Hi all,
Happy to say I passed my CCENT and am now studying for the ICDN2 to get my CCNA. I self studied for about 6 weeks with the following weapons of choice and passed with no issues. HOWEVER, I did also have several classes in the past that covered all of CCNA/CCENT, but since a lot of the info I had learned in those classes was "foggy", I decided to boot camp myself for 6 weeks and that was enough to pass. My score was 817 (passing is 804) so I did cut it really close, but that was mainly because I ran out of time towards the end, which brings me to a good tip.
You have a 15 minute window with the tutorial screens when you first sit down at the computer to test. Use that time to write down your "powers of 2", charts, graphs, whatever you think will help you, on the laminated paper that is handed to you.
Weapons of choice:
1) Wendell Odom's 100-101 ccent/ccna book.
FANTASTIC BOOK! 10/10! I could read this man's book like it was a novel! He keep's things interesting and everything is categorized within key concepts, key terms, etc.
2) Used the practice tests that came with Odom's book.
These tests were actually TEN FOLD more difficult than the actual test, so if you pass these or even get a borderline score, you will do GREAT on the actual test.
3) Used the network simulator from pearson.
I had mixed feelings about the net sim that I paid 100 bucks for. It breaks everything down so much that it honestly becomes a grind just to get a lab finished. But to students that are super fresh to everything CCENT related, then that might be a good thing. It was great for memorizing all the commands and where to apply them, without having to use packet tracer and create your own lab. So in that sense, it was a pretty big time saver.
4) CBT Nuggets 100-101
I honestly don't know if I would have done as well as I did without this. This is an absolute MUST-HAVE! Conceptually, you will understand EVERYTHING much better with CBT Nuggets course with Jeremy O.
Hope this helps out anyone that is going into this battle to win their CCENT!
Train like an MMA fighter would for a fight, and I guarantee you will come out victorious! KNOCK IT OUT COLD!!
