Intro to Modern Middle East

[sirjake]

OK, thanks. It's actually a very interesting subject; I've really enjoyed studying for it. I've never really had a good grasp of why Israel and Palestine always seem to be fighting, what the heck we're doing over there and how we got involved in the first place, etc. It's worth looking at (which makes it easier for me to study it). Honestly, to me, this subject has been much more interesting to study than some of the other CLEPs that I've easily passed. But of course, I love history, so that probably helps.

I'll let you know how I do. I'm taking it next Tuesday. Studying IC, Wikipedia, and a couple of library books: "Everything Middle East" and a teen book, "Facts and Figures about the Middle East," that I read over quickly to give me the big points to get oriented to the subject.

[sirjake]

I just got back from taking Intro to the Modern Middle East. Naturally, I don't have my score yet, so I'm speaking mainly from "feel." Take that for what it's worth.

I went through all of IC questions multiple times, read the "Everything's Guide to the Middle East," a short teen book from the library on the subject, and most of an Idiots guide and a Dummies guide on the subject. I can't say that I'm confident at all about this test. I felt absolutely "sure" of my answer on a question for maybe 10-15 questions (out of 95!!!). Then I had some idea of what the correct answer might be on half of the rest. For the others, I had maybe the slightest inclination toward a single answer though I often didn't know why. And for probably at least 5-15 questions, it was a straight guess. They seemed to be asking rather specific questions that required far more than a "general" knowledge of the events of the middle east. I read from four or five different sources and still hit questions that used terms in the question stem that I had never even heard of.

Another annoyance to me was that right out of the gate, question 4, I think, they asked a history question from "100-700 C.E." I intentionally limited my study to the fifteenth century forward because the study guide they give lists "Ottoman Empire 1500-1800" first and gives no indication that any other early information would be required.

Given all of that, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to fail this one. At least all I need is a 47. I'd be totally happy with that minimum score, too.

[PriTyan]

I feel your pain.

It’s hard to explain the difficulty of this test. Perhaps you said it best that a general knowledge of the subject may not be adequate to pass the test. The other 5 DSST tests I took averaged about an hour and 15 minutes to complete and I A'd them all. This one took me well over two hours and I confident that I failed.

The only hope we have is that this test is scaled based on it's difficulty. I’ll post my score when I get it. It typically takes about 18-20 days for me to receive them.

P

[PriTyan]

I just got my results back with a score of 50.

Not the greatest score, but I’ll take it.

So this difficult exam can be passed with just Instacert alone.

PriTyan

[sirjake]

Sweet! I'm still waiting for my results, of course. Here's hoping I do that well! :-D

[sirjake]

I got my score report today. I scored a 54. One more point and I would have had an A (as far as Excelsior is concerned). But, as it is, since I'm a TESC student currently, it doesn't really matter since it's pass/fail. Thus, I passed! I was thinking I might have flunked this one, so 54 is certainly good enough!

[PriTyan]

Great job sirjake.

I think we both were sweeting this one a bit.

P

[snazzlefrag]

Hi All,

I just got back from taking DANTES Intro to the Modern Middle East.

This was a HARD exam! I can't stress this enough. I studied hard for this exam. I learned everything in Instantcert, researched lots of things in Wikipedia, and used some additional web sites....but I don't think it was enough.

First of all, the notion that this exam is about the MODERN Middle East is absolutely ludicrous. The exam covers 2,000 years of Middle Eastern history.

Second of all, the notion that this exam is an INTRODUCTION to the Modern Middle East is also outrageous. I found this 'lower level' exam to be more difficult than the Soviet Union and the Civil War exams.

Don't be misled by the title of this exam. It should be renamed "Advanced History of the Middle East from Ancient times to Modern".

Despite all my studies, I felt grossly under prepared for the exam. In many cases I had no clue what the question was talking about, let alone what the answer should be. My only hope is that the curve will save me on this one.

Ironically, I really enjoyed studying the material. It was extremely interesting and explained a lot about the history behind current events in the Middle East.

Here's what you need to know for this exam:

Don't take it!
(Take something else instead, unless you are in the mood to get your ass kicked for three hours)

--

As with Money & Banking, I don't want to give you a list of things to study. It might fool you into thinking that you can get by with simply working your way down a list of topics. Trust me....you need to study DEEP for this exam. Why on earth they think this exam is lower level is beyond me.

Sorry I can't be more helpful for this particular exam. It was a horrible experience for me. I feel battered, bruised, and exhausted. I am used to being very well prepared for each exam (even if it is a hard one). I studied as hard as I usually do, but still felt clueless for a lot of the questions.

I WAS able to answer a whole bunch of questions without guessing though. So with a bit of luck, and a helpful grading curve, I still may pass. But I have a horrible feeling that I either failed, or scored very low.

It's going to be a very long wait for my score to arrive.

I will let you know how it goes,
Snazzlefrag

[ShotoJuku]

Hi All,

I just got back from taking DANTES Intro to the Modern Middle East.

This was a HARD exam! I can't stress this enough. I studied hard for this exam. I learned everything in Instantcert, researched lots of things in Wikipedia, and used some additional web sites....but I don't think it was enough..........It's going to be a very long wait for my score to arrive.

I will let you know how it goes,
Snazzlefrag

[SIZE="3"][COLOR="Navy"]Despite the intensity and apparent difficulty of the exam, it sounds to me as though you were able surmount this one too and will be receiving a glowing score in just around 2 weeks or so.

Keep the faith and move on my friend - what's next?[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Blue]

wow, you guys sound like you've just came back from battle from those exams! either way, pass or fail, congrats for going through with them!

pri and jake, congrats on passing your middle east exams =] at least you guys don't have to worry about them anymore rite?

and snazzle, you already prepared as much as you could for the exam. now that you're done with it, relax a little and de-stress your brain (i know it's easier said than done =p) but it'll be all good =]

jenny =]