Failed CCNA Composite

SWtacoma

Hello TE, I had to reschedule my CCNA from Wednesday to Thursday for work reasons which was fine with me. However I ended up failing the exam when I took it. I got a 740, so I was not too far off the passing mark.... There were several circumstances that I think hurt me. The day before the exam I had someone close end up in the hospital so I spent a long time there and did not get a chance to cram like I would have liked to the night before and I had a lot on my mind due to other family issues but it was too late at that point to reschedule.

During the exam I did not manage my time well. One of the first simulations I got had me flustered as I spent about 20 minutes on it with a bunch of questions left. I did not finish that one because I wanted to cut my losses and have more time for the rest of the exam. This was not a good decision. By the end of the exam I still had 25 minutes left and of course no backtracking. This is the hardest exam I have ever taken but I now know what it is like to take a Cisco exam and hopefully in a week or two I will be ready for it and pass it. I think if I would have gone at a slower pace I would have passed. Anyways it is disappointing but it is a learning experience. Any non NDA questions welcome!

bharvey92

Sorry to hear about the failure (I've been there). Best thing to do is to take a day or two off, get your head down and practice again. Go over all your notes and practice lab again. Like you said also you have got a good experience of Cisco exams now. I have done my CCNA, NP Route and NP Switch and when I sat my Switch lab I hit a brick wall. But from experience all you need to do is breath take 2, look away from the screen and gather your thoughts.

Easy to say now! But trust me it does work.

Good luck.

[Deleted User]

Sorry to hear that. I got pissed at Cisco too. Failed my CCENT by 3 points. This is just a game that they play to make money. But it is needed to verify knowledge of the subject. Why not make the score an even number like 800 instead of 804. Take my suggestion and read Paul Browning CCNA in 60 days. It's worth the money. Buy some practice exams also if you have the budget. Boson is the closest to the real exam experience. Look over your exam score sheet and review that material.

Jon_Cisco

Good Luck with the next attempt. Keeping a positive attitude is the best thing you can do. I struggled with timing on the ICND 2 but I finished with under 3 minutes left. Needless to say the clock gets in your head with time is low.

markulous

I failed ICND1 the first time. At least now you know what your weak areas are and what you need to study and you've got a feel for the test. Good luck the next time around!

kianm

I am sorry about the failure but you will nail it next time you now have experience and time to brush up on the topics. I am yet to take the exam but planning to do so sometime in January and got my fingers crossed.

All the best