Close but no cigar 698

I can literally say that there is know adequate way or shortcut to pass this exam. The results from Top (best) to Bottom (worst). I finished my first pass of the exam in 3:23. I had 43 questions marked for review and performed process of elimination on those. The I went back and reviewed the entire exam changing about 12 answers. The majority of my test was Access Control, Software Development and Security Arch. It appeared that on all the things I studied from Hal Tiptons Book, I only recognized 20% of the questions. Going to get wasted now.

1. Physical Security
2. BCP/DRP
3. Cryptography
4. Software Development Security
5. Legal
6. Telecom
7. Ops Security
8. Security Architecture & Design
9. Information Security Gov & RM
10. Access Control

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Comments

ipchain

You were really close, so keep your chin up. Good luck next time!

emerald_octane

When I saw the thread title I said to myself "another one bites the dust" but then I saw the OP name and I said "noooo!" because of how much I know you studied. If I were you I would reschedule immediately or at least as soon as you brush up on your weakest domains. It looks like you did good in BCP which I caution everyone about, kudos to you. Access control hmm well not much I can say about that. You attended the seminar right? Did you read the review book like I mentioned? The information there is golden.

You WILL get it next time you have to. It just is. You deserve it.

TBRAYS

emerald_octane wrote: »

When I saw the thread title I said to myself "another one bites the dust" but then I saw the OP name and I said "noooo!" because of how much I know you studied. If I were you I would reschedule immediately or at least as soon as you brush up on your weakest domains. It looks like you did good in BCP which I caution everyone about, kudos to you. Access control hmm well not much I can say about that. You attended the seminar right? Did you read the review book like I mentioned? The information there is golden.

You WILL get it next time you have to. It just is. You deserve it.

Thanks Man, actually I didn't attend the seminar, a friend attended the seminar and gave me her Review Seminar book.

paul78

Sorry to hear about the close call - I found this book to be quite helpful. Perhaps it can help you too.

Amazon.com: CISSP Exam Prep Questions, Answers & Explanations: 1000+ CISSP Practice Questions with Detailed Solutions (9780982576847): SSI Logic: Books

TBRAYS

paul78 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about the close call - I found this book to be quite helpful. Perhaps it can help you too.

Amazon.com: CISSP Exam Prep Questions, Answers & Explanations: 1000+ CISSP Practice Questions with Detailed Solutions (9780982576847): SSI Logic: Books

Yeah, I have that one!

kdotnoh

sorry man, i know u will go through next time but please it is true the exams is more difficult than the questions on ccure.org ?

emerald_octane

CCCUre offers a different set of questions. As I mentioned in another thread, CCCure tests concepts, test offers application of concepts. The problem is that there are subtle things in the questions that you have to pick out in order to get the question right. After a while all the answers start to look the same.

TBRAYS

Actually cccure.org questions are alot tougher in my opinion, I'm going to subscribe to the iStudyScope questions by ISC2, I'm going to use everything from ISC2. Shon Harris is great but unnecessarily long. My best advice is to get the CIB from ISC2 and stick to it using the official CBK ISC book.

kdotnoh

Thanks very much, i take the exams next month . God will see me through.

!nf0s3cure

Was it a CBT or PBT? How about a re-evaluation?

TBRAYS

!nf0s3cure wrote: »

Was it a CBT or PBT? How about a re-evaluation?

It was the CBT

theenigmacode

Tough luck mate. As others said, if I were you, I would schedule the re-exam asap and take it while it's still fresh in my mind.

Iristheangel

@theenigmacode - ISC2 makes you wait 3 months between attempts. Sucks because you HAVE to wait that time and keep studying the material to keep it fresh

Paperlantern

Iristheangel wrote: »

@theenigmacode - ISC2 makes you wait 3 months between attempts. Sucks because you HAVE to wait that time and keep studying the material to keep it fresh

Oh man, I don't know why I thought it was 30 days, 3 months is absurd, that's just too long

Sorry tbrays, I'm hoping I don't end up in the same boat, but I've been telling myself that if I am in the fail boat, not to get discouraged and keep going and rock it the second time.

Iristheangel

Yep. When I took the test, I wasn't worried at first because I figured that I could just retake it quickly. Then someone on these forums linked me to ISC2's retake policy and that upped the anxiety level for it. It sucks but I suppose they want to make sure that you don't run into the same questions again by taking it too soon after

Paperlantern

I double checked to be sure, it is 30 days on second attempt. It jumps to 90 on a third attempt and 180 on a fourth. Whew I don't think I could keep everything fresh for three months. Course it all depends how bad I do if I fail I guess.

https://www.isc2.org/cbt-faqs.asp

Iristheangel

That link didn't work for me.

The PBT is 90 days. The CBT is a little more vague on the official retake policy: https://www.isc2.org/InnerPage.aspx?id=6172&terms=REtake+policy

You can take the exam a max of 3 times in a calendar year. During a 6 month period, only one re-take is allowed.

emerald_octane

Insanity.

During my PBT i sat next to a guy that was suffering extreme from a cold. I think he walked out at two hours, visibly frustrated. I'd suck to be sick and have to wait so long, nevermind the cost of the test.

Paperlantern

Iristheangel wrote: »

That link didn't work for me.

The PBT is 90 days. The CBT is a little more vague on the official retake policy: https://www.isc2.org/InnerPage.aspx?id=6172&terms=REtake+policy

You can take the exam a max of 3 times in a calendar year. During a 6 month period, only one re-take is allowed.

Ah i think they don't work because they are https, you'd have to navigate the site and find the page on your own. However the OP did take cbt, so that's what we are discussing here, and the site I linked, even thou it doesn't work, is 30 days for try number 2. So that's good.

Unfortunately I can't get to your link for the same reason that you can't get to mine, bah!

Skelethon

Q. What is (ISC)²’s policy for retaking the exam via CBT after an unsuccessful attempt?

A. After the first unsuccessful exam attempt, candidates have 3 more attempts to take the exam under the following guidelines:

Exam Attempt

# of Days Before a Candidate Must Wait Before Next Exam Attempt

2^nd

30 days

3^rd

90 days

4^th

180 days

Source: https://www.isc2.org/cbt-faqs.aspx

TBRAYS

Paperlantern wrote: »

Ah i think they don't work because they are https, you'd have to navigate the site and find the page on your own. However the OP did take cbt, so that's what we are discussing here, and the site I linked, even thou it doesn't work, is 30 days for try number 2. So that's good.

Unfortunately I can't get to your link for the same reason that you can't get to mine, bah!

Okay, I just called ISC(2) and I just booked my re-take, its 30 days for the first retake under CBT, its not combine PBT and CBT.

bigdogz

Yeah, ISC2 had changed the policy as of January 1, 2012. That's what I get for not looking at it from time to time. Before there was no waiting period.

If you can remember the questions from the exam you could research them and find out why you were right or wrong. You may want to try the cccure.org questions again and just keep doing them in sets of 250 to build up some mental stamina. Maybe you just got tired. It can be a long exam.

In regards to other resources you may want to try this set of books. Amazon.com: Information Security Management Handbook, 6th Edition (Isc2 Press) 4 vol set (9780849374951): Harold F. Tipton, Micki Krause: Books

Remember to think like a manager not a tech.

Good Luck!

TBRAYS

bigdogz wrote: »

Yeah, ISC2 had changed the policy as of January 1, 2012. That's what I get for not looking at it from time to time. Before there was no waiting period.

If you can remember the questions from the exam you could research them and find out why you were right or wrong. You may want to try the cccure.org questions again and just keep doing them in sets of 250 to build up some mental stamina. Maybe you just got tired. It can be a long exam.

In regards to other resources you may want to try this set of books. Amazon.com: Information Security Management Handbook, 6th Edition (Isc2 Press) 4 vol set (9780849374951): Harold F. Tipton, Micki Krause: Books

Remember to think like a manager not a tech.

Good Luck!

That wasn't my issue but thanks for the advice and I did have cccure.org; I just purchased istudyscope from ISC(2).

bryguy

So very close this time around... You're a sure pass for your next go around. Don't give up!

JoJoCal19

Sorry to hear that man. I'd be sick if I missed it by that much. Good luck on the next go!

TBRAYS

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

Sorry to hear that man. I'd be sick if I missed it by that much. Good luck on the next go!

Trust me I got wasted afterwards!

the_hutch

TBRAYS wrote: »

Thanks Man, actually I didn't attend the seminar, a friend attended the seminar and gave me her Review Seminar book.

Be careful telling people this. I know if its an official ISC2 seminar, you sign a non-distribution / reproduction agreement that states that you will not provide the study material to anyone. If you advertise this too much, you could be placing your friend's cert in jeopardy. That being said, sorry to hear about your score. That's the closest non-passing score I've seen. Focus on your weak areas and hit it again, you'll get it next time. Good luck.

chilipepper

Sorry about your close call. I am taking the exam next week, and I dread coming so close and not making it.

I have been taking the studiscope exams and passing, but not be a very wide margin. Let me know how you do on them, and how closely you think they resemble the real experience.

I took a lot of ccure questions, but I did not care for their wording, and I seemed to be getting too many questions on the same topics. The studiscope questions, to me, seem to be pretty clearly worded.

I have passed CISA and CISM certs with in the last 3 years so I am accustomed to long, timed exams.

I have several study days before the actual exam, so I am hoping to improve in some key areas. Trying to figure out the best way to spend my time.