300-Hour PE Exam Study Plan

300-Hour PE Exam Study Plan

This article is an adapted excerpt from Pass the PE like a Pro. 

Most reference books, websites, review course instructors, and blogs recommend 300+ hours of study. To be ready to pass the PE exam, you should invest 300 or more hours. 

I don’t think anyone knows where that figure originated. 

However, I estimated I studied about 270 hours. So, 300 hours sounds like a legitimate estimate. The next decision is: Over how many months and weeks should you distribute those 300 hours? 

There are three factors to consider: 

1.        How much time will you have each evening and on weekends?
2.        How effective are study sessions, considering duration? Are longer sessions more effective? 
3.       The process of learning prefers longer time frames.

Number Three is easy to apply. The longer the time frame over which you study, the more in-depth will be your knowledge. You will have time to learn, and to then build on that learning. In other words, a 300 hour study plan is more effective stretched over 3 months that compacted into one month.

Number Two encourages you to consider the effectiveness of study sessions by length. If you use the dinner table to study, you’ll have to set up and clean up your study space for each session. The same is true if you’re using a table at the library or a local coffee shop. 

If you have a dedicated space at home, this will be the best arrangement.  If you do not have a commute to your place of study, and no need to lose 5 minutes before and after studying, then shorter study sessions make more sense. 

Another consideration in Number Two is this: You are studying for an 8-hour examination. You need to build up some mental stamina. You need to operate your mental engine at high capacity on exam day. So, studying for 2-hours per session makes more since than smaller, 1-hour sessions. 

Number One: How much time do you actually have on weekends and in the evening?  If you only have 90 minutes per day, then the math is easy: You need (300/1.5=) 200 days! 

Most people have a weekend day free. Typically, that day is Saturday.

If you alternate using your free day to study 4 hours one Saturday, and 8 hours the next (the explanation for that is a bit further down in this article), and you study 90 minutes five days during the week, then you average 13.5 hours per week. This schedule requires (300/13.5=) 22.2 weeks. This is about 5 months. 

Notice that one day of rest is beneficial, in the long run, to increase learning. In the above example calculation, Sunday was accounted as a day off. 

So, here is what two weeks looks like in a 5-month, 300-hour study plan for the Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam:

Week 1:               (Monday to Friday) 95 minutes of study each day

                            (Saturday) One 9-hour study session: Start at 8 a.m. Break for one hour
                                             from noon to one o’clock. At one, start second session.
                                             End at 5 p.m. 

                            (Sunday) No studying allowed.

Week 2:               (Monday to Friday) 90 minutes of study each day

                            (Saturday) One 4-hour study session start at 8 a.m. and end at noon.

                            (Sunday) No studying allowed.

Repeat this 2-week plan. Adjust emphasis to balance time committed to each topic. 

Here is a 16-week (about 4 months), 300-hour study plan for the PE Exam: 

Week 1:               (Monday to Friday) 2 hours and 33 minutes of study each day

                            (Saturday) One 4-hour study session start at 8 a.m. and end at noon.

                            (Sunday) No studying allowed.

Week 2:               (Monday to Friday) 2 hours and 33 minutes of study each day

                            (Saturday) One 9-hour study session: Start at 8 a.m. Break for one hour
                                             from noon to one o’clock. At one, start second session.
                                             End at 5 p.m.  

                            (Sunday) No studying allowed.

The keystone of these study plans is the 9-hour Saturday. On this day, take a full practice exam. During the weekly study sessions following each exam, review problems you missed.

On alternate Saturdays, be sure to wake on time and be seated to begin working problems promptly at 8. This conditions your body to prepare for a rigorous mental workout at the time of morning when you'll be working your PE exam on your scheduled date.

Carefully determine why you missed a problem. Write out the reason you missed it. Occasionally, throughout your PE exam preparation, review your notes and read the mistakes you made. This will help you avoid them in the future. 

Always Pray:

One thing I did which really helped me on exam day was this: I prayed God would cause projects to come my way which would force me to learn engineering I didn't know, which would be on the exam. 

And, God did just that. I had several unusual projects during my study period. And, some of the projects I designed were similar to problems on the exam.

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