used the diagnostic spreadsheet found on this website to focus on my weak areas, WR and depth.

Made a study plan and stuck to it. Also used the SchoolofPE study plan. Studied about 250 hrs., including the SchoolofPE webinar.

Early into my studying, which started on January 1, 2011, I bought the Essential Equations-Morse, Et Al, programed my hp 33 calculator with all of the equations, and then really worked the practice problems and exams using the programmed equations. While it became easier to just crunch the equations from either the reference or from memory,in the exam I used them a few times, especially the Solve function for at least two problems, 1 am and 1 pm, that saved several minutes each.

Took the SchoolofPE web refresher (second time for a greatly reduced price) and really bore down on the weak areas. Most of their material is well presented and well worth it.

Worked every practice test and problem I could find. NCEES, PPI, 6 minutes, Goswami, a few others on-line or in pdf.

Simplified my reference material. Took only about 14-15 books and binders into the exam and used all of them. Was nervous going into the exam that I would need a book or reference that I did not have, and I've bought almost all available, believe me, but once in the exam, was comfortable with what I had. I ran into one afternoon question that I had no idea how to even start, and instead of searching through too much info, I quickly determined that I was not going to find anything similar, didn't have the background to answer and moved on, whereas on the first or second exams, would have spent too much time trying. Very important to recognize the difference between those questions that you can answer in a reasonable time and those that will just take too long.

For breadth, used CERM 11th, All-In-One-Goswami(under-rated, in my opinion-if you don't have it, get it, provides a different format, perspective, and flows better from related topics) and SchoolofPE binder. Thats it.

For depth, used CERM 11th, All-In-One, Construction Project Management-Mubarak, Construction Planning, Equipment and Methods-Peurifoy, Et Al, NDS, Guide to Formwork For Concrete - ACI, 318-05- ACI, Civil PE Professional Engineer exam Construction module,Third Edition - Rajapkse, Bob's Rigging and Crane Handbook, OSHA CFR 1926, and the Transpo binders, Green Book, MUTC and AISC Steel Design 13th and a general Transpo book, can't remember the title.

 

[johnf]

oh yeah, tabbed all reference material extensively.

 

[Boomer01 PE]

The NCEES problems and solutions books really seemed to be the difference between failing (1st time) and passing (2nd time). The problems were a lot more like the ones on the actual test than other books like the 6-minute solutions or even CERM problems.

I would suggest to just do as many problems as you can rather than worrying about flagging or highlighting things in the books.

 

[221b]

I just found out today that I passed PE Civil WR - First Time! I found CERM to be a TOTAL WASTE, as was his book of practice problems. I really started to believe that most of the people praising CERM on this board were actually employees of the CERM company, logged in to steer people toward buying those books. All of the problems in the CERM books were way too complicated, and after a few weeks of filling up multiple sheets of paper to work ONE obscure problem, I knew that I needed to do something else.

I bought the NCEES 2011 edition, xeroxed each problem onto it's own sheet, and worked them in great detail with cross references and notes on each sheet. Since that seemed to work well, I also bought the 2008 and 2001 editions of the book and did the same thing. Then I divided up the worked problems into Water/Resources (in its own binder) and another binder for Geotech, Construction, Structural, Transportation, and Misc. Economics Questions, which seemed to appear in each discipline.

I worked all the problems in each book, even the in-depth problems in other disciplines in the older books, since it seemed that a lot of problems crossed over. For instance, in Transportation sections there were open channel water problems. These were similar to the W/R problems, but different, so that it revealed a little more of how NCEES constructs problems.

After I worked all the problems in the books and made definitive binders, I again xeroxed all the practice problems and made stacks of practice tests, mixing all disciplines and morning and afternoon questions. I would work as many problems as I could in a certain time period. After working through the stacks, I would re-shuffle them and start over.

Finally, I took some textbooks with me to the test, but my main resource was my old FE Formula Manual, which turned out to have almost everything needed for the NCEES PE practice questions. What it didn't have I wrote into it, or xeroxed and pasted into the back.

I don't know if this method would work for everyone, but it worked for me. Search out those old NCEES books, especially now that they will be cheap on Amazon or Abebooks.com. As the next test gets closer, they will get more expensive and harder to find.