#PreparetoPass: Where to Review for the Chemical Engineering Board Exam

In a few months, there will be another set of Chemical Engineering graduates again! (Woot! Raise your hand if you are one!) It seems like only yesterday that my classmates and I marched up on stage to receive our diplomas. Then after a summer to rest, we left home to start a shorter journey to our next big hurdle, the end game we worked >= 5 years for, to get to: the board exam.

my classmates & I during our graduation day last year

But before we graduated, we had to decide where we would reviewing for the board exam. The Chemical Engineering board exam happens in November and April or May, but is usually taken by graduates in November, with graduation season happening in March/April or June, for those affected by the academic calendar shift. With that, review centers usually offer review programs as early as May (for those happening once a week) but most usually start at June. As early as January, we were already inquiring with the different review centers so we could also make arrangements where to stay.

⇒Factors to help you decide which review center to choose

1. Effectiveness.

I chose my review center because they are well-known and established. Good feedback from friends who have also reviewed there also helped fuel that decision. When you ask around your peers, ask about their lecturers, teaching method, specialty subjects (are you weak in Chemistry, or Chemical Engineering Principles, ask the older students how those review centers fared in teaching those subjects) & how updated their resources are.

I'm not really a fan of asking the review centers directly, because at the end of the day, they are all businesses and are looking to get enrollees (Sorry lungs, I am such a cynic, or maybe cautious?? IDK) so the best thing to ask them is probably their passing rate, or number of topnotchers (if you're looking to be one and knowing that figure is important to help reassure you)

*Disclaimer: In my opinion, we shouldn't wholly credit review centers for how excellent one student performs during the board exam because when it comes to it, the student is the one processing the information the review center gives, and the preparation a student does outside of the review class is what counts more than the review. I honestly believe that. Still, despite what I think, it is reassuring to know that the review center you would be attending had something to show for as testament to its effectivity.

2. Price.

Even though we want to attend a well-known review center, sometimes we wish to ease our parents' financial burden so we choose one that fits our budget. Don't feel bad about that. Like I said previously, YOU will take the board exam and not the review center. Most of the studying and the understanding of the lessons really happens when you study on your own. The review center will only help you prepare for it by helping you go through your lessons & clarifying any concepts you do not understand. Think about it, there are some people that did self-review & still passed (even topped!) the board exam.

3. Location.

For those from the provinces (like us), you want to choose a review center that you need minimal adjustment to, or feel you will be more comfortable or safer at. One of my classmates have family in Laguna that's why they chose to review at UPLB. I have family in Manila and have studied there for 3 years so I'm used to the city, so that was also part of the reason why I chose to review at MRII. Some of my classmates wanted a place that felt like a province (with trees and fresh air, much like Davao) so they chose UPLB. Our OJT friends from UM wanted a place where they could still speak Bisaya, so they chose to review at Flores Review Center in Cebu.

4. Schedule

If you got a job immediately after graduating (congrats, btw!) and still want to take the boards, you're better off with a review center that offers weekend classes. If you're focusing solely on the board exam (mala-estudyante peg ulit, ganern), know the times your brain works best. I decided on morning classes because the board exam will be held in the morning so I needed my brain to work during those times.

**IMPORTANT** 

Just know that for whatever reasons you have for choosing what center to review at, DO IT FOR YOURSELF. DO NOT CHOOSE A REVIEW CENTER JUST BECAUSE ALL YOUR CLASSMATES WILL BE THERE. 
What if they chose to review in Manila, but you can't take the city & have a hard time adjusting? 

IF THERE IS A TIME TO THINK ABOUT YOURSELF, NOW IS THE TIME.

You want to pass the first time around, so YOU DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS BEST FOR YOU.

This is my story. All my classmates chose to review at LB but I chose to review at MRII. Why? First, because I wanted to. Second, because even though I could deal with reviewing at LB (the province feels didn't seem so bad and at least I would try living somewhere else), I knew that I had to review on my own because if I stayed with them, I would rely on my smarter classmates for answers. I knew that I would be facing the board exam on my own so I needed to learn the material ON.MY.OWN.

Other reasons included separating myself to not get caught up in any drama that might ensue (giiirl, do not tell me that no drama will ever ensue from living with friends, even if you guys are close. There is ALWAYS drama when you live with other people for the first time cause you have to adjust to their attitudes and idiosyncrasies) and pushing myself out of my comfort zone by trying to make friends from other schools simply because I did not know anyone.

*Side note: it helped that I knew myself enough to know what I needed. I know that I function better when studying by myself so group studies wont work for me, and medyo inevitable yun with my classmates. I know that my willpower is not as strong as my friend Maimai, who can say no to those group studies. I also hate awkward silences so being alone in a quiet room with a roommate would result in me trying to fill silences & us maybe talking more than studying. Stuff like that. I thought of it all, so it was really logical for me to be away from them.

⇒A review of Chemical Engineering review centers

(PS. I'm not sponsored for these)

1. Manila Review Institute, Inc.

MRII is probably the oldest, most well-known chemical engineering review center. They are located in the University Belt area near FEU & UST. This is where I reviewed for the board exam.

The feedback I got from my friends about MRII was that the lecturers were good & that they will really help you in the Chemical Engineering principles subject (Day 2). That aspect alone sold me because ChE principles is my weakest subject.

Having had reviewed there, what can I say about my MRII experience?

For one, my friends feedback is right. The lecturers are so good. It felt like such an honor to be taught by some of the most veteran ChE profs in the country (I call them the Big 3: Dr. Jun Olano, Dr. Leonardo Medina & Dr. Carlito Salazar). In fact, Dr. Olano & Dr. Salazar are contemporaries of our own professor Engr. Abrina. They are based in the US and Australia respectively, and come back to the Philippines every year to conduct review classes.

MRII offers different schedules. During our batch, there was a weekend class, MWF classes which were offered both in the morning & afternoon & a TTh class which was whole day. I was in the MWF morning class but in the later months, I thought the weekend classes would also be more feasible for me cause you only attend once or twice a week & the rest of the week could be spent for self-study. (Like I said, a bulk of the information is obtained during self-study)

The classes and seats are first come, first served basis. If you have a preferred schedule in mind and want to get a good seat, reserve early!

During the first 2 sessions, they will give you a diagnostic test. Don't fret if you feel like you know nothing like Jon Snow (mehehe. Sorry, new GoT fan here), the test is designed to measure which areas you need improvement on. There will also be a post-test after. It'd be great to pass that to make sure you're ready for the board exam, but also don't fret if you don't pass. The questions they gave during the exam were significantly harder than those given in the board exam.

I started with around 42% and ended with 51.1% (Jusko, I panicked at the time & studied harder) but still passed the board exam. Even if you know this, don't take your scores lightly. Leave no stone unturned when it comes to preparing for the board exams, but stay calm. Don't panic.

As for handouts, they gave a LOT of resources. Reviewees are given a copy of the MRII reviewer (about Php 500 in National Book Store) and different ChE, Chem and Math e-books and slides, but I didn't finish reading all of those e-books and slides even if my friend Angela gave me copies summer palang. Dr. Medina also gave us this software we could use for practice tests but I didn't get to use it.

For the price we paid for the review, I think it was worth it naman, even if my friend Justin thinks otherwise. Well, matalino naman kasi talaga yun kahit di mag-aral. HAHAHA.

MRII has refresher classes which run 4 hrs per day from Monday to Saturday for a month after review class ends, but I didn't enroll.

Ang haba ng review ko ng MRII. Lol. But short lang nung iba kasi based on stories from friends. If anyone has experience with these other review centers, please share and email me so I can include it in this post to help out the future ChEs

*Places to stay during review:

I stayed with my sister in Makati. The location of MRII is so convenient because the FX would drop me at the corner of Morayta & I would walk for like, a minute to get to MRII. Anyway, since it is located within the University Belt area, there are a lot of places you can stay at. You can rent a condo unit & split the rent with fellow reviewees. This is what my review mates from Bacolod did.

My friends from the previous batch stayed at KKFI, which is across the street. And some of my classmates stayed at Monchere Dormitory for the refresher class. The rate is reasonable for a dorm that is relatively new & spacious. It is at around Php 3,000/month per person for a room for 4. Monchere accepts short-term tenants.

2. University of the Philippines-Los Banos In-house Review

This is where my classmates reviewed. Most of the other alumni from AdDU also reviewed here since I transferred in 2011. Before that, I didn't know UPLB held review classes. According to my classmates, the classes are held inside the UP campus. But, since there are classes during the day, review classes are held from 5pm to 9pm everyday, and holidays if needed.

They also are systematic in teaching. Like for example, there are 2-4 weeks devoted to just Chemistry lessons, unlike in MRII in which the subject you'll be tackling that day will depend of the availability of the lecturer. After the module, they have a comprehensive exam on Saturday.

They also have a pre-test, but it isn't updated. We were given a copy of a year 2014 pre-test by our friend Adz & when my classmates took the pre-test, the same exact thing came out. Maimai, who studied it, got about 73% because of that. Their review materials are also not updated. When I asked to photocopy Maimai's handouts, she said their handouts are just printed versions of the .pdf files Adz sent us.

Maimai, who reviewed at LB and took refresher courses at MRII said if you are weak in Chemistry subjects, it's best to review at LB because they teach Chem subjects really well. I think she mentioned the professors came from the Chemistry department that's why Chem is discussed more in-depth. As for ChE subjects, she said that the questions that were given to them are easier compared to those found in the MRII reviewer.

Seeing as it is held in a State University, the price of the review program at LB is significantly cheaper than at MRII, probably half. I think with what I paid MRII, my classmates paid the same for a review at LB AND a refresher course at MRII.

*Places to stay during review:

My classmates and the batches who reviewed there prior to us stayed at 5th of September dormitory. I think they mentioned that the rate was Php 2,400/person in a room for 2.

Read: #PreparetoPass Part 1: 3 Tips to Pass the Board Exam

3. Flores Chemical Engineering Review Center

The Flores Review Center is in Cebu. It is known to us for its exam everyday way of instruction. I know that this is usually the preferred review center of those from University of Mindanao. My high school classmate (and top 9 of the 2013 board exam) Hazelle reviewed there. I messaged her to give me an idea about what it's like there, but she hasn't gotten back to me yet.

Anyway, I got a hold of the Flores reviewer (bound copy of all their exams) from my friend Christia. I found it SUPER helpful!! If you can get your hands on one, do start answering it! The questions are simple, and some of the problems are similar to/adapted from the MRII book, but nakakabuild talaga ng confidence. Usually we neglect those "small" questions or "stored knowledge" cause we think we know them, but because we are studying a lot of subjects, we end up forgetting these. What Engr. Flores does is insert a few of the same questions in his chapter exams so you won't forget them at all.

I was lucky because I studied his section on Envi Engg and during the board exam, there was a lot of Envi questions that came out. I heard people say "OMG, ang hirap. Andaming envi" and I was like, "okay lang naman ah....."

Anyway, that is all I have to share.

Again,

If anyone has experience with Flores review center, please share and email me so I can include it in this post to help out the future ChEs.

4. Quice Review Center

I think Quice is relatively new also, and is quickly gaining popularity. It is also located in U-Belt. Maimai's friend reviewed there & said that their questions are more out of this world than MRII. They are also strict about their review materials. She asked her friend for reviewers but he wasn't able to give some her. You can't keep the questionnaires, they take it away from you quickly before you can get a photo of it. Ganon!

Update (2/14/2017)
According to Maimai's friend, review starts in May and ends in October, but that is for review + refresher class already. That is why their rate is steeper than MRII. They have classes twice or thrice a week but it is a whole day session. They have a lot of trivia questions and have good questions about concepts. This is important to note because not everything will be about solving. And this is why I started highlighting the concept sections of my handbook later on even though I didn't want to.

I think one of their marketing strategies right now is that they conduct free trial review class. You can check their Facebook page.

5. Aspire Review Center

I think that this is also relatively new. I only heard about it from our professor who is friends with one of the lecturers. Among all the review centers, this one probably charges the most because they offer one-on-one review sessions. According to my prof, the main reviewer is the topnotcher of the 2003 exam. That's all I know for now.

Anyway, that's about it. I think this is a roughly 4000 word post, sobrang comprehensive nito guys. Ginalingan ko talaga. I hope it helps. If you have any information or personal experience about the latter 3 review centers, please email me or comment below. I would also love to feature review centers of other courses, so if you want to write a guide, I would be honored to publish it.

I really would love to hear from you! Kakapagod gumawa ng mahabang blog post tapos feeling ko wala akong kausap. HAHA. What is a few words to acknowledge that someone is indeed reading this blog? Til the next post!

Read the other posts on the #PreparetoPass Series:

Read: #PreparetoPass Part 1: 3 Tips to Pass the Board Exam

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