Firsthand Review: GreyCampus Online PMP Certification Course

The GreyCampus online PMP course has completely been rebuilt for the new PMP Exam. The quality of the has been improved quite a lot! I have written a new review on the new course here.

One of the pre-requisites for the PMP Certification is getting the required “35 Contact Hours”. Some Aspirants would reflect that they do not have the time for the 35 face-to-face contact hours in lectures. Luckily, with the advancement of technologies, PMI allows Aspirants to earn the “Contact Hours” through Online Distance Learning. One of the providers of quality online PMP Certification courses is GreyCampus.

This review about GreyCampus PMP Certification Course is my first hand experience for going through this PMP Exam Prep online course. (Note: If you consider the GreyCampus PMP Certification online course, remember to use the latest GreyCampus coupon code to get discount.)

[NEW] GreyCampus PMP Online Self Learning Course has been updated to be aligned with the latest PMP Exam and PMBOK® Guide (6th edition) to prepare Aspirants for the updated PMP Exam after March 2018!

First Thing First: Is GreyCampus a Trusted Trainer?

GreyCampus is one of the leading training institutes providing online and classroom courses in ITIL®, PMP, PMI-ACP® and other professional certification. Over 30,000 professionals globally have attended training courses by GreyCampus. The passing rate for certification exams of GreyCampus students is well over 97%.

What are Included in GreyCampus Online PMP Certification Course?

The GreyCampus Online PMP Certification Course includes most of the resources Aspirants to need to get well prepared for the PMP Exam:

• Access to the whole online course area for 1 year — the extra long 1-year access period allows you to plan ahead for your PMP Exam preparation without any immediate deadline so that you have the buffer for other important events that would delay your exam schedule, but other PMP online courses will usually require you to finish the course within 3 months or 6 months and to pay extra money for extension.
• Get the 35 Contact Hours Certificate for project management education upon completion of the course
• Audio Video Lectures — covers all you need to know for the PMP Certification Exam and more (the last 3 are particularly useful for Aspirants):
  • Introduction – About The PMP Credential
  • Organizational Influences & Project Life Cycle
  • Project Management Processes
  • Integration Management
  • Scope Management
  • Schedule Management
  • Cost Management
  • Quality Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Communications Management
  • Risk Management
  • Procurement Management
  • Stakeholder Management
  • PMI’s Code of ethics and professional conduct
  • Application Process for PMP
  • PMP Exam Changes
  • Exam Tips for PMP
• PMP Simulated Exams and Chapter Quizzes — practice makes perfect and when preparing for professional exams, taking simulated exams is almost the most efficient way to understand your PMP exam readiness as shared by many PMP exam takers. There are 4 full-length simulated exams included in the online course. All questions included in the course are with the explanation to help students to understand the “why” behind each answer.
  

  PMP Simulated Exams

• ITTO games — to help you remember the important PMP ITTOs for the exam
• Video Lecture Powerpoint Files — all the powerpoint files can be downloaded so that students will not need to type their own study notes as they go through the lectures.
• PMP Sample Forms (found in the toolkits) — these are examples of the forms mentioned in the PMBOK® Guide to illustrate how they are used in real project environments. Most Aspirants will find these very useful as the PMBOK® Guide does not include details of these. Forms included:
  • Change Request Form
  • Action Plan Tracker
  • Change Control Registry
  • RACI Chart
  • Stakeholder Register
  • WBS Dictionary
  • Run Chart

GreyCampus PMP Certification Online Course provides a structured learning experience for PMP Aspirants, each topic is introduced through a combination of video lectures and End of Module Tests so that students will be able to get enough preparation for the real PMP Exam. The online learning portal of GreyCampus website provides statistics on the performance of individual topics of the PMP Exam so that students will know which topics to focus on in order to bridge their knowledge gaps.

NOTE: In order to get PMP Certified, Aspirants will need to purchase/pay these at their own expense:

• PMI Membership Fee and PMP Exam Fee (compulsory)
• The PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition (optional, but most PMP Exam takers will go through the PMBOK® Guide at least once during their PMP preparation — PMI members can download the PMBOK® Guide for free)

Pros of GreyCampus Online PMP Certification Course

• An online dashboard allowing Aspirants to understand their progress in the PMP Exam preparation in a glance. It details the topics that have covered (percentage completion) and performances on various topics for the PMP Exam.
  

  Online PMP Exam Prep Course Dashboard

• Students will be able to get the FULL refund for the online course portion of the course provided that the refund is requested within 3 days of purchase and the progress on the course is less than 30%. That’s plenty of time to try out the online course for FREE.
• Unlike the PM PrepCast™, the Powerpoint files used in the course can be downloaded to be used as lecture notes so that Aspirants will be able to concentrate on the lectures without the need to write down everything they have heard.
• A total of 4 full-length mock PMP practise exams are included in the course package — there is no need to separately purchase a PMP exam simulator with extra expenses.
• Online analytics allowing Aspirants to understand their strengths and weaknesses for the PMP topics so that they will be able to focus their study time on the most crucial areas that need improvements.
  

  PMP mock exam performance online analytics

• “Exam Tips for PMP” is included as one lecture of the course so that students will be able to get valuable tips on how to tackle PMP Exam questions and be well positioned for passing the exam in the first try.
• The inclusion of “ITTO games” is a big plus for this PMP Certification Course as many studies have pointed out that games are a useful tool to help students remember many things (i.e. the ITTOs) in a short time.

Cons of GreyCampus Online PMP Certification Course

• Students of this GreyCampus PMP online course must watch the videos and take the mock exams through GreyCampus website, the videos are not downloadable and there are no mobile apps. It is most likely that the students will need to stay in front of the computer or stay in an area with WIFI in order to complete the lessons (if you would need to study on the go, you may take a look at the PM PrepCast™ review — a downloadable online PMP Exam prep course).
• The cost for this PMP online course is a bit higher than the average available on the market — but with the limited 50% discount available, it is on the cheap side of the competition (refer to the comparison table below).
• The presentation style of the instructor is a bit dull according to some students. Most of what he has to say was already on the powerpoint slides.
• The explanation of the online mock exams is not detailed enough.

How to Make Most out of GreyCampus Online Course

• If your primary aim for going through the GreyCampus course is to get the 35 Contact Hours, you are highly advised to go through the online lectures as fast as possible in order to get the required Contact Hours Certificate in the shortest period for your PMP application.
• Afterwards, you can review those chapters that you are now familiar with once again when you have the time (as the access period is 365 days — the longest on the market).
• Do make good use of the online analytics for your mock exam performance to understand your strengthens and weaknesses so that you can concentrate your efforts on areas that are not good enough.
• Make use of the online PMP Flashcard to help you remember key terms/explanations for the exam. Researchers have shown that making use of flashcards will greatly accelerate the memorization of facts.

Market Competition for Online PMP Exam Prep Courses

(Read here for a comparison of some of the most popular PMP online training options)

My Recommendation

The GreyCampus PMP Certification Exam online course is a PMP Exam prep course which will allow Aspirants to get the required 35 Contact Hours with flexibility at a low cost compared to PMP boot camps. The mock exams and resources (especially the PMP sample forms in the toolkits) included are very useful to help Aspirants with little or no experience in doing project management the PMI’s way. In particular, it has the longest study period offered (i.e. 365 days) on the market of online PMP Exam prep courses allows Aspirants extra flexibility to reschedule their PMP Exam dates if circumstances arise — e.g. extra busy work schedule or family obligations.

And remember: the 35 Contact Hours on project management education gained through this and other PMP Exam prep courses will be valid forever for the PMP Exam.

If you consider the GreyCampus PMP Certification online course, remember to use the latest GreyCampus coupon code to get discount! 

Wish you PMP success!