Need some advice on the SAS Base Certification Exam

[turtlebud]

I'm finishing up an SAS class at a community college (a month left) and am considering taking the Base SAS certification exam. We've covered most of the topics which are listed under the base exam. Considering that the exam is $150 a pop, I want to make sure I pass the first time I take it. Is it worth it for me to by the $120 exam prep book (which includes a practice test) to make sure I know the material that is going to be covered or should I just go over the notes from my class and see how well I do on the 50 question practice exam I found on the sas site for free? Oh, I can also buy a practice exam from SAS for $45 - which they say is 50 questions, but I'll be pretty upset if I find it's the same exam that I can download from their website.

 

[klaz2002]

Turtlbud,
I never took the exam so my advice may be tainted, but that said I would download the free example test and see if the material covered in your class is the type of material found on the sample. This way you can gauge your information gleened from your class (ie. did your professor give you the correct data/info needed etc..). If you have time why not read through the SAS help online.

http://v8doc.sas.com/sashtml/

if you need a user name/password
user: sas
pw: docs
Focus on the base sas help docs and look over the statements and functions as well as the procedures.
Hope you pass!
Klaz