My recommendation for anyone fresh is trying to score a free Cisco Academy course in some way. Mainly for the verbiage issues on the CCNA exam I took and for an entryway into what they want out of you from the tests. I REALLY helps if you have any sort of basic knowledge on networking.
Other than that, Packet Tracer is your best friend. I was used to CLI, pounded some practice scenarios on Packet Tracer, and passed first time some years back. Learning CLI is the obvious boon, as it just does everything for you pretty much.