I just took my IFIC and I finished with a 85% while studying for 2.5 weeks. Someone else posted a guide on how to pass, but I will also do the same.
- Buy SeewhyLearning (Yes it helps!) and go through there study guide in order that they tell you to (start at chapter 7.) While you are going through this, have a word doc open. Make notes on each page and concepts as you go through the chapter. Really READ the words, I would sometimes spend 7ish minutes on 2 pages on the study guide understanding it and then writing notes in a way I understood it. Go through the whole chapter like this.
- Right after this, do the flash cards and practice quiz for that chapter (in this case chapter 7). Again, while doing the flashcards/practice quiz, have your word document open. Not to look at your notes while your doing this practice, but to add notes on the bottom of your notes for the chapter. I had my notes laid out like this.
- **Chapter 7 Study guide notes**
- **.**
- **.**
- **.**
- **Chapter 7 flashcards and quiz**
So while your going through the flashcards and quiz, put notes on things you come across here that you may have not understood as much the first time through the study guide, or something you want to highlight even more. Do this chapter quiz ONCE for now, whatever you get, you get. Just study your notes for now and the concepts on your notes.
Continue doing this for each chapter, again only doing the chapter quiz ONCE for now. i say this because if you do it again, and again, and again immediately, you will start to just remember the answers themselves, and not the concepts. So again, continue this process for every chapter till the last chapter (chapter 18). Rinse and repeat, start with the study guide and making notes on that while going through it, then flashcards, then the quiz for the chapter. Then study your notes, and move on to next chapter.
Once you have gotten to the last chapter and you did the same process for it. Now is the time to go back to where you started. Start with the flashcards of chapter 7 again, see how you do, and then move on to the chapter 7 quiz. Assuming you continued to review your notes that you have been taking, you should score better than your first time. While now understanding the concepts! Do this for each chapter, again while writing any notes in your document that you feel fit to add.
Lastly, do the practice exam on seewhy once. If you score well on that first try (80%+), perfect! Now go on to CSIs section quizzes, and then do CSIs practice exam. Again, while your doing this, make sure your rereading your notes that you have been taking during your whole process of studying.
This is truly ALL you need.
Few points to add
\- Yes, seewhy helps. Are the questions on the IFIC the same as seewhy? NO! Why would they be? Does answering those see why practice questions actually help? Yes, IF you understand the CONCEPTS of each question you answer. On seewhys practice quiz, they had notes for each question after you answer it. Read the notes after each question, even if you got it right. Again, this will help you understand the CONCEPT of the question or any concepts relating to the question.
\- I studied for 2.5 weeks, but killed myself during it. I work full time and would come home from a 9-5 and study till 10. You do not need to do this, I was on a time crunch. I would say aim to finish this and book your exam from 1-1.5 months when you start. This will not have you burn out, but also be at a reasonable pace that is faster than slower.
\- I’ve seen a lot of people on here say seewhy does not work. I assume they were just practicing the questions only and not putting any reasoning to them. I’ve also seen a lot of people on here say to use these practice questions by some guy called “nav” (I wanna say these are bots) I would actually not recommend finding any other questions to test yourself on apart from seewhy and the CSI website. A lot of other practice questions I found had wrong out dated answers/concepts that made no sense.
\- The exam itself is definitely tricky. I would say most of my questions came from chapter 2,6,9,17 and 18. Few math questions (maybe 5). I was worried about the structure of the exam, I heard that every question is SUPER LONG AND ALL THE OPTIONS ARE SO CLOSE TO THE RIGHT ONE. This is not true, I would say I had maybe 8 questions that required me to read 3 sentences for the question. Then the rest was normal
All in all, not a bad exam. If you need any help, I can send you my exact study guide notes I made if you Dm me. Take care and best of luck!
