TOPIC: Passed on First Try: Lessons Learned

Here are my lessons learned. I hope this helps:
1.I studied 2-3 hours every single day and on weekends probably 3-4 hours. It took me 6 months to finish all my studies and honestly, I would have liked another week or 2 to feel even stronger.
2.I purchased the PrepCast program along with the simulator bundle and Head First study guide. This was probably the very best thing I did. The simulator helped to improve my test strategy techniques. The exam was HARD. What made it hard was the fact that many questions were written in a very ambiguous manner and the choices were often times too close for me to determine the final answer. Honestly, I feel I may have guessed 20% or more of the exam. I kept waiting for the questions to get easier and that didn't happen until the very end for me. After the first 25 questions, I literally said to myself: "There is no way I am passing this exam". But then I remember what Cornelius said to "continue on and don't get discouraged".
3.The testing center I chose was not the best choice for me. There were many other people taking many other exams(different start times) and there was noise, conversation, and loud keyboard typing going on during the entire 4 hours. It was very distracting (even with the noise cancelling headphone the center provided). Also, I highly recommend not to drink anything up to 1 hour before the exam. I drank my tea while I was driving to the center and made sure I went to the bathroom right before beginning my exam. Two hours into the exam, I had to go to the bathroom, but the check in/check out process would waste me about 15-20 minutes and I didn't want to lose that time. Especially seeing how hard the questions were, I ended needing all four hours. It was VERY uncomfortable to wait that long to use the restroom.
4.I really struggled with the ITTOs. We were told NOT to memorize them and understand the WHY behind them. Even with reviewing all that, I still could not get some of them straight. I worked in a study group that was amazing, and we all struggled with the ITTOs. In the end, the simulator had an exam dedicated to ITTOs which proved to be very helpful. I ended up finding "patterns" with the ITTOs to help me remember.
5.Download the PM Prep apps. I used PocketPrep and PM Pro. Very helpful.
6.Read the PMBOK at least 2 times. Three is even better.
7. Practice creating your brain dump sheet every day towards the end(this includes all the formulas). The brain dump sheet is very helpful because during th exam, I was quite nervous and this helped me to not have to remember a million formulas. The test center said I could not begin writing ANYTHING until the clock began, and no writing during tutorial or any untimed portion of exam, but it turned out a clock did begin during the tutorial(which they did not know), so I did begin my brain dump during the last part of the tutorial and this was acceptable. They just were not aware that the clock began during tutorial.
8.Learn table 3-1 (all knowledge areas and process groups) as soon as possible and I used in my brain dump.
9.I recommend to give yourself 9 weeks to practice all 9 simulator exams. Each exam is up to 4 hours (some took me 3 hours ), but this is needed to build your mental stamina. After each exam, I would review what I got wrong and that would spinoff into another study session which was great. So i kept learning. I took the practice exams every Saturday morning and then Sunday would be to review and study. Definitely do ALL the practice exams. They will definitely prepare you for the exam.
10.When I created the project plan for this exam, I didn't include time for "commit to memory". I went through all the podcasts first, then I read the PMBOK guide, and then the study guide. The simulator helped to fine tune my exam strategy.
11. Don't forget the glossary. I didn't remember to do that until the last minute.
12. The testing center gets filled up FAST, so schedule your exam at least 1-2 months ahead of when you want your date. They also told me to arrive at 8am for an 8:30 exam. But they ended up taking me right away and I lost 30 minutes study time, which I was planning on, so don't check-in until you are ready to take the exam. The testing center was very strict. NO earrings allowed, they body scan you, they make you take your shoes off, lift your pants, go through all your pockets, scan your scarf, take off all watches, must keep at least one foot on the floor, etc. The whole process take about 10-15 minutes, so plan that into your breaks. I had to forgo my break as mentioned above. I will probably try another testing center to future testing needs.

Good luck!

Great to hear your plan and preparation worked!

Hearty Congrats..,