Has anyone failed exam after taking SANS CISSP boot camp

ExamCandidate

 Even though I have heard a lot of good stories about SANS CISSP prep course. I was just wondering if  there is any body who took the SANS boot camp and still failed the CISSP exam ( I mean after taking the SANS boot camp)

I am considering taking SANS bootcamp with David Miller , reading 11th hour and buying BOSON exam. 

will I be fine... ? 

SteveLavoie

I am sure there are many person who failed after that boot camp or another one.  In my opinion, if you have already 75% of the knowledge with your actual work experience, then a bootcamp will give you the edge to succeed.  CISSP is a very wide exam, and I dont think the bootcamp experience is the most appropriate for this exam unless you are experienced infosec pro and just need to round off.   

DJVeritas

I took the SANS MGT414 class for David Miller back in December and found it to be very good. David is excellent at teaching all 8 domains and with knowledge retention. I just sat for the GISP on Tuesday and passed with a fairly good score. Failure all depends on how hard your work to gain and retain the knowledge taught in the class and materials. I have not sat for the CISSP yet and can't do so for a couple of months, since all seats are booked.

E Double U

ExamCandidate said:

I am considering taking SANS bootcamp with David Miller , reading 11th hour and buying BOSON exam. 

will I be fine... ? 

Depends on how much experience you have going into the exam. How do you feel about your current knowledge of the domains? 

I read the 11th Hour as a companion guide to the Shon Harris book and only recommend it to those with lots of knowledge that only require brushing up. I don't know how the Boson CISSP questions are, but the the practice questions that came with the Shon Harris book were good enough in my opinion. My only experience with Boson practice exams came from my CEH preparation and I found it useful. 

JDMurray

DJVeritas said:

I just sat for the GISP on Tuesday and passed with a fairly good score.

I just find it so very strange that there is an IT certification for a training class for another IT certification.

E Double U

JDMurray said:

DJVeritas said:

I just sat for the GISP on Tuesday and passed with a fairly good score.

I just find it so very strange that there is an IT certification for a training class for another IT certification.

It means you are certified to become certified. 

ExamCandidate

Thank you all for your responses. Indeed David Miller is great and so is SANS as an institute. I took my SANS MGMT 414 from him few months ago and studying for my CISSP exam. Hopefully will take it  by end of august, will keep you all posted.

DJVeritas

I'm scheduled for CISSP on the 21st of this month and have been doing pretty good on every practice exam I could get my hands on. Taking the class, taking notes, making an index, allowed me to succeed in getting the GISP and hopefully the CISSP.

AverageJoe

I'm sure there are those who don't pass after a boot camp, but even more so there are a lot of folks who go through boot camps and never even take the exam.  

I continue to think of boot camps as a "top off" to help focus studies, review materials overall, and an opportunity to strengthen some individual areas of study.  Unfortunately, I think too many people think of boot camps as the end all complete prep for exams, but a boot camp supplements and should not be expected to replace actual real-world experience. 

So much so that I won't approve my folks going to a boot camp unless they can show me they already know at least the basics and they've already taken steps to become familiar with the preponderance of material.  I feel like I'm in the minority requiring this, and my folks hate it, but I think it is more likely to lead to successful completion and certification.

jayc71

AverageJoe said:

I'm sure there are those who don't pass after a boot camp, but even more so there are a lot of folks who go through boot camps and never even take the exam.  

I continue to think of boot camps as a "top off" to help focus studies, review materials overall, and an opportunity to strengthen some individual areas of study.  Unfortunately, I think too many people think of boot camps as the end all complete prep for exams, but a boot camp supplements and should not be expected to replace actual real-world experience. 

So much so that I won't approve my folks going to a boot camp unless they can show me they already know at least the basics and they've already taken steps to become familiar with the preponderance of material.  I feel like I'm in the minority requiring this, and my folks hate it, but I think it is more likely to lead to successful completion and certification.

Completely agree.  There are bootcamps which propose to teach you everything you need to pass an exam, but if you don't have a fairly good grasp of the material beforehand you are not likely to succeed.  Even if you do somehow retain the info long enough to pass, you are not going to have the practical experience to make use of it.  

It reminds of when a few of us were sent to MS "MCSE Bootcamps" back in the early 2000's.... We already had the practical knowledge because we managed an AD infrastructure everyday, but it was quickly evident that the trainers were teaching only what was covered on the exam... literally saying "REMEMBER THIS" for this exam right before we took them.  

There were several people in the class with no prior experience who failed miserably because it was just too much info for them to learn that quickly.  

cjleather

Failed with 64% on first attempt. I will say i’m unimpressed with sans. I feel i could have done as well with just reading the shon harris on my own. I am unlikely to retake in the near future as i’m a grad student in cybersec and feel the amount of time preparing for a broad level test negatively affects the depth i am going to in grad school and impacts the time on more value-added activities.

The SANS course is very overpriced and falsely claims a 67% pass rate among students.  That rate seems to be based on the number who self report results and is misleading.

I found the support lacking with questions often receiving dismissive and/or flippant answers like “make your index”.  Well i did that and was not allowed to use my index at the testing center.  So 64% was without the ability to use anything but the sans slides.  

If you want to take a bootcamp go for a udemy or cousera class.  Much less expensive and if you fail you won’t be nearly as bitter about the cost and wasted time.  Save the $ and invest in a more instructional course especially if you have near the minimum 5 years in industry.  

Sorry.  I’m a little frustrated with the false claim that “this is the only resource you will need”.  Not true.  

If i try again it will not be 30 days from my first attempt.  I have to assess what will be the best roi for the time invested.  

JDMurray

cjleather said:

I found the support lacking with questions often receiving dismissive and/or flippant answers like “make your index”.  Well i did that and was not allowed to use my index at the testing center.  So 64% was without the ability to use anything but the sans slides.

You should report the testing center to GIAC and let them know the proctors didn't follow the rules for administering a GIAC exam.

https://www.giac.org/knowledge-base/

Tekn0logy

cjleather said:

Failed with 64% on first attempt.

The SANS course is very overpriced and falsely claims a 67% pass rate among students.  That rate seems to be based on the number who self report results and is misleading.

I think Boot-camp providers just use the pass rate thing as a sell point, because in the end, if you fail and have a grievance the provider can always come back and say the candidate lacked the necessary background, and there is also the walk of shame. I don't know the percentages, but there are some that will tuck their tail, go home and never set foot in a test center again, while others will double down and study twice as hard. Some corporate/government backed candidates might not be out of pocket and could give a flying frog's leg if they pass or fail.

But looking at the SANS CISSP class (MGT414: SANS Training Program for the CISSP Certification), it is marketed as an "Accelerated Review", not an all inclusive boot camp.

Holy moly that was a lot of dough... My money would have been on an ISC2 partner training provider like TrainingCamp with down to earth claims and a free retake.

cjleather said:

I found the support lacking with questions often receiving dismissive and/or flippant answers like “make your index”.  Well i did that and was not allowed to use my index at the testing center.  So 64% was without the ability to use anything but the sans slides.  

Wait, what??? ISC2 allows candidates to bring reference material into the test center for the CISSP??? 

JDMurray

Tekn0logy said:

Wait, what??? ISC2 allows candidates to bring reference material into the test center for the CISSP??? 

GIAC exam rules allow books and notes during the exam; the (ISC)2 CISSP exam rule do not. The notes and index are for the GIAC Information Security Professional (GISP) exam, which is part of MGT414: SANS Training Program for the CISSP Certification course.

It is rather confusing that a bootcamp for the CISSP exam has its own certification. Maybe this is a 2-for-1 marketing device that makes the course more appealing.

mickgrill

I took a CISSP boot camp and passed last week, but not the SANs one. I suggest that whatever route you go, that you should book your exam shortly after your boot camp so you don't end up procrastinating and forgetting what you learned. Having that date set gives you a bit more drive to prepare for the test. Not sure this helps or even answers your initial question, but wanted to share my experience.

TechGromit

cjleather said:

I found the support lacking with questions often receiving dismissive and/or flippant answers like “make your index”.  Well i did that and was not allowed to use my index at the testing center.  

if you build a really good index for a SANS exam, chances are you will not refer to your index very much during a SANS exam, since you "studied" building your index. While you CAN'T use an Index when taking the CISSP, I think the idea is if you built a really good index you will not need to use it, even if you could do so for this exam. 

As with anything, no course can guarantee you pass an exam, its all to do with how much you put into studying and how well you retain the knowledge.  Index building is just another form of studying for an exam. I've actually built an index for the CISSP book I was studying for preparing for my own CISSP attempt, but was unable to test if this worked or not, since my exam was cancelled due to a snowstorm and I have not bothered to re-book yet. My incentive greatly diminished when unable to re-book in time, before my GREM expired. My next cert expires in Oct 2023, so I will probably re-book soon, but I'll avoid scheduling it in the winter, I'll shoot for an April / May test date.   

SteveLavoie

TechGromit said:

 but I'll avoid scheduling it in the winter, I'll shoot for an April / May test date.   

I know you had problem to get to the testing center due to snowstorm.. but why not consider remote testing. It is a pain to set up.. but once in, it solve a lot of problem. That's what I did for CISM, and GPEN