343 Questions For SCBCD 5.0 Beta ,Worst Exam!!!

[anand phulwani]

Dear Ranchers,

This was the worst exam expierence in my life,i scheduled my exam at Prometric for 02/01/07 11.00 AM ,4 days back,i reached the exam center on 10.23AM,just to see that the exam incharge was not in the center and the second exam incharge was finding himself not confident to start the exam but he asked me to fill the exam details on the two sheets and asked me to leave the enter time and exit time blank,i waited for the first exam incharge till 12.30( 2 Hours Late),when the second incharge thought to try to start the exam ,as soon he started the exam,and i completed the survey and was on the 4th question,the first incharge entered,now as i continued the exam i faced this problem.

1)The power went down on 9th Question,but the first incharge told that he doesnt have power backup invertors/generators and that the exam will recontinue from the question i left and this applies same with the timer,i was releaved listening that i wont have to give the same question again,the power came back after 12-13 mins ,the first incharge restarted the machine only to find out that i had to restart the exam from question 1.He said that might be this happened because i was only on the 9th question and the paper was on only 5% stage,so it might have restarted,i found the reason bit logical so agreed to it.

2)The tubelights there were fluctuating and i was finding myself disturbed but still i cotinued ,but after sometime i found that my eyes were feeling uneasiness and i was feeling drowsy,so i asked the sir to switch off the lights.

3)This time i completed the paper till 93rd Question and there was a power fluctuation the pc restared,i was shocked and this time i was frustated i completed half the paper,only to find out that whatever i did was a waste.and the same happened i had to start from square one.

4)The first incharge told that now the power will be stable because the lights are not fluctuating,he switched on the lights and i could see that they were not fluctuating,i was happy but only till 61st Qustion,when the power again went out completely,and this was a big issue to my paper now,i didn't had my lunch,and it appeared to me that like this i wont have dinner too.

5)So,finally i had no other option to restart my paper,and just complete the exam,because i was informed that prometric center would close and my paper was restarting again and again,so i just ticked the options without even reading the questions,i was just reading how many options were to be ticked and i was just ticking randomly,and completed my paper in 50 minutes.

The first incharge told me that he could re-schedule the paper,and i told him that 02 Jan is the last date to appear for the exam,he told me that he does not have any information about this matter,so he cant help it.

i dont know what to do now,i gave 9 + 93 + 61 + 180 = 343 Questions i studied for the exam and would have passed the exam definetely,but this Prometric Center gave me the worst enviroment possible.

[prashanth kumar]

I wonder on what criterion prometric centers were given licenses..
Some of the centers i visited in london where pathetic...In one center i observed that we were sitting as though in a browsing center with no proper ventilation in the room...there were some 10 seats packed in a small room...
Looks like only 20% out of all available prometric centers deserve to be testing centers..Above all candidates really need proper test writing environment because we are paying huge amounts of money... Atleast i paid 178� for every sun exam and that money is not small..

Rgds
Prashanth

[amit taneja]

ohhh shit...

you must conctact Sun Microsytems and pometric center and complain that ...that the center don't have proper facilities for exam and your all efforts got wasted...

i am sure they will take some action and if possible will re-arrange the exam..

check with them whats the criteria about these situations...
hope they won't go your efforts waste...

goodluck
amit

[anand phulwani]

Dear Prashant,

I was told by the First Incharge in the prometric center,that the prometric people never visited there site,they asked about the snaps,and gave the center,they never ever came to check or validate the snaps,as here the temperature is quite low,there was no source of heating,even there were some AC's,they were not run ,for heating,i was feeling too cold in the center,as the partitions were open from the top,although i was wearing strong jacket in which i drove my bike and came to the site,still i was feeling cold over there sitting in the center.
[ January 03, 2007: Message edited by: anand phulwani ]

[anand phulwani]

Dear Amit,

It is sad to say,that today i am feeling too much demotivated and discouraged,because of my yesterday exam,for which i prepared so much,and seriously speaking i had to put a lot of effort ,just to find out that my exam and prepration went to a waste.

[Luiz Reginaldo Curado]

Anand,

I really sorry about what happened to you. Just start the beta for 3 times is disappointing...

With me, I scheduled my test to 13:00pm. I was at the test center at 12:30pm, but the person who could begin my test just said to me that it was your lunch time, and I have to wait until 14:00pm, when she returned, to start my test (1 hour late).

During the test, for several times she got the phone to call to someone... In this times it was impossible to pay attention to the questions. My luck is that there was a headphone in my desk, and the times she got the phone I immediatly put it in my head.

I was advised about the power fail too, and for 2 times the power oscilated. In this times I was praying to not lost my questions.

Anand, I think you must write to Prometric and Sun to tell your story. Given what you passed, who knows Sun could give you a voucher to the official test?

[anand phulwani]

Luiz,

You Were lucky,at least you did not came across 343 question,anyways thanks for having sympathy with me,i have written down to Evelyn Cartagena about this,hoping for a positive advice from his/her side.
[ January 03, 2007: Message edited by: anand phulwani ]

[Saeed Amer]

Hello Anand,

I am sorry to learn all this but I am not 'surprised'. Why? Because I went through something very similar.

I would strongly suggest that you (and whoever else had similar issues), should contact the following person:

Evelyn Cartagena-Meyer
Java Certification Program Manager
[e-mail]


Good luck!

[Amit Batra]

Fluctuating tube lights....lol ....I had the prometric invigilator sitting not 5 feet away from me yapping away at her telephone I couldnt hear myself think...I wouldve killed for fluctuating tube lights!!...This was during the SCJP though. But the exam restarting again and again that must suck...Im sure they will allow you a way to resit for it. Good luck

[anand phulwani]

Dear Saeed,

Thanks,for your reply,i have already mailed Evelyn Cartagena-Meyer ,is there anything else you can suggest which i can do regarding this exam.i would be grateful for it.
[ January 03, 2007: Message edited by: anand phulwani ]

[anand phulwani]

Dear Amitabha,

You could not imagine the fluctuation over there,i had to re-read the question many times because of the fluctuation.Lets hope for the best.

[Rizwan Mohammad]

Very strange and odd things in authorized prometric centers.!!! Unbelievable.!!!
Please make sure you all complain and take action so that no one else in future can suffer because of these stupid things..
I can imagine the pain you must be having with the loss already you had...

[anand phulwani]

Sure Rizwan ,

Even i dont want that there should be any trouble to anyone,specially at the time one who is writing an exam,giving an exam means a lot to me,and to others too,i see exam as a milestone,and failing to reach the milestone,when someone is so close to it,means a lot and result in to big frustation and depression,which i am feeling now.

[Deepak Bala]

Sorry but i had a good laugh reading all that. hehehe. I guess I must thank god for not facing something as bad as that. I feel sorry for you. In any case, a certification experience is complete only when you get the elation of coming out of the exam and saying 'aahhhh ! that was tough but i passed'. In this case you almost got there. Take back with you what you have learnt for EJB 3.0, thats your only solace.

[anand phulwani]

Dear John,

I also will thank god that,that was the last time the paper restarted,otherwise i would have died over there if i had to restart the paper one more time,as is for you may backup invertors/genreators be always with you,i wish no one ever faces this type of problme in their life.

[amit taneja]

John Meyers,
why are you laughing and what lesson we can learn from it unless Sun and proteric center don't take any action as till then this can happen to any one including you ... and what if , you been the target of such prometric center.. and you was the big sufferer and your money and prepration and time is involved and you was crazy to get good marks in that exam..

I pray that it don't happen to you but why are you laughing ???

anyhow hope , some one will take action and Anand and others who face difficulties in exam will get opporutiny to reappear or get free voucher from sun.. or soo...

good luck
amit

[anand phulwani]

Dear Amit,

I will appreciate that to happen,like if i am allowed to reappear for the exam,or get a free voucher. :roll: :roll:

[Rajan Murugan]

Originally posted by Rajan Murugan:
Hi,Anand,

Was this center in Jaipur?And...
Since you have seen 343 questions ( 9 + 93 + 61 + 180 ),were there any repetitions or they were uniquely different questions ?

Lets just see if we can learn something from this experience !

Some prometric centers sucks...and some of the prometric incharge's attitude still more...

[Deepak Bala]

why are you laughing ???

Because its easier to laugh when you are on the other side. The only waste here is that anand phulwani did not get a certificate in the end. He has gained a lot of knowledge on EJB 3 when he prepared for the exam. I bet the whole ordeal must have been frustrating but when I imagine some one sitting in front of a monitor taking a 4-5 hour test and the computer reboots - hehehe, i just cant control myself. I hope that never happens to anyone !

[inr mohan]

Anand,

You case is good, when you compare with me .

Because I have attended 360 Questions.

2 times I have attended the exam. when I attend for the first time (10.00 A.M - 3.00 P.M) anr tried to finish the exam by clicking "End Exam". My system showed a error message and automatically I was logged Off. Then Again I started the machine with help of Incharge from Prometric centre. Then I attended the exam for the second time (3.30 P.M - 8.30 P.M).

Then only I was able to save the exam.

Your case is nice compared to mine. I was really fustrated.





OK, when they will announce the results

[Rajan Murugan]

Originally posted by inr mohan:
Anand,

You case is good, when you compare with me .

Because I have attended 360 Questions.

2 times I have attended the exam. when I attend for the first time (10.00 A.M - 3.00 P.M) anr tried to finish the exam by clicking "End Exam". My system showed a error message and automatically I was logged Off. Then Again I started the machine with help of Incharge from Prometric centre. Then I attended the exam for the second time (3.30 P.M - 8.30 P.M).

Then only I was able to save the exam.

Your case is nice compared to mine. I was really fustrated.





OK, when they will announce the results

Ohh...god...!!!

What is this? Lets suggest a good solution for prometric

They are following stateful and stateless model.and it sucks...

The second time you tried were the questions same.Were there any repetition?
or the two sets were different set?

11 hours !!!

You really have a great experience.
[ January 04, 2007: Message edited by: Rajan Murugan ]

[Luiz Reginaldo Curado]

Inr,

Besides a great experience, you have a great patience...

11 hours of test!

[Rajan Murugan]

Originally posted by anand phulwani:
Dear John,

I also will thank god that,that was the last time the paper restarted,otherwise i would have died over there if i had to restart the paper one more time,as is for you may backup invertors/genreators be always with you,i wish no one ever faces this type of problme in their life.

From a different perspective for a moment the whole scenerio is hilarious(on a lighter note).This has nothing to do with you but the scenerio.A typical laurel and hardy movie can be made on the center.I understand your frustration and annoyance fully.Hence one advice for all exam takers either check with the center if they have a invertor/backup or carry one ourself(just in case).But,if you try to ask them these things or the size of the monitor they get freaked out.I faced this at one center for a different exam,over the phone I asked the size of monitor,that lady simply refused to tell and put down the phone,1st time and then second time.I realized ,it will be of no use breaking my head with her.

In case you do get a chance also to rewrite again,there is not guarantee that power will be there for 2-5 hours,so then what...

and if you think of lodging a case you must consider filling a complaint with govt of india,the state govt,the exam center(he may say when power is not there then how can I charge my invertor),prometric headquarter(for designing a exam s/w which is not foolproof).

The good thing is you are prepared technically to write killer apps.


[ January 04, 2007: Message edited by: Rajan Murugan ]

[inr mohan]

HI,

For both the questions were same, but the order of the questions were changed.

But in the second time, I was panic, whether this time also I would face the same Issue as the first attempt.

What I was wondering is, why they are not storing the session of the attended questions in server.

Because after attending the 180 questions in the first time, my answers were not stored or maintained in the server.

[Sandy Kulkarni]

I think, you should get a free exam voucher, for all the troubles that have caused because of this Prometric Test Center...

Why don't you register a complaint against this specific prometric test center and discuss about the kind of facilitites it provides !!!

btw..where is this center located? next time, I surely won't take my exam in this center, if it's in the same city where I am from !!!

[Sreeraj G Harilal]

Be serious. Avoid free exams

[Rajan Murugan]

Originally posted by Sreeraj G H:
Be serious. Avoid free exams

These kind of problem can happen in real official exams too...

the only difference being the duration and the number of questions.

[Luiz Reginaldo Curado]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Sreeraj G H:
Be serious. Avoid free exams
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ok, but there is no official exame until now - no payed exam.

And too we want the first, because we love Java and we love challenges.

Best wishes!

[Sandy Kulkarni]

yeah, these problem can occur in real exam as well.
@ that time, we might end up in losing 200$

[Evelyn Cartagena-Meyer]

Dear Anand,

I am so sorry this happened to you!!

Anand and any other candidates that had problems, please send me a direct email at [e-mail] so I can fix the problem with Prometric and help you with this situation. If you can include what testing center this happened at, country, name of person that was moderator (if you have), address, etc., so I can talk to Prometric and resolve this for future beta and/or exams. Since I want my customers to be happy!!

Please always feel free to contact me directly with any issues related to any Java exams.

I appreciate all Java Developers taking the time to take and sit through the SCBCD 5.0 - 183 question beta.

Thank you all for Testing the Test!

Kind Regards,

Evelyn Cartagena-Meyer
Java Certification Program Manager

[Nilesh Jain Ji]

Dear Evelyn/Ranchers,

I wish to know what will happen,if say a voucher is given to this guy Anand,and he passes the exam in Beta which he has already given,will his previous Beta exam result be disqualified ,or he can retain the result and then he can use the voucher for other Sun exam.

Thanks.
Nilesh Jain Ji

[anand phulwani]

Dear Rajan,

There were repetitions,as far as i remember.

Originally posted by Rajan Murugan:
[QB][/QB]

[anand phulwani]

Dear John,

I would just pray that this thing never,ever happens to anyone including all of us.

Originally posted by John Meyers:


Because its easier to laugh when you are on the other side. The only waste here is that anand phulwani did not get a certificate in the end. He has gained a lot of knowledge on EJB 3 when he prepared for the exam. I bet the whole ordeal must have been frustrating but when I imagine some one sitting in front of a monitor taking a 4-5 hour test and the computer reboots - hehehe, i just cant control myself. I hope that never happens to anyone !

[anand phulwani]

Dear Inr,

I wont agree with your point because you had it in the 2nd go,and you did not had that much pressure as i had,because the time was flying away and taking me back and back to the 1st question,so i think if i didnt went ticking randomly i might have completed 720 Questions,so i think your cars was much better that you were able to complete it in 2nd time,and you gave awnsers to the questions by thinking,i however had this,that i wont be able to complete my paper,in all i agree to this thing that you have a great patience.

Originally posted by inr mohan:
Anand,

You case is good, when you compare with me .

Because I have attended 360 Questions.

2 times I have attended the exam. when I attend for the first time (10.00 A.M - 3.00 P.M) anr tried to finish the exam by clicking "End Exam". My system showed a error message and automatically I was logged Off. Then Again I started the machine with help of Incharge from Prometric centre. Then I attended the exam for the second time (3.30 P.M - 8.30 P.M).

Then only I was able to save the exam.

Your case is nice compared to mine. I was really fustrated.





OK, when they will announce the results

[anand phulwani]

Dear Ranchers,

I would like to thank Sun Microsystems,specially Evelyn,who spent her costly time on my issue,and wrote to Thompson Prometric about the problem,further they issued me a free voucher for the final exam,i would like to give the credit to Madam Evelyn and JavaRanch who helped in getting the voucher and giving a platform respectively,last not the least but i would like to thank prometric who apolizised and provided me with the new voucher.

[anand phulwani]

Dear Evelyn/Ranchers,

I would like to know the validity of this voucher,can anyone guide with this issue,i know the voucehr i used to purchase was valid for a year.

[Rajan Murugan]

Originally posted by anand phulwani:
Dear Evelyn/Ranchers,

I would like to know the validity of this voucher,can anyone guide with this issue,i know the voucehr i used to purchase was valid for a year.

If you have received a email then it should have been mentioned in it.
Else,check your account at prometric website,it generally mentions the expiry.Also it is better you get it confirmed from prometric direclty also.

All the best.

[Nicholas Cheung]

I would like to know the validity of this voucher,can anyone guide with this issue,i know the voucehr i used to purchase was valid for a year.

From free vouchers I received from Prometric, the voucher is valid for 1 year, starting from the date of issuance.

Thus, if you get it on 5 Jan 2007, say, then it will be expired on 4 Jan 2008.

Nick
[ January 11, 2007: Message edited by: Nicholas Cheung ]

[Rajan Murugan]

Originally posted by Nicholas Cheung:

From free vouchers I received from Prometric, the voucher is valid for 1 year, starting from the date of issuance.

Thus, if you get it on 5 Jan 2007, say, then it will be expired on 4 Jan 2007.

Nick

It will be 2008 right

[anand phulwani]

Dear Rajan,

I recieved a mail like this,

Please accept our apologies for the conditions during your SCBCD Beta exam. The final version of the exam will be available in February. We would like to provide a voucher number for you, so that you may take the exam when it is published next month. Your number voucher number is: *

and here its not written about the expiry of the voucher.