TOPIC: Passed PMP 1st attempt - 4AT and 1T

My PMP studying journey took 3 months. I started by reading PMBOK6, which I found to be very boring. Then I bought Rita Mulcahy's PMP prep book, read it twice, and did all the exercises. 6 weeks before my exam I took Rita's Fast Track mock exam and scored 77%. I was feeling confident, but I wanted another perspective on the exam, so I took the Oliver Lehmann free PMP test and scored 64%. This low score made me very nervous so I listened to all of the PM PrepCast podcasts and took two additional mock exams scoring between 70-74%.

I was worried I wouldn't pass the exam but I decided to take the test anyway. The week before the exam I decided to take a break from studying and give my brain a chance to relax. I practiced making my brain dump sheet every day but that's it.

I walked into the exam feeling nervous but confident, did a quick brain dump of the formulas, and passed with 4ATs and 1T.
Overall I found the questions from the PrepCast exam simulator to be the most similar to the actual exam, although I did find the PMP exam questions shorter.

Don't be discouraged if you are consistently passing the mock exams but not scoring above 80%.

Congrats! Your situation happens a lot; many folks pass with lower pre-test scores.