Exam Reviews
If you have recently sat a MOUS exam and want to share your experience with the world, please post it here. Remember that you are not allowed to disclose exam questions - this is in the small print in the exam software. If necessary, I will edit your reviews to ensure you comply with this point.
I will be gradually adding my own reviews as well.
Read Exam Reviews
Word 2000 Core
The test only had 33 questions, with 45 minutes to complete. Each question, unlike Word 97 which I also passed, had multiple parts, much more like a real office situation. I also had to wait until each question downloaded which was a little disconcerting since I felt this might have taken off from my total time. I realize now that it didn't count against the total time but I was worried during the test. Questions were easier than Word 97 because I was familiar with the testing situation. As hard as it is to relax, it's important for taking these tests. I missed some easy questions not because I didn't know the material but because I must have "clicked" something irrelevant. Only do what is asked and think it through first. Good Luck!
- Joyce
Word and Excel 97 Proficient
I passed both of these tests not really knowing what to expect from the exam. I read peoples reviews here and found it to be somewhat useful. Being nervous is a definite minus. I passed with an 84 and 82 respectively. If you do anything to get ready look over the points on the MOUS web site to be familiar with what will be covered for your test. I am off to do the expert levels next!
- Nancy
Excel 97 Proficient
I passed the exam with an 88% score. I'd say about 25% of the questions were
ridiculously easy - simple formatting stuff. There were also several questions that
covered material that didn't appear in the stated exam objectives. While there weren't
enough of these to throw off the exam scoring too much, it was disconcerting to see
material I wasn't expecting and hadn't prepared for. It would be wise to go over all the
menu possibilities before taking this test, even the most remote ones, such as the addins.
Only one simple formula question, lots of importing and exporting, lots of workbook
collaboration and a surprising number of printing related questions. Make sure you know
how to write a custom format and be familiar with the special number formats. The time
allotted is more than ample I used about 40 minutes of the hour and fifteen minute total.
36 questions 75% to pass each question worth 2.7777 points. As everyone else has said
"read the directions CAREFULLY." !
You have to do EXACTLY what the question asks--no more no less. I found it helpful to read
the directions, repeat them to myself and then (internally) talk my way through the
solution before actually clicking anything. I stayed away from keyboard shortcuts and made
sure I had closed all dialogue boxes and clicked on an empty cell before going to the next
question. I failed the test three days earlier by one question (72%). The only difference
between the first time and the second was my familiarity and comfort with the testing
method. I know numerous MOUS certified folks and almost everyone has failed at least one
exam--not from lack of knowledge, but from not understanding exactly how the test expects
you to do things. My failing test was easily worth the money in that regard.
- Michael Styles (88% score)
Excel 97 Expert
If you've studied from the MS Press step-by-step series, you might get
the impression that this test consists of nothing but very in-depth,
multi-faceted questions. In fact, most of the questions are very
straight-forward, and brief enough to remain displayed onscreen, without
forcing one to pull up the instruction box.
Pay particular attention to the "Use Advanced Functionality"
objectives: they accounted for the most difficult and involved
questions on this test.
If you need to pull up the instruction box, make sure you click IN THAT
BOX when you're done to make it go away -- the box does not fill the
screen; if you click the spreadsheet behind it, you may (as I did) delete
the spreadsheet and not be able to re-call it, thus killing that question.
In retrospect, the most useful book I studied from was the old 1997
edition of the Que Excel97 Exam Guide: it gives you all the information in
easily digestible chunks, without complicating the subject the way SBS
does. In general, the test asks you to perform in equally digestible
chunks.
This is a fair test, and not at all the monster everyone makes it out to
be. If you've done any studying at all, you should be able to pass.
I felt no rush, and completed it in 55 minutes, including filling out the
form and reading the instructions.
GOOD HUNTING to you all !!
- SRN
Word 97 Expert
I thought that the test was as it had been described in all the material. There was one "trick" question that I thought could have been handled differently. Good Luck to everyone!
- Hannah Fry (97% score)
I found the test extremely simplistic. I was at the half-way point in only 15 minutes. I was constantly thinking, "I must be doing something wrong, this is just too easy."
- Cathy
The Word 97 Expert exam is not one to be taken too lightly - although some of the questions are ridiculously easy, there are also some relatively complex questions that need both skill and common sense. This is a good assessment of the Word user's skills, and the time given is extremely generous. If you are a competent Word user, you should have no trouble completing this test in under 1 hour.
- John Downs (92% score)
PowerPoint 97 Expert
Everything you've probably heard about this being a
relatively easy exam is true. That said, you DO need study for it if
you're not familiar with the app -- i.e. don't think you can wing it based
on your in depth knowledge of Word or Excel (I say this because I was
recently able to score very high on a non-MOUS Word test, wherein I relied
on my knowledge of Excel).
When studying, pay particular attention to anything concerning graphic
manipulations or formatting. Pay attention to anything related to
printing: know how to print any part or parts of a presentation to
anywhere, to printer or to file.
The majority of the questions are very quick and simple; those that aren't
are obscure by comparison, and there's enough of them to almost fail you.
- SRN
Access 97 Expert
Watch out for this exam. I used Access 97 Exam Guide by QUE to study from. It seemed fairly straighforward given what the book covered. I looked at the objectives covered as listed by www.mous.net. When I felt I knew it, I took the test. I scored 90 or above on the other three tests. This one I failed the first time with a 68. There are topics on there which are not specifically listed in the test objectives. Make sure that you know about events and how to work with them. Also make sure that you know the basics of the Macro Builder and getting into the Visual Basic editor. This was also the trickiest test as far as time. You have 60 minutes to complete 48 questions. This does not really give time to look through help so you have to know your stuff. I took the test again a few days later and did pass. One final note. I also found the questions confusing about which view to leave your work in before going to the next question. They may say "leave your work in table view". I didn't know if this was design view or datasheet view. Most of the questions were this way. Has anyone else out there found this test confusing because of that?
Probably my worst mistake was scouring the web looking for exam tips. I got a little psyched out after reading some contradictory "tips" on how to do the exam. Time would have been much better spent going through the outline as provided by Microsoft and not worrying about the exam format. Maybe the exam has been improved since a lot of the information I read was written, but I found the exam format quite straight forward. With about 5 exceptions, it was quite clear what to do before going to the next question. A typical instruction is, "save and leave open". On 3 occasions, I tried to proceed without saving, but it stopped me and reminded to save. The one thing I would suggest is to find out what kind of machine the exam is being run on. Mine was a Pentium, but I have a hunch it was choked back on RAM. It took a long time between questions - a couple I timed were over 15 seconds. I figure if that was reduced to 5 seconds, I would have had an extra 8 minutes, and I definitely could have used it, as a skipped 1 or 2 without trying too hard in order to meet my time ration. Anyway, I passed on my first attempt with a 75, not flying colours, but I don’t thinks it’s too bad for my first MOUS.
- Denton (75% Score)
Editors Note regarding previous review - According to Nivo International, the time that you get for doing the exam does not include the time it takes for questions to load, be displayed, or mark.
Also, although there are quite a few tips around which may not be very good for passing MOUS exams, the ones provided at this web site (and also at www.officecert.com and www.mous.net) have been tested and found to be correct.