Finally passed my CRL after two attempts — here's what actually helped

So I just got my results yesterday and I passed! Honestly didn't think it was going to happen after I failed the first time by 8 points. The first time around I kind of winged it — read through some notes from my undergrad records management courses and figured that would be enough. Spoiler: it wasn't.

For round two I actually got serious. Spent about 6 weeks studying, maybe an hour a night on weekdays and longer on weekends. The biggest game-changer was finding a solid CRL practice test that actually mimicked the real question style. ICRM's candidate handbook tells you the domain breakdown but it doesn't really prepare you for how the questions are worded. A lot of them are scenario-based and they'll give you two answers that both seem right.

Anyone else studying for this right now? Happy to share what resources I used. The records appraisal and disposition sections were brutal for me — I'd definitely focus your CRL study guide time there first if you're just starting out.