Your unfair advantage in the FE exam
The FE covers an undergraduate degree's worth of subjects, many of them from years ago. The reference handbook is on screen, but only helps if you know which concept applies and where to look.
The advantage isn't a shortcut. It's a study method: pulling answers from memory and reviewing them just before they fade, instead of rereading, highlighting and cramming.
3 programs · 2,298 cards · organised by public exam outlines
What your memory has to carry for the FE exam
Different exams, the same problem: a lot to hold, for a long time, recalled on demand.
A whole degree, at once
Statics, dynamics, fluids, circuits, materials and more, from different years of school.
Knowing what applies
Recognising which concept a problem is testing before you open the handbook.
Units and conventions
Sign conventions, unit conversions and the assumptions behind each equation.
Why the old way fails for the FE exam
Rereading, highlighting and cramming are the most common ways to study, and they feel productive. The research says they're the weakest.
Rereading
Rereading old lecture notes brings back the feeling of the course, not the ability to use it under time.
Retrieve it
Tested students recalled 61% of a passage a week later; students who reread it four times recalled 40%.
Roediger & Karpicke (2006), Psychological Science
Highlighting
Highlighting the handbook tells you where equations are. It does not tell you which one a problem needs.
Test yourself
A review of ten techniques rated highlighting and rereading low utility, and practice testing high.
Dunlosky et al. (2013), Psychological Science in the Public Interest
Cramming
Cramming a dozen subjects into the final weeks leaves the first ones faded by the exam.
Space it
Word pairs reviewed across four days were recalled 54% of the time; the stack crammed the day before the test, 34%.
Kornell (2009), Applied Cognitive Psychology
The numbers behind the method
Published finding about the method, not NoReread results. Each one is shown with the conditions it was measured under.
assessments of spaced vs massed practice, reviewed together
The longer the gap since you learned it, the more spacing matters, and the FE reaches back years.
A quantitative review of 839 assessments in 317 experiments (184 articles) on verbal recall. Spaced learning beat massed, and the gap between sessions that produced the best retention grew as the retention interval grew.
Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380.
Published finding about the method, not NoReread results.
recalled a week later: tested vs reread
Recalling beat rereading a week later.
Undergraduates studied a prose passage. Those who read it once and recalled it three times remembered 61% of it one week later; those who read it four times remembered 40%. At five minutes the rereaders were ahead (83% vs 71%). Experiment 2, 180 students, no feedback.
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
Published finding about the method, not NoReread results.
utility: practice testing and spacing vs rereading and highlighting
Rereading notes is rated low utility; practice testing and spacing high.
A review of ten learning techniques rated practice testing and distributed practice high utility; rereading, highlighting and summarization were rated low utility.
Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
Published finding about the method, not NoReread results.
See the research
Three short loops. Two chart published results exactly as reported; the forgetting curve is an illustrative model and is labelled as one.
The forgetting curve, with and without reviews
An illustrative model, not measured data: after one exposure, memory decays quickly toward zero over 30 days. With reviews on days 1, 3, 7 and 14, each review restores it and it decays more slowly each time, staying high at day 30.
Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Über das Gedächtnis. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig.
Illustrative model, not measured data.
Testing yourself beats rereading, a week later
Bar charts from Roediger & Karpicke (2006), Experiment 2. Five minutes after studying, students who read a passage four times recalled 83%, read three times and tested once 78%, read once and tested three times 71%. One week later the order reversed: 40%, 56% and 61%.
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
Published finding about the method, not NoReread results.
Spacing beats cramming
From Kornell (2009), Experiment 2: over four days, one stack of 20 word pairs reviewed every day versus four stacks of five each crammed on one day. On day 5, spaced pairs were recalled 54% of the time, massed 21%, and the stack crammed the day before 34%. Across three experiments spacing beat massing for 90% of participants, yet after the first session 72% believed massing worked better.
Kornell, N. (2009). Optimising learning using flashcards: Spacing is more effective than cramming. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23(9), 1297–1317.
Published finding about the method, not NoReread results.
Engineering programs
Ready-made decks, organised by each exam's public outline. Open any program to try its free sample cards.
FE Civil — Fundamentals of Engineering
14 decks · 867 cards
FE Mechanical — Fundamentals of Engineering
12 decks · 730 cards
FE Electrical and Computer — Fundamentals of Engineering
14 decks · 701 cards
| Exam | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|
| FE Civil110 questions · 6-hour appointment (5 hours 20 minutes of exam time, plus tutorial and a scheduled break) | 110 questions | 6-hour appointment (5 hours 20 minutes of exam time, plus tutorial and a scheduled break) |
| FE Mechanical110 questions · 6-hour appointment (5 hours 20 minutes of exam time, plus tutorial and a scheduled break) | 110 questions | 6-hour appointment (5 hours 20 minutes of exam time, plus tutorial and a scheduled break) |
| FE Electrical and Computer110 questions · 6 hours (includes tutorial and an optional scheduled break) | 110 questions | 6 hours (includes tutorial and an optional scheduled break) |
How NoReread puts it to work
1. Cards from public exam outlines
Each program is organised by its exam's publicly available outline, so the decks follow the structure you will be tested on.
2. Recall first, then flip
Every card asks before it tells. That moment of pulling the answer from memory is the retrieval practice the research measures.
3. Reviews scheduled before you forget
An SM-2 schedule brings each card back just as it starts to fade: sooner if you missed it, later if you knew it.
Cards ask which concept or equation applies and what its terms mean, by NCEES knowledge area. The schedule keeps every area in rotation while you work problems.
In CPM scheduling, what does the critical path represent?
The longest continuous chain of dependent activities through the network, which sets the project's minimum duration; activities on it have zero total float.
Learn first, then retain.
Flashcards are a memory tool. Learn the material first, then use NoReread to retain it and refresh what you already know. It doesn't replace studying the subject.
Cards are created from publicly available sources and may contain errors. Check anything you rely on against your official materials.
Straight answers
Is NoReread enough to prepare for the FE exam?
No, and we won't pretend otherwise. Flashcards are a memory tool. Learn the material first, then use NoReread to retain it and refresh what you already know. It doesn't replace studying the subject.
What does “unfair advantage” mean here?
The advantage is the study method: retrieval practice and spaced review, instead of rereading, highlighting and cramming. It is not a promise of a pass or a score. The numbers on this page are published findings about the method from the studies cited, not NoReread results.
Do I still need to work practice problems?
Yes. The FE is a problem-solving exam. Flashcards keep concepts and equations fresh; timed problem practice with the reference handbook builds the skill.
Does NoReread replace the NCEES reference handbook?
No. Practise with the official handbook, since that is what you have on exam day.
Can I rely on the cards being accurate?
Cards are created from publicly available sources and may contain errors. Check anything you rely on against your official materials. We're not experts in every field we cover, and NoReread does not guarantee exam results.
Is NoReread affiliated with the organizations behind these exams?
No. NoReread is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organizations whose exams and outlines it references, and exam names are trademarks of their respective owners.
How can I try it?
Every program page shows 6 free sample cards per deck. The All-Access annual plan starts with 7 days free, then $119.99/year, or you can buy a single program for life from $7.99.
Exam names are trademarks of their respective owners. Content disclaimer · All the research
Study the FE exam the way memory works
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