alt.certification.cisco - Re: 640-801 CCNA FRUSTRATION

Author

Re: 640-801 CCNA FRUSTRATION - Running out of time.

PapaBadger

2004-02-17, 1:25 pm

I have self-studied with Cisco training kits. I failed the 640-607 exam,
but the Cisco self-study kit only had an exam engine for questions. I
bought the 640-801 Cisco Training kit which includes separate CCNA INTRO and
CCNA ICND each with exam engines, Boson simulators (limited function), and
recommended study guide for the 640-801 single exam option. I studied for
three months using the Cisco materials. By the end, I was scoring
consistently above 90% on the practice exams including the simulations. I
mastered the math of subnetting and felt so confident that I elected to take
the single exam option. I failed miserably! My problem seems to be the
time factor. I only got to question 15 before realizing I had ran out of
time. In fact, I did worse in the 801 than in the 607! Even though this
time around I felt I had a solid grasp of the material. Has anyone
experienced this problem? Should I skip hard questions at the beginning?
Are there any easy questions? I'm going to study and learn until I pass
this XXXXing exam. I'm going for the two-exam option next time. I could
use any tips you guys have on managing the time during the exam. Hey, I got
as Masters degree (granted it's in international relations), but when I go
back to management anyone with a CCNA has my respect!

"Rich NYC" <haranr@optonline.com> wrote in message
news:SgyXb.9155$cE3.10662521@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> I just took the CCNA exam and failed again. boo hoo. Anyway I have been
> hacking at the materials for this for months but when it comes time to
take
> the test I get very nervous. I know I did well but still got a 715. I
know
> I choked on the troubleshooting simulations. It's kind of hard to do with
> the clock ticking. I mean I got my facts straight and my knowledge of
> subneting, VLSM, routing protocols, the whole thing but those
> troubleshoots, two of them, I just had to skip after a few minutes.
>
> Any advice on this area. Anyone have experience and can clue me in on
> how to approach these items. They seem to give a hint at either clocking
or
> routes but it just might me choking and that damn clock ticking away.
>
> Also, does anyone else share in my anger that there is no feed back
on
> which questions were answered correctly or not. It's like hey if there's
a
> bug in the test it's my tough luck. That'll be $125 next time.
>
> Like the subject line says. FRUSTRATION.
>
> Thanks for sharing in my rant. Please share your thoughts.
>
>
>

digitalblackhole

2004-02-24, 11:25 pm

I am in very much the same boat as you. Studying for CCNA through the
self-study route. Although I haven't taken 640-801, I am a Microsoft
Certified Systems Administrator and the biggest help for me in those
tests was the Transcender practice tests, http://www.transcender.com .
Some other tips are

#1 Make notecards- on all the acronyms and command lines. Protocols
etc.

#2 Get a Real Lab - Cisco designs these tests for people with actual
experience using their products. The shareware labs don't have all the
commands available. I never would have passed my microsoft exams with
now actual lab practice.

#3 Use Transcender Practice Tests - they are battle-proven,
guaranteed, and MUCH more realistic than Cisco's half-XXX practice
questions. They also give you some video to watch as well as 5
practice quizzes.

#4 Go Study

Techno Samurai

2004-02-25, 1:25 pm

Thanks for your suggestions. I bought the Boson full-featured options to
practice with every scenario and lab in the CD.

Will also check out the Trascender product. It bothers me that questions in
the exam didn't seem remotely familiar after so much studying with the
Cisco self-study package.

I'm relatively new to routing but I did manage an pretty large internetwork
with lots of autonomous systems and BGP, PIX Firewalls and Symantec IDS
components. I didn't expect the exam to kick my XXX the way it did!

Cisco makes it seem like CCNA is a very basic kind of certification.
Christ! I know more now than many of the CCNA's I used to work with. Has
the exam changed that much?

Thanks for all the tips!

"digitalblackhole" <soljal@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:d571ead8.0402241905.1bbf1891@posting.google.com...
> I am in very much the same boat as you. Studying for CCNA through the
> self-study route. Although I haven't taken 640-801, I am a Microsoft
> Certified Systems Administrator and the biggest help for me in those
> tests was the Transcender practice tests, http://www.transcender.com .
> Some other tips are
>
> #1 Make notecards- on all the acronyms and command lines. Protocols
> etc.
>
> #2 Get a Real Lab - Cisco designs these tests for people with actual
> experience using their products. The shareware labs don't have all the
> commands available. I never would have passed my microsoft exams with
> now actual lab practice.
>
> #3 Use Transcender Practice Tests - they are battle-proven,
> guaranteed, and MUCH more realistic than Cisco's half-XXX practice
> questions. They also give you some video to watch as well as 5
> practice quizzes.
>
> #4 Go Study

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