What I heard from classmates who placed out last year was that it was a difficult exam and that many wished they just took the lab portion with the rest of the class. Many students who took the lab portion did much better than students who placed out. Also, knowing that you had a chance to bring up your grade in the practical if you bombed a written exam was an option the students who placed out did not have. The practicals saved a lot of people in terms of grades last year.
