So Close!

zcamero

I have been lurking on this site for a while. I can't believe I got a 696 today. I guess I need to hit up the studying and do it again. I sure don't look forward to this. That mile wide and inch deep description not truly accurate. This sucker is a mile wide and at least a foot deep. I studied about a month and a half pretty hard.
My take is if you don't have a strong background then you should go with the Shon Harris book. If you already know some of this Eric Conrad might be enough.

emerald_octane

Damn, sickeningly close.

zcamero

No kidding. When I saw that score I think I scared the lady at the testing center. I yelled out a couple choice words.

aidroid

Unlucky, but at least you know what you're in for next time!

bobloblaw

Bummer. You'll get it next time.

What were you getting on practice quizzes? How many quizzers were you using?

zcamero

I did cccure and the stuff in the books. I was getting around 80%. Looking back I didn't do enough practice quizzes. What do you suggest for a good quizzes? Anything have good scenarios comparable to the exam?

moyondizvo

Awww, darn, just 4 marks!!!!!! Don't give up, keep your head high and get back at it. Hit up your weaker domains, start with Shon Harris to get the grounding and then move on to Eric Conrad. Seems like you were doing quite well on the quizzes which is great.

Now that you have an idea on the type of questions that are going to be asked, I reckon you stand a better chance the second time round and can target your studying. You should also read up on your stronger domains, you shouldn't get too comfortable on them, you gotta keep at it. Depending on whether you work or not, you should try doing quizzes every single day, but go back to the notes.

Bundiman

Sorry you didn't pass. You will get it next time

JDMurray

I would suggest taking your next shot at the SSCP exam more slowly. You are given three hours, so use all of it to read the exam items carefully, and make sure you know why the answer you are choosing is correct. The 2nd time is the charm!

moyondizvo

JDMurray - No biggie but it appears that @zcamero failed the CISSP exam not the SSCP exam.

Whilst we on that, @zcamero you should have a read of JDMurray's CISSP Certification experience, that is if you haven't already done so, you will definately pick up a thing or two that will come in handy for your preparation.

Humbe

Ah man.....

Go at it again! I'm quite sure you will get it on the second try.

JDMurray

moyondizvo wrote: »

JDMurray - No biggie but it appears that @zcamero failed the CISSP exam not the SSCP exam.

You are correct. I was obviously subliminally influenced by your avatar.

the_hutch

If I was that close, I would reschedule to take it again as soon as possible. Few days of intense studying and then give it another whack. But maybe that's just me.

bobloblaw

I popped for the Transcender. I didn't find the questions necessarily similar, but the squirelly wording was spot on. I can't tell you how many times I would review questions and got something I knew wrong simply from not reading the questions twice. Basically made me institute a "Read the question two time" rule.

I didn't use the flashcard portions of the Transcender. All I did was the quizzers two weeks prior to the exam. It gives you 3 different full quiz sims (straight score - does not tell you the questions you miss, just domain scores). My initial score was a 67. I didn't study. I wanted to get a full sim dry run. After that I would just quiz-quiz-quiz. Check every answer. Wrote down anything I didn't know. It's not a brain ****. The explanations were very good. After the first week I did another full sim prep. 74. I didn't change any of the study habits. Just pounded away the practice quizzes and checking every answer. I was getting high 80's on the practice questions (I'd do anywhere from 50-100 question mixed domain sessions). Final test prep I got a 77.

Not to knock the practice questions that came with Shon's Fifth AIO because they definitely helped me learn, but the difficulty level isn't there. The questions are more straight forward in it. You have to supplement with more quizzers. I was getting 90's at the end of almost everything in the AIO quizzer. Then bam... 67 on the Transcender full prep (granted Transcender tries to make their prep harder than the actual exam).

zcamero wrote: »

I did cccure and the stuff in the books. I was getting around 80%. Looking back I didn't do enough practice quizzes. What do you suggest for a good quizzes? Anything have good scenarios comparable to the exam?

wes allen

Which domains did you not do as well in? Should be listed in your printout from the test. Do a search for the top 5 CISSP domains, and if any of the ones you didn't do well in match up, really focus on those before a retest.

kalkan999

I didn't study thinking about the 5 points I was short. I studied and studied. Experience helps. But what also helped me was breaking down the questions into simple If-Then or XOR, whatever your fancy. Double negatives, negative + positive. Be careful that you don't spend too much time on the question though.
THE hardest part of the test will be that section where you have the least practical experience. Now that I HAVE my CISSP and am working in the private sector versus the US Government, GRC and the like are second nature to me now. But when I took the test the first time, I relied too heavily on my Government knowledge and it cost me.