David DuckettCoordinator of Service Design and Evaluation| Virginia TechChristiansburg, Va, United States
I passed the PMP exam yesterday. I also used the RMC exam simulator with their exam prep book and studied the PMBOK extensively (my instructor recommended 40 hours additional studying on top of the 35 contact hours--which does not include studying while doing my contact hours). I am glad I put the hours in--the exam was challenging. A PMP in my organization directed me to https://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-tes...e-questions.htm for more questions. I supplemented studying and RMC simulations by reading white papers/articles to better understand concepts where I felt I did not have a strong understanding.
On the 200 question RMC exam simulator I took, I received a 76% (but some of the questions I knew because they were repeated from the database), so be careful that you did not know the answers already because otherwise your score would likely be lower. I took a lot of focused exams on specific Knowledge Areas in RMC before taking the full 200-question simulation (and then did their Super PMP after that, but did not finish).
Alongside studying, I tried to connect the concepts with projects I was managing... that helped make concepts click... though on the exam I had to remember to put myself in the context of a million/billion dollar project with hundreds of people globally...
Wish you the best of luck on the exam--I may have over-studied, but I don't think so... and if I did, then I am glad I did!
I'd suggest you'd want to be scoring in the high eighties to feel confident enough in your ability to pass the PMP exam. Remember that no PMP resources provider (e.g. RMC) has a perfect insight into the level of difficulty or nature of questions on the exam so you need a good buffer score wise.
Hi Riad
My 2 cents:
Try a few sources of mock exam - try to attempt those with an explanation that links to PMBOK.
Do not feel bad if you do not receive 80 marks, make sure you understand why you get it wrong such as you misunderstood the question or the understanding is not correct.
When you take the exam, as soon as you are able to start writing, write down all the basic formulas like EV. That way you don't have to think of them on the spot when the question comes up.
First go through the exam relatively quickly and answer only the questions where you are certain. Don't slow yourself down on the others the 1st pass. If you think you know but are unsure, put your best guess and flag it in the testing system to review before you submit the answers.
When you go back through the exam for the flagged questions, I found that often there were 2 or more answers that were close. Ask yourself what specifically the question is testing, to figure out which answer fits the question better.
Good luck!
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1 reply by Bob Thomas
Aug 16, 2019 5:51 PM
Bob Thomas
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This is exactly what I did when I took the test. It's a good strategy. Also, bring some snacks and a drink or two. You have to lock your belongings in a locker. You will be allowed to take a break. When you do, have a snack and drink some water to recharge. it's a long test, and mentally taxing.
Good luck!
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Try to sleep well before the exam.
Relax, there are more than a million others who passed the exam.
You are taking a risk anyhow, so do not focus on failing, but winning.
Let us know what happened.
Good luck. Saving Changes...
David FuentesSr Appl/Sys Sales Engineer| HoneywellDonostia, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Good Luck Riad!
I was about 80 to 85 in the simultion exams from different suppliers and I got bove the target a few weeks ago. My recomendation is as Thomas said relax, trust in yourselft and review the questions before submit.
Surely you can pass!! Saving Changes...
Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Hello Riad,
from my perspective you do have 2 options now:
1. Postpone the exam a few weeks and practice, practice, practice as long as you do get at least 75% + in EVERY NEW mock exam you do. As others said already before, you should better rely on more than one source for sample questions/mock exams. The PM Exam Simulator is as close to the real thing as it could be.
2. You go for it and give it a try. You might get lucky and through. This works of course only, if you do have another try within your eligibility period and before the exam changes at Dec 16th.
Agree with Keith. Write down all formulas as soon as you can.
Review the PMBOK Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
You may wonder why everyone is suggesting a higher than 80% mark in mock exams.
When I passed my PMP exam back in 2003, PMI was using scores. I got 86.5% on the exam and the passing mark was 82.5%!
I know the exam has changed a lot since then but it would certainly be prudent to expect an 80% passing mark required for today's exam. Saving Changes...
Try different simulators, so you can face new questions that you haven't ever seen. If you practice only with one simulator, you learn gradually the answers of repeated questions, and that alters your score. Simulators with an explanation of the correct answer help you with more comprehension, and you can also check PMBOK for more explanations. Practice makes a master. Saving Changes...
