Test is only next week. How does everyone feel about it?

[user 26087]

^^My 5 year old wanted to sit and learn about circuit relays and protection one night just to hang out.

 

[NJmike PE]

Last weekend when I left the house early Sunday to do a full mock up test, by 7 year old hugged me and said " I cant wait till after the the exam, I never see you anymore" How am I feeling, lets go today!!!!!! I swear I would sit at midnight tonight and take it if I could.

yeah, I studied after my kiddos went to bed. I would be sitting at my kitchen table from 8 pm until 11 pm at least 4-5 nights per week. I feel your pain

 

[Predgw]

My 4.5 year old gives me the same grief. I made a deal that when I get the envelope in the mail when can all open it as a family and the 7 year old will read it out loud. No pressure.

 

[Road Guy]

thats pretty cool you have them that into it!

 

[Predgw]

Yeah they got a kick out of the tabs on my books. My 7 year old is very sharp. When I added the color system, he looked at it and said " yellow for light a traffic light, blue for water, orange for a construction sign, what the heck is the pink for??? I laughed and said, well I wanted red, but structres gets pink.

 

[matt267 PE]

Yeah, I really don't care that the exam is next week. But, I think I might take the PE in April 2015, so I'll be sh!ting bricks come this time next year. :brickwall:

 

[NJmike PE]

^^^^Slacker

 

[matt267 PE]

^^^^Slacker

Nope.

This will be me for about 500 hours --> :reading:

This will be me the rest of the time --> :jerkit:

 

[ATL Derek]

My 2nd attempt as well. Feeling better and more excited about the test. The first attempt was more nervousness. Hopefully excitement translates to passing!

how did you study the first time and what did you do differently this time?

Great question. I didn't get approved to take the exam until late July '13. So I was already in the hole as far as study time. Coupled to the fact that I had been out of school for almost 14 years didn't help either. My "text book" knowledge was long gone. Oh yea, and my kids were 6 months and 24 months at the time.

My first mistake was jumping into the MERM's practice problem book. I started at chapter 1 and worked problems. It would take me 2 plus hours to try and work some of the problems. Little did I know that the MERM practice problems are NOTHING like the exam problems. Anyway, I did this for weeks and made it to chapter 12 or so. By this time, I had already forgotten what I learned in chapters 1-9. So I was basically chasing my tail. I then looked at the NCEES and 6MS books and started working those problems. Because I wasted so much time on the MERM problems, I was only able to work the NCEES and 6MS problems once. I realized I was not ready for the test, but the time that I came to that realization, NCEES had closed registration so I was stuck with paying for the exam whether I took it or not. So I decided to take the test anyway.

THIS time around I have focused on the NCEES and 6MS problems. They are much more realistic. I have worked each problem at least 6 times even if I could work them in my sleep. And working the problems over and over helps with navigating the MERM and knowing where to go for a particular equation, etc. A well tabbed reference book is key. I wasted a lot of time on the exam trying to find stuff in the MERM.

 

[NJmike PE]

And working the problems over and over helps with navigating the MERM and knowing where to go for a particular equation, etc. A well tabbed reference book is key. I wasted a lot of time on the exam trying to find stuff in the MERM.

THIS!!!!!

 

[matt267 PE]

Mike, Derek, how much did you use your own notes vs. your reference books during the PE?

 

[NJmike PE]

Notes, as in what I accumulated from my undergrad, or notes that I made during my prep for the exam?

 

[scary dog PE]

Last weekend when I left the house early Sunday to do a full mock up test, by 7 year old hugged me and said " I cant wait till after the the exam, I never see you anymore" How am I feeling, lets go today!!!!!! I swear I would sit at midnight tonight and take it if I could.

yeah, I studied after my kiddos went to bed. I would be sitting at my kitchen table from 8 pm until 11 pm at least 4-5 nights per week. I feel your pain

I would fall asleep before my kids went to bed!! The only way for me to study was to go to Barnes and Nobel every night after work and study (they close at 10 and it was comfortable and quiet) studying every night and lack of sleep got me there!!! thank GOD I never have to do that again!!! Too old for this!

 

[NJmike PE]

thank GOD I never have to do that again!!! Too old for this!

This! I never realized how draining it becomes the older that I get, and I'm only 35.

 

[matt267 PE]

Notes, as in what I accumulated from my undergrad, or notes that I made during my prep for the exam?

Notes that you made during your prep for the exam.

 

[NJmike PE]

truthfully, the only notes that I ever made during my prep, were in my reference books and there were not many. I almost always used my practice problems

 

[matt267 PE]

truthfully, the only notes that I ever made during my prep, were in my reference books and there were not many. I almost always used my practice problems

I see.

So you were able to bring practice problems into the exam? I heard someone say that wasn't allowed.

 

[NJmike PE]

This is what I brought in terms of binders full of practice problems. I clearly wasn't hiding anything.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

I only brought references because they said I could. Didn't need them, so I took them back to my car at lunch.

 

[NJmike PE]

I only brought references because they said I could. Didn't need them, so I took them back to my car at lunch.

truthfully, I didn't need much of what I brought, including more than 75% of what was in those binders. But on the outside chance that I got stuck and recalled a similar problem that I had done during practice, I wanted to have them with me.