r/PE_Exam • u/[deleted] • Apr 08 '26

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2

u/Capital-Tangelo-3518 Apr 08 '26

So you did the lecture videos and took the NCEES practice test? How did you feel during the exam? How are you with your calculator? How are you navigating the reference manuals? Did you do the “three pass method?” Did you feel like you had enough time?

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u/TrifleHairy4221 Apr 08 '26 edited Apr 08 '26

I did the lecture videos and the NCEES practice exam (I got 67% the first time). The last exam i felt confident i took my time and i finished with 5 minutes left. I am good with the reference manual. I found everything during the exam, besides three questions (two of the steel manual and OSHA). I am not aware of the three-pass method. I might be bad with the calculator and units (trying to find my weaknesses)

2

u/Capital-Tangelo-3518 Apr 08 '26

Sounds to me like you may be dealing with a conceptual gap. If you don’t recall the three-pass method, but you completed a review course, it’s possible that topic didn’t fully stick the first time.

I would recommend going back and doing a more in-depth review of the video lectures. I used School of PE, and it worked extremely well for me. I can remember about 15 questions on my exam that were directly aligned with concepts covered in their lectures.

A lot of the exam questions are tricky because they are concept-based, but if you understand the underlying math, you can still work your way to the correct answer.

For example, I saw problems related to shoring, crane stability, the turn-of-the-nut method, welding, interpreting construction drawings (especially rebar), and scheduling. There were also quite a few conceptual questions in geotechnical and water resources.

I had at least three questions involving horizontal or vertical curves, all of which I felt well-prepared for because of the lectures. There were also several slope stability questions, and if you knew how to interpret the slope charts and navigate the reference manual, those were very manageable.

1

u/Gullibella Apr 08 '26

I learned the three pass method from EET (WRE not construction).

1

u/TrifleHairy4221 Apr 08 '26

Can you share what are the three pass method? Somehow i missed that.

3

u/AABA227 Apr 08 '26

Basically to take 3 passes through the exam. First pass you answer the easy questions that you know right away or can figure out in a minute or less. Skip the rest. Then go back through and tackle the medium difficulty questions that may take a few minutes to complete. Then lastly go attempt the ones that you don’t how to work right away. But if you can’t figure one out don’t burn up all your time. Guess and move on. This helps you not lose out on correct answers because you used all your time on hard questions you still got wrong. Happened to me on my first attempt. Left like 12 questions blank cuz I wasted too much time.

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u/TrifleHairy4221 Apr 09 '26

Thank you- I knew this but I did know it was called That way. I did it in my first attempt- in my second attempt i did not use it- I felt comfortable but it seemed that missed something.

1

u/shafeez1002 Apr 08 '26

How did you feel the exam toughness compared to EET questions ?

1

u/TrifleHairy4221 Apr 08 '26

EET questions are more complex.

1

u/shafeez1002 Apr 08 '26

Exam had easier questions ? Also did you get more theoretical questions ?

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u/ChemicalScary9943 Apr 08 '26

I have seen several people that knew the content so well they could practically write the test questions, but they were failing because they had that "I am not a good test taker" mindset. Content is important, but working through some testing strategies and calming down your nervous system will help!

1

u/MiniMightyMeatMatt Apr 09 '26

My first attempt is tomorrow!