I want to share what worked for me because I spent way too long studying the wrong things the first time around. Failed by 12 points in March, passed last week with a 74. The difference? I stopped reading the ICF competency handbook like a textbook and started actually practicing application questions. Found a solid PCC practice test that mirrored the real exam format way better than anything else I'd tried.
My study guide the second time was way more focused — I spent about 3 weeks drilling presence, active listening, and the ethical scenarios specifically because those tripped me up before. The exam has a ton of situational questions where two answers look almost identical, and you really need to internalize the ICF's perspective, not just memorize definitions.
For anyone starting out: don't underestimate the ethics section. I probably spent 30+ hours just on coaching agreements, client autonomy, and confidentiality scenarios. Anyone else find the situational questions harder than expected, or is that just me?