TOPIC: Passed PMP Exam - 1st time with Above Target

I passed the PMP exam today with 3ATs and 2Ts and couldn’t be much happier. Thanks to the folks at Prepcast who helped along the way with last minute preparations.

My plan:
I studied for three (3) months starting with Rita prep system(prep book, flash cards, and the simulation software). However, three weeks towards the end of my studies, I didn’t feel ready as I was missing some key concept with Rita’s materials so I decided to get another perspective. I did multiple practice test using Rita’s simulation software, but still scored 75% when I did the full simulation and that’s when I knew I had to change my approach.

After several searches on the internet, I came across Prepcast and purchased Prepcast Elite. Cornelius did an amazing job breaking down each process with a detailed explanation which I appreciated a lot. I did two full simulations using Prepcast and scored 71% and 72%. I felt even more disappointed since I wasn’t hitting the 80% mark with only a week left to my exam. I kept pushing and reading Rita’s book, the PMBOK and watching more videos from Prepcast. I also took a free 100 question practice test from Lehmann and scored 62%. Things were not good.

Finally a week before my exam, I attended a boot camp from Rita’s since I had already scheduled that a few months prior. At the end of the training, we did a full simulation and I scored 78% this time. Not where I wanted to be, but decided to take the exam as scheduled anyway due to the fear of losing my exam fees. As you have read by now, I spent a lot on preparations and didn’t want to lose another $500 maybe?

On exam day
I did not do a brain dump as I experienced a brain freeze at the start of the exam due to anxiety. As far as the questions I got, they were about 90-95% situational which scared me at first. They consisted of mainly of Risk, Change and Quality Management which I considered my weakest links while studying. I got maybe got a handful of EVM questions which were pretty simple and no direct questions about ITTOs. The questions were shorter than what I had seen with the questions on the simulations I’ve taken. I thought they were straight forward and actually easier from my prospective, but maybe not.

My advice to folks preparing to take the exam, I would say don’t lose hope when your practice scores are not where you want them to be. If you are closer to your exam and your scores are still below the recommended 80%, I’ll say go for it. I did not score 80% on any practice tests and still passed with Above Target. I would also recommend getting different prospectives as far as prep materials because you may understand one better versus the other. Lastly, read the entire question to understand the real question being asked, stay positive and you will do great. Good luck with your studies and an even better luck with your exam.

Hi Rena,

Congratulations on passing the PMP Exam! Thank you very much for sharing your experience here.

Congratulations.

Congrats! Welcome to the team!

Thank you!

Hello Rena,

My name is Rina I'm having the same issues you were having except my exams are scoring between 60-65% and not what I wanted. I get so frustrated no seeing my score rise every day. I am taking the precast simulator exams every other day now since last week. I failed the actual exam in 2013 and in 2017 trying to study myself. But I'm hoping with continuing to take these test exams I can build the confidence level I need to pass the exam in September 2018.

Thanks for your feedback and was helpful to know I will pass this time

Cheers,
Rina C.

Thank you for sharing your experience with exam preparation