firstly, let me say thank you for sharing all of your experiences and lessons wi

th all of us here. i have been reading throughout this forum and have learned qu
ite a lot. i have finally passed the project management professional exam. it on
ly happened when my eligibility was about to expire. i tried the exam over a mon
th ago and i underestimated the exam. so here is what happened the first time i
took the exam ( didn't pass) and the second time ( when i passed the exam):

FIRST TIME:
resources used: i only depended on rita's book (7th edition).

i took me about three months to read rita's cover to cover two times.
i dedicated 3 hours a day for reading after work, even in the weekend.
i took the exam mid-january 2013 and i was close to a pass but didn't pass.
on the exam day, i barely finished the 200 questions and the time was up.

lesson learned from the FIRST TIME:

1- never underestimate the exam, it's tough and it tests you as an expert in the
project management
2- never depend on only one source for your studies ( i only depended on rita's
book)
3- i didn't practice many questions and only practiced on rita's end of chapter
questions. i only practiced on the simplilearn and pmstudy three days before the
exam. it was a horrible mistake.
4- i was practicing on the mock exam and studying the day before the exam. i was
afraid that i left some of the materials uncovered.

SECOND TIME:
resources used:
PMBoK 4th edition (my main source) three times
rita's 7th edition two times
rita's fastrack 7th edition
pmp book for kim heldman one time
chowdary notes (before the exam)
my notes, a lot of them
simplilearn mock exams (four)

pmstudy.com mock exams ( free, two, and four)

five to six hours a day of studying.
i didn't memorize the ITTOs, but the more i studied the PMBoK, the more i unders
tood the processes and their related tools and techniques.

when i realized that i didn't pass and i only had about 55 days left for my one
year eligibility period to expire, i booked a trip to europe and relaxed for a w
eek there. i was totally devastated after the exam and i thought i would never r
ecover from that shock.

so when i came back, there were only 45 days left. i decided that i would read t
he PMBoK as many times as i could to make sure that i understand and comprehend
the materials. i also decided that i would practice more and more on the mock ex
ams to look for gaps in my knowledge.
i bought the rita's fastrack and took them forever to activate it for me. it's p
ricy though, $ 299.
i started reading the PMBoK and finished it in two weeks. i read rita's book aga
in to consildate my knowledge ares and then practice on rita's fastrack. i was s
coring between 60 - 72% in rita's fastrack. then i started reading the kim heldm
an's 6th edition.
i finished reading the PMBoK the second time in one week. then i practiced on ri
ta's fastrack and started getting 75 - 80 %
two weeks before the exam, i answered the questions that the training center had
given me so they can mark them and identify gaps in my knowledge. they got back
to me and said that i had got 74% and i should schedule my exam as soon as poss
ible otherwise they were afraid that i would forget what i had studied.

the last two weeks before the exam can be summerized in four words: practice, pr
actice, practice and more practice. i got the simplilearn four exams and i was s
coring around 85% two weeks before the exam. then i needed something more challe
nging and took the pmstudy mock tests and has scored 75% and 76 % two weeks befo
re the exam. then was scoring around 80-84% the last week before the exam.

the exam days:

i have to say that when i was preparing for the exam the second time, i couldn't
sleep well. only got three to four hours a day of sleep. i didn't choose not to
sleep well, but the constant thinking of the exam and what would happen if i di
dn't pass on my last day before my eligibility period expired.

i didn't study the day before the exam. i didn't even think about it. i was watc
hing movies and had dinner with friends at the steak house.

i was there at the exam site one hour and a half before the exam. with one hour
and a half left, i was even going through the notes.
at 9 a.m. i was in the prometric lab. the perview of the exam started for 15 min
s. i wrote the 42 processes on the papers along with the 8 stratigies for risk.
then i started the exam. the first, sixth, and seventh questions were tough; or
should i say i was too scared when i sat for the exam.
there were too many calculations, i felt like there were 6 in each 10 questions
were calculations. too many HR and conflict resolution questions. i finished the
200 questions in three hours and twenty minutes, so i thought i was doing good
by spending only one minute per one question.
i took a break after that to go and wash my hands and face and cool down. from t
he inside i was almost sure that i was gonna pass but you never know what might
happen down the road.
i got back to the lab and found that i marked 17 questions: i only changed three
answers. after that i clicked on finish. then i filled in the survey and after
that i was waiting for the results. although it took 10 seconds to get the resul
ts,but it felt like forever.
a message appeared on the screen saying : CONGRATULATIONS.....ETC you will get t
he certificate in about six weeks.

after one day, i found my name and certificate signed off on the pmi website. no
w waiting for the certificare to safely arrive.