Your method of Attending/Studying a SANS
Will be taking 504 next week in Orl. Looking for suggestions on Attending/Studying.
Do you prefer to listen in 6 day class and not try to create an Index during lecture/lab?
Do you prefer to create as much as possible in the index during the 6 day class?
Do you review the days work at night after 8 hours of lecture/lab or get away from it until the next morning?
What one or two suggestions for the first two weeks after class working towards certification?
Any other suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your valuable time and comments.....CHILI
Do you prefer to listen in 6 day class and not try to create an Index during lecture/lab?
Do you prefer to create as much as possible in the index during the 6 day class?
Do you review the days work at night after 8 hours of lecture/lab or get away from it until the next morning?
What one or two suggestions for the first two weeks after class working towards certification?
Any other suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks in advance for your valuable time and comments.....CHILI
Comments
Create index after you go back home.
Associate of Science - Computer Information Systems
I agree with cdx. I'll just add what I did last year at my first SANS course. I just wrote down page numbers in a notebook when an important/interesting topic came up during lecture. That will help you when create your index later.
Concentrate on paying attention in class, there will be time enough to work on your index when you re-read all the books and create your index. It took me a good 4 weeks carefully re-reading the books and creating my index. This isn't something you can make in class while trying to listen to your instructor. I would take it easy on the junk food they provide during the breaks and drink lots of 5 hour energy drinks. The caffeine will allow you to focus and get as much out of the class as possible.
I was pretty much burned out after 8 hours of lecture, I will say this, DO the Labs, some people in my class skipped the labs at the end of the day to get out a little early, they are beneficial to you, don't try and rush them. Also there are Net Wars and lectures at night, make sure you try and catch some of them.
Make sure you start studying soon as possible after classes are over, Way too many people think 4 months is plenty of time to study and put it off to the last minute which usually leads to a fail. Don't rush your studying either, give yourself a good month of studying / building an index before attempting your first practice exam. Treat your practice exams with respect. I can think of no other certification that has official practice exams that are just like the real exam. There are lots of 3rd party exams for other certifications that may or may not be like the exam, SANS is giving you practice tests so good, they if you can pass a practice exam with at least 5% above minimum passing grade, chances are pretty much guaranteed you'll pass the real thing. Have your index ready when you take your first practice exam, treat it as your taking the real test. If you do well, go ahead and schedule your exam, if not, you'll see where your weaknesses are and where you can improve your index. You only get two practice exams, it's possible to purchase more, but SANS has said they offer a diminishing return, which suggests the practice exam questions are pulled from a limited pool of possible questions.
I tried creating tabs during the course but the sticky tabs they give you fall out and you might want to add/remove or change how you tab them later anyways.
That was my strategy but I also tend to make a pretty thorough index.
Mate that sounds really bad, I don't drink energy drinks (poison) but I drink coffee. Hope they offer that! I might pack my lunch if they only offer junk
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I don't like coffee. I've read "5 hour energy" drinks are very acidic and bad for your teeth, I always wash one down with water, using water to rinse my mouth before swallowing. Also I usually only take half a bottle at a time. They do not offer 5 Hour Energy drinks, it something I bring with me to the conference. Bringing your lunch is a good idea as well. I've done that before. If I ever get to facilitate, I'll do that every day.
They had an happy hour the 5th night at the one I attended in Philadelphia, they don't normally do that. It was something the hotel did to appease SANS for construction noise that occurred during the conference. Me and a couple other students were able to hang out with two of my former instructors all night, and my current instructor stopped by to say hi. It was a great networking opportunity. Bryan Simon's will be at the SANSFire conference, I see if there an opportunity to hang out with him again.