OCA
java 7 prep
HeadFirst Java
Mala Gupta OCA book
Re - read both the books
Practice code
K&B book part 1
Practice code
Re Read K & B
Solved Mala Gupta OCA mock exam
Enthuware exams - avg score 74 - passed all of them
Actual Exam - 85
OCP java 7 prep
Within a month of OCA I booked OCP. So I had abt 30 days
I was studying 5-6 hrs a day along with my day job. Late nights and Sacrificed weekends.
Strongly advise not to cram. Do not do this. Give yourself at least 3 months.
I used eclipse for practicing the code. DO NOT USE
IDE for practice. use text editor.
try the practice code with all possible combinations you can think of.
Look at the return types and exceptions each method throws.
Thread questions take a while to solve, solve them at the end.
Mock exams is a must.
I read K&B book part 1 and practiced some code
I read Headfirst design
patterns - first few chapters
took mock exam 1 from Tushar and Ganesh book - failed 30 %
I re-read K&B book part 1 and practiced some code
took mock exam 2 from Tushar and Ganesh book - failed again 50 %
(I didnt read the Tushar and Ganesh book except for the mock exam, but people have good reviews)
practiced code and read API docs as much as I could.
Took the mock exam 1 from K&B electronic material - failed 44 %
again practiced code and read API docs as much as I could.
Took the mock exam 2 from K&B electronic material - failed 54 %
NOTE: These 2 exams from K&B are very very tough. Strongly suggest taking them. They toughen you up.
Now with just a week left, I jumped on to Enthuware.
My Enthuware results (these are the 65 questions
test.)
70, 67, 62(Failed),77, 63(Failed),60(Failed),62(Failed), 60(Failed)
After each exam reviewed all the questions and the explanations and updated my practice project in eclipse where required.
Also reviewed answers in enthuware forum discussions.
After failing in so many mock exams over the month, confidence was low and thats why I say 1 month is not enough.
I reviewed all the exams again - pass and failed questions (except Tushar and Ganesh), reviewed my practice project running each and every class.
The day before the exam took the last enthuware test and scored 75%. Some Confidence was restored.
Avg Enthuware score - 66
Actual exam - 76
The actual exam was very very tough. Took 2hr to finish and then I reviewed a few (18) marked question and was done.
Final thoughts:
Do not cram. Give your self plenty of time to prepare
Read API docs and practice code with all possible scenarios and methods (as much as possible).
K&B book and their mock exams.
Finally Enthuware is the Best in business!! Highly recommended!!
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