Well Guys, I passed. Yayyyyyy!!!!
 

My journey is very very different from most of the others on this board.

I had applied for certification in Late June 11 and Earlier decided to take the test in July 11. But had to go to some place due to Business trip and came back only in August. I work as a PM and till date have managed only small projects.

I started my preparation from 5 Aug, but still never managed to spend more than 1 hr a day until last week due to work commitments. My real preparation started on 21 Aug when I knew that it's high time and I need to make time for studies. I studied from following;

1. Rita Book - I used to read a chap and highlight imp points. Then again read those points 2 more times the same day and the next day. In essence I was memorising things. I could remember whats written on which page. A 'bad' technique that I picked up from my engineering days :(

2. Very few times I would solve PMFasttrack knowledge area qns (i never had time to do full tests here). I was scoring in 85-88% range in these KA tests.

3. Skimmed through PmBok in last 2 days only.
 

4. Never memorised ITTO except last 2 hrs

I had not written any full length test till 27th Aug.

On 27th, I just checked this forum to see if there are any tricks and saw everyone talking about PmStudy Tests. So, I bought one test for 25$ and took it without any revision. Got 76% and was slightly nervous and was thing hard to reschedule my test.

Thanks to satish_multi, sr.ind.comm and my fiancee who pursuaded me to take the test rather than rescheduling (http://www.pmzilla.com/postponed-until-september-26th).

For the last 3 days (28, 29, 30), all I did was;

1. Revised Rita (Quick Revision). Marked Imp points and then revised again. Created few handwritten techniques for answering situational qns for key areas.  I can share them if someone needs

2. Skimmed through PmBok once and skimmed through Rajesh Nair's notes (which are actually a lot to cover in 2 days, I wish I had used them earlier)
 

3. Exam Day - I revised as much as I could and memorised as many ITTOs as I could before the exam. I know around 31 ITTOs now.

4. Unlike popular belief; I slept 4 hrs last night and did not relax at all. Tried to study as much as possible, because I wanted to pass. I don't suggest this to anyone though. It is a bit stressful.

In the exam hall;

1. Was so tired. Could not write a word on the scrap paper. No Brain Dump for me.

2. However, once I completed first 5 qns, I was like, "WOw this is so easy". Took 4 breaks as I had a very bad headache and I did not carry any pills :(.

3. I completed the first pass in 2.5 hrs. and then reviewed marked qns twice. Everything seemed so very easy, that I was like this is all too good to be true. May be I am missing something and I will fail. But this did not happen in the end and I passed.

Few tips for those who plan to take the test;

1. Please do not study like I did, keep studies for the last minute. Not a foolproof way. I did this because I had no choice.

2. In the exam, if you are tired of staring at the screen and sometime question is not making sense to you, then read it and write it on the scrap paper. This will help a lot to focus on the qn.
 

3. You might be aware, but i will still tell. You need to use mouse for the calculator. You cannot use Keyboard. This will slow you down, but then there is plenty of time.

4. I had around 8 qns on Conflict Resolution Techniques, 3 on Contract types. 9-12 on ITTO, around 15 on Prof Resp and many on tools and techniques (where they tell you a technique description and ask you to identify it - pay attention to TT of Time, Scope, Quality and Risk)

5. Rajesh Nair's notes are very good. If you are starting to prepare, use them.

6. At the end, I would say believe in yourself, sometimes you need to slog. So, slog. You won't die if you dont eat/sleep properly for a day. Again, you should never reach this stage, but if you do, then remember it :-). If I can pass with so much less prep even you can pass.

Thanks All,

Adi