Beat The GMAT a GMAT & MBA community

I’m proud to say that on January 7th I nailed the GMAT. I got a 720 (94th percentile) - 44 quant (69th percentile), 44 verbal (97th percentile). I also got back my essays and I got a 6 on both. I want to thank all of the contributors to this forum for helping me in my preparation. In particular, Eric, Ian, Stuart Kovinsky, Ron Purewal, and Stacey Koprince- your numerous insightful posts really helped me.

Since this forum has given me so much already, I want to try to give something back and share my thoughts on how I was successful, despite being someone who
A) Is not very good at standardized tests
B) Is easily distracted
C) Thinks slowly and has trouble working quickly
D) Is very moody, temperamental, and gets frustrated easily
E) Had a horrible encounter with the LSAT a month earlier

I am going to leave actual advice to the experts and just explain what I think worked for me. I am betting that there are other people out there like me that may find some benefit from hearing about my experience.

I studied exclusively for the GMAT for 4 weeks. I don’t have an accurate initial test score because I only did the quant section in Barrons. I got about half the questions right if I recall. I also had spent the 3 months prior studying for the LSAT, so my RC and CR skills were pretty good. My SC was terrible and my quant needed some serious work. I would divide my success into the following categories:

1. Focus - As I mentioned above, I have trouble focusing. I space out during study-time, particularly during verbal. I space out during timed tests. I find myself reading and re-reading passages, arguments, SC sentences. I will read something for 5 minutes, space-out into a more interesting topic, and then not be able to tell you 1 thing about what I just read. To beat this problem, I knew I had to work really hard to remove as many distractions from my life as possible. Anything that could potentially serve as the subject of a space-out had to be removed. So, conversations, confrontations, politics, or anything else that could distract me were cut out. Some of these steps were kind of bold, but I knew what needed to be done. So, I stopped following the news and politics. I stopped listening to the radio (this was especially hard because I love conservative talk radio. Yet, this was especially important because I tend to get fired up on political issues, particularly when I start thinking about certain politicians who really get under my skin….but I digress). Instead I just listened to music in the car. I never watched TV, but if I had, then I would have stopped that too. I even stopped reading the news on my Blackberry. Additionally, I did everything possible to remain calm, relaxed, and peaceful. I avoided confrontational topics. For example, my mother-in-law is into herbal medicine and natural foods and that kind of garbage. It irritates me when she drops that stuff off at our house, but again I knew what had to be done. So, I just smiled and said thank you. When my kids started whining and fighting, instead of trying to discipline them, I just offered them candy. When my wife asked me to clean the kitchen and change the baby’s diapers while she sat on the couch, I just smiled and asked what else I could do to help. When some jerk cut me off in traffic, I just kept all ten fingers firmly attached to the wheel. My motto was to seek peace and tranquility. I imagined myself sitting in a Suisse village and eating cheese and holding a sign that said “I am neutral”. I also tried to stay completely focused on GMAT material. When I went to the bathroom, I had Beat the Gmat on my Blackberry instead of Fox News (more about this below). No newspapers, no magazines, just GMAT questions. Amazingly, it worked. I was able to focus and my space-outs became few and far between - a little more “spaced out”, you could say.

2. Attitude - I told myself that I would beat the GMAT. One of the things I like about this website is the name. Beating the GMAT is more than just a goal. It’s an attitude. To get an 800, you have to be pretty sharp. But to get a 720, I am convinced that you do not have to be that smart. You have to have some moderate level of intelligence, but not a tremendously high level. However, the one thing that you must have is a positive, Beat-the-GMAT attitude. The main reason that I failed at the LSAT a month earlier was because I was scared of it. I was intimidated by certain features of that exam and, in the end, the LSAT took me out to the woodshed, instead of the opposite. I put it in my mind that it was within my abilities to beat the GMAT. I actually had it in my head for the weeks leading up to test day that I would get a 720. That was the score that was actually in my head going into the test and I think it helped me psychologically.

I think it’s also important to be excited about the GMAT to the point where you actually enjoy GMAT study. The way I made GMAT more enjoyable was that I found practical applications for my new GMAT skills, which helped motivate me to study and keep me focused. Here are some things I did to make the different sections of the GMAT more enjoyable and interesting:

SC - I think SC and Quant are much more similar than people realize. SC is really just problem-solving sentences instead of equations. Matching verb tense or pronouns is kind of like finding a common denominator or solving for a value in an equation. For example, if the first part is plural, then last part is plural; if X=3, then solve for Y. When I started looking at SC more like problem-solving, I started to enjoy it more. I also saw that learning grammar helped the quality of my application essays. I realized that the rules of grammar were not just a bunch of arcane guidelines, but they actually helped me communicate more clearly and concisely. I even found myself speaking more grammatically correct. I practiced speaking with correct grammar and it improved my ability to communicate ideas. Someone even commented that I was especially well-spoken!

CR - I really enjoyed applying my new critical analysis skills in the real world. By just listening to people I knew, I recognized flawed assumptions and gaps in logic everywhere I turned. Of course I was careful not to point out every flaw in logic that came out of someone else’s mouth, particularly family members, but I did enjoy the new ability to pinpoint why someone’s statements were illogical. Politicians and media outlets are guilty of this on a regular basis and they provide a great opportunity to hone your CR skills. (I will avoid listing names, but I have noticed that certain leaders of the free world and prominent congressional leaders of a certain majority party in an unnamed country have a particular propensity for illogical arguments…)

Quant - I enjoyed just being quicker at math. I practiced calculating prices and averages and other random numbers in my head. I think it feels good to be more mathematically inclined. I also just enjoyed sitting down and working on problems. I could sit down for 6 hours straight just working out problems.

RC - This is the one section for which I was never able to find a practical application. Maybe it improved my ability to read something awful and boring, but that’s about it.

3. Diligent and EFFECTIVE study - I was consistently 6-8 hours a day for 4 weeks. I spent the first 2 weeks on test prep books and Beat the GMAT resources. The last 2 weeks I bought the OG book and just worked on that. I think other books are good for getting down concepts, but their questions are always going to be either too hard or too easy. In particular, the wrong answers to questions are not as likely to be the kinds of wrong answers that actually appear on the GMAT. I have seen the experts point this out time and again. That’s why the best thing is to learn the concepts and go through OG multiple times. I wish I had spent more time just working on OG questions. My Quant in particular could have used more improvement. I did not even get through all the OG questions, but if I had to do it again, I would go through OG 2-3 times. Also, they have some really good explanations. I particularly liked the SC answers. They gave clear explanations on SC concepts that are often unclear. Also, people often ask what to read to get used to good grammar - Wall St Journal, Economist, etc. I think the best thing to read is the OG. Read their intros and their explanations to questions. Not only is OG grammatically well-written, but it’s written according to OG’s grammar guidelines, which is the most important thing.

I found this website really helpful. I used it to gain clarity on questions that OG did not explain well or to GMAT Prep questions. Some of the resources are good, but some are kind of over-the-top (i.e. some of those very extensive math resources are way more than you need. Same thing with the verbal materials. I looked at some of those idioms lists and grammar rules, but not too much.) As I mentioned above, I took Beat the Gmat with me on my Blackberry into the bathroom. When I had doctors appointments (I actually had a few during my 4 weeks of study), I was doing quant or SC questions on my Blackberry. I also read some of the articles on my blackberry. I found that doing this was a good use of my time and it kept me focused. The other thing I did a little of, was print out some RC passages or idioms lists or something like that to take them with me to the doctor or bathroom. Just reading that stuff was helpful to keep me focused and familiar with the material. Another thing I did was pick a Beat the GMAT expert and read through their posts. Going through Stuart’s posts on quant or Stacey’s on SC was a great way to find lots of insightful rules and tricks. They often have better explanations than OG.

4. Test Day focus and attitude - My test was at 8 am. I went to bed at 9 the night before and slept terribly. I was up at 12, 2, and 3. My back hurt. I was hot. I was cold. The baby was crying in the other room. Maybe I got 6 or 7 hours. I don’t really know. My alarm went off at 5, as it always does. I awoke feeling kind of dazed and dizzy. The funny thing was that it didn’t phase me because I was on a mission to destroy the GMAT. In my head, I was no longer eating cheese in a Suisse village. I was now a Navy Seal in the Suisse Alps. I envisioned myself as a highly-trained, disciplined sniper on a mission to pick off specific targets with great precision. I showered and went through my normal morning routine. I ate half of my breakfast right after my shower - a big 16 oz cup of coffee, a 16 oz cup of Tropicana OJ, cottage cheese with honey, and a banana. It was snowing that day, so I went to the test site early. I was still dazed, but I was pumped. I played my favorite music on the ride to the test and just kept telling myself that I would destroy the test. I was going to claim my score! I arrived early and ate the rest of my breakfast in the car - a peanut and butter and jelly sandwich and maybe 6 oz of water. I had thought about reviewing some idioms and my quant cheat sheet, but decided against it. Instead I just blasted my music in the parking lot and sang like an idiot (perhaps briefly distinguishing myself as a slightly different type of Navy Seal sniper). Any passer-by must have thought I was nuts and, in retrospect, I am surprised no one called security. The one thing that I did read the morning of my test was Ngufo’s Beat the GMAT story. If you have not read it, I highly recommend reading it and possibly re-reading it the day of the test. I thought that it was a fantastically inspiring story of someone who just decided to succeed. http://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-720-95-q49-v40-people-never-fail-they-just-give-up-t7227.html

I entered the test center determined to destroy. I remained focused throughout the test. I spoke to no one else at the test center because I wanted to stay in the zone of focus and I did not want anyone else’s nervousness to disturb me.

I blew through the essays. I actually enjoyed having the essays first (I know some people feel otherwise) because they are not very important and they served as a means for warming me up and getting my mind turned on. By the time I sat for Quant, I was locked and loaded for bear. During my breaks I ate peanut butter on crackers and took sips from a juice box. I forced myself to eat because I knew I needed the energy. I used the bathroom each time, washed my face and hair, and jumped up and down in the hall for 10 seconds. I arrived back at my seat each time with 30 seconds to spare. The Quant questions got hard very quickly. I knew it was a good thing and did not get frustrated when I struggled with a question. In retrospect, I think another week or two would have benefited my quant, but my verbal was very strong and I got the score I wanted.

I want to make a point about the essays. I am certainly no expert, but I did get a 6 on both, so I think my philosophy on writing them may have some value for someone. Basically, I think that anyone with a moderate command of English and some basic understanding of logic should be able to get a 6 on these. Many of the test prep books and other resources suggest writing these long essays with several paragraphs (6 or 7 paragraphs total). I think that’s crazy. I wrote 4 paragraphs on my analysis of an argument essay and 5 paragraphs on analysis of an issue and I got a 6 on each. I found that reading 2 and only 2 things was useful. First is Stacey’s Koprince’s article on the essays.
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2009/12/30/ace-the-essays-no-thanks

What she says is simple and logical.

Myohmy’s template and philosophy are great. Although, I think some of his language is verbose and unnecessary (“evidentiary support” can also just be “evidence”)

http://www.beatthegmat.com/argument-essay-template-if-anyone-wants-it-t38032.html


That’s it. If someone has specific questions or comments for me, please feel free to ask. I have a debt of gratitude to this website and its contributors so I am happy to help out anyone.

Regards,
Sal2