Microsoft Learning: Buy More Exams, Get a Bigger Discount

Microsoft has some great year-end certification deals!

For years and years now, Microsoft Learning has usually made some kind of certification discount offer in the last quarter of the calendar year. The latest offer is a bit of a departure from the numerous free retake offers we've seen from Microsoft in recent years. This time, they're offering an escalating discount.

 

The discount applies to upcoming MCP exams, as described in Selina Winter's Dec. 1 Born to Learn blog post entitled Save up to 50 percent on MCP Exams In fact, there's quite bit to this latest round of discounts aimed at increasing certification testing, so let me unpack it for you.

 

There are three elements to this latest offer:

 

1) An escalating discount schedule for MCP Exam purchases, including a nice retroactive kicker for those who've already purchased MCP exams in the second half of 2017.

 

2) 35 percent Savings on Microsoft Press cert prep titles for Exam Ref books and ebooks.

 

3) 30 percent savings on MeasureUp MCP practice tests from Mindhub.

 

The first two elements come with an expiration date of Dec. 31. The final element stays in effect until April 30. Good stuff! Keep reading for more details

 

Escalating Discount Schedule for MCP Exams

 

Take any exam during the promotional period which expires on April 30, and get 25 percent off on your next exam after that. If you purchase additional exams at the same time, the discount goes up to 50 percent for each additional exam after that, for as many as you want to buy. Exams may be purchased from any of the following outlets:

 

Direct purchase from Microsoft Learning

 

Purchase through an MS Learning Partner or a Pearson VUE testing center

 

Mindhub

 

If you've taken one or more MCP exams since July 1 (the starting date for the second half of the year), then you're already eligible for discounts, but only if you make upcoming purchases on the Microsoft Learning website. Here's a link to all the fine print for the discount offer details, if you think you might quality for any of these discount options.

 

35 percent Savings on Microsoft Press Cert Prep Titles

 

Dudebro studying on laptop with headphones on

If you purchase on or before Dec. 31, then you can get a nice cut off the list price for the entire Exam Ref series of cert prep books, which cover a wide range of exam topics (and apparently include a number of now-retired exam topics as well as current ones). The blog post links to Exam Ref books and eBooks but perusal of all 15 panes of books to which the offer replies shows only one title outside the series (and it's on Windows 8.1).

 

So it's pretty much a pure MS Press cert prep discount offer, plain and simple. That doesn't mean it's to be sneezed at, but I'd hoped to see Pearson (the publishing company that currently backs MS Press) throw in some of its Cert Guide and Exam Cram titles as well. But that's not happening through this offer, though it's not unusual for the company's certification unit, PearsonITCertification.com, to offer discounts on cert prep books at year's end also.

 

30 percent Savings on MeasureUp MCP Practice Tests

 

You have to buy in bulk from Mindhub to take advantage of this third element of the discount offer. But if you buy three or more MeasureUp practice tests from that outlet on or before April 30, 2018, you'll get a 30 percent discount on your buy. Considering that those exams usually cost $119 to $139, that means savings of over $100 for three or more exams. Here's the fine print on that prong of the discount offer, for readers to whom these discounts might beckon.

 

Overall, this is a pretty good deal. If you've got MCP exams in your current sights, and can take at least one of those exams on or before April 30, then you can save a minimum of $40-plus (25 percent of the $165 price for MCP exams is $41.25, to be more exact). Those savings only get better if you can meet the terms of the deal, and need to take more than one or two more MCP exams in 2018. Ditto for the discounts on practice tests and MS Press Exam Ref titles. As I said before: Good stuff!

 

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About the Author

Ed Tittel is a 30-plus-year computer industry veteran who's worked as a software developer, technical marketer, consultant, author, and researcher. Author of many books and articles, Ed also writes on certification topics for Tech Target, ComputerWorld and Win10.Guru. Check out his website at www.edtittel.com, where he also blogs daily on Windows 10 and 11 topics.