TOPIC: PASSED PMP yesterday with Crazy Life, unorganized Study Plan.

Very excited to announce I passed on my first attempt yesterday. I don't generally post to forums but thought this was important to pass on.

As I began my journey I read through a lot of these messages and other forums. I was very overwhelmed by others study plans. I thought to myself, there is no way I will be able to maintain a plan like that. I have 3 kids under 6 years old, one trying to do virtual school, and I work a very demanding full time job. I decided it would be best for me to try to study at night when kids went down (didn't work out the best), then I thought okay I will wake up at 5am and study before everyone wakes up (didn't work out the best). Nevertheless, my erratic and unorganized. If you can, follow the recommended study paths, but don't get discouraged if you have to fit it in when you can like me.

A few key points:
1) The actual exam questions where much shorter and more direct then almost every practice exam I took.
2) I was scoring in the low 60s and 70s on all my practice exams and decided enough is enough for whatever reason I am just not able to grasps these questions. Decided just go ahead and take test to see how I do. Turns out the harder questions on practice exams really helped me for actual exam which IMO was much easier.
3) Highly suggest PM PrepCast over other study sources. I also purchased the Velociteach program. Did all the videos and exams for both and PM PrepCast did a much better job at providing overall understanding of each process. I wish I would have just focused all study on PrepCast.
4) Know when you need to perform a change request. Many questions on this
5) I got a few formula questions. They were not as I expected. I memorized the majority of formulas, but wished I would have known how to use them in combination with each other.
6) Watched Ricardo-Vargas 3 times in total. 1 time 2 hours before exam. Really helps with understanding the overall process flow.
7) Read each question for hints on what process you are in and will help you determine what to do next and what tools to apply
I did not memorize the ITTO. Simply reviewed the main ones for each group
9) I did memorize all the process and where they are situated in with knowledge area and process group. This is a must!
10) Overall studied for around 150 hours between July and Oct. Very sporadic and unorganized.
11) Online proctored was fine, but for whatever reason interrupted me right when I was on a hard question. They told me to stop talking as it's not allowed??? I was not talking to anyone. It was very distracting and took me 3-4 more questions to get my head back on track. I plan to follow up with the company and provide a complaint.

I could probably go on more, but really just wanted folks to know that you can do it no matter your circumstance. Also really emphasize this course as your main source of information, but maybe do different exams to get familiar with different question types. Don't get discouraged by low practice test scores, if you feel you are ready then go after it.

Good luck everyone!


2) Speaking of process. It clicked a week or two ago for me. This exam is really all about understanding the process, when to apply and how to apply. I suggest taking a moment to truly understand each process and what you would be doing in each. I used examples of what my work requires for each. It provided me a good reference to what it is you are doing in the process.

Thanks for this post.
I am in a similar situation. Kids, work, very little time to study.
I have my exam booked for December and have no idea if I will be prepared.
Your post gives me hope that I will get through this

Glad to hear. Best of luck Katie. The last 2 weeks was crucial in my studies. It was mainly focused on taking practice exams and reviewing the questions I missed.

CONGRATS on PASSING!

This post showed up right when I needed it. I cannot seem to score higher than 60% on my practice exams, and I’ve been studying somewhat consistently since July! I really beginning to think that I’m just not smart enough to pass this exam. Sometimes I ready the exam questions to my husband and we laugh at how ridiculous and completely unrelated to Project Management they are.

I’m taking the exam in two weeks, and if I don’t pass, I do not intend to take it again. This has been the worst experience for me

Congratulations Jory, and thanks for the info! it's funny you mentioned that you got in trouble for talking. I just took the CAPM exam online earlier this month, and I got in trouble for resting my hand on my face in such a way that covered my mouth! I was really thrown off by the proctor popping in and correcting me, and felt extremely uncomfortable for the rest of the test. I'm finishing up my application for my PMP and hoping to test in December because I want to get it in before the test changes - UGH. I'm not thrilled about the idea of doing another one online, but I assume that the test centers are probably already booked seeing as how everyone and their brother is trying to get in a test before it changes. I really wish PMI would extend the deadline again!