DANTES Rise & Fall USSR exam thoughts

[beckysharp]

Hi Crystal,

I have earned 61 credits so far. Hopefully, by the end of this month I will have 70. I have earned all 61 credits since November, but I had to take two entire months off for financial reasons (all of January and February).

Once I got back into the swing of things, I purposely slowed down the pace and am currently taking three exams per month.

Upper Level exams I have either taken, or plan to take are:

DANTES:
Rise & Fall of the Soviet Union
Civil War & Reconstruction
Drug & Alcohol Abuse
Management Information Systems

ECE:
Research Methods in Psychology
Foundations of Gerentology
Psychology of Adulthood & Aging
Abnormal Psychology
Social Psychology
Organizational Behavior (I may take an additional UL Dantes exam so that I can take the LL DANTES version of Organizational Behavior and save a bit of money...not sure yet)

With my Psychology degree, I plan to become a Professional Psychlist and maybe one day Psychle in the Olympics!
hilarious

That's my story and I'm sticking to it,
Snazzlefrag

Wow, that's some story! I have to say you amaze me! You must type 120 word per minute to post as much as you do.

You will be an outstanding Psychologist. You already know how to help people and you do an amazing job providing help on this board.

Three exams per month? I'm tired just thinking about it.

Good luck with that Olympic goal.

Crystal

[beckysharp]

Hi All,

Just got back from my USSR exam. There is no doubt that this is an Upper Level exam. They asked a lot of questions about 'obscure' facts and details.

I don't have anything to add to the mix that hasn't already been said.

- There was NOTHING on my exam prior to Alexander III.
- The vast majority of the exam concentrated on Lenin, Stalin, the 1917 Revolution, and the Civil War.
- Three or four questions about writers/painters/dissidents.
- Quite a few questions on 'foreign policy' that were not explicitly covered by Instantcert (your additional resources will fill in the gaps for you though).
- Several questions on the end of the USSR (1990's).
- Not too many questions covering Khrushchev and Brezhnev (maybe half a dozen on each).
- A couple of questions required you to know what "Socialist Realism" is.

If you study using Instantcert AND the several web links I posted earlier in this thread, you will know the answers to most of the questions. There were only perhaps half a dozen questions that I had to completely guess on. The rest, I either knew, or could make an educated guess based on what I had studied.

Nevertheless, this was a very challenging exam and I found myself really having to think through the answer choices before picking one. As the DANTES factsheet points out, 95% of the exam is recall of facts. However, a LOT of the questions require you to know MORE than just 'basic' facts...

For example:
A Lower Level exam (or a less difficult exam) might ask you what the Cuban Missile Crisis was. This exam, instead, might ask you what the causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis were, or what the repercussions of the Cuban Missile Crisis were.

That's the best way I can think of to try and explain the difficulty level of this exam. I hope it makes sense!

It took me almost three hours to complete this exam. Not because I didn't know the information. Rather, it was because I DID know the information, but had to really concentrate on most questions before I could decide which of the answer options was the MOST correct. It's tricky!

Anyway, as I said, this is not really anything new. The others have already said most of what I just described.

A couple of specific things to know:
(These are not direct answers to questions on the exam. But if you know this info you might be able to work out the answers to a few of the questions).


- Know the real name of Tito (leader of Yugoslavia).

- Know who Anna Akhmatova was.

- Know which Soviet Republic declared independence first.

- Know which Republics made it through the 90's without significant bloodshed.

- Know which countries the USSR tried to make alliances with prior to WWII.

I hope this helps somebody,
Snazzlefrag
(P.S. Now the wait begins! As with almost ALL Dantes exams....I think I passed, but I may have failed! I'll update you once I find out.)

I'm practically "braindead" when I leave one of those exams. I can't believe the detail you've provided.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the help. If I can be of help, let me know.

You deserve a rest!

Crystal

[snazzlefrag]

My USSR score report just arrived,

I got a 71 and I am absolutely thrilled. I didn't expect to do this well on it, but I studied really hard and it obviously paid off.
hilarious

Thanks to all those who gave me help, encouragement, and advice while I was preparing for this exam. It definitely made a difference.

My score report arrived in exactly 14 days (as did my last score report). I'm not sure if DANTES have increased their staff or instituted new policies, but I don't usually get my scores this quickly.

Thanks again everyone,
Snazzlefrag

[RBOWMAN]

CONGRATS ON A TEST VERY WELL DONE!! :o

[charlie130]

AWESOME SCORE SNAZZ!!!
CONGRATULATIONS AND
THANKS FOR ALL YOU ARE
DOING FOR US ON THIS FORUM
YOU DESERVE A SPECTACULAR
SCORE!!!
hilarious hilarious hilarious

[ShotoJuku]

My USSR score report just arrived,

I got a 71 and I am absolutely thrilled. I didn't expect to do this well on it, but I studied really hard and it obviously paid off.
hilarious

Thanks to all those who gave me help, encouragement, and advice while I was preparing for this exam. It definitely made a difference.

Thanks again everyone,
Snazzlefrag

[SIZE="4"]Oh ye of little faith - we told you that you would be fine and with a 71 that's EXTREMELY FINE - GREAT JOB!!![/SIZE]

[Kiwi Lover]

My USSR score report just arrived,

I got a 71 and I am absolutely thrilled. I didn't expect to do this well on it, but I studied really hard and it obviously paid off.
hilarious

Thanks to all those who gave me help, encouragement, and advice while I was preparing for this exam. It definitely made a difference.

My score report arrived in exactly 14 days (as did my last score report). I'm not sure if DANTES have increased their staff or instituted new policies, but I don't usually get my scores this quickly.

Thanks again everyone,
Snazzlefrag

WAY TO GO SNAZZLEFRAG!!! That is a fantastic score, because from what I have read here, that is NOT an easy exam!

Okay...details please! Is there anything you can add about the test that hasn't already been posted?

I am saving that test and Statistics for last...for good reason!

Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS!! hilarious

[yutzyj]

My USSR score report just arrived,

I got a 71 and I am absolutely thrilled. I didn't expect to do this well on it, but I studied really hard and it obviously paid off.

Back in the USSR! Great Job! COOL!

[snazzlefrag]

Okay...details please! Is there anything you can add about the test that hasn't already been posted?

Thanks everyone for the congrats...you made my day!

Kiwi,
At this point, I would just advise you to start with ShotoJuku's excellent feedback in message #1 of this thread, and then work your way through all the other posts. You will find the combined input of the various members who have posted to this thread invaluable as you prepare to take the exam.

Best of luck to you,
Snazzlefrag

[beckysharp]

http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/rutoc.html#ru0034

Also, the 18 hr series on VHS "The Cold War" by CNN I found to be invaluable and much better than "Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union" video.
I checked it out of my local library.