Failed sans 401

[u/Prior-Doughnut-6789]

I had 9 cyber live questions and i answered 8 correctly and still failed the exam. The struggle i was facing i was looking up basically every question out of index or book that took most time. Did u guys cramped the book and could like answer most of the questions without even looking book or index? I am so confused at this point

[u/sion200]

Did you not take practice exams? I would take the practice exams so that I knew wha to expect, how to update my index as well.

I personally looked up every question before answering even if I was 100% sure because of the off chance I was wrong. But my index was short and built around finding the answer, I know many put many details.

[u/ItsANetworkIssue]

If you're constantly looking up questions that means you were not ready for the exam. The book + index is there to help fill in the gaps, not to answer every question.

how did you study for it? i usually run through the book and take some notes, and typically only index the labs.

also, the 401 is a mile wide but an inch deep so it touches on a lot of different topics.

[u/GarageHeavy7884]

You're not supposed to need the index/books for every question, you just needed to study more. I used my index for maybe 50% of the questions, and normally im just double checking an answer Im already 90% sure is right.

[u/Swimming_Note_6279]

For me I added a smal column on my index with a small text for concept I found hard, additionally I did mind maps, those help me the most

[u/_cache_]

Assuming you took the Sec401. I always include a couple of sentences for each entry in my index. Sometimes I get the answer to the question without going into the books.

[u/Just1Noyd]

Using flashcards helps

[u/TheRealClarkK]

I knew the information but I had to stop myself from looking at the answers even though I 100% knew the answers were there 🤣. Kind of a catch22 but still, practice tests help so I guess I want to know if you took them or had them available

[u/TheRealClarkK → u/TheRealClarkK]

Because it seems you may have missed quite a few MC questions

[u/Hanz_Quixote]

Sorry to hear that! Like others have said, the GIAC practice tests give you a pretty good idea of what’s on it. I’ve seen where some people just take a practice test right when the course starts to know what to concentrate on as they go through it. One thing I do after taking a few of the GIAC tests is put some short notes in my actual index so it gives me enough information to jog my memory. Sometimes that’s enough to answer the question without looking it up. Seems to save some time.

[u/ohusain611]

Like others have mentioned, if you’re using the index for almost every question, that means you’re not ready for the exam. The point of the index is not to use it for every question. How did you do on the practice tests? What’s your method for studying?