maryannette
Wise One
OK, I don't want to ask this question in public, but what do you say to a good friend who didn't pass? I know what to say to EB.com people, but this is different.
What to SAY?
- Thread starter maryannette
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That really depends on the details of your relationship and how they prepared for the exam, general level of engineering aptitude, etc. It could range from "Wow dude, that's a real bummer and not expected. Let's go grab a few beers to help drown your sorrows," to "That sucks, guess you should study harder this time."
Dark Knight
Silent Guardian
Wao. That is bad. Do you know what areas you need to improve? Focus on that and I am sure you will pass next time.
D
Dexman PE
I remember telling a really good friend who failed the same exam that I passed something along the lines of "wow, you must be dumb if you failed a test even I could pass." But then again we've known each other for years and are constantly giving each other a hard time.
MechGuy
Well-known member
I had the same experience... I just said "****" and left it at that.
Sschell
Dude?
^dude! thats my response.... or you can use "Damn, that sucks!"
When I told my friend/co-worker (who took the same exam I did) that I failed, her response was a simple, "That sucks!" She had passed. She immediately went into problem-solving mode. She handed me over an AiChE booklet that she had used during the exam and her calculator, and told me to use them as long as I needed them.
Slugger926
Well-known member
Just tell them to dust off and get it next time. I took the AG PE exam more than once, missing by 1 question a couple of times then passing by one or two questions. Some of these exams are so diverse, or may hit a higher percentage of questions that the person didn't study in college which means that little mistakes in areas they know or luck of guessing could be the determining factor.
Did your friend study a specific area of an engineering discipline in college, and may need a little more studying in the broader area of the discipline.
Also, something I learned from a NCEES observer and proffesor that averages getting 70 out of 80 questions right no matter the exam, "follow the units". Many questions will solve themselves as algebra problems by just following the units regardless of the engineering field. Of course, it helps when you teach multiple engineering classes, and used to solving these types of problems all day long for 40 plus years.
Did your friend study a specific area of an engineering discipline in college, and may need a little more studying in the broader area of the discipline.
Also, something I learned from a NCEES observer and proffesor that averages getting 70 out of 80 questions right no matter the exam, "follow the units". Many questions will solve themselves as algebra problems by just following the units regardless of the engineering field. Of course, it helps when you teach multiple engineering classes, and used to solving these types of problems all day long for 40 plus years.
I figured this one out during studying and it is so useful. There was at least two questions on the PE that I knew what it was getting at, but I couldn't find an appropriate formula or anything of the sort so I just got to work on dimensional analysis and came up with appropriate-seeming answers.
Slugger926
Well-known member
The one other thing I learned, if you really don't have a clue on a problem, just guess and move on. Wasting mental energy and time could be used to double check problems you actually know. We were able to complete the PE exam in about 5.5 hours doing this with passing scores, and not feeling drained.
