I failed the Beast

AJA006

Hello

I have been lurking for awhile. Actually I decided to get my MCSA on Memorial day. Since then I have passed 70-290 on May 30th and 70-270 on June 13th. Today I failed the Beast. Ironically I had put in a second shot voucher on the off chance I could slip it through before June 30th. It actually worked and I have a second shot on Monday. Obviously I have seen the test now but does anyone have any advice to give? I was pretty well balanced on my scoring. I did get a 0 on RRAS but I believe I only had one question and missed it.

dynamik

Don't let an empty bar slow you down

Can you be more specific about what study materials you used and what you think your weak areas are? It's difficult to advise you without more details.

Welcome to the site!

AJA006

To be honest I tried to cram a little too much for this one. I originally had it scheduled for July 7th but wanted to see if I could complete my MCSA within 30 days because I am looking for a new position. I still have a shot if I pass on Monday. I mainly used CBT Nuggets and MS Press. I do have the Syngress book but I didn't really dig into it when I decided to move my test up. I would say DNS is a weak point ( I spent a good chunk of time on it last night to try to get up to speed. I do have good experience but I will admit that some of the DNS is over my head. I have never touched RRAS. I feel very comfortable with subnetting after practicing for several hours.

dynamik

Have you done any hands-on? Do some DNS and RRAS labs; that'll really reinforce what you've learned. If you have the money and still feel shaky, pick up the Transcender practice exam. That'll help you identify your week areas. Be prepared to spend the entire weekend on it because the questions are just as long and convoluted as the real ones

AJA006

Thanks. I will start my labs in the morning and check into the Transcenders. I'll let you know how it turns out.

sprkymrk

Good luck!

NetAdmin2436

AJA006 wrote:

I did get a 0 on RRAS but I believe I only had one question and missed it.

I feel your pain as that sounds all to familiar, you will know what i mean if you read dynamik's link. I think your right, there were only a couple questions that I can remember.

Well, 30 days to get your MCSA is definitely kicking it into High Gear. That's very admirable if you can achieve it. I definitely think DNS and DHCP are tested the most in this exam so I would really concentrate a lot on DNS if it's shaky for you.

Good Luck!

AJA006

Can we talk about the empty bar on RRAS?/

I failed the test again today with a 676 after spending all weekend working labs and practice tests. I re-read DNS and RRAS and went through the CBT Nuggets again. Again I came up with no bar on RRAS. I know for sure that I got at least one RRAS question as I had reviewed the exact situation before walking into the testing center. Is there anything I can do about having this checked over?

Sie

Sorry to hear you failed again, did you take it up with the testing centre while you were there?

dynamik

Ouch! You probably on missed by a single question, maybe two.

You can call up Prometric and see what they'll do for you. I wouldn't hold my breath though.

Also, remember that there are some ungraded questions on the exam that they use for development, etc., so it may have been one of those.

AJA006

I spoke with Prometric and then Microsoft and was given a site where I can challenge an item on the exam. I am going to submit the form even though I was told it would take 6 weeks to review. I was planning on re-taking in a couple of weeks. Any advice on what to do now?

AJA006

Nevermind. Even if I was correct on the specific answer I challenged it will still not change my score.

vsmith3rd

AJA006 wrote:

To be honest I tried to cram a little too much for this one. I originally had it scheduled for July 7th but wanted to see if I could complete my MCSA within 30 days...

Oh man, I felt the exact same way. For some reason, the lure of getting over that MCSA milestone made me want to rush the study for this exam. That was the worst preparation for any cert exam I've ever taken, and ironically, on the concensus most difficult exam I've taken thus far. I hope I don't do that for the last exam before MCSE.

Is it just me, or does the hype surrounding this exam's difficulty promote anxiety? I was psyched going in that I would fail, and at the end, I knew it for a certainty. When it showed pass, I damn near said "WTF?"

Good luck on the next take.