my observations of the SCJP 5 exam

[suzie brown]

I just took the test. I studied using the Sierra and Bates book. That book had me totally freaked out as did many of the comments on this board. I got a 68 and 58 on the two mock exams in the book and didn't do particularly well on the other mock exams linked from this website. I took the exam anyway because I had studied hard and despite the bad mock exam scores really wanted to see if I could eek out a pass.

The exam was a lot easier than the mock exams. I got a 91%!

If you are struggling with the mock exams but feel you have a good handle on Java basics and can answer the easier questions on the mock exams, then i wouldn't stress too much about the real exam. Go ahead and take it.

[Bert Bates]

Wow Suzie,

First off, congrats on a great score!

Second, we're really sorry if we freaked you out!

Our goal is to give a good foundation, and to slightly over-cover the topics - we hope our mocks are a little harder than the real exam, but not a lot harder. If there are specific areas where you think we were MUCH harder, we'd like to hear about that!

Thanks,

Bert

[Arno Reper]

nice, congratulations well done...
and thanks for the info
arno

[suzie brown]

Other than the mock exams I thought the Sierra and Bates book was great. It covered all the objectives of the exam very thoroughly and I enjoyed learning some of the tiny nuances of the features. I completely credit this book with helping me pass the exam.

The mock exams were just so hard. I took them each twice and even on the second time there were questions that I would miss. That was because the question was so tricky that even though i had read the correct answer a week before I hadn't really understood it. I felt that the mock exams were always trying to trip me up and trick me while the real exam was pretty straightforward.

I hope that others use this book and mock exams to prepare but if you don't do great on the mock exams you might still do well on the real one. If you are willing to risk $150, take the real one when you feel confident even if your mock exam scores are low.

[Arno Reper]

and did you have enough time to complete? With the wihzlab, Im very short...

[suzie brown]

i had plenty of time to finish. I finished the exam with an hour left. I reviewed my questions for 15 minutes and then left. I probably should have stayed the last 45 minutes and kept reviewing but I had a stomach ache and just wanted to leave.

[Branko Santo]

Well the time for the exam is something like 2 hours?

I do the whizlabs in under an hour at almost 60% but still short a couple main chapters from K&B (generics, threads)

[Arno Reper]

thx for your support suzie, i passed yesterday SCJP 1.5

arno

[Lavanya Raguram]

but is it enough to go thro K&B book alone n rely on their mock exams ?
does any other book help in this regard?

[Mikalai Zaikin]

Congratz !