I passed the AICP exam last month on my second try and I honestly can't believe I'm typing that. First attempt I scored a 64% — passing is 70% — so close but so far. I'd been a planner for six years at that point, figured my work experience would carry me. It did not. The exam is a totally different beast than day-to-day planning work.
What changed the second time around was structure. I gave myself 14 weeks, blocked off two hours every weekday morning before work, and actually followed a real study guide instead of just rereading the AICP Candidate Handbook and hoping for the best. I focused hard on law and ethics, which I'd basically ignored round one, and drilled practice questions every single day. Probably did 800+ questions total across different resources.
The biggest mindset shift: stop studying what you know and start hunting for what you don't. My weak spots were environmental planning and plan implementation — stuff I never touched in my actual job. If you're prepping right now, what areas are tripping you up? Happy to share specifics on what resources I used.