WR&E Test / Studying Anxiety

armstrong_nola · Sep 21, 2018

Hi!

I'm taking my PE for the first time in T-minus 1 month and 4 days. I am about 110 hours in with studying and have hit a wall. I can not seem to focus. I believe I have all the morning session covered except for transportation. I'm now focusing only on the afternoon session material from here on out. Has any else loss all motivation to study with the test being so close and having so much still to cover?? Does anyone have any good techniques or ways to regain focus? I've taken off a full week from studying--this has only made the anxiety worse..I could have been using this week to study!

I'll also take all tips on studying for the afternoon session.

Thanks in advance!

-SA

CivilGuy00 · Sep 25, 2018

So are you self studying? If so, have you gathered a large number of practice problems? You should constantly be doing problems even though you don't have motivation. Break it down into small sessions each day if you have to. Don't rely only on concept studying if you are.

Also, it might help/give you motivation to study if you put together a schedule for the remaining time. That way, each day, you can look at what you need to study and check it off the list. Schedules always seemed to work for me. They gave me the structure and drive to keep pushing forward.

I took this exam three times before I passed so don't underestimate this thing. If by chance you aren't successful this time around, don't waste anymore time and purchase a review course. Yes, it is a decent amount of money up front but trust me it is less then what you will spend taking the exam over and over again. Hope this helps.

ME_VT_PE · Sep 25, 2018

Only 110 hrs? .........uh oh

tj_PE · Sep 25, 2018

ME_VT_PE said:
Only 110 hrs? .........uh oh

noooo shush

csb · Sep 25, 2018

Switch up what you're doing to study. For instance, if you've been just working problems, switch over to tabbing references or reading through them. Also, it's okay to take a week off.

txjennah PE · Sep 25, 2018

Hey there! I'm where you're at hours wise and also feeling pretty sick of studying. IMO, I don't see much value studying when I'm mentally drained, so if you need a break, take it. But I do think it's important to do a little every day. Like others have said, if you find yourself feeling drained, cut your session short (maybe spend just 15-30 minutes) and see how many problems you can work on. Or mix up the material. You'll be surprised that if you keep your sessions shorter, you may feel more energized. From someone who has unfortunately taken this test more than once, I personally don't see a ton of value getting a review course this late in the game. I got a review course 5 weeks out the first test attempt and then used that as my primary means of studying...it got me close but wasn't enough to pass. My issue was I relied on watching the videos as a primary way of studying and ran out of time to do problems. I think as long as you work through as many problems as you can, including problems in the practice exams, then you'll be okay. Best of luck.