Passed in first attempt: 1P, 4MP.  Did not get all Ps, but good enough is good enough for me!

Background:

Qualified to sit, but not full time PM.  Intended to take exam 2 years ago, but new job got in the way.  Now wanting to get in before the July 31 cutoff, I started studying again 6 weeks ago.  

Study materials:

I found the PMBOK painful to read.  I picked up Rita's book, read nearly all of it once, and skimmed select chapters a couple of times.  I did not do all the exercises as the book states, but focused on how I best learn.  My use of PMBOK was mostly in researching specific results from practice tests.  Most of my study time was in taking practice tests, and reviewing results.

I just discovered pmzilla about a week ago, but read some of the LL posts a few days before the exam.  I found these helpful in better understanding the testing day experience.

Practice tests:

- All end of chapter tests in Rita book.  

- PMPerfect practice tests.  I purchased the series of tests as I really liked the format, and how the website tracks your progress.  However, I was distracted by the number of poorly written (i.e., grammatically incorrect or imprecise) questions.  I focused on making sure I understood why I selected incorrect answers.  Overall cumulative knowledge area averages over 6 weeks ranged from 60-80%.  Mock Exam Lite results varied quite a bit between 60-84%, and averaged 70-75%.

-PM Study.  200 question Exam #3, 70%, 2 weeks before exam.  Identified some areas requiring attention. 

- Oliver Lehmann 175 questions.  74%, 1 week before exam.  Missed several due to carelessness; revised test strategy to go slowly.

- PM Zilla tough 30.  Did about half the questions, then quit due to typos / grammar issues.  Reviewing answers, I noticed one exactly same question as on Lehmann test, but with different correct answer.  

Overall, I really tried to understand why I missed answers.  Also, I wanted to make sure I really knew the answers I got right, and did not just get lucky.  I was very concerned that the actual exam would not mirror the practice tests, particularly because of inconsistencies between sites, and typo/grammar errors in many.  Overall, I found the questions to be similar in style and difficulty to the practice tests I took.  As expected, the wording on the real thing was precise and without error.  

Test day:

I visited site a week before the exam to know what to expect.  I brain-dumped page 43, Rita's planning order, and a dozen formulas.  This helped me focus, and to not question my answers later.  During my practice exams, I found that I missed a significant number of questions because I went too quickly, and either did not carefully read the question, or did not read all the answers.  So, for the exam, I went very slowly.  Even if I was sure of the answer, I re-read the question a couple of times before hitting "next" -- of course, watching the clock along the way.  I only marked about 20 questions, and only changed my answers on about two of those.  One five minute break when I could feel my mind in need of a break (and body in need of juice).  Finished up the review with little time to spare.  

As others have stated, you really need to know contract types (why, when, how).  Expect many questions requiring use of formulas (CPI, SPI, various EAC equations, etc).  The formula questions require you to do more than just plug in the numbers, but to use another formula to figure out what number to input.  I thought the test was quite easy in the beginning, but maybe just because I was expecting it to be harder than what I had practiced.  It seemed to even out over time.  I was surprised to see some very easy, straight-forward questions, but also some easy concepts made rather difficult.  

PMP