Cisco Networking Academy Program

lotsill

This question is for people that have taken Cisco Networking Academy Program - CCNA.

I am completing the CCNA 4 section from the Networking Academy. I know the module exams have tricky questions.

How similar is the acutal CCNA exam to the material that is covered in the Networking Academy?

Thanks

sprkymrk

I took it almost three years ago (the exam) so I think I took the class about 4 years ago. I think that a lot depends on how well your instructor prepares you. The curriculum alone isn't quite enough, though it is good material. My opinion was that the Cisco Press books used by the program were sub-par. I had 2 different instructors, 1 for the first 2 classes and another for the 3rd and 4th. I learned more from the 1st instructor because she was a good teacher even though only a mediocre network professional. The second instructor had excellent networking skills, but was a horrible instructor.

The best part of the academy, however, is the large amount of time spent in hands-on labs with real Cisco products. That alone was worth the time, effort and money IMHO.

Oops, I just noticed I didn't really answer your question. The exams are not very similar, or at least they weren't 3-4 years ago.

mikej412

lotsill wrote:

I am completing the CCNA 4 section from the Networking Academy. I know the module exams have tricky questions.

How similar is the acutal CCNA exam to the material that is covered in the Networking Academy?

The module exam questions in the Networking Academy course are not tricky -- when compared to the CCNA exam.

The Academy Courseware is all I used for my CCNA -- took the CCNA exam a couple of days after my CCNA 4 final and did well. If you don't have a networking background or didn't do great in the Academy courses -- that's where you'd want to get the Sybex book and maybe practice on the subnetting practice web sites. Going back over the labs and eLabs could also be helpful.

There is a lot of fluff and filler and background information in the Academy Courseware -- but the module exam questions are a good indicator of important topics to know for the CCNA. I went back over all my exam questions (except for the course finals and voucher tests) to study for the CCNA -- check them out if you have access to them (instructor option?).

Good Luck!

xwesleyxwillisx

I have never taken the 640-801 composite exam; however, I can tell you that the module tests are spot on when compared to the INTRO and ICND tests. After completing semesters 1/2 I took a month to study for the INTRO. The INTRO correlated primarly to semester 2. Semester 1 is sort of a primer for computers/networking and does not contain much of the material required for either exam.
I followed the same procedure for the ICND except for the fact that I spent every minute I could on the equipment. It really showed in my test score. Truly, nothing can help more than time with the equipment! To be honest, I found the ICND to be a much better measure of my knowledge and ability than any of the module tests. The module tests have a tendency to ask some obscure questions that do not reflect your knowledge of Cisco networking. For example, I recall one question asking what the default lease time was for DHCP on a Cisco router. Hello! You will NEVER be running DHCP on a router. That's what Windows and Unix servers are for!
Anyway, my point is, prepare to be challenged but do not expect the exam to be unpassable by any means. Good luck!

KGhaleon

I took the Cisco academy courses a couple years ago, and I certainly remember there being a lot of error in the tests and *major* problems with the material that comes on the discs.

They might have corrected some things since then, but I recall the academy tests being slightly harder than the actual exam.

KG

lwwarner

lotsill wrote:

How similar is the acutal CCNA exam to the material that is covered in the Networking Academy?

I'm finishing up CCNA 4 this week and I just took & passed the 801 exam on Friday (4/28/06). See my post in another thread for my thoughts about the Academy exams vs. the real thing:

http://www.techexams.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=80493#80493