TOPIC: Passed PMP Exam on 1st attempt!

Hi people, I'm happy to share I passed PMP on first attempt!
I worked hard throughout last 9 months, last 2 ones more intensively with quizzes and simulations. Fortunately I am still part-time employed and had enough time.
First advice then for students engaging only a couple of months: it's not enough to pass the exam, especially while being busy with a full-time job!
I started in a lightly way reading "PMBOK 7"; after a couple of months I enrolled in a Exam Prep Course while studying further the books "Process groups: A practice guide" and "Agile practice guide".
I trained with this Deluxe Exam Simulator of Cornelius Fichtner within the last 3 months.
2nd advice: going back in the time I would focus more from the beginning on the Exam Prep Course (where I got key informations and recommendations from) and the Simulator rather than on the books.
I took the exam online and there was some little issue, something didn't go as planned: the mobile link app for taking pictures at work and desk environment didn't work so that I used the PC's webcam.
I started the exam a little nervous and I found the questions challenging, but it was expected and I was prepared for that.
By mistake I missed the first break after 60th question; this made me quite down and also distracted me a bit from my focus... but I managed to keep on going further.
I fully recommend the Deluxe Exam Simulator because the exam's questions were very similar. Many of them were based on agile, hybrid or organization's structural transformation.
I didn't encounter neither formulas exercise nor activity diagrams and critical paths; an app calculator and note pad application were provided but I never used them.
I can confirm same feeling of many students: vagueness of topics and answers. I rarely was 100% sure of my choice but it was the same feeling by training with the simulator where I got the scores 67%, 75%, 75% and 78% in the 4 available tests.
The proctor warned me a couple of times in chat on better framing at the webcam; I also didn't first realize that I forgot to plug in my PC back after taking the pictures, so that battery was very low and I scared that something was wrong... all these little issues made my concentration not the best and finally I was also struggling with the time. I finalized the last questions very fast without thinking so much, but it was already happened with simulator.
I have to say I'm no English native speaker, I have been a little slow also previously at the simulator. But this latter (and Exam Prep Course) gave me the right mindset to apply and it's been were crucial to pass the exam on first attempt!
At the end of the test I had no good feeling, I wasn't sure to have passed it. Honestly there was nothing new in that, I often had this feeling also while simulating but passing it anyway, so this was my only positive point for hope.
I got the result by email 2 days after; actually I cannot say I performed excellent, I scored Above Target only on the little domain Business Environment while others just on Target.
But now I just don't care, I am PMP
Michele

Congratulations, Michele! Thank you for sharing your insights.

Hello,
May I ask you, I am getting score in the low 70's right now on my practice exams, AT's on People and Business usually but hitting Target now on Process but I feel just barely. I just did a 100 question quiz and was BT (68% in Process) and AT in the others (98% in People) - I am freaking out. I am just blocked in the process area, cannot seem to raise my scores much, what were you getting in your individual areas with your exams?

I am scheduled to sit in mid april, I cannot put it off, I am at study fatigue, I am putting in probably 30 hours per week, if I can't get it at this point I am just at a loss ;(

Thanks!
LouAnn

Hi LouAnn,

I would suggest you focus the coming week on the process domain entirely, by reviewing concepts, doing more simulation questions, etc. Since this is the bulk of the exam, you want to make sure that you can remain at least at target, but not below. If you have enough time, after focusing on process only for one week, I would try to squeeze in a final simulation exam 5-6 days prior to the PMP exam, and leave the last few days following up to the exam to do light review to give your brain a small break before the big match. I would love to hear back from you in the forum after you complete the exam and what results you got. Wish you all the best!

Regards,

Hi LouAnn,
Your very high scores in Business and People should compensate your lower one in Processes; I guess, as of now, you could pass the PMP exam, but you should focus more in Process domain during next 2 weeks before the exam, to be sure to pass it. Try full exam simulators rather than quizzes.
I were getting following scores in the People - Process - Business environment domains of my 4 simulations:
Simulation 1: 66.67 - 62.22 - 66.67
Simulation 2: 76.00 - 74.44 - 73.33
Simulation 3: 81.33 - 66.67 - 80.00
Simulation 4: 80.00 - 76.40 - 81.25
Good luck!
Michele