Test Taking Strategy

Note: I will not talk about specific problems from the exam.
Update: This post was updated with the completion of the Petroleum PE Sample Exam 2016.
Update: This post was updated using suggestions from Guidebook readers after the 2016 exam.

First: review the Petroleum Engineering Guidebook in detail and SPE Textbook Series #1, #2, #12, and #4 as time allows. Tab by letter a good Petroleum Dictionary. Have the Halliburton Red Book (or equivalent) and Well Control (for the pictures). Know whatever resources you choose very well; never waste time searching through books during an exam.

Second: Take the 2016 Petroleum PE Practice Exam Morning Section or the 2004 Sample Exam Morning Section. It's critical to take them under actual test conditions. Lock yourself in a room for four hours with your books, calculator, mechanical pencil, and whatever you will eat and drink. If you lack four uninterrupted hours, do 10 problems in 1 hour for the same effect.

Third: Take, practice, and completely understand every problem on the 2004 SPE Sample Exam. This is your calculation problem study time. Do every problem as many times as needed until each one takes less than 5 minutes each (on average).

Fourth: Do and completely understand every problem on the 2014 SPE Practice Exam. This isn't like the actual exam, it's easy and fast, but know all the questions. Study any weak areas.

Fifth: Take the 2016 Petroleum PE Practice Exam Afternoon Section. If you don't have it, use the 2004 Practice Exam Afternoon Section instead. This is your final check. If you can get 70% under exam conditions, you will probably pass the real thing. If you can get 60%, it's worth a shot. Use this test to hone your resources and practice operating under the time constraints.

Sixth: Sometime in the month before the exam, take the 2017 Petroleum PE Practice Exam, Morning and Afternoon. Take it as if it's real, including resources, food, and restroom breaks.


Regarding studying: I didn't find practicing calculation problems to help much past a certain point. If you can do every problem on the 2004 exam within time constraints (average 6 minutes per problem), you should be good to go on calculations.

For an interesting discussion of the futility of using calculation problems to prepare for the PE Exam, read David Vaucher, who, after taking the 2014 exam, said, "I think I did well. I’m confident because I spent ample time preparing..." and "...I am certain that I got all the calculation questions right...". But to his chagrin he then discovered that he did not pass. Think about that. He believes he didn't miss a single calculation problem yet did not pass! This demonstrates the danger of focusing on calculation problems.

So how should one prepare? Focus on high-quality (but limited) resources, real understanding, and test-taking skills. This was how I generated my study notes (now Guidebook) during the years I was waiting to take the exam. My notes summarized the main points from SPE textbooks. And little else. If there was something on the exam not in my notes (rare!) I merely skipped it, confident that the question was esoteric and thus a time sink to be avoided. A willingness to "let it go" is far more important than the natural (and normally healthy) urge to chase down the correct answer on every problem and thus run out of time. 

You have probably heard the joke that to avoid being eaten by a charging bear you don't have to outrun it, you just need to outrun the other guy? Well you don't need to get every answer right on this exam. You just need more answers correct than about half the other guys.