Hi,
I passed the
OCAJP after taking it a 2nd time with 81 %. The first time I failed by scoring only 53 %. But 2 months later after working more harder, I passed.
Here is how I did it:
I read the following books
1. OCA/OCP
Java SE 7 Programmer I & II Study Guide by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates
2. OCAJP SE 7 study guide by Mala Gupta
After practicing all the code samples from the books, I took the Enthuware mock exams. Before my first attempt of the exam my scores were as follows:
Starter test - 39% Test 1 - 54%Test 2 - 55%Test 3 -61 %Test 4 - 53%Test 5 -55%Test 6 -53 %Last Day Test - 53 %
I got very depressed by failing the exam. I took a personal break for a month from studying for the exam.
Then I restarted by re-reading both the books and this time I understood the concepts more better. I took self tests from both the books 4 times. I revised the notes from each chapter 4 times.
I took the mock exams from the K & B CD and here are my scores
Mock exam 1 from CD - 82%Mock exam 2 from CD - 50%
I then retook all the Enthuware mock exams and although I remembered the questions partly I was able to score better as follows:
Starter test - 95% Test 1 -71% Test 2 -74%Test 3 - 73%Test 4 - 74% Test 5 - 69 %Test 6 - 66 %Last Day Test - 77%
This forum helped me a lot. Fellow ranchers like Prathima Gaithonde, Sharmili Rameshbabu and Dasa Beg motivated me. I got the motivation to retake after reading their experiences and how they passed it.
Also, after taking Enthuware mock exams, I typed the notes from the questions (both correct and wrong) into a document, printed and revised them during lunch or other periods. This helped me the most during the exam as many questions were similar and I was able to apply the concepts accordingly. I took objective wise tests the day before the exam so that helped me revise some topic-wise questions.
This has been a long journey as I did not have any background in Java (but I do have .net programming experience) and was my 1st certification exam to pass.
I look forward to studying and taking the OCPJP exam next.
Really thanks to all members on this forum and especially to Roel De Nijs who is there for us for all our questions.