I just Beat The GMAT!

I spent a total of six weeks stuyding for the test (the six weeks leading up to the test). Here's what I used:

-Kaplan GMAT 2005 Edition
-Official Guide (GMAC) - 11th edition
-Official Guide Quatn. Review

For the first four weeks of study, I used my weekends to complete the Kaplan guide. I went pretty slowly through it.

During my first practice test in May in which I got a 540 on the Kaplan CD-ROM CAT I, I found that I was doing quite well in the verbal but was lacking in the math, so I purchased the GMAC OG quant review.

Two weeks before the test I spent a week going through the GMAC OG Quant. review book. I read all the pages and did all of the problems. The key for me was going over the missed problems and actually working them out after seeing how they explained them. I'd spend ten minutes doing five problems, then spend the next twenty going over the five problems. I kept this pattern throughout my studying, ie. I would do five problems, then go over those five, then do five more, then...

A week before the test I pulled out the GMAC review guide, 11th edition. It's a pretty big book to try to complete in one week but I just about got through the whole thing. I did have the benefit of having the entire week off. Exactly eight days before the test, a Thursday, I spent about eight hours at Starbucks working on the problem solving section. By Friday night I had completed all 249 questions and had gone over each one. I had a hard time repeating the last few without having to peak.

On Saturday I completed the entire data sufficiency section. Another eight hours at Starbucks to complete and review 155 questions. The same five problem pattern, mentioned above, was used.

On the Sunday before the test I got nothing done! It was father's day so I spent the day at a bar-b-que and actually had about five beers.

On Monday I was hurting from the five beers I had on Sunday. I usually don't drink that much so I was really feeling it. Still I spent about eight hours on Monday at Starbucks completing the entire reading comprehension section.

On Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM I took the GMAC practice test I. The questions were very different than the Kaplan questions. I got a 700. After working out and mowing the lawn, I spent the rest of Tuesday doing the last 50 questions of the critical reasoning and sentence correction questions. I got most of them correct.

On Wednesday at 9:00 AM I took the second Kaplan test from the 2005 guide's CD-ROM. I got a 540, which is the same score I got on the first Kaplan test way back in May. I didn't feel like I was at my best, though. After working out, I spent the rest of Wednesday going over the questions I had originally missed in the problem solving section of the OG. I got most of them correct the second time around.

On Thursday, the day before the test, I did nothing. I take that back, I played indoor soccer at noon and watched Mission Impossible III. I went to bed at about 11 PM.

I woke up at 6 AM on Friday to prepare for the test at 9 AM. I went over a couple of math problems that I was having trouble with, just to get my mind going. Then I looked over the math review section to skim through the major concepts. I took a PB&J sandwich, some granola bars and a container of water with me to the testing center. The test was pretty tough all the way through. I actually didn't get to three of the problems in the math section. I just guessed on them as time ran out. I utilized all the breaks to use the restroom and sneak a quick bite. The breaks were clutch, so I highly recommend taking them.

The test was long! I was really tired by the middle of the verbal section, but I continued on. I did find myself rushing a bit just to get it done. At 13 minutes left, I had only three questions remaining, so I must have flown through the section! Once the test completed I just sat there for a moment, taking a minute to relax. I was happy once that 700 popped up on the screen.

That's pretty much it. Wow, this is a really long post. Some advice I have:

- Work out regularly - seems to clear the mind

- Eat healthy in the days preceeding the test. In the week before the, save for Sunday, I ate cereal for breakfast, two fat-free hot dogs for lunch and chicken and rice for dinner. I also stayed away from caffeine even though I usually drink coffee (I didn't want to have to have coffee before the exam 'cause it tends to make me anxious - I was ordering decaf coffees during my study time at Starbucks).

- Utilize your breaks

Your post is really impressive..Congrats for the great score!!