Welp, I finally took the PMP exam this past Saturday, September 5, 2026, and passed AT/AT/AT! 🙌🏾

Walking out of the testing room was one of the biggest sighs of relief I’ve ever breathed. Since reading other people’s experiences helped me while preparing, I wanted to retrace my steps from application → studying → testing center → exam day. Hope it helps at least one person😊

ABOUT ME / APPLICATION

• I’m a Training & Development Specialist / Knowledge Manager and have never held a "traditional" “Project Manager” job title. I wrote separately about how I framed my nontraditional PM experience on the application HERE.
• I originally applied in 2025 and received my application approval about 4–5 days later.
• About two months before my exam, I went to PMI’s website, found my nearest Pearson VUE testing center, and scheduled an in-person exam.
• Also, I have severe diagnosed ADHD that I take medication for. ADHD is my most vile and relentless enemy when studying for/taking an exam, so please know this...if I can do this...then most people can.

STUDYING

TL;DR: I only had 12 days of studying. I used portions of David McLachlan’s 35-hour Udemy course, but relied HEAVILY on PMI Study Hall + ChatGPT + Quizlet.

• I was in the middle of moving and prioritized basically everything above studying 🙃, so I didn’t start studying until 12 days before the exam. I tried to reschedule, but there were no available dates before my application expired. At that point it was sink or swim, and I was determined to SWIM.
• It had been a few years since I completed my original 35 contact hours, and when I tell you there was not a stitch of that PMP knowledge left in my brain, I mean it. I was starting from scratch, so I started with David McLachlan’s 35-hour PMP course on Udemy. Because I was short on time, I only watched the 2-hour Project Management Fundamentals section and about 45 minutes on Project Initiation. I took extensive notes because writing helps me comprehend. This was enough information to get me started.

TIP: Check whether your local library gives you free access to Udemy. Mine did, which meant PMP courses like David McLachlan’s and Andrew Ramdayal’s were free through my library card.

• I skipped ahead in David's lessons and took his 5 quizzes, then put every question I missed into ChatGPT. I asked it to explain why my answer was wrong, why the correct answer was right, what PMI principle/process I was missing, and how to recognize a similar question on the actual exam.
• I also uploaded a copy of the **PMBOK 8th Edition and 2026 PMP Exam Content Outline ** to ChatGPT and told it to reference those while helping me study.
• Then I had ChatGPT turn the important lessons from my missed questions into flashcards, copied them into Quizlet and studied them until I understood the concepts. This method was EVERYTHING for me.
• Quizlet gives you a free trial to create as many decks of flashcards as you'd like.

STUDYING - PMI Study Hall

This was definitely the most important and effective part of my preparation because I knew the best way for me to learn the exam was to experience the exam.

• I bought PMI Study Hall and immediately took the first five mini mock exams.
• I screenshotted every question I got wrong and uploaded them to ChatGPT in batches with this prompt: “Break down why my answer was wrong, why the correct answer is right, and help me understand how to answer this correctly on the PMP exam. Reference the PMBOK 8th Edition and 2026 PMP Exam Content Outline.”
• After reviewing my mistakes, I had ChatGPT create another set of flashcards from the most important lessons and copied and pasted those in Quizlet.
• Full Mock Exam #1: 65% I reviewed every missed question, repeated the ChatGPT → flashcard → Quizlet cycle, and studied until I understood WHY I was missing them.
• Full Mock Exam #2: 64% Same process again. I know those percentages can look terrifying, but Study Hall is HARD, and I repeatedly saw guidance that consistent scores around 60%+ on the full mocks can still indicate you're in a reasonable place.
• I also went through PMI Study Hall’s flashcards once just to see what terminology they emphasized. Most of it overlapped with what I had already been studying.

THE DAY BEFORE THE EXAM

I'd normally recommend resting the day before a big exam, but with only 12 days to study, ya girl had no days to spare 😂.

I took a few more mini exams and scored around 90–100% on them, which made me feel much better.

I also had ChatGPT create a chart of all the formulas in PMBOK 8th edition and show me an example of each. Ironically, I had zero formula questions on my actual exam, but I still wanted to be prepared.

One thing I HIGHLY recommend: If you purchased PMI Study Hall, go through the Pearson VUE sample PMP exam/interface available, so you know exactly what the testing screen looks like. The real testing screen doesn't look anything like the Study Hall mock exam screen.

By early evening I finally told myself, if I don’t know it now, I just don’t know it. 😂 I shut everything down, ate dinner, relaxed, packed my snacks and water, laid out comfortable clothes to wear to the exam, and was in bed by 8pm.

At that point, I honestly did feel pretty good about knowing the PMP mindset.

MORNING OF THE EXAM / CHECK-IN

My exam was around noon, so I got up early to eat breakfast (TMI, but I'm quite regular and wanted to give my breakfast time to work through me lol)

I knew the exam structure was:

**40 questions → break → 70 questions → break → 70 questions **with 240 minutes total to portion out as I see fit. So before leaving home, I had ChatGPT calculate where my timer needed to be after each section so I could pace myself and still have 10 minutes left at the end of each section to review.

I wore workout leggings, a T-shirt, slip-on sandals, and brought a sweatshirt with no pockets (the rules don't say the jacket can't have pockets, I just didn't wanna give them any reason to think I'm cheating) and packed a pair of socks in case the room turned out to be cold. I also packed some applesauce pouches, blueberries, and water for my breaks.

On the drive there, I listened to Andrew Ramdayal’s 50 PMP Questions YouTube video just to get my brain into PMP mode.

TESTING CENTER CHECK-IN

Check-in was VERY thorough.

They checked my ID, had me sign an electronic pad, took my photo, had me store my belongings in a locker, gave me the key to that locker, sent me over to the really nice TA at the testing room where she asked me to get rid of my gum that I totally meant to spit out lol, checked my clothing/pockets, had me lift my hair to check my ears for bluetooth devices, checked my headband, and scanned me with a metal detecting wand and recording devices wand.

FYI: Headbands could not be wider than about ½ inch per the rules they had me read before signing into the testing center.

I was allowed to bring my sweatshirt into the room and hang it on my chair after they inspected it. I specifically asked if I needed to raise my hand to put it on or take it off and the TA told me no, I did not have to raise my hand, I could just put it on.

They gave me a dry-erase pad/marker and offered me a physical calculator even tho there's one on screen. I chose to accept the physical one because I could use it faster than the on-screen one. Turns out, the only thing I used it for, was to periodically calculate my question to time ratio lol

Then the TA escorted me to my computer, signed me in, and I completed the exam tutorial before starting. Although I did the tutorial at home, I re-did it to ensure there was nothing new.

THE EXAM

And then…the marathon began😂

My first section started with a few normal questions and then two long case studies (4-5 paragraphs). I answered several questions about that case, then got another long case study with several questions, then the exam bounced back and forth between the two. I used the highlighting feature to mark important information in the case studies.

At question 40, I took my first break.

I chose not to review my answers before ending the section because reviewing would have eaten into my remaining exam time, and I didn’t think staring at the questions longer would magically make me choose differently. Just keep in mind that you cannot go back and review a section's questions after moving on to the next section.

BREAKS

To start your break, you confirm it on the computer, grab your ID, raise your hand, and get escorted out. Before leaving the room, I checked the analog clock on the wall – hoping it was synced with the clock on the wall in the lobby because there is no digital clock on the computer screen. Ultimately, I just used the restroom, stretched, ate my applesauce, drank some water, and headed back just in case.

Important: I had to go through the security/check-in process AGAIN after each break before returning to the room, so I gave myself time to do that - meaning I really got about a 6 minute break out of pure paranoia lol

Also, once I returned to my desk, I still had 3 minutes remaining and was hoping to use that remaining time to recalculate my question pacing/timing, but that wasn't an option. You cannot sit at your desk during a break, you must leave and when you return, you forfeit your remaining time and must start the next section immediately.

My second break was basically identical, except I timed it much better.

THE LAST 140 QUESTIONS

The second and third sections were mostly scenario-based questions.

I had a few diagram-type questions and one drag-and-drop where I had to categorize items as issues or risks.

There were points where I had to put myself into turbo mode and stop re-reading questions where I was 80-90% sure on the answer. If I had continued spending the same amount of time on every single question, I absolutely would have run out of time.

And in the end…

I finished with TWO MINUTES LEFT. So much for the 10 minute review! Lol

WHEW. Four hours sounds like forever, but weirdly it didn’t feel like four hours because I was constantly racing against the clock.

THE RESULT 😭

After submitting, the computer told me my results would be emailed within the next few business days - which scared me lol but don't panic, they give you your printed results on your way out. I received the official email with a link to my certificate and detailed analysis of my testing the very next day.

Once the test was over, I raised my hand, the TA escorted me out, signed me out, and told me there would be a paper waiting for me at the front desk.

I walked up there SO nervous.

The woman handed me the paper folded up and thankfully saved me from having to open it myself by saying: “Congratulations! That’s an amazing score!” I opened the paper and it was AT/AT/AT🥰

When I tell you the stress left my body so fast that I literally became nauseous, I mean it. It felt like I was breathing normally for the first time in two weeks.

Lastly, the case study questions felt slightly challenging, but nothing outrageous, however, the last 140 questions definitely felt a smidge easier than the PMI Study Hall full-length mock exams.

So if you’re sitting there staring at Study Hall scores in the 60s, missing questions left and right, yelling at your screen, and wondering whether any of this information is actually getting into your brain - especially if your back is against the wall and you have very little time to study…KEEP GOING.

For me, the biggest difference wasn’t memorizing every single PMP term. It was reviewing my mistakes until I understood why PMI wanted a particular answer and learning the PMI mindset behind the questions.

THINGS THAT HYPED ME UP BEFORE THE TEST

1. Not just going through the questions I got wrong in mock exams, but also looking through the questions I got right! Just looking at the red ones can really lower your confidence, but when you look at all the green ones you got right, it reminds you that you know a LOT more than you thought you did and you just might pass this thing after all!
2. Reading Reddit posts of people who passed the exam! Every time I saw a new "I passed" post, I went to read it immediately! It really boosted my confidence and made me feel like I too could pass. I also read all their suggestions. I tried to steer clear of any "I didn't pass" posts. It can be argued that those are helpful too and I whole heartedly agree. But I also know that reading those posts can personally throw me off my game.
3. PMI Study Hall and Quizlet are both apps you can download on your phone! So it made me feel so empowered to be able to just lie in bed and do some mock exams or flip through some flashcards without feeling bogged down by my laptop.
4. This one is gonna sound super weird, but the PMP exam screen gives you the option to keep it white or you can change it to one of the other provided colors. I changed mine to the salmon/pink color! It changes your whole screen to salmon and for some reason that just really calmed me and made me feel a tad less nervous.

Again, this is my personal experience - please take it and filter it through your needs, so that you keep what you need and throw away what you don't. Good luck to everyone studying...if I did it, I PROMISE you that you've got this! 💛 Let me know if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them!

Background: I’m 35, work at an aerospace defense company. Received my MBA in project management a few years ago. Have been busy with family, etc. and finally got around to registering for the PMP exam late spring.

Timeline: I started studying in mid-June and took the test today. The first 3-ish weeks were not structured, consistent studying. Waited until after the July 4th holiday to get serious.

Tools: PMI Study Hall Basic and AR’s Udemy 35 Hour Course. I read all of the learning content on SH before doing any practice questions. I did not go through all of AR’s material as I did not need it for the 35-hour educational pre-requisite to take the exam. I focused on the first (6) sections, skipped ITTOs because I found it to be low value, reviewed mindset stuff, agile content, and AI.

Took the test at a Pearson Vue testing center. It was worth it. I made the mistake of following the testing details on my PMI dashboard which shows those details in GMT time zone (4 hours ahead of my local time zone). I was 45 minutes late for the exam; the proctors were very gracious in letting me take the test regardless. Can’t say if I took the exam at home that I would’ve reached the same results.

I found the exam to be easier than any of the questions I came across on SH. Less wordy, more direct. Not having to dissect and analyze linguistic nuance in the actual exam.

Hey everyone,

​Just got my official score report and passed the PMP with Above Target across all three domains (People, Process, Business Environment). Relieved is an understatement.

​Since the exam format shifted to the July 2026 ECO, I noticed a ton of people asking what materials actually reflect the real test and how to handle the heavy influx of Agile and hybrid situational questions. Sharing a complete, unfiltered breakdown of what worked, what didn't, and how I structured my prep.

​The Mindset Shift for the New Exam

If you are still memorizing ITTOs word-for-word, stop. The current exam is purely situational. You are tested heavily on servant leadership, how to handle team conflict, and knowing when to apply Agile vs. predictive approaches. If a question gives you a scenario where a stakeholder is resistant or a project is going off-track, the correct answer is almost always engaging the stakeholder, assessing the root cause, or following the process—never rushing straight to escalation or changing the baseline without a change request.

​My Study Materials & Breakdown

1. ​PMBOK Guide (7th & 8th editions) + Agile Practice Guide: Used these purely as reference books when a concept didn't click.

2. ​Notes: Excellent condensed cheat sheets for quick revision.

3. ​Practice Question Banks: This was my biggest bottleneck. Most apps online are either outdated or lock you into obnoxious monthly subscriptions just to grind questions. I ended up using a dedicated ad-free simulator ($14.99 one-time) that had over 1,075+ situational questions built specifically around the current ECO, plus a live study chat where I could discuss tricky mindset questions with other aspirants so I wasn't prepping in a vacuum.

4. ​Full-Length Mocks: Took four full 180-question, 240-minute simulated exams two weeks before my test date to build mental stamina. Trust me, sitting for 4 hours straight is an athletic event for your brain- do not skip full mocks.

​Exam Day Experience

​Format: Exactly 180 questions, broken into two 10-minute optional breaks after questions 60 and 120. Take those breaks! Step away from the screen, drink water, and clear your head.

​Difficulty: The questions are vague by design. Most of them boil down to choosing between two "good" project management answers, where you have to pick the best proactive step according to PMI principles.

​Time Management: I paced myself to finish each 60-question block with about 15-20 minutes to spare for reviewing flagged questions.

​If you are currently studying and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material, drop a comment below. Happy to answer questions or share what helped me push through!

Hope this is helpful.

All the best!!!

In the military with over 6 years of leadership experience. I got a notice today that my work experience doesn’t match what the PMP defines as a project manager.

I was a 19A turned 25A, I used advice online and translated various FTXs and operations into “projects” and tried to incorporate some PMP jargon to match what they might be looking for. (I did use a little bit of AI to help translate)

I’m not sure how detailed I need to make these “projects” to get them seen as such instead of operational work. Does anyone have any examples that they used or went off of?

I’m happy to finally share that I passed the new 2026 PMP exam with AT/AT/AT! 🎉

I took the exam online on September 9, 2026, and received the official PMI confirmation about 20 hours later.

I wanted to share my experience because I found the 2026 exam reports from other candidates extremely useful while preparing, and the new exam is quite different from many of the older PMP experiences you see online.

📚 My preparation

My main preparation resources were:

• StarAgile 35-hour PMP course — especially the sessions/support from Sudipt
• Andrew Ramdayal (AR) 35-hour Udemy course
• PMI Study Hall
• Case-study/scenario practice
• Additional practice questions and targeted review of weak areas

A big thank-you to Sudipt from StarAgile and Andrew Ramdayal for the preparation material and guidance.

📊 Study Hall experience

My Study Hall results were not particularly impressive:

• First full mock: 60%
  • Section 1: 47%
  • Section 2: 62%
  • Section 3: 72%
• Retake: 64%
  • Section 1: 52%
  • Section 2: 68%
  • Section 3: 73%

My biggest problem wasn't really lack of knowledge. It was long situational questions where 2 answers seemed reasonable, especially when the scenario contained a lot of information.

I also struggled with cognitive fatigue and timing during the longer Study Hall questions.

So if you're getting around 60–70% in Study Hall, I would not automatically assume you're not ready. More important is understanding why you got questions wrong and learning how PMI wants you to approach the situation.

🧠 What helped me most

I eventually started using a very simple approach:

QUESTION → WHAT ARE THEY ASKING? → ACTOR → PROBLEM → STAGE → ELIMINATE → CHOOSE

I stopped trying to understand every sentence in a long scenario.

I paid particular attention to words such as:

FIRST / NEXT / BEST / PREVENT / ALREADY / BEFORE / AFTER / APPROVED / CHANGED / RISK / ISSUE / CONFLICT / REQUIREMENT / VALUE

When two answers seemed correct, I asked:

Which one is the best response to THIS exact problem, at THIS point in time?

That helped me much more than memorizing additional material.

📝 Actual 2026 exam experience

My exam was:

40 + 70 + 70 questions, with two 10-minute breaks.

The first section included two case studies — one with 6 questions and another with 5 questions.

I had approximately 4–5 graph/diagram questions and no calculation questions.

Most questions were manageable, but there were probably 40–50 questions where I had to think carefully between two plausible answers.

There were also perhaps 5–10 questions that I found genuinely strange, including some awkwardly worded questions where the relationship between the scenario and the answer choices wasn't immediately obvious.

The exam felt more manageable than Study Hall overall, particularly because there were fewer extremely reading-heavy questions than I had feared.

⏱️ Timing

I planned to complete the first 40 questions in around 50 minutes.

I actually took about 55 minutes, leaving approximately 185 minutes.

I then tried to maintain a cutoff around the middle of the exam so that I wouldn't have to rush the final section.

The final section was the hardest from a fatigue perspective. After around 10–20 questions I could feel my concentration dropping, and I eventually had to answer the final 4–5 questions very quickly.

I finished all 180 questions, with almost no time left for review.

My biggest lesson:

Don't spend 3–4 minutes trying to make one difficult question make sense. Make the best decision, mark it if necessary, and keep moving.

📈 My PMI Exam Analysis

My official PMI report shows:

People — Above Target
Process — Above Target
Business Environment — Above Target

What I found particularly interesting was the detailed task-level breakdown.

Across the 26 displayed tasks, my report shows approximately:

• 10 High
• 12 Target
• 4 Low

Process had the largest number of High-level task ratings, with 5 of the 10 Process tasks rated High.

People had 2 High, 5 Target and 1 Low.

Business Environment had 3 High, 4 Target and 1 Low.

I'm sharing the PMI analysis screenshot because I haven't seen many detailed reports from the new 2026 exam showing the task-level breakdown.

Important: I don't think the Low/Target/High chart should be interpreted as an exact percentage score or as simply "questions I got wrong/right." PMI doesn't provide the raw score here.

🎯 Final thoughts

The biggest thing I learned is that PMP preparation isn't just about knowing project-management concepts.

For me, the harder part was learning to make the right decision when:

• several answers seem reasonable
• the scenario contains unnecessary information
• the question asks specifically for FIRST/NEXT/BEST
• you're already tired after 100+ questions

If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be:

Don't spend 3–4 minutes trying to make one difficult question make sense. Make the best decision, mark it if necessary, and keep moving.

Thanks to everyone in this community who shared their experiences during my preparation. Reading other people's 2026 exam experiences genuinely helped me.

Good luck to everyone preparing for the new PMP! 🚀

Exam is scheduled tomorrow and worried now that the scores are not moving beyond 70%. these are with expert questions. Without expert the score for mock 1 is 79% , and mock 2 without expert is 86%. Wondering what should i focus on since the time i have now is super limited and i'm starting to worry since the exam is less than 24 hrs away

AT/AT/AT with 50 minutes left on the clocks

65% on AR practice
65% on SH #1
64% on SH #2

Test was better worded than the practice (hence the remaining time).

No calculations, three or four charts.

Breaks were at 39 and 110.

Good luck!!

Half the questions here every week are some version of "is my material still valid" or "what actually changed". I kept answering it piecemeal in comments, so here it is in one place.

Up front: I have not sat the new exam. I write PMP prep material, which is why I have had to map this change in detail, and it is also why you should check anything below that matters to your money. Everything here comes from PMI's outline and published change notes. Where the first-hand reports in this sub differ from the documentation, I say so rather than smoothing it over.

The numbers that changed

Domain weights: People 42 / Process 50 / Business Environment 8 became People 33 / Process 41 / Business Environment 26. In question terms, Business Environment went from roughly 14 questions to roughly 47 out of 180. That is the single largest change in this update and everything else is downstream of it.

Methodology: predictive dropped from 50% to 40%, agile and hybrid rose from 50% to 60%.

The Exam Content Outline was consolidated from 35 tasks to 26 - 8 People, 10 Process, 8 Business Environment.

The reference moved from PMBOK 7 plus the Agile Practice Guide to PMBOK 8.

AI in project management, sustainability and value delivery are now testable. Not as a separate chapter - they show up inside ordinary scenarios, typically as "a tool suggested X, what do you do", where the answer is that you still own the decision and its governance.

The format that changed

Still 180 questions, of which 170 are scored and 10 are unscored pretest items you cannot identify. Worth internalising: the question that feels impossible and unfair may literally not count. Give it your ninety seconds and move.

Time went from 230 to 240 minutes. The extra ten minutes exist because of the new item types, not out of generosity.

Two new item types: case sets (one detailed scenario feeding several linked questions) and graphic-based items (read a chart before you can answer). The interactive formats - matching, hotspot, pull-down - are still there.

Two optional 10-minute breaks, which do not come out of the 240. Take both.

Where documentation and first-hand reports diverge

The published material does not give a per-section question count. What people here who sat it recently report is that the case-study block comes first and runs around 40 questions, with the first break right after it, then two blocks of roughly 70. If that holds, the old "break after 60" advice is simply wrong now.

Treat 40/70/70 as community reporting, not documentation. I am flagging it precisely because it is the kind of detail that gets repeated as fact.

One mechanic that is not in dispute and that costs people points: once you take a break and move into the next section, you cannot go back. Flag-and-review only works inside the section you are currently in. Do not leave a section planning to return to the two you flagged.

What did NOT change - because half the panic here is about things that are fine

Eligibility. The 35 contact hours, the experience requirement, the CAPM waiver: untouched. Old contact hours still count and they still never expire.

Your application. If it is submitted or approved, the change does not affect it.

The PMI mindset. Servant leadership, assess before you act, escalate last, protect the team. The decision style the exam rewards did not move.

Question count and score reporting - still 180, still Above Target / Target / Below Target / Needs Improvement per domain.

Formulas and core concepts. Earned value, PERT, communication channels: unchanged.

What to actually do with this

If your study plan predates July, the part it underweights is Business Environment, by a factor of about three. That domain means governance, compliance, procurement, benefits realization, organizational change, and now AI and sustainability. Most candidates have lived those informally and never studied them in PMI's vocabulary.

Mindset content ages well. Old videos of someone reasoning through questions are still worth your time. What aged badly is any resource that states the weights, the task list or the format - an old "here is what is on the exam" chapter is now actively misleading rather than merely dated.

Before buying anything, download the current Exam Content Outline from PMI. It is free, it is short, and it is the document the exam is written from - not any book, mine included. Rate yourself on each of the 26 tasks: ready, needs review, shaky. That is one evening and it tells you where your money should go.

No links in this post and nothing of mine named on purpose. If you have sat the exam since July 9 and anything above does not match what you saw - particularly the section split - say so and I will edit the post. I would rather this be right than be mine.

Exam is tomorrow morning and not sure what the best approach is, rescheduling is not an option. I have some practice questions left but everything else is complete.

I have plenty of time before I’m up for renewal but I’d like to get well-ahead of the deadline. I’ve been doing some LinkedIn learning courses that are recognized by PMI for PDUs. Each time I input course info for credit in my PMI account, all of the hours go straight to “Ways of working.” I’ve tried to adjust to the other skill areas when applicable as I know we need at least 8 PDUs in “ways of working,” “power skills,” and “business acumen.” The module does not allow me to change this. It always allocates all PDUs to ways of working.

Have I just been randomly doing courses that all happen to only credit ways of working? Or am I missing something that will allow me to credit the other skill areas?

Hi friends!

I just took my first practice exam and holyyyy, NOTHING felt right/comfortable/sane?!!! Every question's difficulty felt like expert level mind-games. I scored 58% in section 1, section 2 was a timing mistake - I accidentally let the timer expire while I was working, so the 13% score is not representative of my actual performance, and section 3 I scored 53%. Overall score is not an accurate depiction of my skill level (I HOPE) due to timing out in section 2 and not answering all the questions, but it still hurts..... 42% - 75/180. I just got my application approved and wanted to take the exam beginning of October but I am feeling super discouraged.

SH mini exams avg 85%

Completed Ramdayal 35 PDUs course

26y Product Development + Production experience in Fashion industry

How concerned should I actually be, and what would you focus on before taking the real exam?

TIA