Took a run at the VCP 5 a couple weeks ago- thinking since I've been working w/5 since it was pre-beta and I'd have a good shot. Incorrect. Though I just barely failed- it goes to show what VMware seemed to hint at at VMworld this year- wanting less VCP's w/5 than have 4 or earlier versions. This one was tough- really tough.
You have to know not just vSphere but the whole VMware stack- desktop, server, storage, cloud, etc it's in the test. So do your self a favor- power through all the docs ref'd on the blueprint and put together a lab- a real lab- and get every single possible drop of hands on- even if you are a vSphere admin all day at work- and work through them- remember defaults, know everything there is to know about networking, storage and VMware's appliances - and maybe you'll pass first time out- unlike I did.
I'll pass next time- since I know what to study- but still; it was a hard test. I'm glad it's a hard test- because vSphere admins need to know it all- architecture (VMware products how they work, etc), hardware (All of it- server, network, storage, etc) , desktop (view, thinapp) and cloud (especially this one since v5/vCD is VMware's push against Openstack, Rackspace, EC2, etc.
Know it all- and you'll get the 300+. Sleep, eat, breathe this stuff- out at test time- and you'll do just fine. Get a home lab- set one up at work, setup a vCD instance in EC2 or some other cloud provider, etc. Workstation won't cut it for what you need to know.
Once you get the VCP/VCAP/ETC 5- you will not only be a regurgitator like all the M$ admins- you'll KNOW this stuff- and you'll be worth even more than you are now- and be among the true elite of the IT world. The VCP 4 was tough to get- but it was just the outer couple layers of the onion compared to the deep layered onion the VCP5 is.
Good luck- and watch that clock - you only have 90 minutes. If you don't know an answer be careful how many you flag- that can be a huge waste of time.
Trent