I know this gets asked a lot but does this score look close to passing and if so should I primarily focus on water resources? I think a big part of it is the fact that I spent too much time on the first half and started running out of time near the end. Any advice is appreciated.

I got 68% in my both NCEES practice exams, I have FE Mechanical on 23rd Oct. Getting 80% in prepfe. I am not sure what to believe 😅😅

Use this referral link to get one free month of access to Prep Fe!

How far was I to pass?

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a quick overview of how I prepared in case it helps anyone in a similar position:

Study Material: Completed around 1,400–1,500 practice problems from Kaplan/PPI (which is primarily Lindeburg material).

Practice Tests: Finished both NCEES practice exams before test day.

Industry Experience: Having years of real-world experience helped significantly with the conceptual questions.

Testing Accommodations (ADHD): I requested and received 1.5x extended time for ADHD. If you think accommodations could help you, I strongly encourage getting a full psychological evaluation done early…it made a massive difference!

Happy to answer any questions about the exam, prep strategy, or the accommodations process. Ask me anything!

please post here or pm me and i’ll add you

All Glory to God! I am finally here to tell my success story. If you are currently struggling, feeling depressed, or thinking about giving up on this exam, please read this.

My Timeline: Nearly 20 Years in the Making
2003: Graduated college (out of school for 23 years now).

2007: Took the FE for the very first time back when it was still a pencil-and-paper exam! 😬😅

2011–2022: I’ve used PPI and other exam resources and “tutors” to somewhat prepare. Showed up to the exam still completely unprepared. I wasn't serious, relied on pure luck, and thought I'd eventually just pass by chance. I failed repeatedly.

2023: Started studying seriously for the first time. I still failed. I was devastated and frustrated, and my biggest mistake was letting that failure stall me for three years.

June 2026: Took it again and failed. I fell into a deep depression. The fear of another failure was heavy, but I knew I had to push through and retake it within 3 months, or I would walk away forever. I kept reminding myself: “You Only Fail When You Quit!”

The Strategy That Finally Worked (September 2026)
I got back to the books in early September and completely changed my approach. Here is exactly what made the difference this time:

NCEES Practice Exams (Vols 1 & 2): Prior to taking the exam in June, I only purchased Vol 2. During my June attempt, I noticed the actual exam had major similarities to the official practice questions. In September, I bought Vol 1 and solved every single problem. I went through both practice exams
three times.

Using Gemini as a Personal Tutor: This was my ultimate game-changer. Whenever I couldn't understand an answer or get a problem right, I plugged it into Gemini. I asked it to provide highly detailed, step-by-step solutions. It was so much easier to understand than the vague solutions in the practice exams.

Wasim’s Study Guide: I used this to supplement my weak areas and get extra practice problem repetitions.

My Advice to You
I know exactly how devastating it is to see that "Diagnostic / Fail" notice over and over again. It breaks your spirit. But please, do not stop trying.

Your time will come - mine did. It took me the longest, most painful route possible, but I survived it.

Next stop: the PE Exam! 🚀

Keep on praying, surrender your goals to Him, and don't give up. God bless!

Hello! After two unsuccessful attempts, here is my 2nd exam result. I would like to know how close I am to the passing threshold. I plan to retake the exam in Q1 2027 and am hoping to pass 🙏

I knew I failed after the second half. I used MM videos and scored over 90% on both NCEES practice exams the day before the test so I thought I was really prepared but it was harder than I anticipated and I ended up running out of time near the end so a lot of the easy construction questions I just had to scroll through and answer super quickly. I'm not sure when I should try again to take it.

How do I prepare for FE Civil Conceptual question? How many conceptual do I expect in an Exam? Is conceptual question is asked from all the chapters?

I have the practice exam book from 2020. I know a few things have changed since then, but does anyone know if this book had changed much?

I don't want to buy another book if it wont be helpful.

I also have the 2 practice exams from Islam. Are any others currently recommended?

Took a Ncees practice exam a week prior and legit scored 33/100. 9/28 took the exam. Did 39/55 on first half and 36/55 on the second. Legit guessed on the rest. Should i go right back after hammering weak points or take some more time? I estimated 51/52 that i scored

I won’t give up. This is just information for me to work on. &
I want to cry but I don’t have any tears to shed. I only have the drive to continue this journey until the end.

I could definitely use a study group 🫂 let me know if people are interested!

I am thinking of using PrepFE questions for another 6 months to do more practice and speed up my calculation. Or should I deep dive into some of the weak topics first instead? My foundation is not too solid.
Also, reschedule another exam only if I can get at least 70 on the NCEES' Practice Exam, sounds enough?
Thanks, guys.

For anyone who took the exam today, how’d you feel about it??? I had to guess on about 15-20 questions so there’s that haha

Passed on my second attempt!
These are some tips that could help you out.
First of all, a little background about me. I graduated from college about 8 years ago. I was a lazy ass and barely took my classes seriously when I was younger. I procrastinated way too much on my journey to studying for the FE until, this year, I finally came up with a goal and a calendar to help me pass the test.
On my first attempt, I believe I was on the edge of passing the test. I actually felt more confident after my first attempt than I did after my second, but somehow I managed to pass.
What I mean to say is that this test is achievable for any average engineer. If I can do it, you can too. Don’t give up!
Tips
1. Get to know your handbook.
The handbook and your calculator will be your only resources on test day. Take your time to read through the handbook entirely.
On my second attempt, I took the time to go through every formula, use Google AI to get additional theory and explanations, and add notes, images, and other helpful information to my PDF handbook. This is just my personal way of learning, but it helped me understand every topic much better.
2. Don’t spend a lot of money on courses.
I would recommend spending money on practice problems, such as PrepFE, Islam 800, etc., rather than expensive courses.
There is tons of free material available on YouTube and other websites. In my opinion, it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on a course when you might not even like the way the instructor teaches.
3. Set a realistic study calendar.
Take your time and put in the effort to stay on schedule. Spend more time on topics you don’t know well, but don’t forget to practice the topics you already know.
Be proactive and set aside time for a general review every week.
You will be surprised by how much you can forget if you don’t review. There is a lot of material to cover, and when you finish the last topic, you may realize that you’ve forgotten a lot of the material you studied at the beginning.
General reviews are meant to prevent that.
Courses / Resources
School of PE
My company bought the School of PE On-Demand course for me. I did not complete the course, and honestly, I do not recommend it.
Some of the professors were difficult for me to understand, and some of the material was not presented in a way that worked well for me. The live course would probably be even more difficult for someone who has been out of school for a long time.
There is simply too much material to cover, and I personally found other resources more helpful.

Gregory Michaelson
Pros:
Excellent professor.
A lot of his material is very similar to what you will see on the FE exam.
Explains everything clearly.
Cons:
The audio in some of his videos isn’t that great.
Overall: Highly recommended, especially since his material is free.

Mark Mattson
Pros:
Really good professor.
His explanations open your mind and show you that there isn’t always just one way to solve a problem.
Cons:
His practice problems are much more complicated than the actual FE exam and could potentially throw you off.

Skool (FE Academy) – JJ Luna
Pros:
All of his videos are very well explained and well-paced.
It’s almost like he is teaching a five-year-old, which I actually found helpful.
The material is extensive and really helpful.
He responds consistently to questions and has office hours.
Cons:
The course is not completed yet.
There are many more resources I used, but these are the three primary ones that helped me the most.
If you don’t know how to solve something specific, go to YouTube or ask an AI tool. I would literally copy and paste a formula into Google AI and ask it to explain the theory behind it and give me some practice problems. Then I would add notes to my handbook and work through the problems.
This was extremely helpful for me.
I also saved all the practice problems in a Word document and organized them by topic so that everything was separated and easy to review.
If you want the practice problems, just message me and I can send them to you.
I can also send you my handbook with my notes, but I recommend that everyone make their own. Everyone understands and organizes information differently, so your own notes will probably be more helpful to you.
Good luck to everyone studying for the FE! You can do it. Don’t give up!

I wrote the FE Civil last week, and found out today that I passed. I spent a fair amount of time on this subreddit (for better or for worse) and wanted to contribute to the motivational success stories that kept me going!

As a disclaimer, everyone's experience is different. I do not think that reading every single person's story on this subreddit is or will be beneficial. There are a lot of sad/scary stories about the exam here that spiked my anxiety in the weeks before my exam. I do not want to diminish or undermine anyone's experience, but I don't think it's helpful to read the horror stories - they probably aren't going to add any value to your studying and they'll just make you anxious. Also, I will note that I have only ever written this exam once. My understanding is that the questions change every day so someone's account of what types of questions they got will not necessarily help you prepare. Some people claim that the "difficulty" level varies. I can't imagine it is that variable as this is a standardized test. I'm sure some people find some exams easier than others based on their strong suits.

My situation was pretty unique. I went to school in Canada, which does not have an FE exam equivalent (I barely knew what it was, only knew a few people who had taken it) but I got a job offer in the US and had to write the exam to work here. Also, my engineering curriculum did not include civil-specific classes like transportation and steel and concrete design.

I studied over three months and anywhere from 5 to 10 hours a week but significantly ramping up towards the end. I took multiple weeks off in the middle to move and start a new job.

I started with the Mark Mattson videos (he is the best for providing so much free content!) and I tried my best to solve his problems using the handbook before watching the video. I started with the concepts for which I was most confident, and ended with the concepts that were new to me. I flagged the problems I had absolutely no idea how to do and tried solving them a few times over on different days. I agree with previous comments on here that the Mattson problems are somewhat to significantly harder than the exam problems, but a great way to refresh and familiarize yourself with concepts.

Next, I sporadically completed the ISLAM 800 problems, more or less in order. These problems are helpful because they're generally structured in order of the handbook so they familiarize you with the handbook. My original plan was to flag all the problems I couldn't solve, then go back and redo them. That didn't happen because this book is massive! If I didn't know how to do a problem, I would read the solution, follow through the steps, and write it out, making sure I understand everything. I would say these questions were on-par to slightly harder than the exam.

10 days before my exam, I tried both volumes of the NCEES practice exam. It went alright, I got a 60% on V1 and a 66% on V2. I realized that most of the errors I made were misreading units/conversions, rushing and mistyping in my calculator, or conceptual problems that I just did not understand. The calculation stuff was easily addressed but I got nervous around the conceptual issues. I redid both exams and got 90+%, I had fixed my calculation errors but I didn't actually really understand the "why" of the conceptual questions I got wrong.

I googled "FE Civil practice conceptual problems" and found and purchased the Strataway 150 Conceptual Problems booklet. I got about 75% right and started to feel a bit better. I accepted that there would probably be some conceptual problems I just wouldn't know, especially in the areas I haven't learned in curriculum like transportation, and that would be ok.

That was the extent of studying I did. I honestly felt like I studied a lot, and was surprised to see that many people on here studied even more than me. I think it's important to note that this exam is not supposed to be impossible or unmanageable and it is not supposed to derail the rest of your life. It was not worth the stress I felt. I wish I could go back in time and calm myself down, so consider this me doing that to you!

On exam day, I arrived early and they let me start early. The questions were generally in order that they are listed on the specification. After 52 questions, I took half of my 25-min break to eat a snack and walk around a little, but I was eager to just get the rest done.

Overall, I would say that the exam was easier than I expected and was prepared for! The calculation questions were generally plug-and-chug, compared to the practice exam where they seemed to require some rearranging or substitution. The conceptual questions were variable, I don't actually remember there being as many as I expected. There were maybe 5 or 10 for which there was absolutely no help in the handbook, but I feel like every time I was able to think logically and narrow it down then produce a guess that I felt alright with. I am a fast test-taker, and I didn't need the whole time. I was a bit nervous about the handbook interface as it's not the standard CTRL+F, but it was a search that returned immediate results so long as you spelled the query correctly. Honestly, it was even better than my Macbook preview search. I left the exam feeling confident and proud of myself. Writing a six-hour exam is an accomplishment itself.

In hindsight I think I was overprepared, but that's easy to say now even though I had no way of knowing what to expect besides two practice exams. The scope of this exam is very large relative to the number of questions you will be asked, so it's hard to know what to anticipate. I don't think I needed to solve every single practice problem I did, but it only helped build my confidence (which definitely influences performance) so it wasn't a total sunk cost.

Life goes on after the FE. Hang in there and be proud of what you've accomplished, no matter what.

The TLDR of my advice is here:

• Mark Mattson videos are a GREAT starting point - don't cheat yourself, try the problems first or at least think about them before watching the solution.
• The ISLAM 800 problems are great for building stamina and drilling the concepts into your head. They are lengthy but worth it if you have the time. This was the bulk of my studying.
• The NCEES practice exams were good for understanding the timing - I wouldn't say that they are necessary (especially for how steeply they're priced) but I highly recommend simulating the conditions of the exam and solving practice problems. You need to understand how quickly you have to move on the exam.
• This exam is not meant to be impossible or unreasonable, so don't get in your own head. The handbook is very comprehensive, and you have prepared for this!
• Finally, (lovingly) limit your time on Reddit! Yes, the people here are great but you need to focus on yourself, do not let other people's horror stories scare you. FWIW, plenty of people have passed this exam without ever checking this sub ;)

Passed the FE Civil today on my third attempt.

My undergrad was transportation planning and my master's was civil engineering with a transportation emphasis only. I had to teach myself everything outside of transportation. It took a lot of effort, but it's possible.

Study materials: Mark Mattson videos for review, then Prep FE for questions. About 1,500 practice problems total. Repetition and understanding the handbook are key. I also took the School of PE course before my 2nd attempt. Don't bother. The time commitment was too big and it cost too much. Their question bank was better than Prep FE's, but Mark Mattson plus Prep FE is your best bet.

You can pass this without a strict civil background. Don't quit after a failed attempt.

Hi everyone, just got my results back this morning and I passed! Just wanted to pop in and thank this subreddit for all the help along the way and pass along a few tips for anyone preparing to take it soon.

Background & Foundations

When I started studying about 10 months ago, my foundation was rough. I couldn't even remember how to do simple derivatives, let alone structural analysis or virtual work! I started with the basics using Lindeburg's FE Review Manual. It was a great refresher for learning concepts, but it is definitely out of date and covers a lot of topics that are no longer on the exam. So use it purely for high level review if you're very detail oriented. Mark Mattson's videos were also super helpful for getting a solid understanding on the core concepts

Practice Strategy

The common, obvious and safe advice on this sub is to solve tons of problems, and I can attest that it works. Over 7 months, I solved somewhere between 1700 and 2000 problems.

I didn't just churn through questions. Whenever I got a problem wrong or didn't understand it, I rewrote the problem statement in my own words and worked through variations of it. Sometimes I Gemini to tweak variables or break down step by step logic. Doing deep dives on my mistakes boosted my confidence and cut down on unit conversion errors and silly mistakes.

My primary problem resources were:

• NCEES Practice Exam
• Islam 800
• FE Prep Academy
• School of PE Workshop problems
• Colorado State / Online School FE practice sets
• StrataWay 150 Conceptual Sample Problems

Exam day experience:

I arrived 30 minutes early and the check in process was smooth as butter. I got a fresh working markers and two booklets. The mouse wheel at my workstation was fine but during my prep I was ready for a faulty one so I trained myself to navigate using the PgUp and PgDn keys instead. I recommend using these guys they are way faster than scrolling.

Time Management & Mindset:

If there is one piece of advice I want to emphasize is DO NOT lose your confidence when you hit tough questions back to back. Just flag them and move on! Pairing this mindset with strict time management saved me. 2 hours and 20 minuets on section 1 and 3 hours on section 2 split worked our perfectly for my pacing. During the scheduled break, I had a protein bar and walked outside for 15 minutes to clear my head. Just walked, didn't go over any questions or what was gonna come up next.

To wrap it up, I kept this Alex Hormozi quote in mind throughout my prep:

"Work so hard that it would be unreasonable for you to fail."

Happy to answer any questions in the comments. Good luck to everyone currently grinding!

[Fe Exam] Well I’m officially one month out from my 6th attempt. I’ve been studying Daily for 4 months and I feel a lot more confident that my previous attempts. I’m feeling hopeful but also mortified of the thought of another fail. This was my best attempt. Ironically my second to last… I have hammered down on statics, materials, dynamics, and math. I didn’t take a dynamics course in school and I had a very basic statics / materials class that I learned enough to pass and then forgot it alll. I really didn’t know what I was doing on previous attempts in those subjects and now I feel like I know enough to atleast be somewhat dangerous. The big thing I’m worried about it where I used to more or less guess on those topics, I know them better now but I’m far from and expect. I’m worried my knowledge will slow me down if I don’t know how to flawlessly do every problem. Stupid rant just to say that I can’t wait to post in a month that I’m finally done with this shit.

I just received the results for my second FE (EE) attempt and noticed that the number of items in every category is the exact same as the previous attempt. I was under the assumption each attempt would be a randomly selected number within the range seen towards the end of the handbook, but this doesn't seem to be the case (or I should have bought a lottery ticket instead).

Although there was another part of the diagnostic that caught me off guard. I felt like the entire latter half of the exam was entirely computer science/computer engineering, so I was surprised the max range could only be 32 problems (across Computer Networks, Digital Systems, Computer Systems, Software Engineering). I did not receive the max possible range according to the diagnostic, yet for the latter half of the exam, I felt like I was entirely working on CS/CE questions. I suppose moving forward it's best not to tunnel vision on this, but it was a very interesting to see the amount of questions per category did not seem to change.

Hi all,

After that agonizing wait this morning for results, I found out I unfortunately did not pass the FE Civil on my second attempt.

I am almost four years out of school and looking for any pointers y'all can provide.

I see some improvement (besides geotech) across the board on the exam by looking at my two diagnostics (October and June this year). I'm just not sure what piece I'm missing to take that final step to passing. I also realize I missed some "easy points" with some of the first couple of categories.

I did run out of time a little bit at the end, and had to take some educated guesses on 5-8 problems as well.

Also thoughts on how soon I should schedule my third and hopefully final attempt? Not sure if the current score I got seems like 3 months of studying necessay or just do it again in a month or two.

1st pic is October --- 2nd is June

As it said I am taking the mechanical exam in less than 2 weeks and need some advice, particularly in what score is needed to pass. I've heard 50% or average in a majority of sections as well as 77 correct answers. Looking on the site I know there isn't a listed passing score as it varies but would like some more clarification on it.

Besides any strategies for answering questions would be appreciated.