TOPIC: PMI sample test- Score 67%

Hello All,

Seeking expert advice please.
I went through PMBOK twice. Personally, not a fan of Rita's PMP structure so did not go through that.
Is that true that I should really read Rita's book to pass the exam?
I wrote 3 mock tests and score range is 65 to 70%.
Today, I took PMI mock test and scored 67%.
I'm not feeling difficulty in understanding the questions. Where possible, I'm using elimination method to choose thr right answer between one of two.
I have scheduled my exam on Aug 14th. How should I proceed with my preparation?

Hi Viswa,

based on my experience I wouldn't say that you should read Rita's book to pass the exam. To be honest, I found it a bit hard to go through her book; the most useful chapter was the one on Procurement Management, given all the detailed discussion on the contract management.

I would try to improve the score by taking additional exams. One thing I would recommend is to review both the questions answered incorrectly and those answered correctly but that you flagged while taking the exam simulation. When reviewing these questions, I read all the explanations for both the correct option and the wrong ones. This helped me to gain further understanding on some specific topics. References in the explanation will point you to the section from the PMBOK Guide to focus your study on these areas.

Hope this helps!

Gabriella

Hi Viswa,

I agree with Gabriella . . .

The first thing that comes to my mind is to contact Rita’s company with your questions: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Her website shows there may be a blog you can subscribe to.

I bought Rita’s book, materials, and simulator, too, but didn't use them much. I didn’t find them as helpful as PrepCast’s. PrepCast’s PM Exam Simulator and video lessons consistently stuck to PMBOK-specific language and concepts. The simulator was by far the best because it explained EACH answer in depth (A, B, C, and D) and why it was right or wrong, in addition to a general paragraph about the question. So no, you don’t have to read Rita’s book to pass. I read Andy’s Crowe’s book, The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, 6th Edition.

As Gabriella mentioned, too, the last couple of weeks before my test, I took as many simulated quizzes and exams as I could and reviewed the incorrect answers at the very least. It’s where the majority of learning happened for me.

Lastly, here are my top 3 exam tips:

Nail down what is being asked.
It’s hard in many cases. Everyday words are used in place of PMBOK terms, like implementing work vs. the Executing Process Group. In some questions, I wasn’t supposed to address a problem. Rather, they wanted to know the best way to illustrate it after-the-fact to my team vs. to a vendor vs. to a sponsor.

Differentiate the answers.
When I got stuck on a question, I moved my focus to the 4 answer choices. I described them in my head and tried to differentiate them. What’s the point of the Communications Management Plan vs. Resources Management Plan vs. Risk Register?

Save the long questions for the end.
On my 1st pass through the exam, I skipped all questions that were more than 2 sentences or had calculations. On the 2nd pass, I tackled the 3+ sentence and calculation questions. I banked on the probability that the unscored, “experimental questions” were in this group of longer questions.

I wish you the best, Viswa. We’re rooting for you!

Hi Gabriella,

Thank you so much for your response. You gave a worthful tip of reading all the questions and answers irrespective of the correctness which I will follow in the coming days.
I have two and a half weeks for my exam. Will prepare my best.

Thanks,
Viswa

Hi Lisa,
I must admit you gave amazing tips which I will deliberately follow to see the improvement in my mock exams. Thanks for sharing such a detailed thought process with me.

Thanks,
Viswa

Hello Viswa,

I think that Rita’s book is an excellent resource for the PMP Exam preparation, but I cannot say that everyone who passed at the exam has used it for their preparation!
Additionally, I think that working with the Exam Simulator, where you are answering questions like in the exam, and you can see comments on each possible answer provided after you finish, is a very effective way to get prepared.

That being said, according to the scores you have mentioned talking about your performance when working with the mock, I can suggest you for the remaining days that you have to focus on doing more mock and trying to improve your score to 70% and more.

After receiving your score, read carefully the explanations provided for each answer, even for those you answered correctly. It is critical to know WHY your answer is right or wrong. Doing such, I think that you will improve your score and ultimately feel more confident to take the exam.

I hope that this could help, and I wish you all the best for your exam.

Thank you Felix for your guidance. I will follow those in my coming mocks and will improve myself.

Thanks so much, Lisa...especially for your advice titled "Save the long questions for the end." )