@thebionicman Must be a smart fool. I was working out of town the month before the test. I walked out an hour in the morning before time was up and hour and a half in the afternoon before time was up. Question using Simpson's one third rule was the most difficult question.?ÿ The LS text was the easiest test of all four. The EIT was pretty difficult. The solution was to breeze through the questions and pick out the easiest one first and pick the next easiest and so on. I was quite familiar with calculating intersections with curves. That's the hardest they can throw at you on the LS test. I had memorized the State Laws and Regulations months before because I had to follow them.
@skeeter1996 I didn't say it couldn't be done, only that it isn't a good choice not to prepare. I've passed the nationals, five states and CFedS all on the first try. I took several of those tests with capable surveyors who ended up failing. They are good practitioners but didn't get enough of the obscure questions correct to pass. A little prep and they would have been home free.?ÿ
Spend a few hours researching science based study techniques. Incorporating clumping and physical activity with your studying will help tremendously.?ÿ
Use silly or otherwise memorable stories to help remember terms and definitions.
Do a bit of self experimentation to find the best way you absorb information. I knew one fella who record himself reading then play back the recording as he drove to and from work. He claimed that he took in information better from audio than visual.
Lots of good advice above.?ÿ To add some little things that can help eliminate anxiety:
- Know your calculator, have spare batteries that you will not use, but have them.
- Know how to get to the test site, and where to park.?ÿ Be sure to leave plenty of time to allow for the traffic that should never be there.
- Eat things that you always eat the day of the test, and a few days before; it is not the time to try some exotic new food that makes your stomach rebel.
- Have all the materials you will bring collected and categorized long before the test day.
- Get a good night's sleep the night before.?ÿ If you do not know it by now, it is too late to stay up cramming.?ÿ
Remember, if you do not pass, there is the next one, but you just may do better than you think.
Good luck.
Ken
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Eat things that you always eat the day of the test, and a few days before; it is not the time to try some exotic new food that makes your stomach rebel.
Two co-workers and I who were taking the PS & Maryland State specific together stayed in a hotel near the testing site to save a 70 mile drive the morning of the exam.?ÿ Closest restaurant was Hooters.?ÿ I do not recommend 2 dozen hot wings and ten or so drafts the night before the exam (especially the old notorious MD storm drain exam - with a pass rate some years around 15%).?ÿ Was so hung-over (plus upset stomach) that my hands were shaking for the first hour or so.
Passed.?ÿ Wife always tells me I was a moron. My (albeit biased) line of though is if you take the test hung-over and fail you're a moron; however if you pass, you're a legend.?ÿ?ÿ
If you have failed the FS Test twice and managed to pass on Lucky Number 3, what did you do to pass it finally? How did you do your study schedule? How long did you study for? What materials did you use to study? What was your primary focus?
Also, I'm a weak test taker, and I'm weak in math. Was any of you the same? If so, what did you do for that?
Please help!
I was working as a construction inspector on a sewer system when my first test was scheduled. Had to work late Friday so I stayed home and slept then got up at 5 am to drive to the test site. Hadn't had a chance to study and failed by 4 points. 6 months later same thing happened and failed by 2 points. 6 months later was working on topo for a sewer system across a small town and was able to take off Friday to refresh a few things and drive over and stay in a hotel so I didn't have to wake at the butt crack of dawn to get to the site. Finally passed it with ease.
Moral to the story. Get rest, relax don't put yourself under the gun and refresh your knowledge don't "cram". Either you know it or you don't. Maybe wait until you have some of the skill down better. Just because you have your time in and have some "education" doesn't always mean your ready. Most important...relax.
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Did something similar, for a state specific that I had no interest in getting.?ÿ Luckily it didn't start till 2pm the next day.?ÿ Passed
@james-fleming My youth is proof that being a legend and a moron at the same time is completely possible..
There is really only one nut to crack for the calculator races. Get where you can convert a bearing to a coordinate easier than breathing. Polar to rectangular. Then get where you can inverse it back easier than breathing. Rectangular to polar.?ÿ This is the universal solvent. Pair it with knowing how to traverse through the radius point when they throw you a curve.
If you have failed the FS Test twice and managed to pass on Lucky Number 3, what did you do to pass it finally? How did you do your study schedule? How long did you study for? What materials did you use to study? What was your primary focus?
Also, I'm a weak test taker, and I'm weak in math. Was any of you the same? If so, what did you do for that?
Please help!
If you have to study for it, you shouldn't be taking it
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I studied until I felt like there was nothing in the practice exams that I could not handle with ease. I passed both exams on the first attempt.?ÿ
I remember the FS computer based back in 2015. The hardest exam out of all. I suggest having a pencil and paper ready right after you get out of the test and write down every single problem you can remember. Get the NCEES practice test as this is the closes thing to the actual exam. The rest of the practice test, such as George M. Cole's and others are a bit outdated but doesn't hurt to have them and practice with them. Read front to back and do every single exercise from the latest Surveyor Reference Manual.
If you need to take a trigonometry/pre-calculus refresher course, take it. Practice how to solve for X for every single formula for solving triangles, especially those from horizontal/vertical curves: the test likes to give you problems that can't be easily solved plugin-in a formula, so solving for X is crucial. Bring an acceptable programmable calculator (HP35s). Program it yourself with Surveying formulas (takes more than 8 hrs) but trust me you'll learn how to use it inside out and you're going to save time during the test.
Like some have said, you need to auto evaluate yourself, much like a boxer or any successful athlete does to improve. What are your weak areas, both in topics or as a person? What made you feel helpless during the test and how you can prevent that? You have to ask yourself a lot of questions. And actually this is key after you get your license and start practicing to solve a boundary problem... coming to think of it, this whole process of the test, the failing and passing the test, is giving you the building blocks to become a good surveyor.
When I took my test the first time I never cracked a book and did not expect that I would pass it, and I didn't.?ÿ From then on, I hit the books hard after taking notes when I got home from the end of both days of the exam.?ÿ I felt fairly comfortable the second time but kept studying waiting for my results.?ÿ This time I passed one part, I believe it the fundamentals part but also passed the State specific part.
I couldn't figure out what I did wrong to not pass the entire exam and kept the candle burning at both ends.?ÿ I was sitting in my recliner one Sunday afternoon, sipping on a cold brew and watching an NFL day when I had a revelation pop into my head.?ÿ After countless hours studying both boundary law and case law I had been tricked into answering questions the way I assumed that the courts would rule instead of simply answering that the client should consult an attorney.?ÿ The next time, it was a walk in the park when I figured out where I went wrong.
I've heard that there are 4 different levels of difficulty on the exam and I believe it based on what I've seen.?ÿ The most important thing to do is to answer the questions you can first and skip the ones you need to work on, saving them to go back to after you have answered the ones you can.?ÿ After a second round of spending time on the questions that need work to answer, spend as much time as you can working on them until time is running out.?ÿ Some will say that there should be an equal number of answers to A, B, C & D, again, I don't know if that is true, but take a few minutes to balance out your guesses before time expires and above all, answer EVERY question.?ÿ?ÿ
Keep in mind that in most instances, it's not about what the correct answer is but more about what the best answer is.
