Okay so I failed my first attempt back in March and honestly I was pretty devastated. I'd been studying on and off for about three weeks, mostly just reading through the manual and hoping things would stick. Spoiler: they didn't. I scored a 71 and needed a 75 to pass.
For round two I completely changed my approach. I started using an AK practice test every single day for two weeks straight — doing timed sessions and actually reviewing every wrong answer instead of just moving on. That made a huge difference. I also found a study guide that broke down the trickier regulation sections in plain English, which helped a lot since that's where I was losing most of my points.
My biggest exam tips: don't skip the procedural questions, they show up more than you'd think. And give yourself at least 90 seconds per question on the harder sections. Passed with an 82 this time. If you're prepping right now, what's tripping you up the most?