Best PE Exam Review Courses
Earning your FE certification may feel like an end goal for some, but there’s no reason to stop your education there. Instead, many recommend continuing and earning a Professional Engineer (PE) license with the help of some of the best PE exam review courses.
Doing so has many perks, including better career opportunities, demonstrated expertise, and liability protection.
Of course, passing the PE exam isn’t always smooth sailing. According to the NCEES, each exam tends to have a pass rate between 50-60%. That’s why it’s essential to increase your chances as much as possible by completing an online PE exam prep course.
We’ve scoured the internet, looking for the best PE exam prep courses available for professional engineers. We’ve examined their course notes, study tools, course materials, practice questions, full-length practice exams, and all the other study materials that make an NCEES PE exam course worth investing in.
These are the top 5 PE exam review courses in the business.
| RANKINGS | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PE COURSES |  |  |  |  |  |
| OVERALL RATING | |||||
| PRICE | $1,390 | $1,795 | $397 per month | $699 | $600 |
| DISCOUNT | Save $500 | Save 15% | No Discount | No Discount | No Discount |
| PRACTICE EXAMS | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| VIDEO CONTENT |  | | | | |
| LIVE CLASSES | | | | | |
| ACCESS PERIOD | Unlimited | Up to 12 Months | Up to 12 Months | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| GET STARTED | START NOW | START NOW | START NOW | START NOW | START NOW |
1. School of PE Review Courses
School of PE is the best course we’ve found. It’s able to effectively teach the largest possible number of students the required breadth and discipline-specific concepts for the PE exam through their well-designed lectures.
Course Details
Want to know why this is one of the best PE exam review courses? School of PE relies heavily on lectures and textbooks to prepare you for the PE exam. So naturally, that means this course is structured similarly to a traditional classroom environment, including a structured study plan with plenty of options for instructor support. In addition, they offer live classes with live instruction, workshop sessions, refresher sessions (review session offerings), and options that let you work at your own pace.
Plus, your progress is very easy to track through the study hub. So long as you follow along with each lesson, you’ll easily pass the exam.
Like other courses, School of PE bases their price on your chosen format. In order to justify the increased cost, the live online course comes with an extra set of review guides for even more help preparing for your engineering PE exam. This is why it is one of the best PE exam review courses.
School of PE Features
- 90+ Hours of Video Content
- 1,000+ Practice Questions
- Interactive Study Hub with Tutoring
- Exam Review Guides and Practice Tests
PROS AND CONS
- Live or On Demand: You have the option to choose between a live or on demand course with School of PE. Both rely heavily on course lectures, but on-demand lectures come with additional notes and supplementary practice problems. By contrast, the live course allows you to interact with the teacher in a classroom format.
- Discussion Forum: Everyone enrolled in a School of PE course gains access to a discussion forum where you can speak with other students. This allows you to interact with your classmates and receive answers to any questions you might have. This forum also works as a good study tool, since you can answer other people’s questions. Teaching someone else is one of the most effective ways to remember something.
- Study Hub: All course content can be found on one central study hub page. This student portal allows you to easily track your progress and performance throughout the course, and it will remember where you were during a lecture or lesson. That way, you don’t have to worry about restarting if you have to leave early— just resume from your stop point.
Bottom Line: School of PE’s review courses are an excellent way to learn in a traditional classroom format. They’re the best online resource if you prefer studying in this manner.
School of PE Coupon Codes & Discounts
2. PPI2Pass PE Exam Prep Course
PPI2Pass builds guided study courses for students to complete. And if you stick to their in-depth study schedule, you’re guaranteed to pass the exam and earn your PE licensure.
Course Details
This course is built around the PPI Learning Hub, which is a learning tool that creates a guided study course based on your performance. It adjusts as you work through each lesson to account for what learning styles work best and what subjects you need additional help to understand. Because of that, you don’t have to worry about falling behind anyone else— just work through the program at a pace you’re comfortable with.
There are currently two options for each of PPI2Pass’s PE courses. The $2,195 live online course limits some of the adaptive course features and replaces them with help from instructors. If you prefer the adaptive course, you can also pay $1,795 for the on demand course bundle. Either of these is a solid choice for passing the exam, so feel free to choose whichever one is the best fit for your budget and learning style!
PPI2Pass Features
- 70+ Lectures
- Class Notes
- Reference Materials
- PPI Learning Hub
- Quiz Generator
PROS AND CONS
- Learning Hub: Much like School of PE, this course comes with an adaptive learning hub. This platform guides you through the course and ensures that you’re prepared for the PE test. It does so by gauging your initial abilities, creating a study plan, and helping you practice until you’ve mastered the engineering discipline of your choice.
- Practice Exams: At certain milestones of the course, you’ll be asked to complete a practice exam. These are great tools to gauge your learning and see if you’re ready for the PE exam. Additionally, a series of diagnostic exams at the start of the course tie into the adaptive learning system that makes this course so effective.
- Live Content Differences: Due to the nature of a live classroom, PPI2Pass has to limit the adaptive learning parts of their live courses. But they make up for it by allowing you to interact with your teacher and classmates during each session. This lets you get the additional help that an adaptive course would have given you.
Bottom Line: PPI2Pass is great for anyone who wants a more guided experience when preparing for the PE exam.
PPI2Pass Coupon Codes & Discounts
3. Ultimate Civil PE Review
While the previously mentioned courses focus on self-study and classrooms, Ultimate Civil PE Review relies on a personalized support system to help you pass. At any time during your study schedule, you can speak with instructors through email, tutoring sessions, or even a private Facebook group. For this reason, this PE review is a step above the rest.
Aside from this, your schedule will be supplemented by lecture modules and video practice problems. There’s a lot of material for you to work through that will help you understand how a professional responds to various engineering and surveying problems.
Payment for this course is based on how long you want to access: one month costs $397, 6 months cost $697, and a year costs $997. If you don’t want to pay a lump sum at once, choose a payment plan instead. No matter what you pay for, you’ll gain access to the entire course!
Ultimate Civil PE Review Features
- 10 Lecture Modules
- 150+ Video Practice Problems
- 7 Practice Exams
- Bonus Cheat Sheets
- Private Facebook Community
PROS AND CONS
- Course Flexibility: The ability to adjust your schedule on the fly is a major component of this review course. Most students don’t have a lot of free time or the most consistent schedule— so this course was designed to be able to fit into whatever free time you might have.
- Constant Updates: Civil Engineering Academy is always working on improving their content library. Thanks to that, you’ll regularly receive major content updates for no additional cost. This ensures that all information is up to date and maximizes your chances of passing the exam.
- Exam Focus: This course focuses heavily on exams— almost to the detriment of other materials. It’s true that practice is the best way for many students to prepare, but there’s a decent possibility of burnout if you don’t frequently use other types of study materials.
Bottom Line: We recommend this course to anyone who enjoys having easy access to help from their instructors. However, you can get similar benefits from School of PE alongside a larger volume of study material, so you should consider them first.
#4 Capstone Learning PE Exam Prep
Capstone is a bit limited in what they offer when compared to our top-rated engineering program. Currently, they only cover material for the Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, and Electrical PE exams. Despite that, they can offer a strong study course loaded with sample problems, tutor support, narrated instruction, and more. They believe that practice makes perfect, so they give you the tools to practice as much as you need!
It costs $699 to enroll in a Capstone PE review course, making it one of the most affordable options on this list. Further, each course covers both the depth and discipline-specific sections of the exam— that way, you don’t have to worry about paying extra for the full studying experience. This plus other features makes it one of the best PE review courses.
Capstone Learning Features
- 30 Hours of Narrated Instruction
- PE Tutor Support
- 250+ Sample Problems
- Topic-Specific Reference Materials
- USCS/SI Unit Conversion Module
PROS AND CONS
- Unlimited Access: You’ll be able to take this course as many times as you need to once you’ve paid for it. Capstone doesn’t want to cut anyone off from the study materials that they need, so you can easily use these materials across multiple exam periods.
- Multi-format Lectures: Lectures come in both video and audio formats. This way, students of different learning styles can still learn everything they need to know for the PE exam. Plus, this is a great way to mix up teaching styles and keep you engaged with the lessons.
- Only 4 Disciplines: Capstone is currently limited to courses based on the Mechanical, Chemical, Civil, and Electrical PE exams. You’re going to need to try a different course if your engineering focus falls outside of those areas.
Bottom Line: If you’re interested in one of the 4 disciplines that Capstone covers, then this is worth your time. Otherwise, I’d recommend checking out School of PE or PPI2Pass instead.
#5 EET PE Review Course
Engineering Education and Training (EET) PE exam prep courses rely heavily on realistic practice exams to prepare you for the PE exam. Each of their lectures ends in a practice exam, and you’ll have ready access to practice problems and quizzes. Basically, EET wants you to be an experienced test taker long before you sit for any PE exam sections. This is why they teach you test-taking tips and help you learn the format on top of teaching you test concepts.
As with everything else on this list, prices depend on whether you’re taking a course that is live or on demand. Live classes and on demand ones start at $600 and move up.
Features of EET PE Exam Prep Courses
- 50 Hours of Lectures
- On Demand Recordings
- Full Length Exams
- Problem solving Workshops
- Practice Problems and Quizzes
PROS AND CONS
- Breadth and Depth Modules: EET’s course is separated into 2 different modules focusing on the breadth and depth portions of the exam; this ensures that each part gets the focus that they deserve without encroaching on the time allotted for the other part.
- Problem Solving Workshops: During each lesson you’ll be asked to participate in a problem solving workshop. These allow instructors to interact with you directly and make sure that you’ve learned everything you need to know. It also allows them to walk you through engineering scenarios based on their professional experience.
- Civil Engineering Only: Unfortunately, EET only offers a course based on civil engineering. Anyone interested in a different discipline will need to check elsewhere. Despite that, the focus on a single area does make the course more detailed and effective.
Bottom Line: EET is a good course if you’re trying to save money. They’re not as in-depth as School of PE or PPI2Pass, but they’ll get the job done.
PE Exam FAQs
Q: Who can take the PE exam?
A: Typically, someone needs to pass the FE exam and gain four years of work experience before taking the PE exam. However, 14 states allow you to take the test before completing the minimum level of post college work experience. For this reason, you should check your state requirements.
Q: What is the easiest PE exam?
A: According to the NCEES, the PE Fire Protection test has the highest pass rate at 88%. That means you can reasonably assume it’s the easiest test to pass, although you should still study with a test prep review course.
Q: Does my PE exam expire?
A: No. As long as your exam results are verified as part of the application process, they will not expire. This goes for all PE exam tests, including the PE civil exam.
Q: Is the PE harder than the FE exam?
A: No, the FE exam covers a broader range of topics. You must pass these before you can take the PE exam. Enrolling in one of the best PE review courses can improve your likelihood of passing the exam. Here’s everything you need to know about the FE vs PE exam.
Which PE prep course is best?
School of PE’s review course is our top choice. Why? The company offers a comprehensive and structured approach to studying for the exam, with both on demand and live classes, PE civil practice problems, and a Study Hub that is unmatched. Worried you won’t pass? They also offer a money-back guarantee along with their review course offerings.
How many hours should I study for PE exam?
The recommended study period will range among students. However, most exam experts agree that at least 120 hours of study time is recommended prior to exam day. Of course, this depends on the specific discipline you need to gain knowledge surrounding and when you intend to take the NCEES PE exam. For this reason, investing in quality exam review study materials can reduce this number significantly.
How do I prepare for a PE test?
There are many ways to study for professional exams, like the PE exam. Most students use a combined approach, marrying a live class or in-person PE courses with On Demand review course offerings that let you study at a personal pace.
Other students may choose to enroll in a PE prep course that focuses on refresher sessions on important engineering discipline concepts. Whether you prefer live classes, self-paced test prep, or a mixture of the two, School of PE and other PE review course companies have something for all students.
Bryce Welker is a top-notch expert in business and education. As a dynamic speaker, expert blogger, and regular contributor to Forbes, Inc.com, Business.com, AccountingToday.com, and Entreprenuer.com, he has helped readers boost their careers with his extensive knowledge. With a track record of founding over 20 innovative test prep websites, Bryce has helped countless students and professionals pass their certification exams and achieve their dreams. Bryce Welker is the ultimate guide to help you succeed in your career or education.
