i havent used my crimpers or other network tools in about 3 years but just this week i had to re-punch a jack on the fly cuz the cable guys werent around...you never know when you'll need it but cabling is a good skill to have

I always keep my tools around - any time I don't have them when I need them, I get yelled at...

added to thread

schedule exam a week in advance
this is pretty much normal,
study and cram until the night before
get a good night sleep
take a good poop early the next morning,
arrive about an hour before the exam
cram in the car while waiting, drink water
sign in 15 minutes before the exam starts
pee before you take the exam
relax, breathe,
take test.
pass

I find that if I cram on the actual day of the exam that it makes me nervous. For some bizzare reason all the stuff I learnt starts disappearing out of my head.

One good tip I picked up is to book the exam a month in advance so that you have a goal to aim for. Otherwise it's too easy to procrastinate.

CCNA2 final exam tomorrow.
I'm really afraid of tricky questions.
I feel like I know nothing. :-s

I have to agree with reloadin, I really believe that if you do not know the material the day of the test, and you feel the need to cram, it will just interfere with your results.

For me, by not cramming the hour or day before it actually helps to clear my head and focus on the testing environment and allows me to not get to paranoid about getting some question that I wish I crammed for~ if that makes sense.

My routine is generally to go over all my notes quickly and estimate how long it'll take me to learn the material. If I think 3 months I book my exam for 3 months time and will refuse to change the date. This forces me to work towards that goal.

I book my exam for 10am as it takes around 40 minutes to get to the testing centre. Not too early as I'd like a good sleep beforehand and I'll eat a quick bowl of oats just before I leave.

I find it better to write in the morning as I then have the rest of the day to celebrate the pass

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www.mellowd.co.uk/ccie/

Something I recall doing on my BSCI test in March:

Right before the test I went for a pee several times. However despite this, halfway through the test I was desperate to go, to the point I couldnt concentrate. So I asked the invigulator, then ran to the toilet and releived myself...ahhhh
I took less than 5 minutes but I could focus much better afterwards and I just nailed the rest of the test, had I have just held it in, my ability to answer questions would have just deterioted.

The moral of the story is, if ya gotta go, just go!
Or
Dont drink so much coffee before the exam...........

I agree with mellowd. Nothing makes you stick to your time frame like an actual appointment. I set deadlines for my CCNA exam for well over a year and that deadline always came and went. This time I scheduled my exam a month in advance and never changed it.

I prefer to take the test early. My CCNA was at 12:00 and that was a little late. The day of the test studying/cramming does not help me. At the same time other stimulus does not help either (such as watching TV). That is why I like to take the test early. Wake up, shower, and head off to the exam.

Simulated exams are also helpful to me. It helps give you a feel for what you think you are comfortable with, and the results show where you are really lagging. My last five days of studying consisted of exam simulations and reviewing content from my weak areas.

For self study I like to mix content. Cisco Press books are comprehensive, but dry at times. I like to suppliment reading with various forms of CBT. For my CCNA I used the Cisco Press books, Train Signal Videos, and TestOut CBT Training for video as well as lab and exam simulations (This was provided by my employer).

Never schedule your exam too far in advance, when you are ready to take the test. Maybe a week or week and a half, no more keeping the amount of material needed for the exam fresh in memory is difficult for more then that amount of time.

I actually always do it a month in advance, and I have it in my Outlook Calendar with popup reminders! But I dont start studying until 2 weeks before the test.

2 weeks?

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thelostpackets.blogspot.com - randomness from the bit bucket

I only have my CCENT, but I'll tell you what I did. I didn't study for two days before the test. Of course, I studied like a madman until then lol. I wanted my mind clear and didn't want certain subjects I may have over studied at the end to take precedence in my mind. Oh yeah, and make sure not too drink to much before going in!

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"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

Hmmm. I didn't feel like reading through the four pages, but I'll throw mine out there as I've taken.... 6 certification exams now? Not alot, but I've learned a couple things.

You just generally want to avoid anything that will create a distraction while you take the exam. For me, these are:
* Fear
* Fatigue/Hyperactivity/Hunger
* Temperature
* Doing the pee-pee chair-dance

So this is what I do to try to avoid these, respectively:
* Know the content! Don't just slam it in and expect to take the exam (Like I tried for the BCMSN... twice). You'll eat up too much time fumbling through the simulator questions, all while sweating and turning a shaky eye to that countdown of doom in the corner. The best way IMO to know if you know the content is if you can teach it to someone else, correctly. This generally means you know the ins-and-outs; not that you just memorized the practice question answers.

* Get plenty of sleep; don't stay up late cramming the night before. If you don't know it by the night before, odds are you won't the day after either; you'll just come to the exam tired. I like to take exams in the morning around 9 so I'm not fatigued from the day, and I'm not half-awake. Eat something light so that you're not hungry, but not stuffed and sleepy either. Don't down coffee or Red Bulls before it either; you'll just have a harder time focusing from a self-induced case of ADD.

* I like to wear an undershirt with a button up long sleeve. This keeps me at a happy medium since you can't bring a jacket into the testing room.

* GO TO THE BATHROOM BEFOREHAND! Even if you don't feel like you have to. This goes for #1 and #2. I'd be willing to bet my paycheck that you won't be willing to take a break during the exam to go to the bathroom, and you won't be able to focus on the question at hand with the death grip you have on your crotch while you nervously sway around in your chair.

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Regards,

Steven King
San Diego Cisco User Group - http://www.sdcug.com
"The only time something is impossible is when you think it is." - Kevin Corbin, CCIE #11577

Nice suggestions

Don't sweat it... might as well get used to it. The feeling never goes away.

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Regards,

Steven King
San Diego Cisco User Group - http://www.sdcug.com
"The only time something is impossible is when you think it is." - Kevin Corbin, CCIE #11577

Great tip there, I used it for my test last Saturday, although it was 75 degrees outside
(23.89 degree Celsius), the testing room was much cooler, like 5-10 degrees cooler, so I was able to adjust the buttons on my shirt to make myself comfortable.

@ the practical shirt advice.

It's good advice just extremely practical that doesn't have to do with the test. I reckon only a genius like SK would think of it.

Ha, I'm printing that out to remind me every morning of how glorious I am.....

_________________
Regards,

Steven King
San Diego Cisco User Group - http://www.sdcug.com
"The only time something is impossible is when you think it is." - Kevin Corbin, CCIE #11577

I took the CCNA 3 years ago and failed the first time. I think the only reason I failed the first time was because I was drinking soda all morning (I'm a diet coke fiend.) During the test I had to go to the bathroom so bad, that it completely distracted me. Soda is a diuretic which is not good when you are taking an exam that you can't take a break on.

So the second time around a week later, I made sure I didn't drink anything like soda in high volume and aced it (got a 910 on it). Moral of the story be sure you are not only prepared mentally but physically. It is really important to keep that in mind.

Btw I am set to take the CCNA again (got to lazy to go for the CCNP) 6/28 at 12:15. I'll be sure I don't make the same mistake I made the first time.

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Age si quid agis. Age quod agis. - If you do something, do it well. Do well in whatever you do.

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