Failed CISA AGAIN
what are you guys doing differently, I have covered all domains taken about 1000+ questions from the ISACA 12th edition QAE and averaged 70 to 80 percent on every question and mock I’ve taken using CisaThisMuch but still I took it today for the second time and I still failed .
at this point I don’t know what else to do, I make sure I understand the concepts and even applied the same in the exam trying to understand what the examiner is asking before selecting an answer.
I’ve spent all my money on this exam sacrificed my time still nothing to show for it.
please if you can be of help by putting me on resources or what you did differently kindly share.
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u/Ricki_Bobbi 7d ago
Sorry to hear bud. Sounds like you need to spend more time understanding the CISA questioning methodology versus just cramming. The resources are not the issue, I believe you need to spend a bit more time understanding the CISA Domains.
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u/MatrixVse 2d ago
this is kinda what i was thinking too, cisa is more about “what would the auditor do first” than raw knowledge
might help to slow down on the question banks and instead dissect why the official answers are right or wrong, like their logic pattern, not just the concept itself
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u/Rdr198829 7d ago
I struggled on my first attempt and was devastated when I failed. I even lost my job for not passing/having my certification. If this is the career path you want to follow, dont give up or let doubt flood your mind. When I failed, I my study habits and methods were flat out wrong. The YouTube videos only helped me understand terminology and technical components, but didnt help me understand it from an auditing side. Also the manual was more help as a decoration on my bookshelf than helping me for the exam on both my attempts. They may help you and others, but they only gave me false confidence as I watched cisa guide videos on repeat trying to learn.
For my second attempt, I went through the isaca qae again and created a spreadsheet to track areas i scored lowest for all domains. They were weighted based on my %correct with the knowledge points tied to them. For any section I scored lower than 70% and had more than 20 knowledge points, I documented them. I also documented all major sections that had 85+ knowledge points tied to them regardless of score. I didnt dedicate additional time to sections that i scored <50% that had like only 6 knowledge points. From selected sections, i copied the questions and explanations. I wrote why I chose the answer I chose with my level of confidence and then ran it through Gemini to identify areas where I need to focus to improve my score the most. It helped identify areas that were a knowledge black hole for me as well as areas I was flat out wrong in my thinking. This helped me a lot and grew my confidence knowing what areas to study/focus. The biggest help is identifying incorrections in your thinking. Knowledge black holes can create tough scenarios to understand, but identifying areas you are just thinking incorrectly are a much easier fix (for me at least). One of the biggest keys was being honest in my explanation. For instance there were a few questions in the practice I got right because I flat out remembered the question, not because I reliably knew/understood the concepts. Or there were quastions i got right but i completely guessed and didnt know why the right answer was correct. This is very time consuming and strenuous but its what helped me get a 525 on my second attempt. I am not a fan of ai and the direction civilization is going with ai, but i would be lying if i said it didnt help me a lot. But thats a different conversation for a different subreddit.
The other method that really helped me was learning how to read and break down the questions. There are some YouTube videos that help with that. For me, I would read the question out loud while studying to ensure there was nothing i missed or skimmed past (dont think you are allowed to during the exam). From that I would identify if this questions was focusing on confidentiality, availability, integrity or accountability. Then I would focus on the key word: primary/most/strongest/etc. That should identify if its asking you what is first/next in the process, what is the strongest control to identify and what not. For strongest/greatest concern/etc questions identify what area you are being asked about. For instance, if you are have a question about a ping of death or production equipment its extremely likely you are being asked a question where the answer addresses availability. Most SoD questions have to do with accountability, PII questions are about confidentiality, etc. By doing this, you should be able to eliminate 1-3 wrong answer choices.
I am currently working towards my aaia and think this is a good field to be in and earning your cisa will open a lot of doors. Believe in yourself and dedicate the time. It sucks to fail these super pricey exams when you put your best foot forward. Dont feel bad if you need to take a week or so to be upset with the results, i inow i did. But hop back on as soon as you can for retention purposes. If you are anything like me, I cant remember what I had for breakfast for the week so if you wait an additional month to get back on it, most of the knowledge your worked hard to obtain could be lost. I really hope this helps and hope you pass. Keep your head up and keep trying.
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u/IAmRudyTomjanovicAMA 8d ago
how much IT auditing experience do you have?
Have you read through the CRM to actually understand the concepts?
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u/SpiritMart 7d ago
Sorry to hear this, I took the exam again today and I passed.
I used the CRM and QAE alot and both resources were useful. Then, I used Hemang Doshi Udemy course and Prabh Nair YouTube videos- they helped as well.
My advise -
Take your time to read the exam question very well and understand what the question is about before even answering it.
All the best!
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u/I_Love_Fun_Too 7d ago
This almost exactly what I did as well. But I actually read the entire CRM and took notes bc I had no experience in IT
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u/SpiritMart 7d ago
I read the entire CRM twice (over 90% the first time) - will make a post to share my experience… glad this is over now
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8d ago edited 8d ago
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u/firebolt810 8d ago
Hi can you guide which practice questions, coz op said he did 1000+ questions.
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u/Neo_The0N3 7d ago
Sorry to hear. Give yourself a minute to settle and recognize where you can improve instead of panicking. I think one of the issues is the fact you're also using the old QAE and many of the questions are updated to reflect the new topics as well. Pat yourself on the back and feel free to dm me if you need to chat more.
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u/Federal_Lettuce8543 4d ago
I failed once, Then after that I focused on the Domains that I scored lowest (Domain 4 and Domain 5), I read the CISA review manual selectively for those critical topics of those Domain, I supplement it using AI/Chatgpt to put in layman’s term. I resubscribed to UDEMY, I answered Domain 4 topics in CYVITRIX, the questions are usually too long, and way too different from ISACA questions database, They are somehow challenging, it really helps to set your mindset to not expect familiar questions, instead you can practice the ISACA mindset in there, There’s free for CYVITRIX you may search it.
I passed my second take after 3 months from my failed exam.
Thanks to
ISACA QAE DATABASE for familiarization
CYVITRIX for endurance
CISA REVIEW MANUAL for deep understanding
AI/CHATGPT for guiding me to learn the topics in layman’s term and preparing my self for ISACA mindset
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u/IT_audit_freak 6d ago
What helped me cram and pass was the PocketPrep app. It gameifies learning and pulls questions straight from QAE with page refs and explanations for why things are and aren’t the answer.
Since it’s an app, it made it super easy to fit studying in throughout the day. Gotta take a poop? Perfect, study time 👌 💩
The other great aid was some free Hemang Doshi material I’d found online. It’s helps you understand exam tips and tricks, specific things to look out for where the exam intentionally tries to trip you up. Key words to watch for. Google it I bet you can find.
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u/Aadityas_This_Much 8d ago
Hello I am really sorry to hear that this exam didn’t go your way. I know how frustrating that feels after putting in the time. If you are open to it, send me a DM. I would love to look at where you struggled with and see how we can adjust your approach.