Scheduled 220-801 A+, May 1st, 2015- Nervous!!

mr.comfortably

Whoa...

I finally felt like I couldn't shove any more information into my head, so I managed to find the courage to schedule the test!
This is my first certification test, and I am nervous as heck.
Any tips, any review tips, anything would be appreciated.

Patrick (mr.comfortably)

SeaRip

No tips or anything from me because I'm in the same boat as you, except I have only gotten as far as buying a voucher. I'm still nervous and I just haven't scheduled it yet. I just don't want to piss 178 bucks into the wind. Good luck though!!

I am curious about a few things (I know everyone's different) but how long did you study? What sources did you use to study? Did you take any practice tests?

jeef

I recently passed the A+ exams as a requirement for my degree program at WGU. I was pretty nervous too, even though I have experience as a Software Engineer.

I used the LabSim resources provided by WGU, along with reading the CompTia A+ Complete Study Guide and Mike Meyers Certification Passport book for A+. I also purchased the Transcender practice exams, which in retrospect was overkill on my part.

I found it helpful to work through the end of chapter questions in each book, and go back and review anything I got wrong. I then used the exams in LabSim and Transcender as a final review, again focusing on any questions I got wrong or concepts I didn't fully understand.

I made flash cards to help me memorize facts I would usually just look up on Google. These worked out well on the hour ride to and from work each day.

On exam day, I just tried to relax and take my time going through the exams. Make sure you read each question carefully, and you can usually narrow the answer down pretty quickly. I noticed myself getting some answers wrong on practice exams when I didn't pay enough attention (selected two answers instead of the requested three).

I found myself in the same position where I finally had enough shoving information into my head and just wanted to get the test done

mr.comfortably

SeaRip,

I have been studying for about 5 months. I do not have any previous experience besides just generally using a computer for day to day life.
My studying material:
Professor Messor Videos, CramForce CramMaster, CompTIA A+ 701 / 702 by Mark Edward Soper & Scott Mueller (Out of date), tons of flash cards, techexam notes, forums, playing with my own computer to get hands on experience, messing with my work computer (not recommended) to get an understanding of different hardware and OS's, I printed the exam requirements from CompTIA and started checking them off one by one as I felt comfortable with it.

Patrick (mr.comfortably)

SeaRip

Very nice! Seems like you have all the bases covered. I am pretty much using the same things, but I also ended up going to my local library and checking out the ExamCram book which I have found to be a great supplement to Prof. Messer. My study time is only about 1 month though, and like you I have no IT experience other then being the guy at work that everyone asks for help if they have a computer issue. I'm gettin' my A+ to start a new career, so I have only been working a part time job, so whatever is free and available to me is what I've been gravitating towards. I just hope my stinginess doesn't come around to bite me in the rear.

Do you, or anyone else reading this, have any experience with the free exams on MC MCSE or the Exam Compass websites? (Not to take away from the ones on this site, but there's only a bank of 50 questions) I am really just wondering how accurate the questions are, as far as content not the wording, and if that is really a good thing to get some practice? I guess I'm asking is it worth paying money for something I can get for free?

bloodshotbetty

I take mine on April 30- ahhh! I am freaking out. I haven't been doing awesome on practice tests but I know what I need to study the next 2 weeks.

successrealm

Darril Gibson's A+ book, and Exam Cram.

Chuynh22

I am using Mike Meyers, Exam Cram, and ExamCompass