![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fantastic_jackieI mentioned a while back that on January 2, I'd be taking my Series 6 exam - one of the two required securities licenses I have to obtain in order to keep my job. Well, today was Jaunary 2, and I took my exam.
There are three different versions of the test: the easy test, the medium test, and the hard test. They have an exact make up of questions per unit, but the amount of basic, intermediate, and advanced questions chosen create the difference. The theory is that the easy tests are generally given at the end of the month and the hard tests are generally given at the beginning. I took my test at the beginning of the month at the beginning of the year: oh yeah. I got the hard one, and it was pretty easy to tell once I hit the 30s.
But of course, the hard test wasn't all there was to it. I got sick again yesterday before getting better from the first flu, so today, I was running a 102 degree temperature with achey joints, a stuffed up head, and a sore throat/ears. Oh, and a foggy brain like nothing else; I couldn't stay focused on anything, let alone comprehend. And to top that all off, I woke up this morning with a huge lump on my head which did a fair job of keeping the world tilted at an odd angle.
Nervous yet? I was beyond that. But I have a history of testing well while sick (SAT English scores with 104 degree temp & strep = top 10% of nation and Math top 20%), so I was keeping cool. Until I hit the 30s.
During the test, I marked a ton of questions for review. I knew I had and that it wasn't just my anxiety playing tricks on me. Many times during the test, I was positive I was going to fail with a 55. There were so many questions about topics I'd never read anything about, regulations and violations and documents I'd never run across. There were other questions that used completely different terminology that had little-to-nothing in common with what I studied. Suffice it to say, I was stressed. Having to rely on my innate near-"supernatural" testing abilities to pass wasn't in my plans.
Going back to review, I counted the marked questions I hadn't been sure about: 38. For the record, whenever I mark a set amount of questions, add 10 more missed, and that's what my score was. Out of 105 questions, I was going to miss 48.
I was gonna die. I was gonna throw up, lose my job, and then I was gonna die - of embarrassment and shame, what if's and if only's and just x more questions!
Staying calm was a feat, as it had been the entire time. I had 28 minutes to go over the 38 marked questions. I knew I wouldn't make it through them all, and I didn't; I changed 2 answers and stuck with my gut instincts on the rest.
Then I ran out of time.
I waited for the test to grade. 10 seconds...
75... No. 80. I passed with an 80! On the hard exam! With a 102 fever and brain that wouldn't work!! I didn't stay silent like I was supposed to. XD 50% of the people that take this test fail, and those that pass barely make 70's - I got an 80!! ANND even though I didn't beat Terri's 84, I DID pass every single unit with flying colors. =D I was so happy, I did their stupid little survey at the end. XD
And now? Well, now, I'm finally able to write this down, but earlier I started on another fic. It's more theraputic than actually writing the fic; I needed to get my focus off what I'd just done and everything else that I've been concentrating on lately. :)
So. Onto the 63. And then I'll be done, all set and licensed.
Seriously, though? I thought I was gonna leave the room with white hair!!
But of course, the hard test wasn't all there was to it. I got sick again yesterday before getting better from the first flu, so today, I was running a 102 degree temperature with achey joints, a stuffed up head, and a sore throat/ears. Oh, and a foggy brain like nothing else; I couldn't stay focused on anything, let alone comprehend. And to top that all off, I woke up this morning with a huge lump on my head which did a fair job of keeping the world tilted at an odd angle.
Nervous yet? I was beyond that. But I have a history of testing well while sick (SAT English scores with 104 degree temp & strep = top 10% of nation and Math top 20%), so I was keeping cool. Until I hit the 30s.
During the test, I marked a ton of questions for review. I knew I had and that it wasn't just my anxiety playing tricks on me. Many times during the test, I was positive I was going to fail with a 55. There were so many questions about topics I'd never read anything about, regulations and violations and documents I'd never run across. There were other questions that used completely different terminology that had little-to-nothing in common with what I studied. Suffice it to say, I was stressed. Having to rely on my innate near-"supernatural" testing abilities to pass wasn't in my plans.
Going back to review, I counted the marked questions I hadn't been sure about: 38. For the record, whenever I mark a set amount of questions, add 10 more missed, and that's what my score was. Out of 105 questions, I was going to miss 48.
I was gonna die. I was gonna throw up, lose my job, and then I was gonna die - of embarrassment and shame, what if's and if only's and just x more questions!
Staying calm was a feat, as it had been the entire time. I had 28 minutes to go over the 38 marked questions. I knew I wouldn't make it through them all, and I didn't; I changed 2 answers and stuck with my gut instincts on the rest.
Then I ran out of time.
I waited for the test to grade. 10 seconds...
75... No. 80. I passed with an 80! On the hard exam! With a 102 fever and brain that wouldn't work!! I didn't stay silent like I was supposed to. XD 50% of the people that take this test fail, and those that pass barely make 70's - I got an 80!! ANND even though I didn't beat Terri's 84, I DID pass every single unit with flying colors. =D I was so happy, I did their stupid little survey at the end. XD
And now? Well, now, I'm finally able to write this down, but earlier I started on another fic. It's more theraputic than actually writing the fic; I needed to get my focus off what I'd just done and everything else that I've been concentrating on lately. :)
So. Onto the 63. And then I'll be done, all set and licensed.
Seriously, though? I thought I was gonna leave the room with white hair!!
