fail my SCJP ...

[Alvin chew]

so sad to tell this , just have an exam on this morning, the exam is too tough to me ..specially thread section ...how to study well ? i really in doubt on my own ability in java ...having a very bad mood ...do not know whether i still confident to sit on exam ..

before exam, there have many question asking about our knowledge level, should we answer novice level for all ? would it make the questions easier ? just wondering ..

[Mikalai Zaikin]

Originally posted by Alvin chew:

before exam, there have many question asking about our knowledge level, should we answer novice level for all ? would it make the questions easier ? just wondering ..

I don't think it provides easier questions if you select "novice" level in survey.

regards,
MZ

[Saheed Adepoju]

Hi
Dont feel bad about it! Just review the materials this time very slowly! What materials are you Using? Use K&B, it's really good(that is if you are not using it already) Take your time, you will pass! Cheer up!

[Joyce Lee]

Alvin, sorry to hear about this sad news. Mind to tell us how you prepared for this exam? You might have employed the wrong study strategy.

Unlike normal school's exams, Sun exams are "take it when you're ready". So take your time for this second try, make sure you can score around 80/90 for the mock exams before attempting the real one. As Saheed recommends, use "Sun Certified Programmer & Developer for Java 2 Study Guide (Exam 310-035 & 310-027)" by Kathy and Bert if you haven't got one. I think "A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification: A Comprehesive Primer, Second Edition" by Khalid Mughal is another good book too based on the Ranchers' feedbacks.

Joyce
[ February 28, 2005: Message edited by: Joyce Lee ]

[Bharat Roy]

Buck up Alvin,

Ups and downs are part of the life. Give it another shot. Many people fail Sun exams, you have the courage to post it here (not many people do that).

I used A Programmer's Guide to Java Certification: A Comprehensive Primer, Second Edition" by Khalid Mughal and scored 83%. But let me tell you its a very very dry and dull book.

I used K&B's Head First Servlet and JSP and was amazed (scored 88% - 28 days study only). So use K&B book to prepare for Programmer level exam.

Buck up. Start all over again. You have the basics down. Just work harder.

[Tong Chen]

Take it easy. I failed once too but who cares? It's just part of life

[Jay Pawar]

Alvin,
Cheer up buddy . Consider this failure as challenge and work hard to get 90+ score. My tips on getting good score would be
1> Read K&B book thoroughly. Get resolved all your queries. Try experimenting the code. Break the code, observe the compiler errors. As you know there are lot of people out here on the ranch to solve your queries.

2> Do not hesitate to post a question even if you might feel silly to ask. But make sure you have done enough experimentation on the question.

3> Try to solve all possible mock exams you can find on the web.I love Dan's mock exam questions. They will drill your concepts.

4> Consolidate all the exam watch points and 2 minute drills from K&B book and just go through it before you go to bed ( Worked for me )

Good luck and all the best!!!

You are a winner
[ February 28, 2005: Message edited by: Jay Pawar ]

[Sathiya Shunmugasundaram]

I failed my first exam which is Java 1.2 in 1999 and I passed 12 exams since then without failing another. I am sure you won't fail another.

Thansk,
Sathiya
SCJP, SCWCD, SCDJWS, SCEA(I), IBM Websphere 3.5, BEA 6.1 Devl, JCERT(UML and J2EE Connectivity), TIBCO Rendezvous devl, admin, TIBCO Adapter Developer, Oracle SQL-PLSQL

[Alvin chew]

hi, all ! thanks for encouraging ..

i do study the k&B book twice , and i noted the important points out by my own understand, but i didn't do the test exam

and i also try on Dan's mock exam , but to be frankly , i couldn't do the exam well...is too hard to me ..and due to the limited time, i just mark the answer and read the answer that provided ..

anyone can guide how to study well ? thank you very much

[Borgesian LIbrary]

Hello,

Just my 2 cents. I studied with the book "A Programmer's Guide to Java (tm) Certification", but not all of the topics, because I was in a hurry. Therefore, I left out the whole chapter on collections. I knew that I would not get a 80% score, but at that time passing the test was my ultimate goal.

Also, I didn't do the book's final exam. Instead, I bought the whizlabs certification software. Perhaps its questions are far much difficult than the ones in the real test, but they made me really think about the concepts related to them. For instance, it was here that I began to took notice of how the StringBuffer questions could be posed, and how the StringBuffer really worked.

I also found while studying that if I wrote a diagram of class/interface hierarchies it could help me to answer all the instanceof related questions.

Finally, I tried most of the test subjects using my computer.

Hope this helps,
Borgesian

[Joyce Lee]

Hi Alvin,

Practising mock exam is a good way to gauge our readiness for the exam. I did every self-test after completing each chapter of K&B. Like you, I compiled my own set of notes for later revision while studying the book. Upon completing the whole book, I attempted the two mock exams that come with the CD (well, actually one of them has to be downloaded). Cleared up the doubt for the mistakes I committed in the mock as soon as possible. I even timed myself, like answering 10 questions in 15 mins . Like Jay (see the eariler post), I consolidated all the exam watch points and 2 min drill from K&B and revised them frequently. Besides K&B mocks, I also attempted other free mock exams available on the internet. Some I attempted twice like K&B mocks. Have a look at the Compare SCJP Scores at http://www.jdiscuss.com/ .

I suggest you try recalling as many questions appear in the real exam as possible especially those which you couldn't answer and get them resolved.

Different people have their own styles of studying so my approach may not suit you. In fact, I used different approach for my beta exam since there're no mock questions and exam books available.

Best of luck for your exam!

Joyce
[ March 03, 2005: Message edited by: Joyce Lee ]

[Giovanni De Stefano]

Hi pal!
I am so sorry you failed...

I passed the test today, and I was freaking out...

I used K&B, I read it twice, and I wrote notes for each chapter and each objective.
At the end of each chapter I read the summary and the two minute drill and than I took the test.
When I was done with the book I started with mock exams.
You might want to focus your attention on EACH exam objective, I suggesti you this: http://www.danchisholm.net/july21/mybook/index.html

Take your time, and you will succeed!
A wise saying is "A strong man is not the one who never falls down, but who falls and than is able to stand up again"

Gio :-)

[Alvin chew]

thanks everybody ..thanks for supports and advices...i will definitely stand up again,i want to make myself stronger than ever, i want to give myself one more try after fully prepared..

hopefully i can join SCJP certified member as other forummer soon

[Nicholas Cheung]

If you are still studying in University, and your Univeristy has joined SAI programme offered by SUN, you can get a 75% off discount for SCJP.

Nick

[Alvin chew]

hi, Giovanni De Stefano , do you mind to share your notes to me ..just hope that can pass the exam in later time

[Ming Sun]

Alvin,

I hope my experience may also be of help. I studied SCJP many times from 1999 until 2004. But for various reasons, I didn't take the exam until last year, which I only got about 80%.

So you may think I am quite familiar with the exam. The fact is, each time I studied it again, I feel like new. Also most of you have known that exam has been changed from 1.3 to 1.4. So my opinion is:

1) for exam purpose, experience doesn't count too much. There are many dark areas which are hardly used in daily work. I strongly believe "novice" can do as good(even better) as those experts by studying a good book.

2) I didn't use K&B book for SCJP but used them for SCWCD and SCBCD. I believe K&B is also perfect for SCJP. Among those three, SCJP is the hardest.

3) I only did Dan's exam many times (it is hard, I agree, and many of them are unnecessary). But very good.

One more trick is that pay attention to easy questions. There are many really easy questions to let you just pass even you skip the hard ones. So if you are not sure the hard ones, such as thread, make sure you spend more time to study the easier ones, so as least you will be more confident to pass.

I am sure with so many good guys stand behind you, you will get an excellent score next time. Good luck!

[Asmita Akerkar]

Hey Alvin,

If you could pass on your email id, I could mail you my notes (zip file)

Asmita

[Alvin chew]

thanks for warm support, my email is [e-mail] ..

[Asmita Akerkar]

I have mailed you my notes at the email you have mentioned. Hope you find them useful for your SCJP preparation!

The notes are just a quick summary 'easy-to-remember' type of notes for most of the cert chapters. The book I had used for my SCJP was 'Complete Java 2 Certification Study Guide' , so my notes are inline with this book.

All the best for your preparation!
Asmita

[Alvin chew]

thank you , Asmita Akerkar ...i will go through it

[Billy Tsai]

don't worry I know some1 with a master degree that failed SCJP the first time too.

[Nicholas Cheung]

As SCJP Tiger should be round to corner, you might consider to study it instead of SCJP 1.4. Just another alternatives.

Nick

[Sham Thakur]

Sorry for not making this time.

Remember one thing failure is the key to succuss and just concentrate bit more and that is it.

[James Larry Gaines II]

Hi,

Sorry to hear that. Don't worry, everybody fails one way or another. Just study slowly and do not rush. Try out the example codes to get the concepts and most importantly, try out as many mock exams as you can. This will solidify your understanding of Java concepts.

[MI Mohammed]

HI,
Great soldiers are are known not by the no of battles
lost but the no fought. Don't feel to bad for failling.
Dust yourself and tell yourself you can do it.
If you don't mind you can send me you personal mail
address (e-mail). I promise to send you some of the
materials i used for mine.
"Quitters never wins and winners never quit"
You can do it.
sorry my mail add is [e-mail]