I'm extremely relieved to have obtained my PMP certification yesterday! I will say that the real exam was more difficult than the PrepCast practice exams in my opinion. However, I believe the 35 contact hours training along with the large bank of practice questions on PrepCast helped make the difference in my score. I achieved above target on all areas except one.
My method of study spanned over 3 months. I began by spending approximately the first month and half reading the PMBOK 5th edition (basically all chapters cover to cover) while also watching the PrepCast videos (Cornelius is a great personality and helped make the lessons more interesting) to get my 35 contact hours. This was a daunting double-task of reading the book by day and watching the videos at night and on weekends.
I also purchased Andy Crowe's book on passing the PMP on the 1st try and studied that for the remaining part of the 2nd month or so. By the time I took my first full length practice exam on PrepCast, i scored an 82. I took several more full-length practice exams along with a bunch of smaller quizzes and my scores were consistently in the low to mid 80's on average.
On Andy Crowe's book, i scored an 84% so i felt fairly confident going into the exam. I found the real exam more nuanced and ambiguous than the practice exams that i had taken. As a result, my confidence waned during the exam since the answers (and questions) weren't as clear cut as i would have liked. I found that it was necessary to really stop and read the questions carefully to find the clues to determine what phase and/or knowledge area the scenario pertained to so that you could deduce the answer from among the selections.
My advice is to take lots of practice tests and several full length practice exams to ensure you are ready for the stress of a 4 hour test. Given my score, it proves that by giving yourself to this for a few months of regular study, you can do this!
Thanks, Gene Pelliccia, PMP
