PE Exam in one month, tips anyone??? 7

[bradpa77]

I'm wrapping up my PE exam studying here this month. I take the test in a month from today. I'm taking a class to prepare and I think I'm coming along pretty nicely. It's been about 5 months of studying and counting. So I've definitely been working hard towards it. I'm going to be taking the pennsylvania test with Mechanical discipline and Machine Design Depth.

I'm still shaky on my thermo, fluids, and HVAC stuff for the AM part of the test though. Anyone take this test recently? Do you have any tips on what to look at or how detailed to get with the problems. There's just so much that could be covered and I'm having trouble with narrowing down what to look at.

Also, anyone have any idea of the cut scores for the test. I realize that they are determined on a test by test basis but does anyone have any insight on what a "worst case scenario" might be for a cut score? How about you guys that took it twice. You probably got a detailed mailing about your test results when you took it the first time. What was the passing score for your test? Are we talking 60%, 70%, or even 80%. I just have no idea. I would like to have some sort of idea of what my chances are after the test. If I feel like I may have gotten x% correct, I want to feel somewhat confident in the fact that I passed or failed.

How about any other tips for the test? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mshimko]

Since this is pretty much "last minute", I'll limit my tip to the following:

Take only reference material you are familier with, and mark/label/tab major sections, tables, etc. If you spend a day or two on this, you will be a little more familier with what-is-where, AND the tabs will make it easier to find that table about XXXXX.

 

[lowedogg]

Work as many practice problems within the three mechanical disciplines as possible. Don't waste too much time with pure math or chemistry. There might be 1 or 2 of those questions, but 90% of it will be a mix of mechanical questions. Just work problems. You did this stuff in college and those questions were a lot harder than the ones on the PE exam!

I found the morning session to be fairly easy. I took the afternoon HVAC section and it was tough! I had been working as a design/consulting engineer in the HVAC field for 5 years prior to the exam. Afternoon seemed to require more use of judgement.

I can offer some advice for HVAC and Fluid systems questions: The ASHRAE Handbooks will help. Make sure you have a psychrometric chart. Find a formula sheet for HVAC. "Basic Air Conditioning Formulas" by Carrier corp is a good one. A friend in the industry could get you one of these or maybe you could google it. The methods in Lindeburg are stupid. They take much longer as you have to keep converting between mass and volume flow. There are standard multipliers that work great for normal sea level conditions. In case you can't get a chart in time, here are a few:

Water Flow: 500*GPM*deltaT=Btuh
Air Flow: 1.08*CFM*deltaT=Sensible Btuh
Air Flow: 4.5*CFM*deltaH=Total Btuh (H=enthalpy)

 

[NKT]

A good last step before the exam would be to review the tables of contents in your reference books. This may seem like a silly thing to do, but it helps to have the overall framework of your reference material fresh in mind when you go into the exam.

 

[bridgebuster]

A statue of Saint Jude (patron saint of difficult causes) - it worked for me.

 

[5588hzz]

lowedogg

I am going to take the design section in afternoon.

How about the HVAC questions in the morning? Is it difficult?

 

[chetoce]

I just took the Lindeburg practice exam for CE. I failed miserably. My ego took a big hit, I've been studying so hard. Should I even bother showing up for the exam? Which is more like the actual exam? The NCEES practic exam or the one by Lindeberg?

 

[drywall]

Reply to chetoce. Keep in mind that failing an exam is not the end of the world. The first time I took the P.E. twenty five years ago, I busted it but the second time I passed. Don't give up!

 

[Gymmeh]

chetoce,

The true thing to consider is, why did you fail the practice exam? and in this last week, can you correct that?

 

[MisterDonut]

chetoce,

Based on my experience with the mechanical PE exam, the Lindbergh exam questions are more difficult than the actual exam questions. The NCEES sample exam questions are similar to the actual exam.
I, too, took a Lindbergh practice exam and did not do well. I passed the actual exam a week later.

 

[UtilityLouie]

Here's one thing that always seemed to help me:

Banana up before the test!

I always had a banana 90 minutes before a test and another right before the test. A med student I lived with at university told me that the potassium boost helps brain activity.

That combined with working hundreds of sample problems including all the problems in Lindeburg "Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual for the PE exam" seemed to do the trick for me.

Also, don't give up if you don't succeed on the first try. I know too many engineers that just failed the exam and didn't take it again as soon as they could. The test always seemed like a school exam to me and doesn't always fall in with what you face in real life. Give it another try and the additional studying with your experience in the first exam will pay off.

 

[5588hzz]

I know the pass mark for the test is 70%.

Total questions are 80.
You need to correct 56 questions to pass it?

Am I right?

 

[MisterDonut]

The pass mark is NOT always 70%. The passing score is determined by a committee.

http://www.ncees.org/exams/scoring/scoring_method.php#difficulty

 

[zdas04]

After they throw out the inevitable "statistically ambiguous" questions, then they determine a passing score.

David

 

[5588hzz]

I think they want to keep the passing rate for every year be the same. So, the pass mark is adjusted accordingly.

 

[msquared48]

bradpa77:

The time to ask for tips is after you pass the test. Just be sure to declare them to the IRS.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[Gymmeh]

GOOD Luck all!!!

The only thing left is to eat your bananas and get lots of sleep

 

[5588hzz]

AM exam is difficult this year. I am talking about PE(ME) only. Hope I can pass.

 

[cvg]

the passing rate is not constant each year

http://www.ncees.org/exams/pass_rates/

http://www.ncees.org/exams/scoring/scoring_method.php#difficulty