I just passed part 1 of the exam...now on to the second.  I studied with Gleim (both book and cd) and the IIA Model Exam Questions cd.  These sources definitely helped me pass the exam.  I put in around 100-120 hours of study time.  I spent the first half of my study time reading every word of the Gleim book and taking notes.  The second half of my study time was devoted to doing multiple choice question after question.  Most of this was in 20 question sized tests as Gleim recommends. 

The final couple days of my preparation revolved around me doing 100 question sized tests from the Gleim study questions repeatedly.  I got to where I was making between 85-90 on each part. 

The exam was honestly more difficult than I expected it to be but Gleim prepared me well.

The biggest thing for me was setting a time and date to keep the exam and making a schedule of what section of Gleim to get through each week.  I had right at six weeks of prep time and I made it through 2-3 study units (more often 2) a week.  As I went through the study units I would do the questions in the Gleim book as I went along and then as Gleim recommends take a few 20 question quizzes from the CD as I went along.

I am a huge fan of basically all things audit and I honestly found a lot of the material pretty interesting.  I did have to refocus around the middle of the Gleim book during the controls chapter.  That is the one with the COSO, COCO, and other frameworks.  That chapter bored me to tears.  Everything else was okay, and I really dig reading through Standard after Standard and seeing how things work.  I would say 80% of the material was completely new to me as I am still in school (beginning masters of accounting program next) and have never worked in any audit position of any kind (I work at Best Buy).  This was the first certification test of any kind I have sat for. 

What really helped me was first reading the Gleim book and taking notes.  This gave me the tools I needed to draw on for doing the MC questions.  I got a good number of them wrong as I went along though but took notes on the ones I got wrong to make sure I understood the reasoning between why I answered them incorrectly. 

Glad to hear the CPA exam was the other way around in terms of difficulty for you.  I was actually pretty stunned about halfway through taking the CIA exam.  I realized how much I was really having to think on each question.  I went into the exam very confident, perhaps overly so after having put so much study time into it. 

My test taking tips helped me out though I'm sure.  As I went through the questions the first time on the actual exam, any question that stumped me at all upon first glance I immediately flagged for review, did not answer it, and kept moving.  When I made it to question 100, I went back through all the ones I flagged and spent more time with them this time.  I just kept slowly whittling them down.  I really liked how Gleim uses the exact same interface as the testing center.  My comfort level was higher because of that. 

I am taking a month long "break" to study for and pass the four sections of the CFE exam.  Then I will be back for part 2 of CIA.  Part 3 kind of scares me what with all the IFRS stuff.  I am fantastic with GAAP but know nothing about IFRS.  Oh well, it will be interesting. 

I figure all this studying now is giving me some practice for studying for the CPA exam.  I am really learning great ways to make my brain learn.  It is certainly different for each individual though.