I passed my PMP exam yesterday (AT in all 3 domains) and PM PrepCast was a key study guide for the accomplishment. Here are some details regarding my experience preparing for the exam:
1. I am a working professional with a busy family life (2 kids that do many extra curricular activities).
2. Purchased PMP Exam Prep Simplified by Andrew Ramdayal - I found it to be a great condensed version of the PMBOK with practice questions at the end of each chapter, took me 2 months (about 4-5hrs/wk) to get through the book.
3. Scheduled my exam date 6 weeks out, needed a firm date to work towards so I wouldn't procrastinate.
4. Purchased PM PrepCast Exam simulator and started doing mock exam questions. I completed about 1500 of the exam questions over that 6 week period with an average of 62%. I completed the 4 full practice exams with scores of 61%, 68%, 72%, 75% - set aside 3hrs on Saturday mornings to complete these.
5. After completing the exam and being successful I have to say the exam simulator prepared me the most as the questions on the actual exam were very similar.
6. I completed the exam online through PearsonVue and it went very well, check in was smooth, no issues during the exam and I was able to complete it from the comforts of my own home. I had very few questions requiring calculations, didn't feel I required a notes page or calculator in hand.
Final thoughts - pick an exam date, commit to it, do as many of the PrepCast exam questions as possible, review ones you got incorrect, complete the 4 full exams.
Good luck!
Cheers
