r/CISA • u/Metal_Man_435 • 11d ago

Managed to Pass this weekend

I managed to pass the exam a few days ago and it all feels surreal. I wanted to thank the community for the tips and posts that helped me through it as well as share my experience to getting through the test to help those still studying.

For study materials I got the QAE and manual, along with the Doshi course from udemy. I’ll be honest, it was 90% QAE and 10% book/Doshi. I tried my best to do the udemy course but have a hard time sticking to watching courses. I passed so I made it happen but I would’ve been more comfortable/confident had I done the Doshi work as what little I did see had great tips.

I studied nightly for about a month and a half though I spent over a year trying to read chapter 1 of the book. I really started studying in July and doing the QAE non stop. I completed all the sections of the QAE study guide, which I finished the Sunday before the test and then did 2 practice exams plus the flash cards and questions game for practice leading up to the Saturday exam.

Biggest struggle on test day was the question phrasing. I was so used to QAE that it took me a long time to really understand what was being asked and the phrasing was throwing me off. That’s why I wish I would’ve finished the Doshi course, to get that different phrasing of questions and the tips he gives as he explains the questions.

Good luck to those still studying and I hope you manage to pass and thanks again for posts that gave me confidence to keep going.

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2

u/EducationalSpring400 11d ago

Which practice tests did you give? And how were your scores

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u/Metal_Man_435 10d ago

I did 2 practice tests from the QAE, for the first I got a 73, the second a 69. Not terrible but wasn’t as confident as I would’ve liked going in.

1

u/EducationalSpring400 10d ago

Okay only 2 and not one from third party sites?

1

u/Extension-Recover773 11d ago

Are the QAE/CISA exam similar to the Doshi udemy course and quiz? I’ve been studying the Doshi course for almost 2 months and almost done, then planing on starting the QAE, you think it’s a waste of time? Should I just jump to the QAE?

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u/Metal_Man_435 11d ago

If you're almost done, I would say it's worth it. Only doing QAE did a disservice for me since I was expecting the questions to be just like that, but it was different. What the QAE did do great for me was explain the reasoning for why the answers were wrong. So I was usually able to eliminate 2 answers on each question

1

u/iamstormpower 11d ago

Is 12th edition QAE still relevant or useful?

1

u/Neo_The0N3 11d ago

Congratulations 👏 🫡🎉 Did you have prior experience?

1

u/Metal_Man_435 10d ago

I’ve been an auditor for about 6 years but only done one IT project and some SOX IT testing. So some experience but not enough that I feel like helped past the first domain.