Set a Deadline
Although studying at your own speed and taking the exam “when your ready” has its merits, it doesn’t work sound for millions of people who tend to postpone, or whose busy lives are filled with distractions. When you begin your studies, set a real schedule for yourself including how much you will read every day, when you will start with studying review questions, lab time, etc., depending on the amount of study time you have available and your level of experience.
Pick a training method that works for you
Not everyone learns the same approach. Formal classroom training has its advantages, but it’s not an option for many people because of price, availability, and scheduling conflicts. Self-studying with books is cheaper and more flexible, but it can be monotonous and very boring. So what’s left? uCertify offers an excellent computer based training curriculum that is well below the cost of classroom training. uCertify offers an excellent and reasonable software prep kit-training program that is very similar to classroom instruction. You will get a combination of theory and practical instruction as you progress through the lessons.
Be prepared for the new test format
To discourage memorization of answers, use of “Brain dumps”, and to make the exams a little more significant to real world environments Microsoft has redesigned the test format for all the exams. Expect of lots of troubleshooting questions, complex scenarios, and interactive questions that require you to execute a specific task on a simulated control panel.
Always read 2 books on every exam topic
This guidance has served me sound. Always read a certified study guide and a real world guide during your studies. This will give you the information you need to pass the exam. Begin by reading the real world version without highlighting or taking reams of noted. The suggestion is to get an essential understanding of the topic and a general idea of how everything works. When you are finished, start up with the certified study guide of your choice. Go through the review questions and lab scenarios in each chapter taking notes as you go.
Use the best study matter you can afford
Your choice of study guides will depend on how you study, and your rank of experience. In our opinion the best Prepkit is of uCertify, which is developed by highly qualified employees. Although the Microsoft certified syllabus is a favorite of trainers, we found the writing technique too dry for self-study and the books do not include the number and quality of review questions offered by the other series.
What to focus on
You obviously cannot remember the entire book when preparing for the exam, so what do you focus on? Microsoft publishes an instruction for each exam that lists the topics they expect you to know, and this is a good suggestion of what you will be tested on. But that still leaves a lot to chance. Fortunately, most of the books do a honest job of creating review questions that covers the exam topics very well. They also offer callouts of “exam tips” or “Alerts” for trick questions. Test prep software can also be useful, and there are also a number of ‘Certification Prep” books available that focus on review questions and their justification.
Staying motivated
Procrastination is a huge setback for many people, so if you are having a stiff time staying motivated to study, you are not alone. You can fight this tendency by getting a study partner, and or starting a friendly contest of who can pass their exams first (or with the highest score). You should be careful to pick and choose your partners, and if possible get a group of 5-7 people collectively as a study crowd. Meet on a regular basis, and talk about exam topics and review questions.
Take plenty of Test simulators
Some people are very brilliant, but just terrible at taking tests. And some of the test questions can be complicated and catch you off guard. By taking some of the prep tests available, you will be well prepared for the actual exam and more probable to pass. If you have the finances, we suggest the uCertify Exams. There are also plenty of free practice exams available on the web.
Schedule the exam for your peak time
Give yourself the leading edge possible by scheduling the exam at your peak time. For most people, this is between 10am – 2pm. If you are more of an evening person, try scheduling after 7pm. clearly weekdays will be less crowded then Saturdays. This will give you less of a distraction during the exam. Try to give yourself a small number of hours of free time before the actual exam to run through your review questions and study sheets just before you take the test.
Get a good nights sleep
Fatigue will kill you on the tougher exams. Study as much as you like in the week before the exam, but staying up late the night before your test can corrupt your performance. Also, do not eat a big breakfast or lunch that may make you sleepy during the test. Have a healthy drink to increase your blood glucose levels, and reward yourself with a good food after you pass the exam.
Come prepared
Be about 15 minutes early, bring 2 forms of photo ID, and an additional pen if you need one. Take the spare time to clear your head in the testing hub. Some people arrange a “study sheet” of important exam concepts and review in the parking lot just before they take the exam. Printing out test questions and reviewing them just before the exam can be helpful as well.
Before you start…
The test does not start until you start on the computer. Take blank sheets of paper and note down any tables or additional information you believe you may “draw a blank on” throughout the test. If you have not at all taken a Microsoft test before, there is a trial test available that does not count towards your score or your time. It features the different types of questions you will come across, as well as the new interactive and drag and drop questions. Be calm before you start. When you are ready to start the real exam, take a deep breath, and calm down before you begin. It is simply a test.
Test Taking Strategy
When looking at a multiple choice questions, keep in mind to read the entire group of answers before just clicking on the first right one you come across. Microsoft is looking for the “most correct” answer, and there may be 2 near correct answers. If you are confused on a question, try to eliminate the obviously wrong answers first. This will improve your probability of selecting the right answer from the remaining options.
If you fail, retake the test within 2 weeks
It is important to get back on the horse if you failed by a slight margin. Observe the test as a learning experience. As soon as you go away from the testing center, mark the questions that confused you while they are still new in your head. Study some more, and retake the test as soon as you feel comfortable. If you outright “bombed” the test, then you have a lot more studying to do.
Tell us about your experience
If you can take a small number of minutes to let us know about your testing experience, it will help to provide good study aides and help others all along the way. What areas confused or amazed you? What study guides helped? Which one’s did not? Did you think was hard or easy? How long did you study? Send your comments to support@ucertify.com
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