If you aim to appear for the PE civil exam and eventually crack it, we wish you all the very best for your future endeavors. However, preparing for it will essentially require a systematic approach and a well-rounded study plan to augment your chances of success.
Delving a bit deeper, the PE civil exam assesses your competency in several engineering principles and practices. To ace the exam, the need of the hour for you is to establish a strong foundation in the core topics and get acquainted with the exam format and requirements. Additionally, you need to dedicate ample time to preparation by making a well-crafted schedule. What’s more, the intent should be to take on as many practice problems as you can to resolve them. And it goes without saying that you need to maintain a positive mindset throughout the preparation process until exam day.
Through this post, we will also be sharing some of the vital tips that will help you crush your PE exam preparation. They are designed in a way to assist every candidate who will be trying their hands on this exam for the very first time.
- Craft A Personalized Three-Month Study Schedule
There are people who might advise you to begin the preparation process six months in advance of the exam day. And then you may also see people who embark on their preparation just a month before the exam and still crack it. While it is an individual’s choice to decide which method suits them, the fact is that both of them are risky.
Chances are, if you begin as early as 6 months, you might forget what you studied 6 months ago. And merely studying for a month before won’t pay you dividends, despite the fact that you are so engrossed in your daily chores that you cannot give yourself sufficient time in a day to prepare. Additionally, it won’t be feasible for you to cover each and every topic in such a short period of time, as there will be a plethora of them.
Hence, if you go by the words of our professionals, they advise creating a three-month study schedule that outlines study topics on a week-by-week basis. And before making a diligent schedule, it makes sense to delve into the topics that will essentially be covered by visiting the NCEES website for both the breadth and depth sections for your chosen exam type.
And as far as the choice is concerned, whether you choose the depth section first over the breadth section or vice versa, it is completely an individual’s choice. But rest assured, simply making a personalized schedule will help you overcome your procrastinated attitude if you are in the habit of delaying things.
- Take Real Tests In The Last Two To Three Weeks Leading Up To The Exam
Don’t embrace the habit of jumping straight on to solving practice problems as soon as you begin the preparation process. This will only lead you to go to the solutions page to get the answers, as you have yet to learn the hack for solving a problem. Thus, it is imperative that you first cover all the topics in your syllabus before taking any practice exams. Once you are done, you can leave the last couple of weeks leading up to the exam for solving practice problems. And try to create a real exam-day kind of environment, giving the illusion that you are sitting at the test center. Remember to time yourself, skip the questions that are taking you longer to solve, and consider attempting the other ones. You can always come back to them later, when you have time left. Additionally, take a break between the breadth and depth sessions.
In continuation, do not head to the solutions page until the entire exam is over. Don’t forget to score yourself at the end, and don’t panic even if you didn’t perform well. Remember, it was your first time attempting this test, and you still have two to three weeks left before the exam. During this period, you can practice a large number of questions to increase your chances of passing.
- Prepare in Advance: Get To Know The Exam And Test Center Rules
You must not wait until the exam day to familiarize yourself with the test center and the exam. A week before the exam, familiarize yourself with the test center, its location, and any specific rules they have. If possible, make a visit to the physical location to know how to get there, parking availability, and where your testing room will be. You should also know what things you can carry with you on exam day and which ones to avoid.
For instance, are you allowed to carry your water bottle along? Or perhaps your cell phone. And just in case you inadvertently bring them, does the facility offer locker facilities to store your belongings? And most importantly, will you be allowed to carry any sort of reference material? These are some of the questions to which you must have answers so that you don’t come across surprises on exam day.
- Take Plenty Of Rest In The Week Leading Up To The Exam
You should take plenty of rest the week before the exam. After months of dedicated studying, it is finally time to put down your pencils and take a complete break. By now, the hope is that you will have covered all the topics that fall under your exam. Allow yourself sufficient rest, and if possible, take some days off from work. While test anxiety is a natural phenomenon, it makes no sense to disrupt your sleep schedule by waking up late at night and thinking unnecessarily.
Final Words
Above are some tips that can certainly help you ace the PE civil exam. Alongside this, enrolling in a review course is advisable to improve your chances of passing this tough exam. To inquire more about them, simply connect with the Civil Engineering Academy. Be it for PE civil exam prep or FE exam prep, their professionals are available to assist.
