I took PMP exam on 02/25 and passed with 4P's and 1MP. I learnt a lot from pmzilla and I thank the admin and its members for making this site a wonderful resource for PMP.

Myths & Reality:

1)Myth:PMP is a really difficult exam.I was scared of the exam after reading the comments and other posts about the exam.

 Reality: PMP exam is of average difficulty. Its not easy and definetely not hard.

2)Myth: We need atleast 4 or 5 months to prepare for the exam.

Reality:  We need atleast 1.5 months to prepare (4-5hrs a day). It took me 2 months to prepare for the test.

3) Myth: Need to remember ITTO.

Reality: No. Not needed. You should understand the RITA process chart and how process flows.

My Preperation:

PMBOK- ( 1st time- cursory read and I did not understand much.)

RITA and I read PMBOK again ( I felt that I got good command of the concepts). I took Oliver test (75Q) and scored 85%. I read RITA again. I took Oliver test(175Q) scored 84%. I took Head First (86%) and I read PMBOK again and I took the actual test.

I did not purchase any online materials. I cannot say whether they are good or not. I did go though most of the 3000 Qs listed in the Oliver website. They are very helpful to review the concepts.

For passing PMP, RITA is the best book. you must read RITA two to three times to understand the concepts. I did study the TT of the ITTO using the ITTO pnemonics. They helped me understand the process flow better.

I would say that the most important part of the exam is having FOCUS for 4 hrs. You should identify when you should take breaks in the exam. Its really important.  My approach is " I took the test and noted that most of my answers were incorrect around 90-100 questions. So When I hit the 90 question, I take a break".  The second important thing is PRACTICE exams or mocks. Unless you take the mocks, you cannot identify your strengths and weekness. I took 3hrs 20 mins to complete the test. I marked some questiosn for review and after I reviewed the questions I had only 11 mins left and i submitted the exam. If you think that you will have enough time for reviewing the questions, you are totally mistaken. Don't forget to guess an answer for the questions you mark for review.

Thanks for such a wonderful site.