I passed the CCNA this morning with a 947, first attempt.
To prepare for the exam, I took the Network Academy courses before this summer, then I brushed up over the past couple weeks using the Sybex book by Lammle. I found the questions and information in that book to be about on par with the difficulty of the exam.
If you are also coming out of the Net Acad program and looking into the exam, keep in mind that there is quite a lot of information covered in the classes that you are not expected to know for the CCNA. Passing the courses requires a more detailed knowledge than the cert exam, which is a good reason to pick up the Lammle book (or some other text) to show about the level you should be studying each topic (and as a refresher). I did very well in the net acad program and it was my primary method of study.
A few other things are mentioned over and over here, but that's because it is very good advice:
Keep an eye on the time, particularly on the sims.
Test your configs before moving on from a sim, if possible. I butter-fingered an IP address in an access list and my stomach sank when I tested it out and it didn't work correctly, but I was then able to double check my config and get things working hehe.
Write out a subnet chart during the 15 minute survey before the start of the real exam.
Two other things:
Anyone can pass the exam if they have the knowledge.
Anyone can obtain the knowledge.
Good luck!
