School of PE Review 2024: Is it Worth its Price?

School of PE is one of the most famous platforms that helps engineering students prepare for their FE and PE exams. 

You are probably wondering if the School of PE has what it takes to effectively prepare you for your exam. So, here is our review of what you should know before choosing this course!

If you think receiving a premium course at a reasonable rate will do you good, then the School of PE is the best choice for you. 

An Overview of School of PE Coursework

Before choosing this course, it is essential to first know how their curriculum works.

Firstly, their coursework is found on their Study Hub where you can gain access to different practice and preparation materials. You can see the Study Hub as a student portal that serves as both the starting and stopping point of your study. The Study Hub will be accessible no matter the subscription plan you go for, that is, live online package and on-demand package.

The Study Hub offers a suite of personalized study tools. You can craft a study schedule tailored to your needs, annotate lecture videos with personal notes, test your knowledge with quizzes, and utilize the accompanying app for convenient studying on the go.

The best part about their platform is that they have a streamlined interface, in which every tool or material you may need is organized in an orderly manner on the dashboard. The place where you will probably spend most of your time, around 98% of the time, is on one tab normally referred to as Course Material.

At the Course Material tab, you will find every review material and substantive content you have. They are organized into sections depending on the type of topic. For instance, if you have a course like the FE Civil, you may find folders for dynamics, fluids, and statics, among others. Keeping your practice materials organized can prevent confusion and allow you to quickly find what you are required to study.

Under the folders, you will find another study feature, which is commonly regarded as a learning module. Every learning module will include five learning components, which are workshop problems and solutions, refresher notes, quizzes, lecture videos, and flashcards. 

However, the number of each element will be based on the type of topic. To be precise, you may have just one set of flashcards, quizzes, and workshop problems at times but you can also have numerous note sets and quizzes sometimes.

Take an example of a certain module like Survey, materials, and Construction Engineering which can include a set of flashcards and three separate quizzes. In short, the number of each component will probably not be the same for every topic.

The Components

Below, we are going to discuss the elements mentioned earlier to help you understand further the curriculum of the School of PE.

1. Lecture Videos

Lecture videos are one of the most effective ways that help students tackle even the toughest problems. School of PE provides two types of lecture videos, that is, on-demand and live videos.

You get access to extensive library of lecture and practice videos tailored to the NCEES exam specifications, divided into comprehensive review segments and dedicated problem-solving sessions. You also get 1,300 pages of reference materials, encompassing all the slides from the lectures. My preparation led to the accumulation of six full binders of notes, which greatly simplified the morning portion of the exam for me.

For on-demand videos, students can access them at any time they prefer since they are pre-recorded after attending classes. The only issue with these videos is that you can only replay and pause videos. It is not possible to have a real-time interaction with your instructor in case you have any questions.

On the other hand, live videos require you to go live. The best part, however, is that they are always recorded after class so you can re-watch them or watch them for the first time in case you missed the class. 

Unlike, on-demand videos, live videos allow you to ask questions during lessons. All you have to do is use the chat feature. Simply type your question in the chat box and hit the send button. The instructor will then take a break during a specific interval and answer all the questions.

Even though you cannot ask any questions while using on-demand videos, you may get lucky sometimes. Students from live classes enquire about the same topics as yours, so you can still understand the material well.

Lecture videos normally use a slideshow-style class format. To be precise, you will see a picture of the instructor that is in static form, which can be seen in the upper left corner. As for the teaching, it is accomplished onscreen with slides that are marked up by your instructor with a stylus. Your instructor will then voice the lesson over the onscreen text. This teaching technique is not only easy to follow but also very effective.

2. Refresher Notes

Refresher notes are handouts that instructors use to highlight essential points. The information inside these handouts mainly includes content review in bullet point format, sample problems with solutions, important formulas and key things to remember. 

These notes are important to students because it helps them understand a certain topic better and easily. These pages are not as dense as those found in textbooks. It is quite useful to revise the concepts in last few weeks before the exam.

3. Practice Problems & Solutions

The School of PE provides a wealth of practice problems, available through both the study portal and review materials.

Practice problems are followed by a solution for each question.  What you will love about this element is that all the solutions are detailed enough to help you improve on the parts that seem difficult. In addition, the solutions also consist of high-quality illustrations, which are very helpful to understand the underlying concept thoroughly.

Reflecting on my preparation, my tracking sheet shows that I tackled approximately 500 practice problems while using the School of PE. This extensive hands-on practice is the reason I approached the actual test with such high confidence.

4. Quizzes

What follows after the refresher notes, video lectures, and workshop problems with solutions are quizzes. These quizzes enable students to know if they understood what they learned by testing their knowledge.

Every quiz has around 30 questions. These questions are focused on testing your understandings and knowledge so they may not be strictly use the actual exam format. Therefore, they can help you polish your problem solving skills as well as allow you to know your weak spots.

5. Flashcards

They provide digital sets and not print as most people think. The flashcards can be found in two different forms. The first one is the primary flashcards, which have a classic design with the front having a concept or term while the back has a corresponding detail.

The other form of flashcards consists of brief multiple-choice questions at the front while the answers to the given questions can be found at the back. The different formats of these flashcards allow students to choose what works best for them and allow certain materials to sink in before moving to the next topic.

Bottom line, flashcards can quite helpful to check your thoroughness of a topic quickly.

School of PE has so much to offer, and its features are what make it popular among students preparing for their PE and FE exams. Here are some of these features:

1. Periodic Reviews

Periodic reviews allow you to frequently refresh what you have learned so far until the duration of your course is over. The default program of the review is at 25%, 50%, and 75%, and when you finish your course. The review sessions are essential since they allow you to tackle practice problems and review notes. 

Long hours of preparation can sometimes make you forget what you learned within a specific period. This is where review sessions come in handy. They allow you to rapidly refresh particular materials within 8-12 hours.

2. Detailed and High-Quality Books with QR code Integration

Apart from gaining access to the materials from Study Hub, the School of PE also provides you with high-quality books like the Civil Exam Review Guide. There are normally different review guides or textbooks for each discipline. Each textbook supplements and tracks with the primary digital content, which consists of sample problems, formulas, keynotes, and cross-references to the NCEED Reference Handbook.

In addition to all these, the practice problems found in the book Include a QR code, which students can scan on the School of PE’s mobile app when searching for an in-depth solution. This might happen because the hardcopy book is connected to the digital information where every material is integrated by using the QR codes.

3. Excellent Practice Portal

The practice portal enables students to gain access to quizzes in case they need to do some more practice work. You can customize the quizzes based on the topic and level of difficulty. This feature can help you polishing your weak spots. The best part is that the quizzes are realistic to mimic the real thing in terms of length, difficulty, and content.

4. Additional Study Tools

School of PE does not end at providing notes, video lectures, and practice questions but they also offer bonus materials. These materials consist of a personal study plan, calculator training, discussion forums, and an inquiry communication line.

The best bonus is probably the personal study plan, which allows you to experience an ideal learning schedule that suits all your study needs. This study plan is created before you even begin studying at the School of PE. 

At first, you are asked a few questions in terms of your schedule availability, exam timing, and topic strengths. After the platform has gathered your information, they will design a perfect study plan for you that is in calendar form.

Therefore, if you enjoy having a plan and keeping everything in an orderly manner, then you should go to the School of PE as your course for preparation. The study plan is also very helpful to on-demand students since those who go for live classes receive more structure from their lessons.

5. An Integrated Mobile App

School of PE mobile app is also a great feature to have on your Android or iOS device since you can use the platform wherever and whenever you want. It is sleek and does not lag easily no matter how many times you use it. In addition, students can access every material they may need for the course as long as they have an internet connection.

6. Money-Back Guarantee and Free Retaking Policy

To ensure that your investment is always protected, the School of PE provides two features: a free repeat policy and risk-free enrollment. 

The risk-free enrollment ensures that you receive a full refund in certain cases where a student might be waiting for their approval from the state board or the student failed a prerequisite exam. Even though you will probably never use the risk-free enrollment feature, it is still essential to have it for when you might need your money back. You can check full details here.

The free repeat policy is self-explanatory. All you need is to meet basic requirements and in case you don’t pass your exam, you can repeat the course for free. The free repeat policy will also allow you to access all the practice materials you had used previously without making another purchase.

How Much Does the School of PE Cost?

The cost of School of PE will be based on the type of package you want. This includes an on-demand package, on-site classes, and live online classes. Therefore, it is essential to first figure out which package would work best for you. For instance, in case you want to attend a class that promotes accountability and structure, then a live online class is your sure bet.

Either way, the cost of each package is nearly the same with the on-demand package going for $1,300 while the live online class is $100 less than the on-demand package. However, the live classes can be discounted, sometimes by $300. This is usually for those students who take an early registration program.

Therefore, no matter the type of package you choose or the exam you are preparing for, your budget should be between $1,000-$1,600. Moreover, try to check for sales and promo codes regularly before you even go for your preferred package.

Additionally, the School of PE also has a monthly subscription plan, which costs $300 every month. The only issue is that the monthly plan may not have as numerous features as the other packages.

If you compare the cost of this course with another famous program, PPI, School of PE is $1,000 cheaper so it might be an ideal prep course if you have a tight budget but want to receive high-quality practice materials.

How Long Can You Access the Learning Materials at School of PE?

The access period will be based on the type of package you have purchased. For the on-demand package, you have a 4-month, a 6-month, and a 12-month increment, or a monthly pay-as-you-go plan. As for the live online class, the duration will be based on the length of the course.

Final Words

Based on my personal experience, I found School of PE course highly valuable. The convenience of studying on one’s own schedule and the clear, structured guidance provided by the course eliminates guesswork from the study process. If you are not sure about the cost, you can go for Affirm finance option. With a pass rate of nearly 90% for first-time School of PE participants and a free repeat policy for those who don’t pass initially, the investment appears to be low-risk. The PE exam can be daunting when tackled alone, but a review course like School of PE can significantly reduce the effort required and make the test much more approachable.

To conclude, we would recommend you choose the School of PE. The prep course has all the practice materials you may need to pass your exam. And, it is also very suitable for visual learners. But, if this course does not suit your needs, you can also try other highly rated programs including PPI, Civil Engineering Academy, and more.

You can check our list of best PE prep course here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is School of PE worth it?

From the above review, it is clear that the School of PE is worth your time and money. In fact, most engineers prefer using this course for preparation purposes, all due to the high-quality video lectures, detailed study materials, as well as powerful and realistic practice problems.

What is the pass rate of the School of PE

According to their statistics, the School of PE has a pass rate of 90% mark, thereby surpassing the average mark for first-time takers on the national level. Factually, the School of PE pass rate can sometimes be two times more than the national average for repeat takers.

What will happen if your class gets rescheduled?

At times, there may be unavoidable circumstances where the School of PE would have to reschedule your classes. When this happens before your class begins, you will be notified earlier via your email. 

Moreover, if your class had already begun and you had to reschedule probably because of technical difficulties, you will also get an email later on with the rescheduled date.