Am I ready? Please suggest/advise

Submitted by mkp on Sun, 11/15/2015 - 13:39

Hello,

I have the following scores in various mock exams that I have attempted so far:

  • Oliver's 175 questions- 68%
  • Oliver's 75 questions- 60%
  • Rita's FASTrack - 74%
  • PMStudy - 73%
  • Exam Central (2 mocks) - 79% and 81%

I have just skimmed through PMBOK and NOT 'studied' it in detail. My primary source is Rita's PMP Exam Prep 8th Edition.

While answering the mocks, I observed that I am not totally confident about the correct answer right away. In these situations, I use the technique of elimination to arrive at the right answer.

Now, the questions:

  • Based on my scores, am I ready to take the exam? If not please, advise what should I do differently to increase my scores and be better prepared for the exam
  • Should I read PMBOK in depth? Or skimming through it will be OK?
  • Is not able to pick the right answer for the questions with 100% confidence normal? Or should I study further to be able to pick the right answer with confidence ALL the time?

Thanks everybody for any inputs you might provide!

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admin's picture

admin

Mon, 11/16/2015 - 06:04

Your scores are good and you may pass the real exam. However since you said you dont feel confident, I would advise you spend more time in practice of PMBoK and other study material and also give more mock tests.

rajeshk

Tue, 11/17/2015 - 14:40

Hey dude,

Agree with admin here, if you are not confident please read PMBOK once and take few more good mock tests. Many free mock tests are available across (few you have already taken)

PMZest, Christopher Scordo, 101 Scribd Formula Questions, iZenBridge, PMZilla, Kim Heldman, TechFAQ360, Head First's 200 PMP Exam etc

This should help in confidence gaining. Best of luck.

Rajesh Kishore, PMP

mkp

Tue, 11/17/2015 - 16:31

Admin and Rajesh..thank you for the valuable inputs.

Since posting this item, I attempted another Rita's full exam & whizlabs' 50 questions and scored 82% and 78% respectively. Am currently going through PMBOK and feel am almost there to take the exam.

I am planning to book and take the exam on 30/Nov. In the meanwhile anymore inputs are welcome. :)

mkp

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 09:29

Hi Rajesh - would you happen to know if Kim Heldman exam is free? If yes, where can I find it?

Also, as a member of PMI, I have acces to Kim Heldman's book, but I can only see chapter end questions and not full exams. if you have any idea about this, please let me know if I am missing anything here. 

Thanks!

rajeshk

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 15:18

You can access Kim Heldman's book as a PMI member and take its paper based tests which is very good. Also when you buy Kim's book you get CD which has practice test (paid one).

Rajesh Kishore, PMP

mkp

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 15:24

Are you reffering to chatper end questions or full blown exam?

I tried figuring out in Kim Heldman's book availabale to me as a PMI member but didn't find any full exam except for chapter end questions. Can you please let me know where i should be looking?

 

Thanks.

rkraneis's picture

rkraneis

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 17:16

MKP:

I won't guess on your readiness to "pass the PMP".  I try to avoid that with my PMP test prep client service on my website.  You are studying for the PMP test.  Rather than ask people "am I ready" you should know as a project manager what is the probability of your passing the PMP test.  When I took the PMP test, I felt 80 to 90% confident I would pass the test.

But I do see two weaknesses in your preparation.

  1. Skimmed PMBOK 5.  Why do people keep skimming PMBOK 5 and over rely on Rita's book?  Read PMBOK 5 and a complementary book at the same time (Rita, Akhter, Crowe, Heldman, etc.).  At least you are now reading PMBOK 5 thoroughly.
  2. Your test scores.  People on this website constantly tell us what they had as practice test scores.  But I have never read about how anyone RECORDED THEIR WRONG ANSWERS so they could learn from them at a later time.  I studied/answered a 1000 questions when I practiced for the PMP test and RECORDED MY WRONG ANSWERS.

So speaking positively, it's good that you are finally reading PMBOK 5 seriously.  And here's hoping that you're not just "taking tests" but "learning from your wrong answers".

Best Wishes on Passing the PMP Test,

Richard Kraneis, PMP
Chicago, IL  USA
www.RichardKraneis.com
Richard Kraneis on YouTube

mkp

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 17:44

Richard,

Thanks for the feedback. 

I was resisting the idea of going through 'another' book before taking the exam. But then, I finally got over it and started to study PMBOK 5. As many people have mentioned on this site, studying PMBOK the 2nd time after the initial skimming and after having studied a complementary book helps a lot to understand its content. 

As for the mock exam questions review, i take two approaches:

  1. I review every wrong answer and try to understand why I got it wrong
  2. For every question that I wasn't 100% sure while answering, I mark such questions and review them to see what I was missing while answering such questions.

I have about 8 days to go before I sit for the exam. I am feeling confident with each PMBOK chapter completion and after every mock exam.

Thanks again for your valuable insights.

neil.mainwaring

Thu, 11/19/2015 - 02:55

You should be ready when you feel confident in your study on your own. Although high score on practice tests can be a sign, it is important that you are confident in the content and your ability to apply the content. I can suggest using flashcards and practice questions in the final days to really cement that knowledge. I suggest downloading this app called PMP Exam Mentor for flashcards and practice questions that might be helpful. 

Neil