I cleared the ACP exam today with Above Target in all domains. I was very nervous to take the exam however, by the 10th question was completely at ease. In my experience, the exam questions were NOT as difficult as the Prep-Cast question. Please see my lessons learned below:
Exam Prep Classes (I took two)
• Class #1 Cprime in August 2017 - powerpoint prison
• Class #2 Udemy/Joseph Phillips January 2018 -powerpoint prison
My exam strategy products (review below)
1. Mike Griffith Exam Prep Book
2. RMC Fasttrack Simulator (exams upper 80%)
3. Prep-Cast Simulator (exam results 78%, 77%, 68%(fail), 84%)
Study Strategy (Over a 3 week period)
1. Read the Griffith book cover to cover. Did not attempt chapter questions as suggested by author.
2. Took first Fasttrack exam of 120 questions. Result low 70s
3. Re-read each chapter in the book. Did the questions at the end of each chapter (getting 80%). Repeat
4. Immediately after each chapter take a Fasttrack Domain quiz (60-100) questions averaging 75%+ on quizzes.
5. Took second Fasttrack exam of 120 questions. Result 83%
6. Took Exam #1 from Prep-Cast - got 78.3% but below target in two domains.
7. Studied domains below target by completing step 3 - 4 from above. Scored 85% in the RMC database questions
8. Took Exam #2 from Prep-Cast got 76.7% but below target in two domains
9. Studied domains below target by completing step 3 - 4 from above.
10. Took Exam #3 from Prep-Cast got 67.5% failing with all but two domains below target!!! Exam #3 is really tough. Look through the Forum posts and you will see others have the same experience.
11. Studied domains below target by completing step 3 - 4 from above.
12. Took Exam #4 from Prep-Cast got 84%
Product Reviews
1. Mike Griffith book very well done and maps nicely to Prep-Cast exam topics. Definitely well worth the cost. Probably the only “book” you need.
2. RMC Fasttrack –
a. Pros - Nice set of questions of low to medium difficulty. Situational questions about 30%. Can run by domain or full exam.
b. Cons – A pain to install. Would not install on my new windows 10 pro 64 bit machine. Had to install on an old Windows 7 surface pro. Poor customer service support trying to BUY the software. I think the issues relate to the super dooper top anti-piracy code they use. Software not available in the cloud so must be sitting in front of the machine it is installed on. Interface is dated. Cannot filter questions to see only those answered or unanswered.
3. Prep-Cast Simulator
a. Pros – AWESOME software. Really top notch. Complex situational questions medium to hard difficulty level very similar to exam experience. I really liked that I could work on the exam using my Ipad or a computer. I loved the ability to generate learning quizzes using only questions that I had not answered correctly. I loved that the four different exams used different questions (mostly – I think a few repeats.) I really liked being able to print off a report showing the sub-topics and scores for each which I then used to drill into more detail using the Griffith’s book. And finally, I appreciate the company took the time to answer a question I had within 24 hours.
b. Cons – not really a con. Please take this as an “ever better if” suggestion. Please consider a new filter in future release where the user can create a quiz using a multi-select based on sub-domain topic for questions already answered right or wrong.
