I followed almost all of Cornelius' advice and was successful in my first attempt.
I reviewed all the Pod Casts, and also utilized "Achieve PMP success, 5th edition." I memorized the one thing Cornelius suggested (the process names and where they fell under the 5 domains.) Additionally, I also memorized the tools and techniques for Integration, HR, Communication, and Risk. But mainly, I did as was recommitted and just made sure that I clearly understood all the tool and techniques so that I could see how they interacted with the processes.
I signed up for and took 8 PMP practice exams that Cornelius recommended - and that was very helpful! The first 2 I passed but barely with 70's. After that I got the rhythm and passed the rest in the 80's.
I took 3 months of steady studying, 2-4 hours per day. This worked best for me. The last month, I started the memorize the brain dump so that I could start taking the practice exams. By the time I got to the real exam, it was second nature and took no more than 15 mins. It was very helpful and I highly recommend doing it while the brain is fresh in the beginning!
I did get audited and that added 3 weeks to the process - I highly recommend having an existing PMP certified PM look over your project summaries prior to submitting.
All in all, the entire process was very helpful and I learned some great new tools, techniques, and fleshing out of processes as I studied.
