How to register for a DSST?

[fork]

I thought to take a DSST you register online but their website says to call the testing center. So I called them and they do this so rarely that they have no idea how to do it. How does this process normally go with the DSST?

[rckola911]

Correct, you go to their website and they give you locations.  In our state it said there were 5 locations listed, so we started calling them.
Only 1 was doing testing the rest stopped doing it.  So its a crap shoot which sucks.  We also called the DSST people and they have the same info.
Schools basically submit to be a testing center. So if you cant find one that knows what they are doing you may have to travel to another location.

[leeloodallas]

I thought to take a DSST you register online but their website says to call the testing center. So I called them and they do this so rarely that they have no idea how to do it. How does this process normally go with the DSST?

You have to register for the exam and pay at the testing center.  You can go ahead and make an account on the DSST website, and fill out your personal info.  I wrote my username, password, and any discount codes on an index card.  The proctor at my test center let me have the index card at the computer while I signed in and paid, but then she held it at the front desk while I took my exam.  You will need to take your credit card to pay right before the exam.
Edited to add - At the testing center, they should be able to open the DSST exam site on Prometric and put in their access code, and you just pick the one you want, sign in with your account, and pay.

[fork]

I went to the proctor and between myself and the 2 people there we couldn't figure out how to do it. Prometric put the proctor on hold then hung up on them without any support. Finally we figured out that I have to register AGAIN because I'd registered for a practice test and you can't get to a live test from the practice test login. Now I'm going to try again tomorrow.

[dfrecore]

It's been a while, so I could be wrong. But with CLEP, you register and pay online for the exam, then go to the testing center you chose and take the exam, and pay the testing center fee there. With DSST, you just go to the testing center, there's no online registration.

With both, you should call first to make sure they still do testing (especially for the Public Speaking exam, which not all testing centers are set up for), find out their hours, find out the process, etc.

[fork]

It's been a while, so I could be wrong.  But with CLEP, you register and pay online for the exam, then go to the testing center you chose and take the exam, and pay the testing center fee there.  With DSST, you just go to the testing center, there's no online registration.

With both, you should call first to make sure they still do testing (especially for the Public Speaking exam, which not all testing centers are set up for), find out their hours, find out the process, etc.

There is definitely an online registration, but you can do it at the test center (or at home). So hopefully it will work tomorrow and I'll get to take the test. After all this the irony will be I'll probably fail it. I don't feel like I'm all that prepared but I'm going to try anyway.

[leeloodallas]

It's been a while, so I could be wrong.  But with CLEP, you register and pay online for the exam, then go to the testing center you chose and take the exam, and pay the testing center fee there.  With DSST, you just go to the testing center, there's no online registration.

With both, you should call first to make sure they still do testing (especially for the Public Speaking exam, which not all testing centers are set up for), find out their hours, find out the process, etc.

There is definitely an online registration, but you can do it at the test center (or at home). So hopefully it will work tomorrow and I'll get to take the test. After all this the irony will be I'll probably fail it. I don't feel like I'm all that prepared but I'm going to try anyway.

You can't register/pay at home.  This is directly from their website:

Q.5 How do I register and pay for a DSST exam?
A. Registration and payment is completed at the testing center within the testing platform on the day of the exam.
Q.6 Can I register my exam online prior to testing?
A. No, the registration process is completed at the testing center on your scheduled day and time.

[fork]

It's been a while, so I could be wrong.  But with CLEP, you register and pay online for the exam, then go to the testing center you chose and take the exam, and pay the testing center fee there.  With DSST, you just go to the testing center, there's no online registration.

With both, you should call first to make sure they still do testing (especially for the Public Speaking exam, which not all testing centers are set up for), find out their hours, find out the process, etc.

There is definitely an online registration, but you can do it at the test center (or at home). So hopefully it will work tomorrow and I'll get to take the test. After all this the irony will be I'll probably fail it. I don't feel like I'm all that prepared but I'm going to try anyway.

You can't register/pay at home.  This is directly from their website:

Q.5 How do I register and pay for a DSST exam?
A. Registration and payment is completed at the testing center within the testing platform on the day of the exam.
Q.6 Can I register my exam online prior to testing?
A. No, the registration process is completed at the testing center on your scheduled day and time.

I just did it from my computer at home. It's not surprising their FAQ is wrong. They are very difficult to say the least.

---

Ok note that the confusion here is about the account for the practice tests vs the live tests. You register for an account on Prometric's site for either practice tests or live tests (or both, but they are separate). You have to log into that live test account when you get to the test center. You can create and log into it at home but you can't take the test at home because the testing site has to first send it into the browser lockdown, I don't know what that requires on their end, maybe a passcode of some sort. So the problem today was that I had only registered for the practice test account and not the live test account, which, again, are completely separate. Prometric doesn't make that clear so I had no idea I needed ANOTHER account. I went home to do it because I didn't have my phone or email password with me and I thought I would need to do an email confirmation, but it turns out I didn't need to. So I could have taken it today but didn't know it. None of this is in their FAQ as far as I saw which is what made it so frustrating and confusing.

[leeloodallas]

It's been a while, so I could be wrong.  But with CLEP, you register and pay online for the exam, then go to the testing center you chose and take the exam, and pay the testing center fee there.  With DSST, you just go to the testing center, there's no online registration.

With both, you should call first to make sure they still do testing (especially for the Public Speaking exam, which not all testing centers are set up for), find out their hours, find out the process, etc.

There is definitely an online registration, but you can do it at the test center (or at home). So hopefully it will work tomorrow and I'll get to take the test. After all this the irony will be I'll probably fail it. I don't feel like I'm all that prepared but I'm going to try anyway.

You can't register/pay at home.  This is directly from their website:

Q.5 How do I register and pay for a DSST exam?
A. Registration and payment is completed at the testing center within the testing platform on the day of the exam.
Q.6 Can I register my exam online prior to testing?
A. No, the registration process is completed at the testing center on your scheduled day and time.

I just did it from my computer at home. It's not surprising their FAQ is wrong. They are very difficult to say the least.

---

Ok note that the confusion here is about the account for the practice tests vs the live tests. You register for an account on Prometric's site for either practice tests or live tests (or both, but they are separate). You have to log into that live test account when you get to the test center. You can create and log into it at home but you can't take the test at home because the testing site has to first send it into the browser lockdown, I don't know what that requires on their end, maybe a passcode of some sort. So the problem today was that I had only registered for the practice test account and not the live test account, which, again, are completely separate. Prometric doesn't make that clear so I had no idea I needed ANOTHER account. I went home to do it because I didn't have my phone or email password with me and I thought I would need to do an email confirmation, but it turns out I didn't need to. So I could have taken it today but didn't know it. None of this is in their FAQ as far as I saw which is what made it so frustrating and confusing.

Edited - That's what I did  - create an account at home ahead of time. Then when I got to the testing center, register/pay for the exam within the secure browser.  
Good luck on your exam! I have taken 5 DSSTs and I never felt very confident going into them, but I did pass them.

[fork]

It's been a while, so I could be wrong.  But with CLEP, you register and pay online for the exam, then go to the testing center you chose and take the exam, and pay the testing center fee there.  With DSST, you just go to the testing center, there's no online registration.

With both, you should call first to make sure they still do testing (especially for the Public Speaking exam, which not all testing centers are set up for), find out their hours, find out the process, etc.

There is definitely an online registration, but you can do it at the test center (or at home). So hopefully it will work tomorrow and I'll get to take the test. After all this the irony will be I'll probably fail it. I don't feel like I'm all that prepared but I'm going to try anyway.

You can't register/pay at home.  This is directly from their website:

Q.5 How do I register and pay for a DSST exam?
A. Registration and payment is completed at the testing center within the testing platform on the day of the exam.
Q.6 Can I register my exam online prior to testing?
A. No, the registration process is completed at the testing center on your scheduled day and time.

I just did it from my computer at home. It's not surprising their FAQ is wrong. They are very difficult to say the least.

---

Ok note that the confusion here is about the account for the practice tests vs the live tests. You register for an account on Prometric's site for either practice tests or live tests (or both, but they are separate). You have to log into that live test account when you get to the test center. You can create and log into it at home but you can't take the test at home because the testing site has to first send it into the browser lockdown, I don't know what that requires on their end, maybe a passcode of some sort. So the problem today was that I had only registered for the practice test account and not the live test account, which, again, are completely separate. Prometric doesn't make that clear so I had no idea I needed ANOTHER account. I went home to do it because I didn't have my phone or email password with me and I thought I would need to do an email confirmation, but it turns out I didn't need to. So I could have taken it today but didn't know it. None of this is in their FAQ as far as I saw which is what made it so frustrating and confusing.

Edited - That's what I did  - create an account at home ahead of time. Then when I got to the testing center, register/pay for the exam within the secure browser.  
Good luck on your exam! I have taken 5 DSSTs and I never felt very confident going into them, but I did pass them.

Thanks I'll need it. Cybersecurity is a HUGE field. I can't believe the size of some of the resources on the DSST study sheet. No way I have time to go through all of that. I'm just going to see if I can pass it now with what I know. I give myself about a 50% chance of managing a pass.