p-adic wrote:(Unofficially,) I suspect they recycle a large number of the exam questions for a few years at a time, then release a recent test and change things up. The new test they just released is more or less the same exact test I took in April. A couple of the questions might have even appeared when I took the test in 2010, but most of it is different from then.
We're at the beginning of a cycle now, which means knowing the questions from September will undoubtedly help you for October. I think the difficulty this fall will be similar to the new test. I say this because having taken the test this year and 5 years ago, the tests were comparable in difficulty. That said, they're much more difficult than the released tests from the 90s.
I am going to be taking it in september, and I plan to sign up for the October one the same day if I feel that I did badly on the test ($25 additional late fee). Wouldn't this mean I had a significant advantage on the October test? Taking it to the extreme, what if I showed up to September and did all the questions but didn't hand it in (so my score wouldn't be processed, instead of having s low score on my record) and then took the October one? I don't plan to do this but what is stopping people from doing so other than money?