Well at least SOMETHING good has happened on this date!
I scheduled my exam for 9AM on a Monday following a capstone 4-day PMP Bootcamp instructor-led course the previous week's Monday-Friday. This gave me Friday-Sunday to review. I studied for this exam over eight months. Now before you say I'm crazy this was in addition to a full-time hospital IT job and completing a B.S. degree in Health Care Administration. I needed to remain sane while I fit my PM exam studies into my schedule.
I utilized several study aids, of course PM-Prepcast was my first purchase along with a PMBoK guide back in December 2010. I also purchased Rita Mulcahy's exam-prep book in text and audio format, Rita's audio version flashcards and her exam simulation software. The PMP boot-camp was the insurance before my exam. I purchased everything except the boot-camp which my employer graciously covered.
With my limited study time I discovered that my 30-45 minute commute was an ideal time to utilize. That's the reason I purchased PM-PrepCast and Rita's audio versions. They allowed me to effectively learn and study for nearly 90-minutes each workday, in addition to lunches, etc. I supplemented my audio studies with reading my text materials.
I ordered Rita's exam simulation application in May, 2011, and began testing myself to measure my progress. As I review my test scores from then till now I can clearly see my improvement. I must say that exam simulations are a definite advantage to getting comfortable with the exam format. It allows you to gauge if your speed is good, too slow, or just right. I considered Cornelius's exam simulation software also but chose Rita's due to its close linking to her exam prep book, citing page references in her study guide as well as the PMBoK guide when researching incorrect answers.
I didn't think I was nervous but when I sat down to the exam maybe I forgot to breathe but I felt like I was going to pass out! Fortunately I held it together and began. My pace was good, I completed the last question in 2.5 hours and I used the remaining 1.5 hours to review the first 125 questions. I only marked 2 questions for review during the test. I also changed maybe 2 or 3 answers during my review. I felt very comfortable with my answers and so was confident that I was OK. Having the experience from the simulation exams helped my understand what pace I should hold and due to that I was never that concerned about running out of time. This was a huge advantage.
My exam seemed heavy on the Risk Management and Quality Management knowledge areas as well as contracts with a smattering of EV questions, nothing extraordinary. I was graded Moderately Proficient in all domains except for Closing which I was Proficient in.
I wouldn't state that any one of my study aids was solely responsible for my success. I credit them all. The mixture of materials brought different perspectives to light and THAT made all the difference in my opinion. That being said, since I am posting this on Cornelius's PM-PrepCast website, I will applaud him for a fine product. PM-PrepCast is EXTENSIVE. I have to admit that the material itself in addition to the 35 contact hours does break one law of sound-reasoning; "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!". This is one product that smashes that law. Don't hesitate to invest in these products. Given our current market conditions, PM-PrepCast IS AS GOOD AS GOLD!!!
