IT CAN BE DONE! Granted, I worked my ass off for the past 2 months at an avg of 2 hours a day, with 8 days of at least 4 hours a day to complete 8 practice tests. Toss in an 8-hr a day work schedule with that in the last month of studying and I have some very full days! BUT, and that is a big but, it is all worth it!
You walk in to the test center and they ask you to sign a few things, do a biometric palm scan (felt a little like James Bond, but Pearce Brosnan awesome, not anti-suave Daniel Craig), take a piss (well I took at least 3, most likely due to nerves) and you are ready to rock and roll. Guess what, 4 hours later, the exam you have been studying for for the past 2 months is complete and all of the exertion was worth it!
The feeling after I wrote the test and felt the sense of achievement that only effort can bring was tremendous. I feel like anything is achievable if we can focus our efforts for long enough. I began my GMAT studying with a slightly above average 620 and said to myself, "Self, this is going to be a long uphill battle, but we are going to beat this damn test!" (in times of struggle I often find split personalities amusing...)
I studied using the 60-day GMAT guide off Beat the GMAT (AMAZING) with the OG 13 and OG 13 Quant books for support, as well as the online tutorials from GMATprep Now. I began strong in verbal, so I knew I needed major Quant review, and so it began.
Now here I am 70-ish days later (I spliced my own time into the 60-day study guide and just kept the emails stocked....I still need some beer every once in a while
), and the world is my oyster! To all you prospective GMATers, remember that the most important part of the process is making the decision to take the test, and deciding it is worth 100-150 hrs of work in order to achieve your desired score. 150 hrs is nothing if there is a direct benefit at the end of the process.May the force be with you, keep on rockin',
Jeremy.
