Last Minute Advice 2

[icundiff]

I am taking the Civil PE Exam with Structural Depth this Friday, 10/28/16, and from reading this forum, I know several others are as well. I am not looking for any specific advice, but thought it would be nice to have one thread with any comments/suggestions/words of wisdom from those who have successfully passed the exam.

 

[IRstuff]

There have been numerous threads about this subject:

http://www.eng-tips.com/search.cfm?q=exam+advice&action=search

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[FoxSE14]

What worked for me:
1. Get a good night sleep every night this week. Try to squeeze some exercise in leading up to the test.
2. Eat a great breakfast morning of, make sure you've got protein in there.
3. Took the test in 3 passes. 1st pass: knock out the high confidence/quick answer questions. As I went, made a symbol next to questions that I needed to revisit: one symbol for medium difficulty/time required, another for those hardest questions or those needing more time/reference diving. 2nd pass: knock out the medium-difficulty questions. 3rd pass and beyond: knock out any remaining higher-difficulty/higher-time questions.

Some look at me sideways for this one: I stayed in a hotel room the night before that was located close to the testing center. I arrived at the test rested, focused, and without any frazzling from traffic or last-minute unforeseens. Because time = money, I felt comfortable shelling out $100 for a solid nights sleep with nearly zero commute the morning of the big day. Hotel's continental breakfast allowed me to check off item 2 above pretty easily.

 

[icundiff]

I understand. Again, I am not looking for any specific advice, just thought it would be nice to have one thread with any last minute advice for everyone who is taking the exam to review.

Edit: Thanks FoxSE14, I was typing this in response to IRstuff and was not directing my comments to your post.

 

[SLTA]

I highly recommend bringing your own lunch and eating in the parking lot. I brought a good lunch I knew would sit well on a nervous stomach (PB&J!). I also brought a cushion for my chair - that chair got HARD after 8 hours. Some unwrapped hard candy, a bottle of water, and the double-checked correct calculator with a spare set of batteries, and you should be set.

YES to the hotel nearby with breakfast, and not a super-cheap one either. Drive the route the night before to make sure you know where you're going.

Best of luck to everyone!

Please remember: we're not all guys!

 

[JAE]

Get sleep the night before....very important to help your brain synapses do their magic.

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[msquared48]

Beer. Lots of Beer... afterwords.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[mike20793]

If you haven't already, I suggest printing out and tabbing the CERM index. It will save you considerable time.

 

[Leftwow]

I am too bro good luck.

 

[msquared48]

Organize your information so you can find the answer / topic quickly.

The night prior to the exam, do something to relax and just forget it. If you are not ready by then, you never will be. Just relax.

Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[mike20793]

Good information, Mike. The night of relaxing before definitely helped ease my mind and calm me down before taking the test.

 

[EngineeringEric]

Know where you are going to park before the morning of. after that relax in hotel (no kids, no wife, no GF, less distractions)

I ended up going to the wrong garage that put me on the wrong end of the huge conference center. I had to move my car to a different garage and resettle down, not needed before a test. For those wondering i kept my lunch in my car and planned on returning to my car to eat and listen to music. It was good i did so i had something to kill during those few hours of lunch besides peruse eng-tips on my phone.

 

[fel3]

I took the California PE exam back in 1983. I was fortunate to live less than a mile from the test site in a modest-sized city with only modest traffic. I actually went home for lunch (my wife had lunch ready for me--atypical, as I prefer to make my own--and I had a few minutes to play with my 10-month-old daughter, which was nice way to relax).

I did FoxSE14's #1, #2, and #3. Remember, most tests are maximum points in minimum time. Take a first pass through the exam and answer only those questions you can solve immediately (or nearly so). On your second pass, solve only those remaining problems where you know exactly (almost) where to find the info you need. That leaves only the hardest questions for your third pass, but you have preserved as much time as possible to plow through them.

Good luck.

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"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
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