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HOW TO PASS THE ECE BOARD EXAM?

From http://micmejia.cjb.net/ with some modifications.


INTRODUCTION
Starting in the Right Direction.
The fact that you are now reading this article means you are ready to move on and face this new challenge in your life. Before starting
your review, just look straightforward - stop regretting and blaming yourself or you instructors for not being able to study hard
enough in college (if you think you did not!) and failing to acquire all the knowledge that you are suppose to learn upon graduating
from your dear Alma Mater. From now on, you must be focusing on achieving these two important goals: to LEARN and to PASS the
ECE Licensure Exam.
Amount of Time Needed to Pass the Board Exam.
You might ask, "How much time is needed to pass the board exam"? Actually, you just need 3 days to pass the exam - 1 day for the
application (at PRC) and 2 days to shade the correct answers for Mathematics, GEAS, Electronics and Communications exams.
However, asking "How much time is needed in preparation for taking the board exam" will make it a little bit harder to answer. Asking
some individuals who already passed the board will surely result to different answers. But taking into consideration an average ECE
graduate and with the type of questions appearing in the board nowadays, 4 months is an absolute minimum for someone who
desires a 99.99% probability of passing.
Probability of Passing.
To give you an idea, you need to answer correctly 35 out of 50 multiple-choice questions in Mathematics and 70 out of 100 for GEAS,
Electronics and Communications. I can assure you that 4 serious months of review is enough to make an average graduate capabl e of
answering 60% of the questions with confidence. And since each questions has 4 choices, by using all the knowledge you learned plus
some techniques (such as elimination method), it is highly probable that you will be able to answer correctly 25% of the remaining
questions (or 10% of the total to get 70%). As you may have noticed, using the laws of probability, by luck alone, anyone is capable of
answering 25% of the remaining questions correctly.
Passing Without Reviewing.
You may know someone who pass without or with very little preparation. Those individuals passed because of pure luck. They are
lucky because most of the questions are based on the concepts which they have reviewed for a short period of time or they have
learned in college. But by having a longer time to prepare will allow your chances of passing the board be more independent of luck
and as you reach the 4 months ideal preparation time your chances of passing will be ideally independent of luck.
Why Take the Board Exam?
Have you ever asked yourself why should we first pass the board exam before becoming a full-fledged Electronics Engineer? It is
because not all students who graduated even in prestigious institutions are competent enough to handle the job of an ECE. Ask
yourself now, "if I will take the board exam at this very moment, in which case the questions are based from the most basic concepts
that a graduate of B.S. E.C.E should know, am I confident enough to say that I will pass the exam?"
Topping the Board.
If you think you have studied hard enough in college, and have understood all the lessons from your major subjects, well, good for
you - you may take this review as a chance to summarize what you have learned for the past 4 or 5 years. You also have a better
chance of not just passing but also making it to the top. If instead, you think otherwise, this is the best opportunity to study what you
failed to learn during your college days.


Review to Learn.
During the course of your review, do not keep on asking yourself whether you will be able to pass the exam, but rather ask yourself
this way: "with this review program I am taking right now, will I be able to LEARN all the BASIC concepts that a new ECE graduate
must know, just before the day of the board exam?".
Be a Professional.
If you really want to earn your license, you must first teach yourself on how to behave like a professional. Learn how to be
PROFESSIONAL enough in facing your new challenge. Many of those who took the board exam fail because they consider studying
and preparing for the board exam a burden for themselves. They did not realized that they have endured studying for more than 14
years; and reviewing for some more months should not be as hard as they think. All you need to do is to discipline yourself and study
hard for the next 4 months. Always remember that if you really love your degree, LEARNING everything related to your profession will
be a rewarding experience. You will see for yourself that PASSING the board exam is inevitable because it will just be a direct
consequence of your hard work and dedication to learn.
Not Everyone Deserves to Pass the Board Exam.
If at this point, you feel, you are not willing to study hard but instead base your chances of passing to pure luck and worse, from
leakages (if there's any), then you deserve to fail the board exam! Because if you do pass, you will not help but instead be a burden to
your future company and to the society. What you just want is to use your profession to find a job and earn money. Your not thinking
of what you can provide to the company but rather what the company can provide to you. Well, it's not too late for you to change
that attitude. If in college you are a lazy student and you have developed the habit of cheating then start changing for your own good
and for the goodness of our society. I must add that preparing for the board exam is not purely mental; it includes social, physical,
emotional and most importantly spiritual preparation.
PREPARING FOR THE BOARD EXAM
Whom To Seek Help.
During your review, you will be needing the help and support of your Review Center, your fellow reviewers and friends, and your
family. Most reviewers never fail to seek the help of our Almighty Creator, which is of course, the most important thing to do. But you
should also not forget to seek help from the individual who can help you the most - yourself. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can
prepare and discipline yourself to become a competent licensed Electronics Engineer.
Choosing Your Review Center.
If you believe in professional integrity and you really have the desire to learn, you should find a Review Center that will help you learn
almost everything you need to become a competent ECE (although it is impossible to teach everything in detail). A good review
center must have
A well-planned program (it includes systematic scheduling of topics to be discussed) and
Instructors who are highly competent to discuss their assigned subjects and who are truly committed in helping the students pass the
board exam.
All review centers provide two separate courses: the REVIEW COURSE and the REFRESHER COURSE. The Review Course is like an
ordinary lecture class while the Refresher Course (which usually starts 2 months before the board) may include a Question and
Answer type of discussion or it may be a whole day exam for the students.
Attending 2 Review Centers.
What about attending two review centers for the Review Course? The advantages of having 2 centers are first, lessons are discussed
twice and with 2 different approaches (from 2 different instructors) - it really aids retention and better understanding especially for
difficult topics. Second, if one of the center unintentionally fails to include some lessons, the other one can make up for that. The
disadvantages are lesser time to study on your own and higher tuition fees; but with proper time management and some financial
aids from the centers, it is really advantageous two have 2 review centers.
On the contrary, attending 2 centers for the Refresher Course is more of a disadvantage. During this period, you will need more time
to study on your own. Nevertheless, I do know some persons who attended 2 refresher courses and pass the board.
Always remember that whichever review center(s) you choose, their effort in helping and guiding you in your review is just 30% - 40%
of what is needed; you have to provide the remaining 60% - 70%.
READING
If in college you failed to develop the habit of reading books, then you better start reading now. The following list enumerates the
basic reasons why it is important to read books:
Reading allows you to understand all the principles and concepts - from the most basic to the most complicated topics.
Finishing a book boosts up your self-confidence.
Even if you did not memorize all the objective type of information such as dates, definitions, enumerations, you have a better chance
of recalling it just in case it is asked in the board exam.
Usually, instructors based the principles they teach from the books they have read. In just a matter of years, who knows, you could be
one of them; so what hinders you from being able to learn by just reading on your own, as those instructors were able to do.
What to read.
The following are my suggestions on how you can maximize your 4 months of review and learn as much as possible. It worked for me,
but I don't think it will work for everybody; at least, you have an idea on how and where to start.
For MATH, you don't need to read books. But if there's some formula that you feel you need to know the concepts behind, and i f you
have more than 4 months before the board, then reading won't hurt you. What you must do is practice solving problems.
For ELECTRONICS, finishing first Grob's Basic Electronics gives you a good start. For the second book, choose one from Floyd,
Boylestad or Malvino. Then read a book about vacuum tubes - Mehta is a good one. You must also read a very good reference that
discusses motors, and it can be found at neets_dload page. . Finally, read some references about synchros, servos, and gyros; it can
also be found in NEETs Module 15. These books/references covers 90% of what you must understand about electronics. The
remaining 10% includes miscellaneous topics which the review center will provide you during discussions.
For COMMUNICATIONS, books written by William Blake, Frenzel, Wayne Tomasi, Miller, and Kennedy are just a few. I suggest that
you start with the book by William Blake because it is relatively easy to read and new (2002); you should finish reading it. Frenzel can
help you understand basic AM, FM and PM especially if you answer its end of chapter questions. It also provides a good discussion
about modems, microwave tubes (magnetron, klystron, etc.) and microwave semiconductors (Gunn diode, tunnel diode, etc). I
suggest that you read topics in Frenzel which you did not find in Blake. Tomasi is very difficult to finish for a limited amount of time. I
suggest that you skip chapters about AM, FM, Noise, Transmission Lines, Antenna and proceed to the chapters about Digital and Data
Communications, Satellite and Mobile Communications. For this chapters, avoid wasting your time on different formulas because
they can be found in most communication reviewers which you will soon use in your review. You must otherwise focus on important
information such as dates, numbers, enumeration, definition, etc. Finally, read a reliable communications reviewer that summarizes
most of the important formulas in communications.
Allotted Time.
You should read the suggested materials for 5-7 hours daily for the first 2 months. Expect that you will need to reduce this allotted
time to 1-2 hours daily once you reached the 60 days review period.
LISTENING
If you plan to attend only one review center for the Review Course, you must attend every meeting, avoid coming late and do your
best to listen attentively. There are times that you will feel sleepy and you can't control it, well, it's ok. As long as you understand the
lesson for the day either by reading the modules on your own or by making an extra effort to read the specific topic from your books,
you are on the right track. However, if you always feel sleepy, you have to do something about it. Take at least 8 hours of sleep the
night before each review session.
If you plan to attend two review centers, avoid intentionally missing sessions from either review centers. Even if you think you know
the lesson for those sessions, you could still possibly miss some important concepts that the instructor may include in the discussion.
Allotted Time.
You will be listening to the discussion in you review center for an average of 12-20 hours per week for each review center.
PRACTICE
In the board exam, Mathematics and GEAS will be and should be the easiest subjects. And for Electronics and Communications, the
questions that require computations will be the easiest part of these exams.
There are 2 requirements to be able to solve problems that require computation: (1) you should know the correct formula to use,
and(2) you should know how to use the formula. And the only way to memorize and learn how to use those formulas in Math and
GEAS, Electronics and Communications is to let them become a part of your daily activities. Practice solving problems especially in
Math and Communications, for about 2-3 hours daily. You must answer about 20-30 problems daily for the first 2 weeks then
increasing it to about 50 problems. You must also plan where to get these problems so that you can cover all major topics. For
Mathematics. For Electronics, basic computations taught in the review center is more than enough. By doing this for the first 2
months of your review, you will be able to answer at least 2,500 questions. Remember, practice makes perfect.
Allotted Time. You should allot 2-4 hours daily solving different types of problems for the first 2 months. Allotted time for
familiarizing in different types of problems for the last 2 months should be reduced to 1-2 hours daily; however, this will become a
part of the activity - Self-assessed Exams.
2 Months Before the Board Exam.
60 days before the board is the most critical period of the review. By this time, you should have finished reading books and have
familiarized yourself with the different types of problems and formulas in Mathematics including GEAS, Electronics and
Communications. The Refresher Course, most probably, have just started at this point. You must have accomplished at this point the
following:
For Math, you can answer the basic problems easily; and for the hard ones, you can solve it by just recalling the necessary formula
and constants from your notes, or at the very least, understands how it is solved, step-by-step, while looking from some sample
problems on your notes.
For Electronics, you can answer problems requiring basic equations easily; and for the hard ones, you know where from your
notes/books you can find the necessary formulas to solve it. But more importantly, you must fully understand the basics of
electronics - I'm pertaining to the WHY's and HOW's of electronics and not the WHAT's. For example, "How does an electron flow
inside a BJT during normal operation?", then a follow-up question would be "Why does an electron flows that way?".
For Communications, you must know what and how formulas and constants are used in different types of problems. And like
Electronics, you must understand the important principles and concepts, and at least, be able explain it to yourself. For example,
"How does an electromagnetic wave propagates in different mediums and how does it differs from longitudinal waves such us a
sound wave?".
The 60 Days Review Program.
If you are at least 70% confident to say that you have achieved the above requirements prior to starting this remaining 60 days review
program, then you can maximize the benefits of the following guidelines on how to spend the remaining days of your review.
In choosing the schedule for your refresher course, I suggest that you choose the weekend section (Saturadays and Sundays)
especially if you are far from your review center, so that you will have a longer time reviewing on your own.
Since at this point you already understood most of the basic principles (the answer to the WHY's and HOW's) in Electronics and
Communications, and you at least know what and how formulas and constants are used in solving different types of problems in
Math, Electronics and Communications, you just need one more step before you can confidently face the Licensure Exam - and that is
to MEMORIZE.
MEMORIZED PRINCIPLES and FORMULAs
Yes, for the remaining 60 days, the only task left to you is to memorize everything that could possibly help you on the day of the
exam. There are 2 sets of information that you need to memorize: the first is a set of Question-Answer pairs and the second set
includes all of the formulas, constants, definitions, tables, laws, standards, dates, and a lot more.
For the second set, here is my suggestion: For formulas, write all important formulas in a clean sheet of bond paper, one page: one
topic. For example, one page of formulas related to Acoustics, 1 page for Solid Geometry, etc. Write only the formulas that you
understand how it is used in a problem. As much as possible, avoid including formulas which could be easily derived from other
formulas. Box each formula. But please, avoid the temptation to include all formulas you find in different reviewers. Include only the
formulas you used in solving problems for the first 2 months of your review.
For constants, tables, standards, laws, just have a list of what pages of the books you can find these information. Or if possible, you
may photocopy those pages. Don't waste your time rewriting all of them.
Allotted Time. The 60th day before the exam is the ideal time to create your own compilation of formulas. Why? Because at this
point, you encountered most of the different types of problems, and you know which formulas are worth memorizing. Spend 1-2 days
preparing this compilation. Also, for 1-2 hours daily, memorize tables, constants, laws, standards and some formulas.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
The first set of information I mentioned, the Question-Answer pair, can only be memorized in the most effective way through self-
conducted exams. I will later discuss how to conduct it in the most effective way.
Again, prior to this 60 days all you have to do is to UNDERSTAND all the Principles and Concepts and to STRENGTHEN your Analytical
Skills in different types of Problems. However, at this point, you don't need to understand everything. This time, the situation will be:
'If this is the Question, what is the Correct Answer?' You should not waste time asking how come it happened that this is the correct
answer to this particular question. If the Question-Answer pair comes from a reliable source, just accept it.
But don't bother yourself much about this scenario of memorizing answers for each particular questions. If you really studied hard for
the first 2 months, most of the Question-Answer pair would be familiar to you. That's why it is important that you understood the
basic principles in Electronics and Communications so you will not feel like memorizing answers for questions from Nursing or CPA
Licensure Exams...
If you will read some users' comments from websites providing online-exams such as www.onlinereviewer.com, the users usually
thank the website for really helping them pass the exam. In these websites, the user will be given a set of Question-Answer pairs from
a database containing thousands of entries. It is really effective to memorize or at least familiarize to as many Question-Answer pairs
as possible through online-exams. But aside from the cost, the main flaw in this set-up is that it is hard to encounter all the questions
in the database especially those questions that the user has a little or no knowledge at all. Most of them generates the questions
randomly, lacking the ability to EMPHASIZE ON QUESTION-ANSWER PAIRS THAT THE USER PERSONALLY NEEDS TO EXERT EXTRA
ATTENTION TO. Each user is unique in his assessment on which Question-Answer pair is easy, average or difficult for him. However,
with this proper approach to conducting self-assessed exams that I will suggest to you, I am sure you can memorize Question-Answer
pairs in the most effective and time-efficient way.
Conducting Self-Assessed Exams. There are 2 key factors to be able to get the maximum benefit of conducting self-assessed
exams: (1) reliable and updated sources of comprehensive and relevant Question-Answer pairs such as reviewers, end-of-chapter
questions of various books, modules, and hand-outs and quizzes provided by your review center; and (2) a well-planned and
systematic approach in dealing with this Q&A sources.
For the sources, some of the best reviewers are those written by Padilla for Math, by Asubar for Electronics and by Ballado for
Communications. I am sure that your review center will provide the necessary materials for you. The problem is how to memorize or
familiarize yourself to thousands of Question-Answer pairs in the shortest possible time - considering that you will also spend time
practicing solving problems and memorizing the 2nd set of information I already mentioned.
Steps in Conducting Self-Assessed Exams:
Plan which reviewers and modules you will use. Remember that your ultimate goal is to memorize or at least to be familiar to as
many Question-Answer pairs as possible, especially those which you lack or have a little knowledge of.
Plan when and how-frequent you will conduct your self-assessed exams. If you will attend the Sat&Sun Refresher course, you have 5
straight days to study. To give you an idea, to finish a 1000 Q-A pair reviewer having objective type of questions such as Electronics
will require 10-20 hours. For a 1000 Q-A pair reviewer containing primarily of problem solving such as a MATH reviewer will require
you 30-60 hours.
Prepare and print answer sheets. A computer-generated answer sheet will save your time.
Use a stopwatch. Answer the Exam in batches or sets. Record the duration of the time you answer each set. It is important for your
own performance check, especially if you will answer an entire reviewer at least twice (I suggest that you do so). It is a great
confidence-booster to know that you are able to answer the reviewer with greater accuracy and speed as you keep on repeating your
exams. What about aiming to get at least 95% correct for a (100 questions - objective type - for 15-30 minutes) or a (50 questions -
problem solving type - for 30-60 minutes) after answering it on your second try?
Classify the type of each Question-Answer Pair. While answering, take note on which of the following types the Q-A pair belongs:
You are sure that you know the correct answer.
You are sure that you know the correct answer, but after checking you realized your wrong.
You are not sure but you feel you have a high probability of getting the correct answer.
Through elimination and/or some hints from other related questions you can determine the correct answer.
It is a problem solving type, and you can answer it correctly if you only recall the needed formulas and constants.
You encountered similar questions in the past/previous exams, but you always forget or you always feel confused on which is the
correct answer.
The question is new to you; you don't have any idea.
Then using some marks (i.e. *,**,***,#,etc) at the side of the question number, you can easily review your exam later. What I did is
that I did not mark the questions that I am sure of the correct answer,
* for question I think I have a high chance of getting it correctly,
** for those with 50-50% chances, and
*** for those that I completely guessed. I also group (using brackets) numbers with related questions (i.e. nos. 8-12 are questions
about the different types of motors, etc.)
What's the benefit of doing this?
First, if you get 60/100 and 50 of them are unmarked (meaning, you are sure that you know the correct answer), you can save your
time and instead focus your attention on the remaining questions that you either guessed or are confused at. List the Answers in a
Clean Sheet of Paper. Would you agree if I claim that for most Q-A pairs, (after encountering it at least once), if you were given the
correct answer you can easily recall its partner question, but not the other way around? For example, in Electronics, I give you
'Valence Shell' as an answer, what's the question? If you agree with me, then let's use this fact to our own advantage. How? For each
reviewer, for each set, write the answers of those marked nos. in a clean sheet of bond paper. If you think it is necessary to add 1-2
words hint for some answers to aid you in recalling its associated question, do so. Retake the exams. I suggest that you answer each
reviewer twice, especially those sets where you get below 70%. You may repeat it 3 or more times but I think it would be a waste of
time. The list you created in the previous step would be enough to aid you in memorizing the Q-A pairs.
Final Step. After you retake the exams, I am sure that you was able to reduce that reviewer containing thousands of questions to a
set of 2-3 sheets of paper. Your task is to memorize the answers in these sheets and try to recall their associated questions in your
mind. After doing so, you know you are confident to say that you can answer ALL of the questions from that particular reviewer.
ONE LAST TASK
Take the Board Exam with Confidence. For the 4th and 3rd Months you READ books, LISTEN attentively to the discussions in your
review center, and from then on continuously PRACTICE SOLVING problems of different types. Starting the 60th day you MEMORIZED
formulas, constants, laws, standards, and conducted SELF-ASSESSED EXAMS to be able to memorize thousands of Question-Answer
pairs. To make sure you miss nothing, you reviewed those SHEETS of PAPER you created that contains formulas, answers to Q-A pairs,
etc., 2-3 days before the day of the Exam. Aside from these Mental Preparation, you have also prepared your self Physically,
Emotionally and Spiritually. Then you said to yourself: "with this preparation and with GOD's will, I am really afraid of the days to
come... afraid of making it to the top, and delivering my speech in the Oath Taking Ceremony!"
Well, believe me, Nothing is impossible. But if you are reading this article months before the Licensure Exam, expect yourself to
experience a higher level of self-discipline and perseverance. And I am sure you will have your own experience of FEAR - not because
you think you will fail, but rather because you feel you have a very good chance of making it to the top. You will feel so excited to take
the exam to see the positive results of your hardwork and dedication. Good luck and GOD Bless your review - future Engineer

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