CISSP Exam fail 12/16/17

[DAM]

Hello ISC2 community,

I studied my a*# off for this exam, I have practical experience and yet here we are. I failed with a score of 678. This one hurts. I'm almost at my wits end when it comes to preparing for this test. Now the format has changed and from the sounds of it, the testing experience is going to be worse. For a test that's not supposed to be very technical, I had a lot of pinpointed questions when it comes to communication and network security. I will continue to pursue this certification, but any assistance from any of you will be greatly appreciated.

DM

[DAM]

Unfortunately, I know of another person who failed the exam on 12/16/17 with a 695.

[DAM]

Thank you. I will look at his videos. My study consisted of taking a 7 week course, reading the Sybex book, taking practice exams, and watching videos on Cybrary. I even downloaded the mp3s from Cybrary and played them while going to bed. (osmosis didn't work just put me to sleep.)

I memorized the OSI model and the protocols for each layer, the TCP-IP model and what the data is at each stage, authentication types and what they're used for, private IP ranges, IP classes, the different types of cryptography and how they're used, the different types of cloud computing services and what they are used for, common ports and the **bleep**an model. I memorized all of this and wrote it down on the paper (erase board) that is supplied to you by the proctor. Still wasn't enough.

[Yohan]

Dam,

Everyone here has offered you some very strong advice. I would like to add one piece of advice that my instructor gave us several times a day. The advice is, do not read anything into the question. He was adamant that in his experience some individuals added information or made assumptions when they read the question. During my exam, I caught myself repeating this phrase to myself. I repeated it so much I started to diagram sentences. You will pass the exam next time.

Yohan

[DAM]

Thank you Yohan. I do read into things more than necessary at times. I will be sure to keep that in mind when I take the exam again.

DAM

[nancymcc1965]

Your frustration is completely understandable. Hang in there.

Consistent with other suggestions - keys to success:

1. CISSP bootcamp/prep from people who have recently taken the exam and can describe not just what you need to know but tactics to interpret the questions

2. Study partners and groups to exercise a way of thinking that will help you during your exam

3. Be cautious with practice exams..... I found they were easier than the real thing.

Persistence is key. Good luck.

[siva04301978]

Sorry for your miss. I can understand the situation you are in and many time it is really complicated to calibrate ourselves against the score obtained.

many times you end up preparing the same content every time while preparing for the next attempt, so better practice more sample questions and exercises to realize your weak areas.

your topic wise rating you get at the test center gives you a fair idea where you stand topic wise and should help you plan for the next attempt. best of luck. for your comfort, it took 4 attempts for me 🙂 to clear

[oradba888]

just took the exam today and needless to say, its quite brutal..:)

humbling but brutal and makes you examine your weakness.

The exams is MUCH more difficult than the practice tests.

BTW, I took the ccc org quizzes, the ISC2 practice tests and none were very close to the real exams..:)

So I am looking for the MOST difficult exam prep there is and any suggestions are welcome

thanks

[siva04301978]

agree, The questions you find outside for practice are no closer to the real test and neither you can find one however they give you an idea of your weak areas. every incorrect answer in your practice exam should help you to understand what was lacking on that topic or subject area.

[seaside]

I feel for you.  I took tons of practice tests and always scored between 77-84% which an indication that I know the material well.  I heard many people also took the practice tests but did not do well on the new CISSP exam format. Something is wrong with the new CISSP.  I heard over and over again that people described the new exam as very abstract with both questions and answers and also lots of time pressure. Because the questions and answers are so abstract it takes people longer to think and answer.  And because of that they ran out of time to complete the exam.  So very sad because the new change is not an improvement at all.  

[Bertikus]

I'm still shocked I passed, and it's been 4 years now.  I have no clue about the new test and never EVER want to find out.  The only advise I can give is look at the results, I think they mention the weak areas and really focus on the weakest, then the next to weakest.  You were only 2.2 percent away, rocking on those would be a major lift.