Passed CISSP on 10/26/2016 2nd Attempt

Hi All,

I will like to 1^st thank God and everyone on this site for helping me pass the CISSP examination. It was a tough but beneficial journey for me. I passed the CISSP on my 2^nd attempt. I thought I was well prepared for the exam on my 1^st attempt and with my wedding about a month away I wanted to get it over with, this didn’t happened as I planned. So after I failed the 1^st attempt I took a break, focused on my wedding, honeymoon, settling in to the new life then I began to study again.
For the 1st Attempt which I failed, here is how I studied
Read the Official (ISC) Guide to the CISSP CBk… was pretty long and boring but read it cover to cover
Took about 1000 CCCure quizzer was averaging about 70%
Enrolled in a one week boot camp with Trainingcamp, My instructor was very good but this was a stressful one week from 8AM – 6PM and sat for the exam on Saturday. My advice if you take the boot camp class give yourself a few days to decompress and soak everything in before taking the exam. The CISSP tries to trick you with the way the questions are asked so make sure you are not falling for it
My exam hall was freezing had to drink hot water to keep warm, it was the weekend and they said they couldn’t change the temperature, I also didn’t eat so was hungry during the exam. It is a 6 hour exam so don’t be like my 1^st attempt be well prepare, have snacks, take breaks and dress appropriately

For my 2^nd Attempt
Although the bootcamp offered a guarantee to retake the class again for free, I was not prepared for another grueling week of class and felt confident that I could study on my own. From this forum a lot was said about the Sybex CISSP® (ISC)2® Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide Seventh Edition so I bought the book read some of the chapters and focused on my weak areas from the 1^st attempt. This book explained the concepts well but I didn’t want to dedicate another 6 months to finish the whole book so I focused on the summary and some unfamiliar chapters. The practice exams helped a lot with familiarizing concepts. 1^st attempts with the practice exams I was about 65% but after reviewing notes and reading some more I started to score in the 90 percentile. I gave myself weeks before retaking the question so it is not based on recollection.
I also reviewed all my notes from my 1^st attempt
Registered again for CCCure where I started scoring in the 80 percentile range. I only focused on the pro level and also did a lot more questions than my 1^st attempt
Additional material
http://www.risk3sixty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Christian-Reina-and-Maarten-de-Frankrijker-Cram-Study-Guide.pdf Very good summary

A day before the exam I review the assessment questions I received from the boot camp as I wanted a different pool of questions testing the concept not just memorizing answers.
Like someone already mentioned the key to success for this exam is the experience, 50% study and the other 50% on practice test. Good luck all

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Comments

protacticus

Congrats and thank you for exam experience.

sameoj

Congrats

Cnode

Thank you

NetworkNewb

Congrats on the pass!

kanedog

Congrats!

Cora_Pan

Congrats and thanks for sharing your learn and exam experience!

pinksj

Congratulations on your success and stayed on top to get to the second attempt.

E Double U

Cert Champ wrote: »

got my first try this Nov 30. not expecting to pass.

Why don't you expect to pass? Can you postpone or do you have hard deadline to take it on 30-Nov?

jcundiff

Congrats! I disagree with your comment on waiting a few days after a boot camp to sit the exam. The training camp bootcamp (5 days @ 10-11 hours a day + self study afterwards, and half day review + exam on 6th day) is designed to polish and prepare you to sit the exam. I did their boot camp as the final step in my training plan after several months of self study... taking a few days off before taking the exam is going to be detrimental in most cases.

TLeTourneau

Congratulations on the pass! I have to agree with jcundiff about not waiting after a boot camp though, I think it's better to test while it's still fresh.That being said each person deals with things in their own way.

Again, congratulations!

DAVIS NGUYEN

Congrats!

Cnode

Thank you for your feedback, The reason I suggested waiting a few days is because Isc2 really tries to trick you with the way they set the question. So rather than going into the exam fatigue after a lot of information has been downloaded and try to do a brain ****. Use a day or 2 to ensure you grasp the concept well and try different pool of questions. The goal is to use which concept works best for you

dhay13

I passed last week. My plan was to cram until bed the night before but just couldn't get into it. i hardly reviewed anything that day. i figured if i didn't know it by then then it wouldn't matter. and i didn't write anything on my scratch sheet they give you. theory again was if i didn't already know it.....