BSCI failed Passing score:790 My score:788[UPDATE-PASSED!]

Well, I took the BSCI today for the first time and failed by 2 points. What a horrible feeling to be soooo close.

My test had a lot of IS-IS and EIGRP. I ran into time trouble toward the middle of the test but was able to finish on time in the end.

I'll be retaking it in early March.......

Anyone else think this test is damn tough??

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Comments

Paul Boz

I'd say that the BSCI portion of the composite was more challenging than the BCMSN material.

How did you fare on multicast? That's usually the pitfall for most people.

Netwurk

2 points? Man, that's rough. Well at least you know you're close.

Good luck with it next time around!

Paul Boz

I'm not putting down your score or anyone else's score that comes close to or barely passes.

The goal isn't to get the 790 or whatever arbitrary number they set. The goal is to know the material well enough to demolish the test. If a 790 is the passing score, I see that as getting a C on the exam. Sure a C is a passing grade but it doesn't necessarily mean you know the stuff. I think that's the reason why Cisco doesn't tell CCIEs their score.

Keep your chin up and kick the test's butt next time.

empc4000xl

Paul Boz wrote:

I'm not putting down your score or anyone else's score that comes close to or barely passes.

The goal isn't to get the 790 or whatever arbitrary number they set. The goal is to know the material well enough to demolish the test. If a 790 is the passing score, I see that as getting a C on the exam. Sure a C is a passing grade but it doesn't necessarily mean you know the stuff. I think that's the reason why Cisco doesn't tell CCIEs their score.

Keep your chin up and kick the test's butt next time.

A passing grade does mean you know the stuff. A very high score shows mastery of the topics which are 2 different things. Also you have to take into concern that a lot of people aren't the best test takers, but are very competent workers. Thats why they set a passing score and still give it a nice range.

tomset

Thanks guys, I'm passing next time damnit!

The 3 areas that I did the worst in were IPv6, Multicast, and IS-IS. This didn't surprise me. I feel like I have EIGRP, OSPF, and BGP mastered.

My score on multicast was 62%. My score on IPv6 was 50%

Is the BSCI generally regarded as the toughest CCNP exam?

tomset

Paul Boz wrote:

I'm not putting down your score or anyone else's score that comes close to or barely passes.

The goal isn't to get the 790 or whatever arbitrary number they set. The goal is to know the material well enough to demolish the test. If a 790 is the passing score, I see that as getting a C on the exam. Sure a C is a passing grade but it doesn't necessarily mean you know the stuff. I think that's the reason why Cisco doesn't tell CCIEs their score.

Keep your chin up and kick the test's butt next time.

Paul, I agree with you. I wanted to kill that test. My goal is to know the stuff inside and out. Just need to study more for next time.

Paul Boz

tomset wrote:

Paul, I agree with you. I wanted to kill that test. My goal is to know the stuff inside and out. Just need to study more for next time.

You have the right mentality. What are you going to do to prepare between now and the next time you take the exam?

Here is a graphical network model that I made when studying ISIS. It was all inclusive regarding the various network types and scenarios. It sets up in dynamips perfectly. Unfortunately I no longer have the config but I would be more than happy to share my map with you.

http://eatel.net/~pbosworth/model.bmp

Best of luck. Ask if you have questions, we are here to help.

tomset

Paul Boz wrote:

tomset wrote:

Paul, I agree with you. I wanted to kill that test. My goal is to know the stuff inside and out. Just need to study more for next time.

You have the right mentality. What are you going to do to prepare between now and the next time you take the exam?

I've decided to see what info the cisco.com/univercd site has on IPv6, multicast, and IS-IS. Given that I did the worst on those topics, I'll be hitting 'em pretty hard. I'll let you guys know if I pass the second time.

I personally know a systems engineer at Cisco who has failed the BSCI twice already and hasn't passed. She said the BSCI is definitely harder than the BCMSN.

Paul - is the composite exam as grueling as it sounds?

Paul Boz

The composite is more than likely harder than taking the BSCI and the BCMSN sequentially but I did not take that track so I can't compare them. My goal is to obtain the CCIE and the composite seemed to be the best option for myself because it is more in-tune with the CCIE's structure.

dtlokee

Paul Boz wrote:

The composite is more than likely harder than taking the BSCI and the BCMSN sequentially but I did not take that track so I can't compare them. My goal is to obtain the CCIE and the composite seemed to be the best option for myself because it is more in-tune with the CCIE's structure.

No offense but I'm scratching my head on this one. The objectives for the composite are the same as the BSCI + BCMSN put together, there is nothing that has been excluded. I don’t see how it's more in line with a CCIE than taking them individually.

As far as what path is more difficult - Cisco works very hard to ensure both methods are the same difficulty. You are going to get questions from both the BSCI and the BCMSN exams. The only argument I can think of for one being easier would be that there is less to review in the days/weeks before taking them individually than taking them as the composite. That being said I think once you commit the information to long term memory it shouldn't matter.

Humper

I agree with Paul Boz about the score. If you just pass then you don't know the material that Cisco wants you to know, well enough. You could be intelligent, know your routing protocols, but lack Cisco configuration expierence will equal a fail. The timers, misc **** that Cisco wants you to know....... you will probably end up forgetting anyways (if you don't use it on a frequent basis that is)...

Keep your head high, and kill it next time. Go for 1000

empc4000xl

I know we are beating a dead horse here, but please explain to me why some of you think that if you barley pass you don't know the material that cisco wants you to know? Why would they pass you then? If you didn't know it you would obviously fail the test. I'm just trying to make some since out of what you are saying. Passing with a low score says you meet the minimum requirements to do the job. A high score says you have mastery of the topics. How many of you have met guys who constantly get high score on work, but can't do the job as well as those who may not have scored as high. Its always great to aim for the high score, but for people to say that you don't know the stuff if you pass with the bare minimum is kinda silly.

What do the call the lowest scoreing doctor in his graduating class?

"Doctor"

dtlokee

empc4000xl wrote:

I know we are beating a dead horse here, but please explain to me why some of you think that if you barley pass you don't know the material that cisco wants you to know? Why would they pass you then? If you didn't know it you would obviously fail the test. I'm just trying to make some since out of what you are saying. Passing with a low score says you meet the minimum requirements to do the job. A high score says you have mastery of the topics. How many of you have met guys who constantly get high score on work, but can't do the job as well as those who may not have scored as high. Its always great to aim for the high score, but for people to say that you don't know the stuff if you pass with the bare minimum is kinda silly.

What do the call the lowest scoreing doctor in his graduating class?

"Doctor"

Yup a passing score is a passing score.

What does it mean when somone takes the exam and finishes is 20 minutes with a perfect score? I guess they really knew their stuff!

Microsoft stopped giving out scores back when the Windows 2003 exams came out and everyone freaked so they quickly went back. I guess it wasn't such a bad idea after all. I also understand why the CCIE lab is just "pass" or here's your score when you fail. I don't think scoring higher than the rquired score demonstrates you know it better, it can be luck of the draw on what questions you had vs what you knew or how well you guessed on a question. It's believed the exams are adaptive and if that's the case guessing right on a question in an area you don't know will result in the exam moving onto other areas, possibly resulting in a better score. At the end of the day what counts is you've learned a few things from studying for an exam, and earned the certification. Last time I looked at my transcript it said P for pass, no scores.

Paul Boz

dtlokee wrote:

No offense but I'm scratching my head on this one.

It is not about what material is presented, it's about how it's presented. The CCIE doesn't offer the option of learning half of the material for one test and the other half for a second. You have to know all of the material and how it interconnects. That is what I meant by "more in tune with the CCIE."

When you spend several months preparing for the BSCI then shelf that and pick up the BCMSN material you have to maintain that BSCI stuff. The composite forces that.

I did not intend to imply that the material was different.

Regarding scores, it's just a matter of personal opinion. I feel better about a high score than a low score but a pass is a pass. I was simply explaining that if I got a score 2 points above passing I would not be satisfied. I would have to follow up my low points post-test to ensure my competency.

Humper

A pass is a pass, if thats all your looking for.

If I got a 780 on my BSCI I would recommend reading some of the topics again. Even with a perfect score your not the "doctor of routing" but I would feel better about myself and my knowledge of the particular topic. When you work with network guys that are assholes and know there ****, passing the BSCI with 1000 you still look like an idiot

It's not just about knowing the theory and configuring your routers in a lab environment, having real work experience really helps!

Anyways just some things I've learnt over the past couple years....

kryolla

I scored low on ISIS and multicasting. I knew I would score low on multicasting but ISIS which is simplier than OSPF which I got 90% on. I hate the pick 2 answers but 3 looks right so which 2 is the best, those questions really screwed me.

Pash

Paul Boz wrote:

I'm not putting down your score or anyone else's score that comes close to or barely passes.

The goal isn't to get the 790 or whatever arbitrary number they set. The goal is to know the material well enough to demolish the test. If a 790 is the passing score, I see that as getting a C on the exam. Sure a C is a passing grade but it doesn't necessarily mean you know the stuff. I think that's the reason why Cisco doesn't tell CCIEs their score.

Keep your chin up and kick the test's butt next time.

I disagree Paul. The best engineers are the ones who get the job done and are resourceful while onsite. Ciscos passing grade is set by their examanation authority, so a pass is indeed a pass. I have scraped nearly all of my exams but I still know that in principal I know enough about what I am doing to confidently get a job done and if i forget some things (which human beings do) then I wont leave until ive solved it/google has solved it :P

But yes, you can never prep too much for exams and maybe what I say above isnt entirely relative to passing exams

Unlucky anyway kryolla, I am sure you will own it up on the next attempt!

Rearden

Paul Boz wrote:

Here is a graphical network model that I made when studying ISIS. It was all inclusive regarding the various network types and scenarios. It sets up in dynamips perfectly. Unfortunately I no longer have the config but I would be more than happy to share my map with you.

http://eatel.net/~pbosworth/model.bmp

Best of luck. Ask if you have questions, we are here to help.

This is somewhat offtopic, but. . .

How much horsepower of a machine do you think it would take to run 7 routers in dynamips? I've had great luck with a 3 or 4 router setup.

Is there any way to combine dynamips routers running on separate machines into one network?

//Nevermind. Figured it out. Carry on.

tomset

Retake scheduled for March 28th.... I know my weak areas were IPv6, multicasting, and IS-IS so I'm hittin' those hard this time around

I'll let you guys know how I did on the 28th.......wish me luck!

vvii

Good luck and be confident and make sure you manage your time, that's all.

c0d3_w0lf

Good luck, you can do it! I failed my first time taking the BSCI, and barely passed on my second run. I'm definitely going to need to revisit Multicast and IPv6 when I get done with the other CCNP exams, just so I don't have any glaring weak points, but it does feel good to have that exam out of the way!