Hi! I passed my PMP exam last week (test center based) with AT/AT/AT/AT/BT and wanted to share my lessons learned.
I was combining my exam preparation with work, and the preparation took me a bit longer. I started my preparations in September last year by doing PrepCast videos to satisfy the 35-hr training requirement. I submitted my application in early February and after that started with more active studying mostly on the weekends. When Covid-19 hit, I no longer had to travel with work and actually had some time to study more. I still studied mostly during the weekends and also took a week off two weeks before the exam and spent 8-9 hours studying each day.
Study materials:
- PMBOK guide
- Prepcast videos
- Prepcast Simulator
- Other free resources available online (free mock up tests, Vargas videos, other videos explaining the processes I had difficulty understanding)
Overall, I read PMBOK 3 times. The first time I read it while watching the Prepcast videos. After that, I read it two more times taking notes. I activated my Prepcast Simulator in March and started doing tests on the weekends. I would do a test on the weekend and then take a week to review the results (I actually went over all the questions in the test to understand why the answers were right or wrong). Overall, I took 7 tests (didn't do the ITTO test) averaging 75%. I retook two tests with the lowest scores. I didn't start doing quizzes until the very end. There I would pick the questions I answered incorrectly and also did them by knowledge area.
In addition to PrepCast Simulator, I took several other tests:
Oliverman - 73%
Prepacst free - 80%
Simplilearn - 84%
Free PMI exam - 66% ( it was much harder than the actual exam)
I scheduled my PMP exam 5 days before the exam date and decided to go for a test-center based one to avoid any technical issues. It turned out to be quite good. I was in a separate room (had to wear a mask, but it didn't bother me that much), and also was given headphones. The first half of the test was difficult and it was not very clear how the time was running, so I wasn't sure how I was doing on time. I also didn't wear headphones, so I was a bit distracted by the noise. Plus, the questions were very lengthy. I had quite a few formula-related questions, which were either to interpret a certain formula or to do an actual calculation. After question 89, the system gave me a chance to review my marked questions and I then took a 5-min break. After the break, it got a bit easier, I had a better idea how much time I had left, I used headphones, which blocked all the noise and the questions were also not as lengthy as in the first half. I finished the exam with 45 mins to spare, and I took this time to go over the marked questions, which I had quite a few.
Based on my experience, I would say that the questions were very similar to Prepcast simulator. In most cases, it was possible to eliminate two answers, but the final pick was quite difficult in some cases as you literally had to choose the best answer, which was not that straightforward.
I finished my test and got a "congratulations" message and spent several seconds staring at the screen to make sure I got it right and then took a quick survey. Once the exam was over, I was given a printout with my exam results and that was it.
I would like to thank Cornelius and his team as the resources were of high quality and prepared me well for the actual test, so I would definitely recommend using those. And good luck to everyone studying for the test!
-Kateryna
