Round #3 - Last round, going for the EXTRA!

[MrGClips]

... and keep going and going ...

Yesterday night and today studied a bunch again and got over the half-point.

The E5 was the baddest so far. I'm gonna mess up that part I'm afraid. Still don't get all those calculations and going to have to go back many more times to study them.

But the good news is that I finished with 2 more segments. Another 4 to go and then I can start all over again to repeat the whole thing. However, studying already familiar stuff will be much easier.

 

[KD8DVR]

Hamstudy is an awesome resource.

 

[MrGClips]

Hamstudy is an awesome resource.

ABSOLUTELY!!!

I don't think I could have gone this far this fast without it. Highly recommended to everyone studying for their license!

 

[MrGClips]

BIG STEP!

I just finished with the Flash Cards at Hamstudy, and anxiously took my very first Test Exam with 48/50 passing score, so I only messed up 2 answers!

That is somewhat encouraging, however, I only guessed a bunch of answers, which is not so good.

Now I'm gonna take a quick break, then start it all over again. Read the study guide, the question pool, the flash cards, and then take a second test exam in a day or two, then repeat it again. During the Flash Card practice I keep messing up many things, but luckily there is plenty of time still until the next exam date.

Although I definitely feel some mental fatigue, I enjoy this little success pointing towards the right direction. So I decided that I will definitely try the Extra this month, good or bad!

 

[N0IU]

That is somewhat encouraging, however, I only guessed a bunch of answers, which is not so good.

Well that all depends on the nature of guessing strategy which can be one of two things:

1) a "WAG" or Wild A$$ Guess. In this case you just blindly point at an answer on your screen and pick something that may or may not have any relationship between the question and the answer. If it happens to be the right answer, then it is by pure dumb luck.

2) a "SWAG" or Scientific Wild A$$ Guess". In this case, you apply at least a minimal amount of logic when determining your answer. As you have probably already observed, each question has two "distractors" or answers that are so far off base that they just couldn't be right if you know anything at all about the topic which leaves two answers; the correct one and one that could be the answer. Using this method, this raises your chances of selecting the right answer from 25% to 50%.

So if you have been using the "SWAG" method for those questions, your chances of passing are still higher than by using the "WAG" method. But there is so much stuff on this test that sometimes you have no other choice than to use the "WAG" method!

Good luck!

 

[MrGClips]

I do the "SWAG" system + try to remember the most familiar words or numbers that I've read many times. But even then, I get confused sometimes, especially with that stupid E5 Electrical Principals part with those calculations and relations between this and that. That part I will surely mess up ugly in the exam, but at this point, I don't even care!

Just want to pass the exam and I'll be happy! Like it's been said before: Nobody really cares about your score, as long as you pass the darn thing and get your license. I wish I was better with the electronics part to understand it, but I'm not, in fact I really SUCK at it, so I hope for some luck and succeed one way or another the first time around, then celebrate that I've done it finally!

 

[MrGClips]

Countdown...

The exam date is coming closer and closer and I'm still not ready.

Took a couple of test exams on Hamstudy, but seriously, I swear that some of the questions feel as if I never even heard of them! Then the next day I go back to the same section to study again, but it's like I forgot everything I've learned before and the topic feels completely gibberish again! I must be getting tired or something. It's so frustrating!

So far in the test exams I've had 2 - 3 - 2 - 2 - 2 missed questions, but I guessed at least 6 of the answers every single time. Not good at all. I'm really gonna be upset if I fail this damn thing!

 

[KC5AKB]

You will do good .

 

[chrissim]

You have to relax. I don't know if I have ever seen someone induce so much pressure upon themselves over a test that in reality means very little. You will pass it either this coming session or the next. Stop beating yourself up if you miss a few.

I currently teach history. In order for me to teach science, I have to pass one more grad level chemistry course in the space of one month and present my findings to a panel of PhD professors. Compare the pressure of an extra exam to what I am enduring. One has to do with livelihood while the other is a hobby. No comparison. So in the scheme of things, and in the comparative example I have just provided, should you really be placing this much pressure on yourself?

Clearly you're not an idiot. You will succeed.

 

[KE0GXN]

^Yeah what he said...besides you are scaring the crap out of me thinking what it will be like when I decide to go for my Extra.

I am having a tough enough time trying to get the General stuff down at this point.

You'll be fine.

 

[MrGClips]

Obviously it's not the end of the world if I fail, but it is a personal challenge that I intend to complete with success.

I'm invested in it now that I decided to take the exam, and since it is something that I find pretty tough to do, much harder than others seem to find it, I get frustrated, especially when all those late-night hours I stay up studying don't seem to deliver the kind of results I expect.

Still have some time, but not too much till the exam date and I'm getting irritated because of my apparent lack of progress, so I'm stressing out a bit. I feel that if I fail, then all the energy I put into this study goes down in the drain, and I just can't have that!

If I felt it was a piece o' cake, I wouldn't worry too much, but it's all the contrary, unfortunately.

 

[N0IU]

I feel that if I fail, then all the energy I put into this study goes down in the drain...

Its not wasted time! Look at all you have learned even if you don't get your "big ticket"... which of course you will!

 

[MrGClips]

Its not wasted time! Look at all you have learned even if you don't get your "big ticket"... which of course you will!

Yes, you're right about that, learning is never a waste of time. Somehow I just don't get some stuff and that's that. No matter what, I keep messing up certain things over and over again.

But that's OK, I think I'll be able to pass, but this exam won't be pretty for sure. I keep making the same kind of mistakes with the same bunch of questions in some of the element groups like an idiot!

In the weekend I'll have time to dedicate to some "last minute" studies, go through the entire material all over again, do the flashcards and some tests and that's it. No more time and no more energy either.

Only made 2 perfect test exams, the rest is the usual, 1-2 missed questions and at least 6 guesses every single time.