I took the test this morning and passed!! What a sigh of relief! Here was my study approach:
My study materials included: PMBOK Guide, PM PrepCast videos, PM PrepCast Exam Simulator and Rita's book.
I had surgery the beginning of July and was off from work for the full month. I used that to my advantage. I was able to get most of my hard core studying done in that time frame (6-8 hours per day M-F and 4-5 hours on weekends). First, I read the PMBOK Guide completely (that didn't help much). Then I started the PM PrepCast videos. I absolutely love the videos!!! Cornelius made them fun and easy to follow. I highly recommend them, especially for those who need more than just reading material to study. As I watched the videos I would refer back to the PMBOK Guide to reinforce my understanding of the knowledge areas.
After I finished all of the videos and took the small practice tests included, I started utilizing the Exam Simulator. Note: I took a full practice exam that I found online before I started studying just to get a basis of where I was. I scored a 58% so I needed to improve significantly. My first test with the Exam Simulator (after watching all of the videos once) put me somewhere around 65%. I begin using my practice exams as my study guides. I would take a test every weekend and spend my study time during the week focusing on the questions I got wrong and filling in those gaps. When I went back to work in August my study time decreased significantly. I would study M-F for about 2-3 hours in the evening and then get about 8 hours in on Saturday and 4 hours for the practice exam on Sunday. Even with all of that I still needed to improve - I was scoring around 70-75% consistently.
The first week of September I read these forums and noticed that people kept mentioning Rita's book. I bought it and it definitely made the difference. It helped pull everything together and break things down even further. It gave me a different way to look at things which was helpful. I continued my study through September with the Exam Simulator and Rita's book.
Last week, I took off from work to ensure that I could completely focus on studying. I studied every day for about 5 hours. I took two practice tests during that week. On Saturday I read one chapter just to clarify something and then I rested!!! My brain was tired!! Sunday, I rested and did whatever I could NOT to think about PMP!!! I went to bed at a decent hour and woke up well rested and confident.
Today, I got to the testing center an hour early and used the full 4 hours. After answering all of the questions I had about 25 minutes left so I used it to go over the questions that I marked for review. I changed a few of my answers but not many. I did that until all of the time ran out.
Seeing CONGRATULATIONS on that computer screen was the BEST feeling ever. Thank you soooo much Cornelius - you are a big reason why I passed. YOU ROCK!!! Good luck to all future test takers. You can do it!!!
NOTE: I DID NOT MEMORIZE THE INPUTS AND OUTPUTS!!
