This engineering exam topnotcher struggled with two things in college: finances & heartbreaks. Find out how he overcame and emerged as an EE topnotcher.
Achieving something as great as a spot in the engineering exam topnotcher list calls for hard work and dedication.
That is precisely what Engr. Rodrigo Rafael Cruz showcased when he reviewed for the Electronics Engineering board exam, all while working two jobs at the same time.
He shared his secrets to GineersNow in a recent interview.
Rodrigo, or Rod / RR for short, has always excelled in math and science since his high school days.
However, it never crossed his mind to study an engineering course in college.
In fact, when he took the entrance exam for the University of the Philippines, he didn’t have anything specific in mind and just picked BS ECE as his first choice just because it had a nice ring to it.
Fortunately for him, math and science were already his strong suits, so he breezed through college with flying colors.
He particularly enjoyed the math subjects and did relatively well in his major subjects, too.
He did encounter difficulties with one subject (EEE 51, which tackled advanced semiconductor topics).
However, this was the only major academic hurdle he had to go through during his entire stay at UP Diliman.
However, while Rod did have little to no problems with academics, he still struggled with two things during his college days: finances and heartbreaks.
His mom is a single parent who works as an accountant in a reasonably small company.
His salary was just enough to cover their daily expenses, so to help her out, Rod worked hard to get scholarships.
Unfortunately, this didn’t mean that they had no other expenses to take care of.
Because they live in Guiguinto, Bulacan (which is at least an hour away from UPD), Rod had to stay in a dormitory in UP.
He received Php 1,500 from his mom every week as his allowance, and he had to learn how to manage it all on his own, something he wasn’t used to doing.
On top of the hardships of living without guardians, he also had to deal with breakups.
He had a hard time mending his broken heart, but fortunately, he was surrounded by friends.
His roommate and best friend, Bennet, helped him through one of the most challenging years in his college life, and from there, he only grew more robust and more determined.
This sheer determination was what made Rod graduate with a Magna Cum Laude medal in July 2020.
But he didn’t stop there as he dreamt of passing the Electronics Engineering Licensure Exam, too.
So straight out of college, he decided to enroll in a review center to help him focus and to get an idea of what topics might possibly appear on the board exam.
Unfortunately, this was still during the height of the pandemic when the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) was canceling exams.
Just as Rod expected, the October 2020 ECE exam was called off.
So while waiting for the exams to push through finally, he decided to start job hunting.
He eventually landed a full-time job as a software engineer in Mahusai and a part-time lecturer at UP Diliman.
For about a year, he primarily focused his attention on his two jobs. That was until he learned that the October 2021 exams went ahead as scheduled.
This time around, he knew he wanted to take the next scheduled exam, which was for April 2022. However, reviewing for the boards on top of two jobs was no easy feat.
Rod admitted having trouble managing his time.
To combat this, he made a digital planner outlining the topics and quizzes he aimed to go through every day.
After working for eight hours during the day, he would then drop everything by 8 pm and start reviewing.
He consistently allotted three to five hours to study on the weekdays, and he would spend all day reviewing during the weekends.
Of course, he wasn’t alone on this journey. His Bulacan clique, composed of Bennet, JJ, Ruth, and Paolo, hangs out in Zoom daily to accompany each other when studying or working.
When reviewing quizzes and mock exams, he would hop into a Discord call with either Effy or Gab, who also became engineers in the April 2022 boards.
He stuck to this strategy for six months leading up to the board exam. A week before the big day, he asked for time off from work to focus on his review fully.
When the licensure exam finally came around, Rod entered the room with the goal of making it to the top.
He made sure to get at least 70 certain answers in the four subjects and carefully reviewed each one before he submitted his paper.
By the end of the last day, he was confident that he would be on the engineering exam topnotcher list. Sure enough, he truly made it!
When the results were released, Rod immediately saw his name as the 7th placer.
He couldn’t believe his eyes, not only because all of his efforts paid off but because he actually manifested being in the Top 7 a few days before the board exam!
You see, during one of his study breaks, he was fumbling with his iPad and making a potential publicity material for his college organization naming himself an engineering exam topnotcher, specifically, in 7th place.
What caught him by surprise is that he did not expect that he would actually grab that particular rank!
Rod immediately screamed at the top of his lungs and gave himself a pat on the back for a job well done. Of course, his mom was beyond delighted with his achievement, as well.
Here’s the full transcript of GineersNow’s interview with Engr. Rod.
My Student Life
Why did you choose this course? Who or what was your inspiration?
Unsurprisingly, my second choice for my college course at the time was BS BAA. To be honest, I only chose BS ECE because it had a long name.
Out of the engineering courses with three letters, it had a good ring to it.
It’s good that I generally excelled in math and science back in high school, so I didn’t regret choosing my college course in such a petty and arbitrary manner.
What are your favorite subjects in your entire engineering study? How about least liked subjects?
I enjoyed the math series of subjects as well as the digital circuit subjects.
When it comes to subjects I didn’t particularly enjoy, probability and statistics (explicitly tailored for ECE students), semiconductor fundamentals, and advanced semiconductor topics come to mind.
Have you had any subject failures or disappointing academic performance, to the very least? If yes, what did you do about it? How did you cope?
My final raw grade in EEE 51, the one with advanced semiconductor topics, was 45%, if I’m not mistaken.
The batch standing was so horrible that my grade was enough to garner a tres (3.00) after curving.
I broke down crying (out of happiness) right in front of the EEE building when the announcement was made since I did not want to retake that subject.
Out of all of the subjects I took, that was the only one that was a significant hurdle for me.
What are your most difficult and most painful experiences during college life? What are your greatest struggles while in college?
I guess two of the greatest struggles I faced during college were 1) financial problems and 2) relationships.
My mom is a single mother, so for the majority of my life, she raised me up by herself and provided for my every need.
As someone who lives in Bulacan, I had to stay in a dormitory in UP and make do with the Php 1500 I’m given every week.
In hindsight, it’s still a reasonable amount for a weekly allowance. I just wasn’t used to managing my finances alone.
I was also able to get scholarships, so at least it’s not all bad.
Relationships, on the other hand, were also some of my hurdles back in college because it was difficult recovering from breakups.
I wasn’t the best at relationships, so I’ll go ahead and gloss over this detail.
Any engineering exam topnotcher study tips or tricks that you think others should emulate from you?
When I started reviewing for boards, there were exactly 163 days left.
At the time, I was juggling a full-time job as a software engineer and a part-time job as a college lecturer at UP Diliman.
I cannot stress this enough: time management is essential!
I allotted 3-5 hours of studying on the weekdays and the whole day on the weekends.
This was on top of possible backlogs from work, so I made sure that I stuck to my planner schedule by the book.
What is the best engineering school advice that you can give to other students?
Never settle for mediocrity. This has always been my mantra since I was a kid.
You know the famous saying, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
It’s probably scientifically inaccurate, but the message it’s trying to make resonates with me.
Whenever I take exams back in college, I’ll always try to cover all bases and aim for a perfect score.
Even if I miss, I’ll still get a high grade.
Of course, this shouldn’t be a one-time thing.
You have to stay consistent with aiming high.
The Board Exam Experience
What were the most significant struggles that you experienced while preparing for the board exam? What did you do to overcome them?
Managing my time was definitely the most significant struggle.
Juggling 1 to 2 jobs while reviewing is no easy feat, but I’m glad I was able to follow through by being consistent and by being strategic.
I had a digital planner which outlined which topics I needed to go through / quizzes I needed to answer for each day leading up to the boards.
Did you enroll in a center for your review? Do you recommend doing so? Which one did you go to?
I enrolled in Excel Review Center for my review.
I actually enrolled there as soon as I graduated back in 2020, but due to the pandemic and the uncertain state of the boards, I wasn’t able to put my focus on it until just recently.
After the October 2021 ECE boards finally pushed through, I made the decision to take the next one and give it everything I’ve got.
I definitely would not be able to top the boards without enrolling in Excel, so I’m glad I made that choice.
How did you find the board exam? Easy, average, or difficult?
The thing about the pre-boards provided by Excel is that they’re gut-wrenchingly difficult. Across all four subjects and the four pre-boards they offered, I think I was only able to get a passing grade in half of them.
I studied all of those religiously, which was probably why I thought the actual board exam was more straightforward.
Also, I overheard people discussing after the board exam itself that they only had 30-40 sure answers, whereas I made sure I had 70 sure answers (since 70% is the passing rate for each individual subject).
That experience made me gauge how well I performed and was a glimpse of what was to come.
What were your expectations after you took the board exam and before the results were out? Did you have a feeling that you would be at the top?
Here’s something interesting: I think I manifested topping the boards into existence.
I dove into the board exams with the goal of topping them, so I set high expectations for myself right then and there.
I knew I was at a disadvantage since I was working full-time, so I had to be strategic with how I managed my time and what topics I focused on.
Just to provide some context: back in college, I was part of the publicity committee in one of my organizations.
One of my closest friends had just passed her Psychometrician board exams, so I volunteered to make the congratulatory publicity material on behalf of the organization.
I knew that the template I made was going to be reused, so just for fun, I created the publicity material for myself five days before the board exams and wrote that I would place 7th.
Fast forward to a few days later, I actually landed 7th place!
(I have proof of this in the Twitter thread I made here:
What did you do the first minute you discovered you topped the board exam?
When the results were released, I immediately went looking for my name on the engineering exam topnotcher list (I knew I’d be disappointed otherwise!).
The moment I saw my name on the engineering exam topnotcher list, I was screaming at the top of my lungs and clapping like crazy.
I was super ecstatic.
I almost shed a tear; it was a very happy and fulfilling moment for me.
Who do you owe your success to?
This is a loaded question, I think. My mother of course.
I firmly believe that we’re all a product of our circumstances, and I think singling out my success to a number of specific factors detracts from it.
This was the culmination of my youthful sacrifices, and it came from everything I had experienced so far.
What incentives did you get from your university and review center after your board exam success?
There were congratulatory publicity materials from the university and a cash prize from the review center.
Share your most effective study habits.
Review sessions
Attend the live synchronous review sessions instead of watching the uploaded version.
Sticking to the schedule set by Excel definitely avoids backlog.
During my review, I think I missed only three classes (which I made up for by watching the videos later those same days).
Take notes!
I had a very comprehensive set of notes (which, shameful plug, you can access if you enroll in Excel).
All of my notes are digital, and I think that definitely helped me since everything was convenient (I didn’t have to redraw graphs, and I could easily screenshot lectures and paste them onto my notes).
Daily questions
In the days leading up to the boards, answer 300-400 questions daily.
There are a lot of questions that are recycled from various sources, so try to cover as much material as you can instead of digging deep into a specific topic.
Give five essential tips to become an engineering exam topnotcher.
1. Set small goals that build up to bigger goals.
2. Manage your time well and avoid backlogs.
3. Fail fast and fail early. It’s okay to fail during the review, not during the actual thing!
4. Don’t be afraid to take a few days off to avoid burnout.
5. Be consistent!
My Family & Love Life
Describe your family, parents, siblings (and children if applicable)
My mom raised me up as a single parent, and I have no siblings, so considering there are only two of us (+2 doggos), we’re pretty much a close-knit family.
She’s very, very supportive, and she’s my hero. I’m also close with my cousins, and the extended Cruz family is pretty great as well.
Did your parents encourage you to study engineering?
No, choosing engineering in college was my own choice.
Are you in a relationship? Or is it complicated?
No, I am not, but I’m not keeping my doors shut. I’m just a chat away, HAHAHAHA.
The Future
Describe engineering in one word.
Challenging.
Why is engineering necessary in our society?
Engineering is one of those things that will never be obsolete.
The world is continuously changing and growing, and improvements in technology will require the field of engineering to grow and develop alongside it.
There will always be the need for competent engineers.
But the thing is (and it’s something I’ve said time and time again), there’s a difference between an engineer who can build and create by the blueprint and an engineer who uplifts lives and promotes positive social justice.
We must always strive to be the latter.
It is the heart that distinguishes the two.
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