690 (45Q, 40V, 6.0 on AWA)

Guest · Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:29 am Post subject: 690 (45Q, 40V, 6.0 on AWA)

I didn't beat my target score of 700, but 690 will have to do, as I am trying to submit applications for several first round deadlines in October. I have been studying for the GMAT since late-February and am so relieved to finally have a score that I think is, for the most part, representative of my "GMAT skills." I made 90th percentile and that's what I was looking for.

I first took the GMAT at the end of June and scored a mediocre 650. I can't remember my breakdown, but my quantitative score was at a low 67% so I was very keen on improving my quant.

My study plan consisted of a Kaplan course as well as completing a lot of GMAT work outside of the course (official guides, Kaplan 800, Princeton Review manual, Manhattan GMAT SC strategy guide). However, on my second go, I tried to focus on my timing, rather than simply figuring out to how to do problems. Do not follow the "get-the-first-10-right" strategy! I dropped this the second time around and focused on trying to distribute equal time to each problem in the hopes of getting more problems right - my accuracy improved significantly after pursuing this approach.

I purchased the online package of practice GMAT exams on the Manhattan GMAT website to flex my test-taking skills. I found the Manhattan GMAT exams to be very helpful practice - the quant is much harder than the real exam, but it's worth going through all of those difficult questions to ultimately raise your bar of difficulty. The verbal is on par, or slightly easier, than the real exam.

In addition to improving my timing, I decided to dive deeper into the quant concepts and reviewed all of the Manhattan GMAT strategy guides for quant to learn tricks, and cover the bases. Also, the guides helped me tackle the official guides, which I think are an ABSOLUTE MUST DO, in a targeted manner that proved to be very helpful.

Also, I kept a notebook in which I recorded key concepts/tricky problems that were worth continually reviewing prior to taking the exam. Doing this or making flashcards is very useful - the notebook became my "security blanket."

My final piece of advice is to practice problems under timed conditions daily! I did about 25-30 questions of quant or verbal (I would try to alternate by day, but mostly did quant b/c this was my weakness) every day and then reviewed all of them. The regular practice really conditions your brain to get used to the GMAT experience. On the weekends, I would do a ton of more work, but during the week, I forced myself to practice problems under timed conditions, even if it meant waking up at 5:30am. Think of it like going to the gym! (No joke)