Hello all.  I'm happy to report that I took and passed the admin exam this morning!

I used the Focus on Force study guide and practice exams, the SalesforceBen practice exam and the official Salesforce practice exam.

I really had mixed results using the flash card sets on the internet (i.e. Quizlett).  I found some of the answers were wrong which was confusing and frustrating.  There are some flashcard sites that have discussion threads/comments on them which was helpful as people would mark wrong answers.

I found that this set was pretty good - https://www.cram.com/flashcards/salesforce-adm-201-5248209

I took the SF practice exam on Sunday and scored 86% and found the certification exam to be comparable.   At times some of the questions are wordy so you just need to break them down and not freak out... :)  

I have a test center that is open and only 10 minutes away so I took it onsite as opposed to remote.  From what I understand, the biggest difference was they provided scratch paper so I could draw out some stuff or make notes (like I know it's either B or C) for when I went back and reviewed the ones I was unsure.

If there is anything I can answer or help with, let me.

For those that have passed the admin certification, are you working on your next cert?  I was planning on hitting platform application builder as there seems to be a good amount of overlap (and while I still have the admin info fresh in my head).

Good luck everyone.