Cleared GCIA - 87%
Exam : GCIA -503
Preparation :
Courseware : Official Courseware from SANS - OnDemand Training
Build up to the exam : Completed all the books 10 days before the exam and revised the books for 5 times in the next 10 days
Index : Had gone through the books enough number of times to remember the topics and information covered in every book . So i didn't have an actual index like others . Just had page numbers noted down for different type of attacks , stimuli/responses (2 small index cards) . For people who aren't into index, one suggestion would be to just jog through their memory and list out the topics covered in each books ample number of times before the exam. This is just my way of doing it but from what i hear indexing is the fool-proof way .
Practice Test 1 : Took the first 1 day before the exam - scored 82 % - 30 minutes remaining
Practice Test 2 : Took it the day before the exam - Scored 86% - 1.5 hrs remaining (~45 repeated questions from test1)
Exam :
# 3-5 questions repeated from the practice tests .
# Rest of the questions were testing your skills from the same area as in practice test
# completed with 45 minutes to go
# Used the books mostly for topics from book#5 . Rest of the questions , I could manage with the **** sheets for headers and portnumbers.
# Had maintained 93% until 75 questions , just from my observation the questions were getting tougher and was difficult (questions related to deployment of ips/ids in complex n/w environment) to maintain the 90% mark and ultimately ended up with 87%
Next Certification :
GREM . I have started to go through assembly language before I buy the GREM course .
Good luck for everyone giving their SANS exam. May the force be with you
Preparation :
Courseware : Official Courseware from SANS - OnDemand Training
Build up to the exam : Completed all the books 10 days before the exam and revised the books for 5 times in the next 10 days
Index : Had gone through the books enough number of times to remember the topics and information covered in every book . So i didn't have an actual index like others . Just had page numbers noted down for different type of attacks , stimuli/responses (2 small index cards) . For people who aren't into index, one suggestion would be to just jog through their memory and list out the topics covered in each books ample number of times before the exam. This is just my way of doing it but from what i hear indexing is the fool-proof way .
Practice Test 1 : Took the first 1 day before the exam - scored 82 % - 30 minutes remaining
Practice Test 2 : Took it the day before the exam - Scored 86% - 1.5 hrs remaining (~45 repeated questions from test1)
Exam :
# 3-5 questions repeated from the practice tests .
# Rest of the questions were testing your skills from the same area as in practice test
# completed with 45 minutes to go
# Used the books mostly for topics from book#5 . Rest of the questions , I could manage with the **** sheets for headers and portnumbers.
# Had maintained 93% until 75 questions , just from my observation the questions were getting tougher and was difficult (questions related to deployment of ips/ids in complex n/w environment) to maintain the 90% mark and ultimately ended up with 87%
Next Certification :
GREM . I have started to go through assembly language before I buy the GREM course .
Good luck for everyone giving their SANS exam. May the force be with you
Comments
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iBrokeIT
Member Posts: 1,318 ■■■■■■■■■□
Congrats!2019: GPEN | GCFE | GXPN | GICSP | CySA+
2020: GCIP | GCIA
2021: GRID | GDSA | Pentest+
2022: GMON | GDAT
2023: GREM | GSE | GCFA
WGU BS IT-NA | SANS Grad Cert: PT&EH | SANS Grad Cert: ICS Security | SANS Grad Cert: Cyber Defense Ops | SANS Grad Cert: Incident Response -
TechGromit
Member Posts: 2,156 ■■■■■■■■■□
Congratulations!Practice Test 1 : Took the first 1 day before the exam - scored 82 % - 30 minutes remaining
Practice Test 2 : Took it the day before the exam - Scored 86% - 1.5 hrs remaining (~45 repeated questions from test1)
It's my understanding that the practice tests are pulled from a pool of questions, this is why purchasing additional practice tests give diminishing returns for practicing for the exam. I would assume the exam is similar, questions pulled for a pool of possible questions, this way no one gets the same exact exam. This would go a long want to explaining why some people find the test easier or harder, it depends on the luck of the draw what questions your getting.Still searching for the corner in a round room. -
Robicus
Member Posts: 144 ■■■□□□□□□□
That is so awesome!
Congratulations!What's Next? eLearnSecurity's eCIR
MSISE, CISSP, GSE (#202), GSEC, GCIA, GCIH, GPEN, GMON, GCFE, GCCC, GCPM, eJPT, AWS CCP -
E Double U
Member Posts: 2,238 ■■■■■■■■■■
Congrats! I plan to also do the SEC503 via OnDemand soon.Alphabet soup from (ISC)2, ISACA, GIAC, EC-Council, Microsoft, ITIL, Cisco, Scrum, CompTIA, AWS -
636-555-3226
Member Posts: 975 ■■■■■□□□□□
I have respect for anybody who goes through this course and comes out being able to retain the knowledge and apply it in a daily manner. Assuming you're in that boat, great job! Reasons for taking it? Employer asked & paid, just curiousity, anything else? -
LionelTeo Member Posts: 526 ■■■■■■■□□□
TechGromit wrote: »Congratulations!
It's my understanding that the practice tests are pulled from a pool of questions, this is why purchasing additional practice tests give diminishing returns for practicing for the exam. I would assume the exam is similar, questions pulled for a pool of possible questions, this way no one gets the same exact exam. This would go a long want to explaining why some people find the test easier or harder, it depends on the luck of the draw what questions your getting.
I remember seeing somewhere on GIAC sites that mention regarding questions that was gotten wrong for the first practice will resurface on the second one. -
testing010101
Member Posts: 22 ■□□□□□□□□□
questions related to deployment of ips/ids in complex n/w environment
Can you expand on this? I'm trying to figure out the difference between GCIA and GCIH. -
JoJoCal19
Mod Posts: 2,835 Mod
testing010101 wrote: »Can you expand on this? I'm trying to figure out the difference between GCIA and GCIH.
The GCIH is focused on the incident handling process and on hacking tools and processes. People say it's like a GPEN-lite. The GCIA is all about reading packets, and the tools for it such as Wireshark, tcpdump, snort, bro.Have: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, eJPT, GCIA, GSEC, CCSP, CCSK, AWS CSAA, AWS CCP, OCI Foundations Associate, ITIL-F, MS Cyber Security - USF, BSBA - UF, MSISA - WGU
Currently Working On: Python, OSCP Prep
Next Up: OSCP
Studying: Code Academy (Python), Bash Scripting, Virtual Hacking Lab Coursework -
Trucido
Member Posts: 250 ■■□□□□□□□□
Congrats!2017 Certification Goals
CompTIA A+ [ ] CompTIA Net+ [ ] CompTIA Sec+ [ ] CCENT [ ] ITIL [ ]
