I wanted to share my happiness with all fellow PMP'ans and the aspirants here. I cleared PMP on my first attempt with AT/AT/T/T/AT. It was such a great feeling, can't describe in words when I saw the Congratulations banner on my screen. In the past I had to reschedule my exam twice because of some unforeseen events in my family. It was so difficult to find time and prepare for the exam as I have a full time job and two kids. I owe this success to my wife who took care of kids, home and all misc. after her full time job.
In terms of preparation, I started with Rita Mulcahy first and then read the PMBOK. I had subscribed for the Exam Simulator from Prepcast as I found this the best simulator based on Internet research and a few suggestions. Exam Simulator really was key to set the tone. I cannot personally comment on the Videos, but based on what I heard they're a treasure from Cornelius Fichtner & Team. I also did a 2nd review of Rita Mulcahy along with all of their questions. Apart from these two, following sources helped me a lot in building my competency:
1. Ricardo Vergas - Elaboration of The Processes Flow of the PMBOK Guide - Youtube
2. Izenbridge PMP Videos by Saket Bansal - Youtube
3. eduhubspot PMP free videos - Youtube
I think Ricardo Vergas was on spot. One should start reading the Processes based on how they get executed in real life and not by chapter. I remember the first time when I read through Rita Mulcahy, I didn't get the entire flow of processes. It was after watching Ricardo's video, things started making sense to me.
About the prepcast exam simulator, it helped me to get into the exam mode. I could only practice 5 Full Time exams and I was always hitting around 85 to 87%. The best part of the simulator was the explaination to the questions. After every exam, I made sure to go through the explainations for all the 200 questions. One may have a right answer, but there is always something to learn a bit more. However, the questions which I got in the exam were not what I expected. I had about 25 to 30 questions which were very difficult to understand. The questions were worded in such a way it was so difficult to comprehend. Also among them were several questions with answers which I felt none of the choices were correct. I had to really gather myself in the middle and instill the belief "I can do it" during the exam. Also, only 2 mathematical questions, both on EMV. I was banking on the mathematical questions because these are easy picks any day. Well, now that the exam is over, I can get my life back and go back enjoy with kids & family.
Hope my experience helps others. Best of Luck!
