Beast re-scheduled for the 14th

neathneathneath

After coming unstuck big-time with a 495 about 7 weeks ago, i've rescheduled the exam with the second shot offer.

Last 7 weeks, I've hit Transcenders and Selftestsoftware hard in order to improve my overall potential exam score. Using CBT Nuggets and MS press (but find that hard work).

It seems that lots are taming the beast of late. It would be nice if I could be one of them.
Doing final reviewing now for the next few days then its the beast Mk II.
I'm going to get this even if it takes more retakes. Its not so much the retesting, its the cost - £88 and the wait in between re-sits that's the hard part. 8 weeks in between tests is an eternity (although it does give room for improvement)

When I visited the beast recently, the overall feel of the exam was ok, not dominated by DNS as some suggested, on that occasion. Just a bit disappointed that although I felt i did fairly well, my result was miles off the mark. Having hammered Transcenders and Selftest Software my overall scores are somewhat improved but not sure if its enough to get the magic 700. I will give it my best shot anyway. "Bring on the Beast"

Any last-minute exam-taking tips appreciated

dynamik

Just so you know, you don't need to wait eight weeks per retake:

Retake policy

1. General MCP Exam Retake Policy
a. If a candidate does not pass an exam the first time, he/she may retake it after at least 24 hours have passed.
b. If a candidate does not achieve a passing score the second time, you must wait at least 14 days to retake the exam a third time.
c. A 14-day waiting period will be imposed for all subsequent exam retakes.
d. A candidate may not take a given exam any more than five times per calendar year. In order to take a given exam more than five times per year, a candidate must obtain prior permission from Microsoft.
e. If a candidate has passed an exam, he/she cannot take it again.

2. MCP Beta Exam Retake Policy
a. Beta exams may be taken only once.
b. This policy supersedes the general retake policy.

3. Exam-specific Retake Policy exceptions
a. In some cases, Microsoft may have special policies for specific exams.

Microsoft Certification Security Policies

Good luck!

bertieb

I agree, the MS Press book could be a bit dry (like most of them) but it's pretty good. Do the exercises in there too. At least you have an idea of what you are up against.

Good luck

neathneathneath

dynamik wrote: »

Just so you know, you don't need to wait eight weeks per retake:
Microsoft Certification Security Policies

Good luck!

Thanks, for the info, I was aware of the retake policy but 8 weeks re-schedule was due to a combination of factors:

1) more time to review the material

2) Waited for the Easter Holidays (I work in a school)

3) Suitable slot at my nearest testing centre (which is usually booked 4-5 weeks in advance) - I had the choice of 5 or 8 weeks and 8 suited me better due to the holiday slot.

Johnny Johnson

Good luck to you! Let us know what happens.

aquageek

neathneathneath wrote: »

Any last-minute exam-taking tips appreciated

Don't neglect WSUS. I was tested quite heavily on it. It's not really covered in the MS Press book or TestOut material.

Big Jizay

aquageek wrote: »

Don't neglect WSUS. I was tested quite heavily on it. It's not really covered in the MS Press book or TestOut material.

+1

If you used the 290 MS press to study for the 290 exam, I would use it to study WSUS for the 291 exam also. You'll probably receive several questions on the exam about it.

neathneathneath

Big Jizay wrote: »

+1

If you used the 290 MS press to study for the 290 exam, I would use it to study WSUS for the 291 exam also. You'll probably receive several questions on the exam about it.

thanks for the replies.

I've implemented WSUS from scratch at work so I've got an appreciation of how it works having set it up. Looked up the section in the 70-290 MS book as suggested also.