Hi All - After 1 year from my initial preperation, I am happy to say that I have passed the PMP with 2P and 3MP. I read many stories here of folks studying for many hours a day for weeks on end and knew that that would never work for me. So what did I do?

I started my studies by taking a semester-long online class last fall that specifically uses the PMBOK as a guide. We covered the 13 chapters in the PMBOK over 13 weeks of class. I read the same chapter in PMBOK and in Rita each week (on my own). After that class I took a break for Christmas but didn't get back to studying until June! On my own I picked up Rita and began from the beginning and was please to see how much I had remembered! Up to that point I had only taken Rita exams, and was all over the place from 60%-85% with no real pattern.

Finally, last week I took a 4-day in-person PMP prep boot camp. This was the best decision and best timing for me. Going in to the class I knew so much compared to the other students who were doing this as their *first* part of their studies. By having all of my studies, I was able to feel very relaxed for the boot camp but was also presented with so many details that I had missed in my own study! The boot camp had it's own tests that were similar to Rita and score also similar.

The best advice I can give to say recognize your learning style and be sure to have a plan to match it. I needed a class at the beginning so I would have peers to keep me going. I needed a boot camp at the end to help me focus and fill in the missing details and really helped to clarify small, annoying things. For example,the difference between quality assurance (you ensure the project *processes* are working correctly!) and quality control (you are testing the project *deliverable/product*).

Other generic tips:
- Rita is a great book and has very good tests. The PMP exam read just like a Rita question. I used Rita, PMBOK, and my materials from boot camp. Rita flashcards are also great to force you to learn some of the little details.
- I know we're supposed to rest the day before the PMP, but I used it to memorize lots of little details such as 4 decision making processes, RACI chart values, *ALL* motivational theorists, *ALL* quality theorists.
- I studied the 25 Rita planning processes, in order, and that was a big help.
- I really hated all the ITTOS, but instead learned the 47 processes during my book camp. If you learn one knowledge area at a time while you study PMBOK, it's pretty easy to learn.
- You don't have to study 5hrs a day for weeks and weeks, but I recommend living and breathing PMP 24hrs a day for the last week of prep. For me, the bootcamp and homework kept me busy.
- Once you go to a bootcamp, use it or lose it!

Best of luck to all!