School of PE Blog

The October PE exam is now officially a week away. You've prepared, practiced, and now it's time to pass! If you've taken one of our PE exam review courses, we're confident that you're prepared. Since there are only seven days left before the big day, we want to make sure exam day goes as smoothly and as stress-free as possible. Check out our last-minute preparation strategies below:

1. Read NCEES' Exam-Day Policies

Before going to the exam site, make sure you read NCEES' exam-day policies. Don't be that person who goes to the exam and forgets to bring an ID. Make sure you have an NCEES-approved calculator (and that you know how to use it), understand which types of reference materials you may bring, and follow the electronic devices policy.

2. Prepare Your Notes

As mentioned above, make sure to understand which types of reference materials you may bring to the exam. For PE exams, your reference materials must be bound. According to NCEES' regulations, "Bound refers to (1) materials permanently bound, as by stitching or glue, and (2) materials securely fastened in their covers by fasteners that penetrate all papers." If you have loose papers, make sure they are bound into a binder. You are allowed to use tabs and sticky notes in your reference materials, but you must tab and make notes before you go into the exam room.

3. Pack Snacks

Even though you may have had a protein-rich breakfast (which we highly recommend), such as eggs, peanut butter toast, and sausage, you need to make sure not to get hungry throughout exam day. When you are getting ready for the exam, pack high-protein snacks, such as granola and nuts, to eat during exam breaks. Nothing slows your brain down more than hunger!

4. Skim Through Your Notes

It is always a good idea to skim through your notes a week before the exam. When you are skimming, make notes about which topics you want to specifically look over again before exam day.

5. Practice Problems

Even though the exam is only a week away, practicing PE exam-like problems is a great way to confirm that you are ready for your exam. If you are still struggling with practice problems for a specific subject, consider doing a quick brush-up on the subject and then try practicing problems again. Our PE Civil Question Bank is a great tool to test your knowledge.

6. Get Enough Sleep

We get it, some people like to stay up into the morning hours to study. If you've been doing this to prepare for the PE exam recently, now is a good time to stop. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night this week. As you continue to do last-minute study preparations, getting at least 8 hours of sleep will help your overall memory, as memory consolidation happens in the later hours of sleep.

Good luck on your exam next week!