Hello all,

I have a question regarding SANS training. I see that some of the courses involve mp3 files and a book. These mp3 files are from live sessions of an on site training event. Now, are studying the mp3 files enough to pass the exam or should I read the book thoroughly as well? I mean, if these sessions were taken live (and over 6 days) I'd imagine the students taking the live session don't have time to read 1,000+ pages (or so I hear is the size of the books). Thank you for your time.

Regards,
7.

Hello secureseven,

I'd read the books. The audio contains some great stories and real life examples of the material, none of which is in the exam. The information in the books is easy to read and study on, so don't worry about the 1000 pages number.

I use the audio when reading through the books, to keep motivated or to get a different take on the material presented in the books. I read through the books a couple of times and then still use them as reference.

The top tip with SANS open book exams is to make an index of books for quick reference, should you need to double check an answer.

I would actually say that you have the order of importance backward. In preparing for the exam it is much more important to read the books word for word since the exam questions will come DIRECTLY from the books. The mp3's are just icing on the cake. As What90 points out, the nice thing about the mp3's is that you get another spin on the material which makes it more likely that you'll retain more of the material.

Look around on the boards and you'll find a number of people that have posted their strategy to studying for GIAC tests. The exams are not overly difficult if you are prepared for them. If you're not prepared, though, they can be brutal.

--
Ziggy

Remember that the lectures are meant to be the narrative to the course manuals. That said, the lectures are not a word for word reading of the books either. It is definitely worth your time to go through the books, even better would be to go through them while listening to the lectures, that way you can make relevant notes right on the course pages pertaining to that topic.

I have taken a couple SANS courses and I've found my experience in studying for exams slightly different from the other folks here, but maybe its a learning style thing.

I listened to the MP3s start to finish and took mental note of the things I knew well, the things I would need to brush up on, and the things I would need to do some serious studying on.

I would follow that up by going through the books and creating my index for the exam, and as I did this I scanned through everything but spent time studying only the things I didn't know well.

I found this saved a lot of time, since I was listening to the MP3s on my commutes to/from work and only really used the books in the final phase of studying, and for general reference.

Note: I have taken my SANS courses as 'mentor sessions'.