Cleared Test 486

I cleared Test 486 last week. I too was not thrilled with my score of 72.
I had a lot of problems with the size of the screen. I took my exam at a prometric center and the screen was tiny. I could see only small portions of one figure where there were 3&4 to compare. As you can see my score also reflects that.
Development Process 12% 85%
Requirements Modelling 18% 87%
Architecture 12% 71%
State Modelling 22% 84%
Dynamic Modelling 24% 53%
Design and Implementation Techniques 12% 57%

My advise for any body else taking the exam. The books suggested by IBM cover the topic sufficently. The Parctice test is a good reflection of the actual. The only thing I can say is go visit your center and ask for a bigger monitor if you can, before you take the exam. I think it will make a difference.
Finally would my score have been higher if I had a bigger monitor, I will never know now, will I. HoweverI feel that I know the topics covered very well, and in my mind that is the real value of certification.
Finally thank you all for the support. I will now be preparing for the J2EE exam, and would love to hear from thoes of you who have taken the exam.
Qudsia

Dear Qudsia,
Congratulations!
You have identified a very good point. My monitor was also small which caused me a lot of irritation and inconvenience. I had to switch between the question to one exhibit to the next then back ... However, during the exam I tried my best to not get bugged and let this affect my mental state... However, like you said we cannot find out if we had done better with a bigger monitor unless we retake the exam

Congrats again
Hassan
p.s. Are you now preparing for IBM 483?

Hi Qudsia,
Congratulations!
As you mentioned, the important thing of taking these tests is to feel confident on the topics.I got only 73%.However, I always believed, I was capable of much more, since I had scored very high in difficult sections like Static Modelling (93%) and Dynamic Modelling (84%).I just messed up on easier topics.
The trick to score high on this test to work/concentrate evenly on all the sub-sections.Anyway, I hope you will agree with me that this is one of the best tests you have ever taken.
As regards, IBM 483 test, I would say it is tougher than IBM 486.I would suggest you gain some real-time experience on J2EE before taking this test.All the questions are based on real-time situations.Unlike Test 486, you have to apply your previously gained knowledge to get the right answers.You can answer correctly only if you were in such a situation before.
As regards preparation, you would need to study most of the Enterprise Java specifications from Sun's site as well as read "Mastering EJB" by Ed Roman.You also need to know something about CORBA and JMS before taking this test.If you are aiming to score high keep at least 4 - 6 months of preparation time for this test.
Hope this helps,
Sandeep
Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 Platform Scored 93%
Oracle Certified Solution Developer - JDeveloper
-- Oracle JDeveloper Rel. 3.0 - Develop Database Applications with Java Scored 56 out of 59
-- Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with UML Scored 73%
Oracle Certified Enterprise Developer - Oracle Internet Platform
-- Enterprise Connectivity with J2EE Scored 72%
-- Enterprise Development on the Oracle Internet Platform Scored 44 out of 56
[This message has been edited by Desai Sandeep (edited July 10, 2001).]