Overall story
A couple of days ago i scored a 690(Q45,V40)which is more than enough to get in to the MSc program I am applying for. The score was way more than I had hoped for and I had actually already schedualed another test when i took the first one. The plan was to score somewhere around 640 on the first and then work my way to 700+ for the second one. Here's the thing though: not having to study for the next test has left a big hole in my life!
For the past ~2.5 months, I have spend almost all of my free time studing for the test. Being a non-native, non-engineer, the prep was really challenging and looking back I really enjoyed being challenged to become better by a measurable scale on a daily basis and fully devoting all my spare time to just one thing. Now that I am getting back to my books (still in school) they seem futile and boring as they will not give the same sence of "return on invested time" as my GMAT studies gave me.
I am sure I am not the only one afflicted with the GMAT blues, how have you guys handled it?
Takeaways from studies
Everyone debriefing a decent score without being a genious has pretty much said what I am going to say. --> Study the material carefully <--
The GMAT really tests a limited number of concepts and when you know the concepts, what makes the test tough is the time constraint. Thus, you really need to be able to apply the concepts efficiently, not just understand it.
Stuck on a quants problem? Google it, read the answer, solve it, construct another problem your problem and solve it again. It's ok if it takes you an hour to understand the problem. That will help you more than breezing though 15 problem you know or failing 15 problems and just skimming the answers.
Takeaways from game day
Game day, in my experience, is about two things. First, game day is about confidence. If your head is hanging and you are spending your brakes being scared of the next sitting, you will most likely not live up to your potential. You really have to look at the test as a chance to show the world how great you are! I spent my break doing pushups, eating sugar and taunting the quants/verbal part in my head. Second, game day is about timing. Timing can probably move the avarage GMAT-taker up or down 40-50 points from his or her fair score. I simply followed Stacey Koprince time table slavishly and that worked out great for me(link at the end). I answered the last question both quants and verbal with less than 30 secs to spare being convinced that my answer was right.
Material and CATS
I went with MGMAT for quants and SC and i absolutely loved it. I did use powerscore SC to get the basic grammars not included in MGMAT SC. Used only OG for CR and RC.
I only did one complete CAT before the test MGMAT CAT 620 (Q37,V37). The math on that test really crushed me and didn't really like the CR which I thought tested semantics, not logics, and thus had a different feel than GMAT/GMATPREP.
Thank you and good luck
I really do not feel as I have given the GMAT my all. I didn't even have time to review my error log or finish OG quants, so I hope I'll get a reasong to come back and score 740+ some day. Until then I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Time management link
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/
A couple of days ago i scored a 690(Q45,V40)which is more than enough to get in to the MSc program I am applying for. The score was way more than I had hoped for and I had actually already schedualed another test when i took the first one. The plan was to score somewhere around 640 on the first and then work my way to 700+ for the second one. Here's the thing though: not having to study for the next test has left a big hole in my life!
For the past ~2.5 months, I have spend almost all of my free time studing for the test. Being a non-native, non-engineer, the prep was really challenging and looking back I really enjoyed being challenged to become better by a measurable scale on a daily basis and fully devoting all my spare time to just one thing. Now that I am getting back to my books (still in school) they seem futile and boring as they will not give the same sence of "return on invested time" as my GMAT studies gave me.
I am sure I am not the only one afflicted with the GMAT blues, how have you guys handled it?
Takeaways from studies
Everyone debriefing a decent score without being a genious has pretty much said what I am going to say. --> Study the material carefully <--
The GMAT really tests a limited number of concepts and when you know the concepts, what makes the test tough is the time constraint. Thus, you really need to be able to apply the concepts efficiently, not just understand it.
Stuck on a quants problem? Google it, read the answer, solve it, construct another problem your problem and solve it again. It's ok if it takes you an hour to understand the problem. That will help you more than breezing though 15 problem you know or failing 15 problems and just skimming the answers.
Takeaways from game day
Game day, in my experience, is about two things. First, game day is about confidence. If your head is hanging and you are spending your brakes being scared of the next sitting, you will most likely not live up to your potential. You really have to look at the test as a chance to show the world how great you are! I spent my break doing pushups, eating sugar and taunting the quants/verbal part in my head. Second, game day is about timing. Timing can probably move the avarage GMAT-taker up or down 40-50 points from his or her fair score. I simply followed Stacey Koprince time table slavishly and that worked out great for me(link at the end). I answered the last question both quants and verbal with less than 30 secs to spare being convinced that my answer was right.
Material and CATS
I went with MGMAT for quants and SC and i absolutely loved it. I did use powerscore SC to get the basic grammars not included in MGMAT SC. Used only OG for CR and RC.
I only did one complete CAT before the test MGMAT CAT 620 (Q37,V37). The math on that test really crushed me and didn't really like the CR which I thought tested semantics, not logics, and thus had a different feel than GMAT/GMATPREP.
Thank you and good luck
I really do not feel as I have given the GMAT my all. I didn't even have time to review my error log or finish OG quants, so I hope I'll get a reasong to come back and score 740+ some day. Until then I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Time management link
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/
