I just Beat The GMAT!

I took the GMAT today and got a 690. I am pretty happy that I did well, but I know I can do better, and I was really hoping for a 700+.

About me:
28 year old male, american, mechanical engineering degree

My preparation:
Primarily I used practice tests to identify my knowledge gaps. I have a good base knowledge of math and, as a native English speaker, I only needed to learn the "GMAT English." I have OG 11, but didn't do a ton of problems in there since I got it quite late into my preparation. I did use Kaplan (2006 Premier and 800) and Princeton Review. I like the Kaplan 800 book and Princeton Review.

My practice tests:
KAPLAN GMAT 1 9/20/2008 V34 Q42 620
PR GMAT 8 9/27/2000 V39 Q37 620 (didn't finish quant)
PR GMAT 9 9/30/2008 V44 Q48 730
PR GMAT 10 10/1/2008 V37 Q44 650
MGMAT 10/5/2008 V33 Q48 670
KAPLAN Demo 10/6/2008 V41 Q43 660
KAPLAN CAT 1 10/7/2008 V33 Q41 610
GMATPrep 1 10/8/2008 V37 Q50 720
KAPLAN CAT 2 10/11/2008 V33 Q37 570
PR GMAT 11 10/11/2008 V39 Q51 720
GMATPrep 2 10/28/2008 V41 Q49 740

You can probably see why I was really hoping for a 700+ based on my GMATPrep scores. To be honest, the actual GMAT Math seemed quite a bit more tricky and difficult than GMATPrep. No permutations / combinations, and many number theory questions for DS. Not my strong suit. I actually used almost every second in Quant (not normal for me), and still had guessed on some knowing I didn't have an easy way to solve it.

Verbal was very similar to GMATPrep. Maybe a smidgen easier. Most questions had a fairly obvious answer with the exception of 1-2 in each category.

Any questions, I'll be more than happy to answer, as I have used this board to help me get where I am right now.

GLTA,
Brian

Hey congrats!!! 690 is not that bad after all....infact it is good!!! I guess the GMAT Quant has actually become tougher than before....have been hearing this from many people....can u please highlight the major topics that Q's were asked on , strategy to crack the Quant and the most useful Quant resources to attack these kind of Q's.

Hard Luck!
But good for you that the ordeal is over.

Agree with cramya. We've been hearing that Quant has been become tougher these days.
Fingers Crossed!!

I am not strong on number properties / number theory. There were several prime factor questions (i.e. if integer x has some # of prime numbers, does x^2 have some # of prime numbers). Also the (x^a)(y^b)(z^c) factoring problems are a weak area of mine. The rest of the quant is pretty normal, but maybe more time consuming than GMATPrep. I actually think maybe doing more MGMAT quant prep might have helped on the timing side. I am a fast worker, and I almost ran out of time on quant!!!! I think they might be making their problems just a touch more calculation intense to press all the engineers for time!

Verbal really was pretty similar to GMATPrep. RC's weren't that long, most CR's and SC's seemed to have a clear answer (except for a few difficult ones). I actually thought I did better than 39 on verbal. Would have been nice to touch 700.