Can any one help me to select me the best PMP training provider?

Karlene

Dear Members,

I am looking to join PMP class room boot camp in California area (San Jose). Kindly advise the best provider to select.

I have shortlisted:

1) PMstudy

2) PMTI

and now i am not sure which one to select. Your guidance is much appreciated.

Harwinder

Hello @Karlene,

Welcome to PM Hangout. I'm not based in California and won't be able comment on the classroom training programs. I hope some of the other members can help you with it.

I do have reasonably good experience with a few different online self-paced PMP training programs. If you want to know more about them, you can send me a PM.

Feel free to use this platform as you go along in your journey toward PMP.

Good luck.

Karlene

Hi Harwinder,

Thank you for your reply. i have already taken the PMstudy online course. And I amvery much convinced with them. So I have almost decided to go ahead with them but just wanted to make sure before I make the payments for their PMP classroom program.

I will wait for replies from other members.

shanekirsten3

Well PMstudy any day is a better option considering their quality teaching and excellent MBG policy. But not sure if it is one of the economical course providers.

Karlene

Thanks . but yes its little bit costly compare to many others but the thing is the i am very much worried to pay $ 1000 and to see a fail result. I would prefer to pay $ 1899 and get my risk covered by enrolling with PMstudy.
What do you suggest Kristen?

Harwinder

@Karlene

How do they cover your risk with $1,899? I'm just curious to know. AFAIK, they reimburse you the re-examination fee ($275) if you fail and that too under stringent T&Cs. All that makes it very difficult for a candidate to even claim the re-examination fee. I suggest that you read the T&Cs very thoroughly if you haven't already done so. Don't get carried away by "100% Money-back Guarantee".

Good luck.

Karlene

Hi Harwinder,

Thank you for the concern. I have already gone through the terms and conditions and i found it simple.

My understanding is: if i fail the exam on my 1st try, then PMstudy will pay for my 2nd try again if i fail my 2nd they will they will pay for my 3rd try. And if i fail my 3rd try they will refund the money back, deducting the amount paid by PMstudy for my re-exams. So this is how the risk is covered.

Also I really want to pass the exam and want to go ahead with a reputed company.

Again the best thing is PMstudy is also giving Risk Management certification course for free with 20 PDUs (If I am not wrong).

Looks like a great deal to me.

Harwinder

Hi @Karlene,

I read and re-read the T&Cs. I'm not sure where you got these ideas - "they will pay for my 3rd try" and "if i fail my 3rd try they will refund the money back, deducting the amount paid by PMstudy for my re-exams".

Please point me to a link where these are explicitly stated.

On the Classroom course T&Cs link (www.pmstudy.com/PMP-Classes/moneyBack.asp) on their home page, there's absolutely nothing of this sort. All they say is that they will pay for 1 re-attempt ($275) and that too if you retake the exam within 30 days. After that, you are on your own.

Thanks.

Karlene

Hmmm. .. I just double checked and from your previous post (Apps) I came to know that you are in Singapore. So if you go to PMstudy website and select country to US you will find the T&C, its different.

Once you check let me know, I think PMstudy money back is good enough.

shanekirsten3

@Karlene
I second you on the Money back aspect..I had gone through the whole T&C and found it very simple and straight forward..Well its very true that by paying $1899 and enrolling for PMstudy you are entering a risk free zone:)

Harwinder

@Karlene - I see. They indeed have different T&Cs for different regions.

However, I hope you didn't forget that you still pay $534 / $555 for your first attempt, and they are not reimbursing that

If you can afford to spend $2K (which I believe you can) and you learn better in a classroom setting, then this is a good choice for you.

Personally, I won't look at the course from the point of view of monetary risk at all. If I were to go for a course, it would be to learn, interact, and network.

If money was a consideration, then I would rather spend $300 on a good online program, couple of good books, paid practice tests from 2-3 different sources, and pass the exam on the first attempt "at my own pace" (rather than following an imposed timeline). I would go with a positive frame of mind and never think about failing to start with.

Don't take me wrong. I've nothing against any classroom course or company. I hope you'll pass on the first attempt itself. I wish you good luck.

Do come back and share your experience from the course and the exam.

Karlene

Hi Harwinder,

Thank you for the wish I will join the PMstudy program soon and will update you.

Karlene

Hi Shane,

Have you taken the course from PMstudy? If yes, plz share your experience, and the all.

Debraj

Thank you Harwinder and Karlene.

I am from India, and after going through the points from you guys I have decided to join PMstudy classroom course in India.

The group is really great

nancy

Hi Karlene and Harwinder,

Just for your information, one of my colleague took up PMP class room training with PMstudy and unfortunately could not get through even after the third attempt.However PMstudy reimbursed the entire course fee with in a short turn around time.

Harwinder

Hi Nancy,

Thanks for your feedback.

Now that you mentioned, I recall that there was another person who took the PM Study course (online only, probably) and couldn't get through. He had posted some comments here:

https://www.pmhangout.com/discussion/comment/87#Comment_87

I'll be interested to hear first-hand feedback on the classroom course. So, whoever takes the class, please do come back and share your experience.

Best regards.

Karlene

Hmm....

I have joined PMstudy and my class is on 3rd Dec.

PMP exam is not a easy thing, it is one of the "the" toughest exam. As I invested $ 1899 I did a through market survey in my office and found at least 15 ppl (out of 25) who took their class from PMstudy and passed on the 1st attempt.

Thanks for the link. I also gone through their website, their recommendation is to take the exam on 5th day. If they are ready to take the risk then what is the harm? If I fail they will pay for it, its Pmstudy's risk.

Also the published pass rate is 98.7% which is i believe is a great.

I have also booked my exam on the 5th day i.e 7th December

Wish me luck!!

Harwinder

The comments below are not directed toward any particular company, but apply to PMP classroom training providers in general. My intention is to increase awareness on this matter.

Do we know whether this 99% pass-rate applies to first time exam takers or overall pass rate? Is it only for classroom training or includes online-only subscribers as well? Do we know the process they use to arrive at this number?

From my experience in past 5-6 years, most companies claims to have a 99% pass-rate. There are some who try to look more reasonable by claiming 95% pass-rate. Despite this, I have come across so many people (online and in real life), who failed the exam, or needed additional help, despite taking some really expensive courses.

If I'm a training provider and I publish my first time pass rate as 75%, do you think anybody would come to me, when other companies claim to have 99% pass-rate?

You can draw your own interpretation from here.

Harwinder

@shaneoconor

Maybe you can post some links to PMStudy "Classroom training" reviews here to help others.

Harwinder

@shaneoconor

That's fine. I was thinking that if you had seen some independent reviews on other sites or blogs, you could post the links here. I guess we'll get some feedback when you and @Karlene take the course. I'm looking forward to it.

Karlene

Definitely Harwinder, I will share my review for PMstudy. Also I believe in this age of Social Media PMstudy is doing great. Please check out their facebook page. I am now 90% confident about PMstudy, rest 10% depending on my real life experience with PMstudy.

Harwinder

Karlene,

I'm glad that you like them so much. But I'm not a fan of expensive classroom programs.

I believe that the posts on https://www.deepfriedbrainproject.com/2008/12/pmp-certification-exam-prep-study-notes.html provide at least 100x more value that those on that Facebook page that you pointed out.

Social Media is not just restricted to Facebook and Twitter. Blogs are an equally powerful platform, if not more. I haven't updated the blog in more than 6 months, but it continues to get tens of thousands of readers every month. So, there must be some value there.

If you are convinced that classroom program is the best choice for you, then go for it by all means. But in opinion, one doesn't need expensive classroom programs to pass the PMP exam. In fact, an equal number if not more people pass the exam through self-study. A case in point is @SumitK who passed with 5Ps recently.

What you do need with either approach is hard work and dedication.

Thanks.

SumitK

Thanks harwinder for referring my case.

Karlene, I invested my extra time and I went through PM Prepcast online course worth 130 USD. Frankly, I took that course to just get PDUs. I did watch 85% of their videos and also subscribed to their daily questions. Rest, you can go through my LLs on this forum.
It all depends on you how much time you can spend, how much risk you want to take? I took calculated risk by not going for classroom training. Training cost was between 800 USD to 2000 USD. Even the cheapest one would have given me 2 more chances of test with similar cost.
I was lucky and i cleared with 5 Ps in 1 go.

Hope it helps.

Karlene

@ Harwinder, today is the 1st day of my class with PMstudy. And I am feeling very confident. I do not know about others but I liked the PMstudy training so far. 3 more days to go and the exam may be then I can give a right review.

Ashutosh

Being a first timer on this topic I get a feeling that PMstudy has got good level of customer satisfaction and pass%..Would like to get an honest opinion on how well are their Moneyback policy ? Are there any loopholes? I ve heard a lot of trainers offering Moneyback but with certain hidden clauses!!
Please advicce..

Peteramos

@harwinder, karlene & Ashutosh,

I was going through the earlier posts and it was really informative for the PMP aspirants. I had the opportunity to attend the PMstudy Bootcamp in Washington in November. I had done my fair share of research and background check before committing myself to PMstudy for preparation for my PMP exam.

The instructor was really awesome and the class was a breeze. I took the PMP exam within a week of taking the Bootcamp and cleared it with 4 Ps and 1 MP.

However I must add that self preparation is highly essential to clearing it in the 1st attempt. The exam is tough and the preparation has to be extremely rigorous.

Would like to thank PMstudy for their help in getting myself PMP certified.

@ashutosh

With regards to your queries about their Moneyback Policy, I found it quite decent enough. You can send an email to PMstudy's customer care. I got around them in the same way. You can get a first hand information from their personnel and they can address your queries correctly.

Regards,
Pete

Ashutosh

@pete Thanks for the information.. I have zeroed in a couple of other providers apart from PMstudy. Would update on this soon .

Cheers!!
Ashutosh

Claytonrice

Hi Everyone,

Lots of information actually. Good for a newbie like me:):).I am infact looking for a provider for my PMP preparation and given the reputation and policies PMstudy has, I can look at zeroing on PMstudy.

Would get in contact with their officials for help. Any other assistance from my fellow post members would be very welcome.

Cheers

Clayton

tmlntmln

Self Study options for getting PMP certifications;

Hi,

I am in Perth Australia. I am newbie in the PMP arena. I am just struggling to understand where to start.

Can anyone please advice on "self study" options?

Are there any good (recommended) books that help me understand about getting PMP certification?

Thanks in advance for your kind and helpful advice.

Rajan

SumitK

Attend the free preview classes and go through Harwinder's blog deepfriedbrain and browse PMI website. All info is available

jana

Hi Friends,

I am in Bangalore (India). Could anyone comment on the better classroom trainings in bangalore ? I am willing to take the training next month.