PMP Exam Preparation: Tools and Resources I Used

3 days from now I’ll be taking the PMP certification exam!

At this point, I’ve been preparing for the exam for almost 4 months during the weekends. Here are the things I’ve done so far:

1. Purchased PMBoK – I haven’t completed reading it until now. I always felt sleepy when I start reading it. My friend, Chia, who also planned on taking the exam, advised that I should take the training on Udemy. So I switched to that since I felt that it was more effective for me.
2. Purchased the Udemy training by Andrew R. – His training is really good and I especially liked the PM mindset towards the end. It really helps with the exam. Aside from the actual PMP content, he guides his students on how to prepare. He also teaches them how to apply for the PMP certification. That’s where I learned that the 35-hour training was a pre-requisite for the exam. PMI won’t approve your application for the certification exam. You must tell them you’ve completed the mandatory training from an affiliated training provider.
3. Purchased an audio book called “PMP PMBok 7 Project Management”. It was helpful to listen to when I’m driving for almost 30 minutes or working in my garden. But most of the time it’s almost like background noise for me and I didn’t pay much attention to it. It’s because either my brain is trying to focus on driving or I’m busy pulling weeds. Lol. So, this isn’t really much help in preparing for the exam. Although I liked the Q&A part towards the end. The case studies on ethics were also insightful.
4. Purchased a 1 month subscription for an app called “PMI Prep”. It had a lot of practice tests. It was about $10 a month. It’s not totally bad, but I think some of the questions and answers were not worded/written well. They were too confusing and sometimes misleading.
5. Purchased a subscription to PMI’s Study Hall Plus for $80. I think the non-premium version (less tests) is worth $60. This was more helpful for me. The questions are written well and the explanations of the answers were sufficient for me. There were some where I didn’t agree with the answer so I had to check it with ChatGPT… Suprisingly, ChatGPT had the same answers as me, which confused me more. ChatGPT mentioned that Study Hall can sometimes be more challenging. It advised me to use a PMI mindset on the day of the exam. So, hopefully I pick the right answers on the day of the exam!!!
   My 5 full practice test results were: 69% (120/175), 66% (115/175), 74% (130/175), 74% (129/175) , 74% (130/175).

So as you see, I have done my due diligence to prepare for this exam. I couldn’t delay it any longer. I feel exhausted. I want to enjoy my weekends again. Besides, I feel like I have a good chance at passing now based on my Study Hall exam scores. I’m nervous and at the same time, excited! So, pray for me and wish me luck!!!