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I passed the CWNA this past weekend with a score of 78. I used the Sybex study guide alone with the various white papers available from CWNP. I had to read the book straight through 2 times and with me going back and reviewing subjects that was a problem to me I would put the actual number of times I read the book to 2 1/2 time.This was my second time taking the exam and it was actually more difficult than the first attempt, if you ask me. For those that are studying to take the exam in the future, I would really know this stuff cold because the wording of the questions on the exam seemed a little deceptive to me.

Congratulations smebbin! 78 is a very good score. Well done. What's next? CWAP, CWDP, or CWSP?

I have to re-up my CCNP before it expires first and then I am not sure what other direction to go.

Smebbin,

Overall, I wouldn't call the questions sneaky, but I would say that you usually need to know the material un-commonly well. Some of it is also understanding the mindset of the exam 's creators.

One part is understanding CWNP terminology. Generally speaking, they follow IEEE standards speak, as opposed to market place terminology. Some of that is defined in the Exam Terms document at http://www.cwnp.com/exams/cwnp_exam_terms.pdf.

Another source I can never seem to praise enough is Joel Barretts CWNP dictionary, which I recommend to anyone with even a modest interest in Wi-Fi. It also includes some Bluetooth, and CTIA terminology. Truly a super buy.

Very importantly, the official practice exams provide experience with the way they word their questions.

Obviously from your score, you figured out most of this out beforehand.

Congratulations !

Wlanman Guru

You are right. I do put try to put myself in a position where I would be tasked with creating test questions on the subjects that were presented in the study material that I used for the exam. I actually ask myself how I could take a fairly not so difficult subject and ask competitive questions relating to it. The diagrams in book I read are seeds of questions to me. I would run through a series of questions in my head and on paper after I have read or re-read a subject and then ask myself various detailed and not so straight forward questions relating to that subject and try to answer them. The practice questions that you guys offer on this site were very helpful with my pacing on the exam because I was not able to answer all the question the first time I took the exam. I can honestly say that I was not sure of about 70% of the questions that I answered on the exam, which is a good thing and nerve wrecking at the same time. One thing that saved me was that I stayed calm during the exam. Last but not least, I would like to say that you guys have great discussion forums on this site.

To answer Kevinsandlin's prior question to me, I will either prepare for the CWAP or CWSP tests after I renew my CCNP.

Sorry to partly hijack this threat.

As a non-english native i have to admit that some of the questions are tricky if you don't know the meaning of some words (which can completely change the question).
This results in a wild guess, if you don't fully understand the question (here i have to say, that my english is quite good, as i used to live in the US for a while as a teenager, and nowadays I don't live in my native country either, so english is the language i use most). This actually happened to me in the practice-exams, but i am sure colleagues of mine that are not as fit in the english language would have some issues with some exam-questions too.

I passed my exam about two weeks ago though.

When it comes to study material i have to say that next to reading the study guide, whitepapers and practice-exams I had already started the CWSP study guide, which actually helped me answer some exam-questions, that were definitely not covered in the CWNA book.
I don't know if that is known to the people making the exam-questions, but that surprised me a little bit, as i would have expected all questions to be covered in the CWNA study guide.

[quote]I would have expected all questions to be covered in the CWNA study guide.[/quote]

The questions do not come from the study guide. The study guide and the questions both come from the exam objectives. For all exams, begin and end your study prep with the exam objectives. Always.

I agreed I just took the CWNA and the questions were mis-leading. There were diagrams not in the study guide. I received an official practice test when I registered and the questions were nothing like the practice test.

Please re-read the last post from Kevin.

Study to the Exam Objectives, not the study guide - you'll be much happier and learn a lot more too.

TamikoN, thanks for the feedback. Can you be more specific on how the questions were misleading?

To your comment that "There were diagrams not in the study guide", that will always be true, because the exam does not come from the study guide, nor does the study guide come from the exam.

Thanks again for sharing your feedback on the exam.