I passed the PMP test on April 8 with 5P's, which was a pleasant surprise! Here are some lessons learned to share:
 

1- Do research and gather resources.

I applied for the PMP test after I finished my last project management course and scheduled the exam in late January for the second week of April. I gave myself 9 weeks to get ready. I think these ~2 months were about perfect for me and the way I study. I actually did it in 8 weeks because I had to take a week off to run a conference out of town.

The first thing I did was order Rita's full system with book, flashcards, and software because my teachers and fellow students recommended it. I found everything very helpful, but the flashcards I didn't use as much as I could have. The second thing I did was join PMZilla and read lessons learned from others. :-)

These were crucial to find resources, practice tests, and others' performances to use as benchmarks for my own progress. I found the following posts very helpful:

http://pmzilla.com/passed-pmp-dec-13th-2012-%E2%80%93-5p%E2%80%99s

http://pmzilla.com/passed-pmp-5ps-16mar2013-detailed-ll

2- Pace yourself.

I wouldn't recommend studying more than 2-3 hours on weekdays and 4 hours on weekend days. If you give yourself enough time, you shouldn't have to cram. Learn the material and make it a part of the way you think and approach your job. That is great practice for the test. You could ramp up your hours the last week before the test to review everything.

I read 1 Rita chapter per 1-2 days, did practice questions, and read the corresponding PMBOK chapters as I went along. Unfortunately, I took it too much to heart when Rita says you don't need to memorize the ITTOs and so skimmed the PMBOK the first time, which turned out to be a waste of time. After I took the first Chris Scordo test and scored poorly because I didn't know definitions, I knew I needed to step up my game.

I ended up reading Rita twice and PMBOK twice.

About a month before the test, I also started writing out my brain dump on a sheet of paper every day. I even started using a pencil to do it, just to simulate what it would look and feel like on test day. I put down EVM, EMV, PTA, PERT, standard dev. and activity variance, and lease or buy formulas. I wrote it so many times that by the time test day came, I had everything memorized and didn't even need it!

3- PMBOK

To learn the material in the PMBOK, I made myself a binder and an ITTO template and went back through the PMBOK chapter by chapter and wrote out by hand all the ITTOs for the 42 processes, 1 process per sheet. I did it by hand because I knew that was the only way I would be able to remember it. On the back of the sheet I wrote other notes and vocabulary terms from the process. This binder became my textbook along with Rita and was super helpful.

The PMBOK is a lot easier to read when you are looking to pull specific information from it, instead of just reading or skimming it. You go slower and more questions and ideas to help you become apparent. So go slow and don't try to do more than 1 chapter per day on your first and maybe second pass.

Read the glossary and Appendix G too!
 

4- Be ready for anything.

I studied during my lunch hour at work, and then stayed at my office after work for an hour or more each night to study and do practice tests. There were still people talking around me though. This actually served me well, because there was a small protest outside the office building my testing center was in and you could hear people chanting from the 2nd floor testing room. (They were not protesting the testing center.) Even though I used ear plugs, I could still hear them a little, but it wasn't a big problem because I was used to tuning out the noise around me. Loud cars and other testers typing are other noises that you should try to desensitize yourself to.

So let your spouse watch TV and let your kids run around screaming while you study! :-) It'll help you be ready for anything.
 

5- Take lots of practice tests.

I did lots of tests in the Rita FastTrack software and other free tests online. I think I did about 2000 questions in total. I didn't pay for any tests except the Rita software. If you don't use Rita, I recommend buying the PMStudy tests. The one I took was not as tricky as Rita, but they do a good job.

I recommend using the table of practice test sources in rajesh.thallam's Dec. 13 post above to identify tests to take. Here are my scores:

Chris Scordo #1, 13-18 - Avg. 81%
Oliver Lehmann 175Q - 74%
Oliver Lehmann 75Q - 78%
PMP For Sure - 65%
PM Study #1 (free) - 79.43%
Anbari - 92%
Rita SuperPMP - 73.5% 

I found Scordo, Lehmann, PMStudy, and Rita to be the best preparation and the actual test was a little easier. Make sure to review what you got wrong and WHY you got it wrong! Write those lessons learned down and review as you continue your studying.

And for math practice I found a great document someone else had posted:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/28680971/101-PMP-Sample-Questions-for-the-PMP-Exam I did 50 questions and felt much better about my ability to answer any EVM or other math questions on the test. Practice network diagrams too!

6- Relax

Relax and don't get stressed out about the exam! Take breaks from studying and go for a walk. See your friends, get exercise. I didn't follow this advice, and although it was nice to lose a few pounds from the stress, I don't recommend it to others. When you get a bad practice test result (my 65% made me very nervous 3 days before the exam), learn from it and keep going. Deep breathing helps too.

Get a good night's sleep before the test, eat a good breakfast or lunch before you go to the testing center, and tell yourself that you are going to beat the test and walk out a PMP!

Good luck!!