Its done! Passed
SCJP this morning! 74% - not great but good enough for me
This was despite a fire alarm 15 minutes into the exam and a wait of 15 minutes to go back in. I wouldn't know what to do if I'd failed and whether I would have some grounds to request a resit. As it happened I felt that the break worked to my advantage as I could go outside, walk around and clear my head.
Anyway thanks to everyone here and all the people who answered my doubts, especially Leena Rane whose last weeks tips proved to be the difference between pass and failure and Ajith and Jane's last minute words of encouragement
The way I did it -
* Kahlid's book (it can now go on the shelf but I'm sure I'll refer to it in the future)
* JWhiz2 (I got a free one from here! thanks guys
) - better than JWhiz1 with the annoying
applet questions removed I think the IO questions are harder than the real thing
* Marcus' tutorial and exams - thanks Marcus your resource is invaluble and 'almost as good as Javaranch'!
* Vel's notes (especially the first 2 pages) and Dylan Walshe's notes for the last minute things to remember I just read those 2 over and over in the last week as they provide a great synopsis after going through the material - this confirmed everything in my head
* Javaranch - this site is an essential in my opinion (and I guess British Telecom would like thank Javaranch as well - going on my phone bill for the past couple of months!)
Best of luck for everyone going for the exam just try not to put too much pressure on yourself when you sit. Its not the end of the world. I'll be around here trying to help where I can and probably learning much more in return
- all the best Jim