Failed my CIT exam twice — what am I missing in my prep? — Forums

Jessica L.OP

May 27, 2026

So I've been working in IT support for about three years now and decided the CIT certification would help me move into a more formal sysadmin role. Took the exam back in February, scored a 68 — needed a 75 to pass. Studied for another six weeks and took it again last month. Got a 71. I'm getting closer but I'm clearly hitting a wall somewhere.

My current routine is reading through the official study guide and doing a CIT practice test every few days on one of those free sites. But honestly I'm not sure my practice tests are covering the right material. I keep getting tripped up on the networking fundamentals section and anything related to security protocols. Has anyone found resources that actually mirror the real exam format?

Would love to hear exam tips from people who've actually passed, especially if you were in a similar spot. How many hours total did you put in, and what finally clicked for you?

Chloe W.

May 28, 2026

I was in almost the exact same boat — failed once at 70, then passed on my third attempt with an 82. What changed for me was ditching the free practice sites and finding one that actually explains why the wrong answers are wrong. The networking section is brutal if you're just memorizing. I spent two full weekends just on subnetting until it made intuitive sense, not just procedural sense. Probably 80 hours total prep time across three months.

lisa.prep

May 28, 2026

Honest question — are you just doing full practice tests or also drilling individual domains separately? I found that my overall scores looked okay but I was tanking specific subareas. Once I broke it down and focused 70% of my time on weak spots instead of full tests, my score jumped pretty fast. Also the official study guide is honestly pretty dry and misses some things the actual exam emphasizes. I supplemented with a few YouTube channels that walk through scenarios.

Samantha C.

May 28, 2026

71 to passing is closer than you think — don't give up. The security protocols stuff tripped me up too. What helped was finding a CIT study guide that had scenario-based questions, not just definitions. Real-world scenarios are like 40% of what you'll see. You've got this.

Failed my CIT exam twice — what am I missing in my prep?

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