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

PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

(OP)
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!

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

This has been discussed here before, but seems to always come up about twice a year.  Like any other test, work the easy ones first (now that it is all multiple choice).  

Cut scores seems to be a ghost try not to concentrate on that.  

If you have been using the Lindburg book to study, that is probably the best source.  

Day before the test don't kill yourself cramming.  You know what you know.  I did a dry run to the test site at the same time in the morning as I would on test day.  Good thing, you realize morning rush hour is worse then you think, and the sun obliterated the street sign I was to exit at.
Pack a good lunch, bring water, a cushion to put on the hard chair, life savers to suck on during the test (beats tapping you pencil when your thinking).

Good luck!

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

dry run to the test site is a good idea and if you need it, bring a detailed map. Be sure to also prepare a list of everything you need to bring with you so you are not searching for it the morning of the test.  Make sure you gas up(the car) the night before.  Get spare batteries for your calculator or better yet, a spare calculator.  Bring several pencils, spare lead, erasers, and even some old fashioned wooden pencils in case you break the mechanical. Remember Murphy's Law and try to prepare for it...

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

You cannot bring extra pencils, spare lead, or erasers.  All you need is an approved calculator, your books, drink, and candy.  Everything else stay in the car.  

Never, but never question engineer's judgement

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

COEngineer is absolutely right.  I took the test in October, and they've really clamped down on what you can bring in.  What he's written down is pretty much it.  I walked in with my calculator and a backpack full of books and even my calculator got heavily scrutinized, even though it was clearly on the approved list.

My one mistake was lunch.  I took the test here in Baton Rouge, and I live here, so I'm familiar with the area around where the test was given.  I knew there were lots of cafes and such around the area and figured lunch would be no problem.  

WRONG.

I can't stress enough how important it is for you to pack a lunch you're really going to like.  Halfway through that exam, you're going to need a decompression break to just relax and enjoy yourself because the exam is grueling.  If you rely on local eateries, you'll at best always be watching the clock and rushing through your meal to ensure you make it back before they lock the doors, and at worst, you'll just have to go hungry for any number of reasons.  Being able to sit down where you can see when they open the doors to go back into the exam and be able to relax is going to do wonders for you.

Also, remember during lunch that the afternoon session is where you're going to rip that exam apart because that's your depth session and what you should be best at.  If you don't think you did well in the morning, just remember the afternoon is supposed to be in what you're good at, so eat and RELAX.

Finally, earplugs.  They're awesome.  I wish I had some when I took the exam.  Remember that there are likely going to be a few hundred people taking the exam all together in one big room and you will not have normal background noise to mask the annoying sounds.  You can hear EVERY time someone scoots their chair or fidgets.  With that much nervous energy floating around, every few seconds, you'd hear "Rrrrrr-EEEEEE-KKKKK" as someone scooted their chair one inch across the concrete floor in the auditorium we were in, then it would reverberate.  I wanted to kill by the end of the exam.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Why won't they let you bring erasers??

You may not be able to bring your drink and candy.  They took everyone's drink away when I took the test and made them leave them on a table at the back, and they had a water cooler back there as well (I suppose you could walk back and visit your drink if you wanted).  (I guess they're afraid of you spilling your drink on your neighbor's test.)  Fortunately I was sitting in the back row with the drink table right behind me, so I could reach back and get my drink, and after a while I just kept it on the floor next to me and no one said anything.

Hg

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RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

The rules of what can be taken into the exam room will be sent to you.  In general:
* Only approved calculators.  Bring 2.  I actually had to go buy new calculators just for the exam.  I decided to buy two and good thing, because my #2 didn't work on one of them.
* Only 1 backpack full of books.  I have seen so many people bring in 2 suitcases full of books.  If you don't know your material well enough to instantly find it in your references, you are out of time.
* All food and drink was banned from the exam room.  They didn't want to have any accidents messing up the exam sheets.  Regardless, it's hot in AZ so they allowed 1 bottle of water per person.
* Like everyone else says, bring your lunch.  I went outside to get some fresh air and stretch.  Then I ate.  Once the doors opened, I went back inside and took a nap.  Don't nap outside of the doors!  Yes, one guy was so exhausted from the first half of the test that he fell asleep in his car.  I think some people tried to wake him, but he just wouldn't wake up and they weren't going to risk not getting in.
* Earplugs.  I too wish I brought some.
* Drive to the location the day before, just as others have stated.  Know the main route, an alternate route, where to park, and where to walk to the main entrance.
* Go to the bathroom when you get there.  Eat breakfast, but don't have a big meal for breakfast or the night before.  You don't need your stomach churning and you don't want the hassle of a bathroom pass, not to mention the HUGE time waster.

Good luck.  And remember, it's a pass/fail test.  No one cares what score you got as long as it is above 70%.

--Scott

http://wertel.eng.pro

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

well, things have changed since I took the exam!

- pencils and erasers are provided
- phones, pagers, laptops etc are not allowed
- calculators must be approved
- anything else that compromises security is not allowed however, unless that includes a baloney sandwich - it seems to be allowed (at the discretion of the proctors)


see the following link:

http://www.ncees.org/exams/professional/#bring



RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

When I took the exam it was in a hotel.  I decided early on that I was going to avoid the stress of a commute and got a room in the hotel.  Made sure I set the alarm on my cell, the alarm in the room, and put in a wake-up call and then slept like a baby and got up a couple of hours later than I would have with a comute.

David

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

(OP)
Lots of great tips and advice everyone!   I really appreciate all the help!  Keep 'em coming!

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Hmm.  The hotel thing is something I'd never have considered because I live where the test is given, but that's a GREAT point to bring up.  By checking in the afternoon before you can wander around the area at your leisure and get your bearings, then rest as much as possible.

You don't want to be late because they WILL NOT let you in once those doors are closed, and you don't want to be unrested.

Check, and check.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Oh yeah, layer your clothes.  This might sound silly, but you're going to be in a large room.  If the temperature is not to your liking, it's not going to be changing any time soon, and you're going to be there for eight or so hours.  It was something like 40 degrees and windy the morning I took the exam, but it must have been 80 inside the auditorium, and I'd worn a fairly heavy long-sleeved shirt and a good windbreaking jacket.

It was miserable being stuck in that shirt all day.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Physical conditioning, if your like many engineers, you probably sit all day with minimal activity.  Or While conditioning your mind you may have forgotten to keep your physical shape.

Doing endurance exercise of any kind will help you for many reasons.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

2
I took the mechanical PE with thermo/fluids afternoon test last October (passed.)
"Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual" by Lindeberg was my #1 resource for studying and during the exam. Make a 3-ring binder with the MERM index, with tabs for quick reference.
Get the NCEES practice test. It is representative of the difficulty of the problems you will get in the exam. Do this practice test and then learn from the problems you got wrong.
The problems in the sample tests and practice problems available as companions to the MERM are more difficult, but are good practice.
Do at least one preactice exam, in the time limit, attempting to simulate exam conditions. I think this is key.
You will not need a psych chart. There will be one in the exam book. Know how to use one for HVAC problems.
You will not be allowed to write or mark on ANYTHING other than the exam booklet and answer sheets. (Don't circle or underline a number in one of your references during the exam, don't plot a point on a graph other than one in your exam book.) Also, you can have Post-It flags in your references, but you can't move them. They must be in place when you arrive and stay there.
For the thermo/fluids problems: know the Rankine cycle, know how to apply the Bernoulli equation to pumping problems, know how to compute hydraulic power, know how to compute electric motor power.
Bring your own steam tables (BTU/lbmºF units.)
I agree with previous posts on knowing the exam location, dressing, and lunch.
You can bring in you own notes, as long as they are bound and remain bound during the exam (3-ring binder or similar.) Make notes while you study on things that you will need to access quickly.
Good luck!

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

The tips are good for me. I am also going to take the coming PE exam. I plan to take the machine design afternoon test. Anyone can give me some advice for this mechine design test. Someone told me "Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual" by Lindeberg is not good enough for this afternoon test.

1) What kind of questions on weldment? On the weld symbol or calculate the weldment stress?

2) Questions on Gears? Do I need to study all gears, worm, helical gears, bevel gears?

3) Any Questions on Clutches, brakes and coupling?  

4) How can I prepare the questions on Interpretation of Codes and Standards , ASME or ASTM? Which standard should I bring? API 6A, 16A?

5) Shock wave in fluid flow, nuclear power cycles will be asked? All chapters in "Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual" by Lindeberg are required?

For someone who passes the exam. Do you think you get the 70% of questions corrected?

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

It's impossible to say what's going to be on the exam since they are always different.  I took it twice before I passed it and each time was very different.

Lindeberg had everything needed to pass the exam I feel.  I used some other references to speed up the process for me and they helped in solving problems that were presented in a different way then the MERM but it was all in there.  If your goal is to get %100 on the exam then you will need more than the MERM but if you just want to pass than it will cover enough to get you there.

The one change I needed to make for the second time taking it was to study some electrical.  The problems are not very difficult but they do play on many different areas.  A simple question about raising a weight become a nightmare for me since the problem was presented with the electrical inputs to the motor.

Once I got profficient at that things went very smoothly.  It's important to remember that the exam, specifically the afternoon Machine Design section, is meant to be a test of your machine design skill and not just picking bearings and sizing weldment.  You may need to size a weld, but it will be in the context of a larger problem and that's were I ran into the most difficulty the first time.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Most importantly relax the day before.  Do not try and study all day or night.  Just get your reference materials in order, find a friend who is taking the test go out to dinner and relax afterwards.    

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Any more tips? I am so so worried about it.

I don't think I have time to study all materials in "Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual" by Lindeberg?

Do I need to study inorganic chemistry?

Thanks.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Say your prayers :)

Just relax, you're gonna be fine, you've studied. Let the brain do the work, don't you worry.

<<A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend
will be sitting beside you saying ” Damn that was fun!” - Unknown>>

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

Consider yourself fortunate that there is a review manual for this exam. No review manual exists for the metallurgical exam that I am aware of, and those of us who have taken and passed that exam each studied in our own way to prepare. The most important thing to do during the test is to keep breathing and RELAX. You will feel overwhelmed at times and get frustrated on some problems (I did), but don't let that stop you from using your head. Decide on a strategy before going into it and stick with it during the course of the test.

Maui

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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)

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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.  

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

lowedogg

I am going to take the design section in afternoon.

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

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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?

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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!

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

chetoce,

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

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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.

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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?

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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

David

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

bradpa77:

The time to ask for tips is after you pass the test. Just be sure to declare them to the IRS.  flush2  

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

GOOD Luck all!!!

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

RE: PE Exam in one month, tips anyone???

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

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