Lessons Learned from PhilNITS

Today is May 8, 2009. I just finished eating an early lunch when I visited the PhilNITS website (www.philnits.org). I was surprised to see the results of the April 26 (2009) exam already posted, as I expected it to come out after a week more or so.

I immediately looked for passers from Davao (starting with FE005-...), and was surprised to find only 5 in the list of FE passers. I have set my mind not to expect too much (as I did last time), lest I might be dissapointed. But to be honest, I was hoping more from Davao would pass. Maybe because some took the "Removal" exam only. Maybe because some of the examinees already took the October 2008 exam and some of them even got very good scores. Maybe because our current batch of examinees really showed very good promise during our review program. Maybe because some of the examinees were quite confident about their performance when I asked them immediately after the exam.

Today, I was just reminded how difficult it is to pass the PhilNITS exam, and how unexpected the outcome can be. I have learned these so many times before while helping to prepare examinees to pass it. I have not really forgotten those lessons, I just thought that with all the lessons I already learned, and with all the new techniques I introduced to prepare for the exam, that "this time" would be "the time."

But alas, it was not to be.

Today I feel down... I feel I let so many people down.

But I will not give up. PhilNITS is definitely hard to pass, but it is not impossible. And I will continue to find ways to help people do well in the exam...