Failed ICND1 again!!!!

friggin pissed. ive been studying 12-15 hrs a day for weeks. i take the online tests, book tests and get in the 90's, i have a home lab that i can configure nat, default routs, rip, ospf, vlans etc etc... but i simply dont understand the test questions. once again i ran out of time. im mad and embarrassed, i have BS degrees in Bio and Chem with a minor in Physics.... i cant even pass an entry level exam.

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rsutton

Are you weak in specific areas? How are you doing on the practice tests you are taking prior to the exam?

tdean

rsutton wrote: »

Are you weak in specific areas? How are you doing on the practice tests you are taking prior to the exam?

i dont know where i might be weak. i have the printout from the test, but it doesnt really tell you what it means.

i have a measure up acct through the school. i take the tests and get in the 90's and i finish in less than 20 minutes. i also increase the questions from 50 to 100 and i finish in 40 minutes.

i just dont know.... i've used the class text, both lab and lecture, cisco press book, boson tests that came with it, cbt nuggets, measure up tests, bryant advantage, the tests that came with that and i still cant pass.

EMcCaleb

tdean wrote: »

friggin pissed. ive been studying 12-15 hrs a day for weeks. i take the online tests, book tests and get in the 90's, i have a home lab that i can configure nat, default routs, rip, ospf, vlans etc etc... but i simply dont understand the test questions. once again i ran out of time. im mad and embarrassed, i have BS degrees in Bio and Chem with a minor in Physics.... i cant even pass an entry level exam.

You sound like a an overachiever and putting WAY to much pressure on yourself. At this point your confidence seems to have been shaken, and the failure becomes a prophecy.

You don't need to study so long/hard any longer. Is it really possible to retain 15hrs of information daily? Just take a little time off, refresh yourself, and come back with a more moderate approach. Just a few hours hitting your less comfortable topics and dont keep pounding the same materials you've been using. Just refresh yourself. I know sometimes its really hard being used to success and then encounter something like this. I can relate.

mikej412

tdean wrote: »

i have the printout from the test, but it doesnt really tell you what it means.

The sections on the score report usually match up exactly with the exam blueprint posted on the Cisco Learning Network website. The tasks listed under the sections in the blueprint should give you an idea about which questions you had on the exam came under that section.

Do you go through the practice questions just one time and get those scores? Or have you gone through the questions multiple times and then get those scores?

tdean

mikej412 wrote: »

The sections on the score report usually match up exactly with the exam blueprint posted on the Cisco Learning Network website. The tasks listed under the sections in the blueprint should give you an idea about which questions you had on the exam came under that section.

Do you go through the practice questions just one time and get those scores? Or have you gone through the question multiple times and then get those scores?

i didnt know that. honestly, i was so disgusted i didnt even look at the paper with my score.

i've taken the tests over and over... i am out of work, so all i do is study. this is so unbelievably frustrating i cant even begin to say. i do labs, over and over, watch cbt's, take tests... then when i take the real test, i have to read he question 6-7 times to try and figure out what they want and sometimes i still dont know so i group the answers into "like" categories and if 3 are "like" and the question is asking for 3... well... thats my answer. today, i ran out of time while answering the final question, which was a sim.

EMcCaleb, you are right, i definately am putting too much pressure. i am taking a couple days off. i almost wonder if i'd be better off taking the single test vs the 2 test route.

mikej412

tdean wrote: »

i've taken the tests over and over...

Cisco isn't about memorizing answers to questions.

You can use a practice test once, maybe twice, if you wait a couple of week. You're supposed to use the practice exam to gague your knowledge. If you get a question wrong, you're supposed to figure out why -- was it because you misunderstood the question? got bored doing practice questions and lost focus? or because you still don't understand that topic and should go back and study it some more?

Doing more questions doesn't help you learn your weak topics.

tdean wrote: »

i do labs, over and over

Cisco isn't about memorizing a couple of configurations.

Once you've learned how to configure RIP -- and UNDERSTAND why you want to configure RIP and how it works, you don't really gain much doing the same RIP lab over and over and over. And if you use plug in random networks so that each lab is "new" -- you're not really learning anything new, you're just practicing your typing skills.

tdean wrote: »

watch cbt's,

Do you take notes? Do you get bored? Have you summarized the key points? Or do you just passively sit back and watch?

Do you follow along and try any of the demos yourself? Do you run the show command? Do you check the other command options using the command line help? Do you run some debugs beyond what the instructor does?

tdean wrote: »

when i take the real test, i have to read he question 6-7 times to try and figure out what they want and sometimes i still dont know

CCNA - Career Certifications & Paths - Cisco Systems
Follow the link(s) to the exams over to the Cisco Learning Network to find the exam blueprint. Do the topics listed (once you log in) make sense to you?

How much lab time did you put in? And what did you use?

Same for subnetting -- it's THE skill you need to learn if you want to do networking. How much time did you spend over at subnettingquestions.com - Free Subnetting Questions and Answers Randomly Generated Online

hexem

It's a hard exam, even for entry level, what you need to do is really crack subnetting and you should be able to do that quickly (im sure you already can if you've been putting in the time) but tbh, i found the exam pretty straight foward with how question's were worded, remember what may seem "right" may not be the "cisco" answer.

Agent6376

Coming from a Microsoft certification background, I can tell you that Cisco tests you much more on applied knowledge as opposed to factual questions. You can know what split horizon does, but can you pinpoint it to be an issue in a scenario?

Its these kinds of things where Cisco exams are superior in making sure candidates have an understanding of the materials needed for the certification.

Personally, the night before the exam I don't study. I relax, play a video game, watch TV or whatever it may be. I schedule my exam for 1 or 2pm and sit in Barnes and Noble for about 2 hours doing a review of objectives and study materials prior to heading to the testing center. In my case today (CCNA), I just went through the ICND2 Cisco Press book's "Do I already know this" quizzes in every chapter to get my mind head set in test taking mode.

When I finally sat down for the exam, Cisco was already on my brain. Mike's advice is right on key also. You're not doing yourself any justice if you just memorize questions. It sounds like you flew through the book and you've spent more time on practice exams than actually learning the material, and it's coming back to bite you when you see questions that you haven't been presented with before.

I think you'll find that once you knock this exam out, you'll enjoy the materials much more in the actual ICND2 test.

I wish you the best of luck.

BroadcastStorm

This entry level exam is not easy, I failed it twice, try to make sure to get the simulation correct.

laidbackfreak

Sorry to hear that mate not good

All good advice above. So get your scores up and maybe we can help point you in the right direction. The cisco exams can be confusing but it does keep the bar raised in doing so.

thenjduke

Take your time on the test or maybe go for the entire exam. The one test approach does not focus on so much material as the single ones do. You may have knowledge overload. It happens to people who want to learn and learn and just start to get confused.

billscott92787

I would recommend the Train Signal videos. Maybe they could fill in some gaps. Also, have you studied ICND2 material yet? If so, try just the 640-802.