School of PE Blog

If you're preparing for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam, you're likely experiencing a rush of anxiety building up to the test day. Maybe you are experiencing racing thoughts, sweaty palms, or a sense of dread making it all the more difficult to focus. Do not panic. It is important to realize that you're not alone in feeling this way; many people struggle with test anxiety, and there are effective strategies to reduce and manage it. In this blog, we'll explore some of the causes and symptoms of FE exam test anxiety and offer practical tips to overcome them.

One of the most common causes of FE exam test anxiety is feeling like your test prep isn't adequate. The feeling of not properly preparing or studying enough will naturally make you feel anxious about how you will do on the day of the exam.

Fear of failure is another common form of test anxiety. The overwhelming feeling that all of your time and effort may be in vain will make anyone nervous. Past negative experiences could also exacerbate existing test anxiety. If you've struggled with test-taking in the past, it can become increasingly difficult to shake the feeling that history will repeat itself again, especially for something as big as the FE.

Finally, fear of the potential negative consequences of your results can create test anxiety. It is understandable that with such an important test, you may feel that the results will make or break your future career, depending on how well you perform on the exam.

Again, this is all natural, and we all have encountered these feelings one way or another, but we can try to identify the causes and potential solutions to help alleviate them.

Test anxiety can manifest in various negative symptoms: physical, emotional, and behavioral. For those who are experiencing physical symptoms of stress, they may have a racing heartbeat, sweaty palms, or an upset stomach. Those suffering from emotional symptoms may experience fear, worry, or a sense of dread. Finally, those with behavioral symptoms can have difficulty concentrating or excessive fidgeting, only adding to the stress of preparing for the exam.
How to Overcome Anxiety

Here we will go over the many effective methods in managing FE exam test anxiety.

Identifying your learning style can be a great first step in preparing for the FE exam. Some people prefer learning visually through videos and diagrams, while some may prefer auditory learning, listening to lectures and discussions, and others may prefer hands-on learning, learning by going through practice problems and solving along the way. Realizing what learning style works for you will make planning out your approach simpler and geared towards you.

After learning what type of learner you are, it is then important to prepare thoroughly; to do so, create a study plan that allows you to review all the material in a well-structured program. You can refer to step 4 in "Essential Steps Before Taking the FE Exam" for further detail on how to prepare a comprehensive study plan.