For those who have taken the FE Civil multiple times: did you feel like some attempts were easier or harder than others?
I’m honestly more nervous about my second attempt than my first 😭 What did you study, what resources did you use, and how many hours did you study? And how long after did you schedule another attempt. Any advice for preparing and dealing with exam anxiety would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all, looking to see if anyone has any advice on how better to prepare on these topics. Do you all think I was close or pretty far off from passing?

I’ll be taking the Civil FE Exam tomorrow for the first time, and I’m definitely feeling nervous.

I’m entering my senior year next semester, and I started preparing about a month ago. I began with Mark Mattson’s FE Civil Review playlist, working through each topic one at a time. For every video, I tried solving the problems myself while getting comfortable using the NCEES Reference Handbook before moving on to the next subject.

After finishing the playlist, I went through both the 2017 and 2020 NCEES practice exams multiple times until I was consistently scoring around 90%. Over the last few weeks, I also purchased and completed both of the NCEES interactive practice exams for additional practice.

I know one month is shorter than what many people recommend, but I’m also leaning on what I’ve learned throughout my civil engineering courses. I’ve always tried to stay engaged in class, so I’m hoping that foundation helps.

For those who have already taken the FE, do you have any last-minute advice or things you wish you had known before exam day? Thanks in advance—I really appreciate any tips!

After 4 months came up short.

I passed mid June and did the best I possibly could on writing the engagements and got to technical review 2 weeks after submitting. Crossing my fingers now to get approval by September to take at least the seismic in November.

The alternate would be to wait until 2027 and prepare for a whole other exam. If you passed and from CA, what is your next move?

What a grind! Found out today I passed on my second attempt. To anyone discouraged, hang in there you got this!

Studied for one year using Dr Tom’s, then I had Claude write me a 20 day refresher with a huge prompt that focused on dirty jokes to keep things interesting, then I took the NCEES practice exam timed and everything, then had Claude set up a pedagogy profile on my style of learning and had Claude walk me through each missed or guessed problem using the Socratic Method.

I spit roasted that exam like a suckling pig.

I mostly refrained from alcohol and didn’t have more than one drink in a day for two weeks before the exam. I ate lots of blueberries and cod in the days leading up to the exam and got pretty drunk on exactly 10 Amstel Lights the night before (personal method with proof of concept, you do you).

I recommend this study method except the alcohol part.

Did anyone else get drunk before taking the exam?

Huge thank you to everyone in this sub for your advice, kind words, encouragement, and support. Absolutely relieved.

I used EET and cannot recommend their program enough. The lecture videos, practice problems, quizzes, simulation exams, all of it is worth every penny. There’s so much material and it’s well worth it. Nazrul is the absolute best!

I would study after work, on weekends, on vacations, on work trips, in the car, really anywhere I could fit in some good studying. I would clock “in” my hours so I could track how much time I actually put into this. I sacrificed countless dinners, family time, outings, and so much.

The biggest thank you to my husband. He took care of the house, meals, our family, and myself all while I was studying. I couldn’t have done this without him by my side the whole way.

I suppose I worried just the right amount. This forum was actually incredibly helpful. Now for the really fun part: justifying my work experience and gathering references.

Seismic and surveying exam conceptual guides (PDFs) for sale! Created them myself over the course of my studying/preparation during all my attempts. Each one contains important concepts, topic relationships, and are tailored to help you go faster on the exams. DM for more info!

All I used to pass was Petro Booklet, ppi2pass, Quizlet and NCEES practice test. I studied on and off for like a year but really locked in starting April 10th and tested on July 14th. That’s all it takes. Lock in and stay focus and you can do it! So happy to be done.