Hi All - I passed my Administrator cert this week. To pass on my prep tips to others in case it helps. I have worked on Salesforce before but not since 2009, and looking to move back in I wanted to take this exam

I ensured I covered every topic on the Study guide, I watched any introductory videos on youtube I could find to get a good overview in each area, including looking at some customer adoption videos which are good to show practical configs for real business situations.

Then, for each main topic, I went for the Dreamforce Hands on Training videos that are on youtube, usually 2 hours a piece. Whilst playing the videos, I did the hands on element on my developer account, using Salesforce help online when I got stuck or confused. Where there was pre-existing config shown on the video, as far as possible I stopped the video, set up the config, and then continued the video and exercises; this helped further understanding.

I also had a notebook with all the main headings in the study guide, and made notes as I went along, typically between 1 and 4 a4 sides of notes per topic, trying to take into account the weighting in the study guide, starting with Security.

In the last couple days before the exam I went through all the tabs and set- up menus, to be sure I understood what was in there and how the configuration fits together, and re read all my notes a couple times. I also took a look at all the example Qs put out there eg Cram, however beware as answers and level/ type of questions are not always correct, so I only used these to try and understand the sort of questions there are.

Whole thing took me 6 weeks of a reasonably relaxed timetable.. This worked for me, although it may not work for others. I found the exam challenging but reasonable, and was pretty close to the study guide...Feel free to ask any questions , although of course I am bound as a condition of the qualification not to reveal the Qs themselves.. Hope this helps...