I keep choosing answers that are slightly too reactive/action-oriented. How to fix this before the PMP exam?
Hi all, my exam is June 5th, and as I’m approaching the date, I’d like to start figuring out how to improve my scores a bit before exam day.
I’ve been studying since March 27th. I finished AR Udemy in April, then started MR and AR mindset videos at the end of April which definitely helped (although mindset alone doesn’t always get you to the correct answer). I also completed some of the MR hard questions videos too. After that I moved into Study Hall practice questions and mini exams.
My current routine has actually helped me learn a lot:
- DM videos/questions (finished the 150 PMBOK questions and partially through the 200 Agile)
- reviewing every incorrect answer in detail
- plugging questions into ChatGPT, where I write out why I chose an answer, what two answers I was torn between, and my overall thought process. I ask it to identify patterns or help me understand an answer if it's not clicking for me, or why I got something wrong.
- I then review Third3Rock notes on weak areas
- I have also used Quizlet to help me memorize things like the stakeholder assessment, or the formulas.
- Once I feel "warmed up" I'll take a mini exam or two. But gosh they're so difficult.
My overall SH practice questions score ended at 70%, I know the first few I was still "fresh" out of the AR course, and still piecing everything together.
For mini exams, I’ve completed 11 so far (predictive, agile, hybrid, people domain, and one full mixed mini) and my average is currently 68%. The earlier predictive minis were lower because I was still figuring out my study process.
What’s frustrating is that I’m usually down to 2 answers. The questions feel very subtle. A lot of times I understand the concept afterward, but during the exam it feels like both answers could work.
One pattern I keep noticing is that I still tend to choose answers that are slightly too action-oriented/reactive, even when I consciously try not to. PMI often seems to want another layer of assessment/alignment/root-cause analysis before taking action, but the wording can be subtle enough that I miss it.
For example:
- I’ll pick an answer that feels collaborative/proactive
- but PMI wanted me to first review stakeholder expectations, analyze impact, or assess the situation before acting
- sometimes the “correct” answer feels less active than the one I chose
Did anyone else struggle with this pattern specifically? And if you were averaging high 60s on SH minis a few weeks before the exam, what helped push you into the 70s consistently?
Would appreciate any advice from people who recently passed. I really want to figure out what will help me get past this hurdle.