Subject: More Notes on PMI Exam Preparation Methods and Exam Information
I sat for and passed the PMI exam on November 13th.I have been assembling my notes over the last few weeks between out of town travel and work.I hope it will be of some help to anyone who has not yet taken the exam.The notes from other people who passed the exam certainly helped me in preparing for my exam.I feel obligated to help as many folks as possible to pass the exam, so I'll pass on what I know and experienced.
REGISTRATION
I sent my application to PMI initially in August using the Option II [Option II is no longer available; Option I is now mandatory] form available on the web site.I filled out the entire form assessing all of the points and including documentation and copies of my degrees, advance degrees, and anything else they asked for on the application.I also put the exam fee on my company credit card and turned in a TEA for the fee.
Roughly three weeks after I sent in the form, I received a letter from PMI approving my application and issuing a authorization number to be used when scheduling the exam with Sylvan Learning Centers.Upon receiving the letter I called Sylvan to schedule the exam thinking that I would be able to schedule an exam on a Saturday in Kansas City in about 6 to 7 weeks.Sylvan indicated that the earliest date that I could schedule and exam in Kansas City would be sometime in December 2004.This was outside the 90 day window that PMI allows to take the exam.My next choice was to take the exam on a Friday.This also met with full schedules for all of the exam sites in Kansas City.Sylvan then offered that Friday exam dates were open within the 90 day window if I was willing to travel to Topeka to take the exam.This was okay with me, so I scheduled the exam for November 13th, roughly 15 days before my 90 day window closed.Sylvan then apprised me of the exam location, the exam time, and what I could bring to the exam site.(Essentially warm clothes and two #2 pencils.)
EXAM PREPARATION
Get the books: I started my exam preparation by getting the PMI Exam Preparation book set available through PMI for about $200.IBM picks up the cost of these books and they can be ordered through the PMI web site or their phone number.I have had the best luck with the phone number.The original study guide book set was a nine book set, but as of December, the book set was
consolidated to a seven book set and the price went up.The set does not include the PMBOK book so order that separately.The price went up on that in December also.
Take the PMI Class: I took the two day exam preparation class quite early thinking that I would just walk into a Sylvan center and take the exam in July or August.The exam preparation class I attended was excellent.It was taught by one of the PMI employees that assisted in writing the new exam.She was great in going through the class binder and pointing out items she knew to be on the exam.Her notes and direction in preparing for the exam were indispensable. (I shared my binder class notes with all PM's in the Kansas City area).The class was also helpful in that there were a few people from the Kansas City area and the Chicago/Rolling Meadows IL area that were at about the same levels of experience and asked many good questions that were very applicable to our situations.The instructor recommended that we take the exam within two months after the class.I was not able to do this, however, the class binder, the sample questions, the review flash cards, and notes we took in class were valuable resources of information for preparation.I took the exam approximately 6 months after the class but still felt the information from the class was pretty fresh and could recall almost everythingby reviewing the class notes.I would recommend finding out when you can get into a PMI class, schedule it, and then try to schedule the exam sitting for approximately 8 weeks after the class if that is possible.That will give you adequate time to review for the exam.
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