TOPIC: Passed PMP on first attempt

Hello,

I cleared the PMP exam on first attempt on 19th Oct. My result was:
Initiating - Below Target
Planning - Target
Executing - Above Target
M&C - Above Target
Closing - Above Target
Overall - Almost Above Target

Mine is a pretty long journey as I took a lot of time to study. My application got approved in January after an audit. I started reading Rita Mulcahy's book. For my second pass, I went through Rita's book and PMBOK side by side chapter wise. After that I booked my exam date and started revising from Rita's book for the third time.

Then I started looking for practice exams and came across PM Prepcast Simulator. I read reviews and thought of investing. That was the best investment I must say. I was already following all the forums on here and so started discussing my concerns and asking for advice (Was very nervous the last couple of weeks). I would like to thank Joe Pang, John Wolverton, Patrick Floris, Steve Richards, Amy Martinez and Cynthia Lim Louis for taking the time to motivate me. Although I found the exam questions more tricky and vague than the simulator, I would have not passed the exam if I had not done those practice tests. No practice test can provide the exact questions as the real exam, but the simulator tests help you clear the concepts and think the PMP way.

As I am a fulltime working mother, I had some time limitations and that extended my study time but if you remain dedicated and focused, it is possible to clear it the first time. I did attempt 7 practice tests from the simulator and my scores were: 82, 67.5, 74, 78.5, 72, 76.5, and 72%. I did not attempt the ITTO test. I did not have time to review all of the results but I did review the ones I got wrong and cleared my concept around it.

In the exam, I got a lot of questions from Risk, Quality, Stakeholders and Resource chapters. Though very less in number, some questions were easy and straightforward. The calculation questions were also pretty simple. One must keep a track of time though. In my practice tests, I finished well before half an hour or an hour sometimes, but in the real exam I ended my exam with 30 seconds left. I did not take any breaks coz I was short on time. I tried to maintain my pace such that I had an hour left to go back to the marked questions. I had almost 20 questions that I had not answered and marked for review and around 30 that I had answered but still marked. So, time management is must.

All in all, I would say it was a stressful but wonderful journey and dedicated study and PM Prepcast Simulator are the keys to clear the exam