Tips for Passing AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam (How to Study to Pass)

First, what not to waste time on -
Resources that Did Not Help:

• AWS Generic Explanation / Training Videos per topic - very bland, makes one sleepy (however the Re:invent were good)
• Exploring the Console without tutorials
• Looking at all the services - only specific services would be tested
• Memorizing limits - it helps for Databases, S3, number of VPCs (but not for others)

Resources that Helped: 

Below are the resources that helped, 
I suggest you start from the top (most basic) to bottom

• ACloud Guru Training video (videos were good for intro, chapter end review useful, labs were useful, however, the sample exams of Jon Bonson were better). Most valuable chapter is the VPC chapter. Play the videos at 1.5x speed with subtitles ON
• Re:invent - the Generic AWS videos could make me fall asleep, the Re:invent is anything but. Tip: Play the videos at 2x play speed to save time though. 
• Jon Bonson's cheat sheets / Tutorial Dojo cheat sheets: https://tutorialsdojo.com/aws-cheat-sheets/ -> very very useful especially the comparison cheat sheets. EFS vs EBS, etc. 
• Jon Bonson Udemy Practice Exams (very comprehensive, especially the answer explanations)
• AWS Console for following along with the labs
• AWS FAQ pages
• AWS Exam Review Android App (watch out for it though, some of the questions are old)

What to Watch Out For:

• Reviewing outdated information - 
• example: some services did not have cross-region capabilities previously, but now do. 
• limits of some services have increased
• tricky questions - each word in the sentence should be read
• You can flag questions in the actual exam for review, but you have to answer each question before proceeding to the next question
• Noisy testing centers
• The test is long and you cannot stop once it has started. Must pace self, eat a snack beforehand and drink enough water (but not too much to cause a bathroom break mid-exam). 

How Long To Study before taking the Test:

• I allotted around 1 month of studying, most of it watching videos really.
• It's best to study before sleeping so you can dream about it
• 2 hours per day in the weekdays (x 24 days) and 9-12 hours on the weekends (x 4 weekends)
• A total of ~48 + 44 hours = ~92 hours of study
• I took 3 sample exams 
• I used multiple tries on the AWS Exam Review Android App (take note some questions use outdated information) - the app can be used anywhere on the commute, etc.