SCJP exam - your best tips for passing

Question

Having recently started studying for the SCJP exam, I was wondering where to put some extra focus. So, to those of you who have taken the test (and preferably passed):

• Any particular topics I need to focus on?
• Any pitfalls I should be particularly wary of?
• Which part did you find hardest?

Thanks!

Edit: Answers like "take mock exams" or "read book x" are helpful but not what I'm looking for. I want answers along the lines of "The part about flow control was tricky, because this and that thing was a huge pitfall for me" :)

Answer 1

Nothing specific, but the online multi-choice tests/practice exams really helped me (although it was 10 years ago...)

Answer 2

Going in I thought generics and concurrency would be my biggest issues, but generics turned out to be not so bad (for me). Concurrency was though, it's really easy to get lost in the flow of the exam questions.

Seconding the mock exams, by far what helped me the most. I also kept track of stupid pitfalls I fell in doing all of them, and made myself a short list of 4-5 items I would go through at the start of each question, which I know helped me avoid quite a few on the real exam.

And a good book is always important, I found the SCJP book from the Head First people to be great, but YMMV. Good luck ;-)

Answer 3

The mock exams that came with the "Head First SCJP book" are a good indication if you can pass the exam.

The questions in the mock exam are harder because they never tell you how many answers are right. The real exam always gives you an indication like: "Mark the 2 right answers to the question...".

When you pass the mock exams, you will pass the real exams.

Answer 4

The JavaRanch Rules Round-Up game is good for brushing up on esoteric syntax rules. The same people who developed Sun's certification tests are involved in the site, so the questions are very similar to (but not the same as) the ones on the tests.

Answer 5

So far (I'm covered chapters one through three) garbage collection has been the hardest. Questions like

Foo a1 = new Foo(); Bar b1 = a1.bar;

Q: How many objects are eligible for garbage collection?

I get the principle, but damn it, they fool me every time :P

Answer 6

Buy a trainer such as Whizlabs simulator. It will adjust the questions for your weaknesses dynamically. 90+ percent result is virtually guaranteed.

Answer 7

Use braindumps :)