-
frogcatcher
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 3:29 pm
First of all, I have found this board to be a source of inspiration for me as I struggled to achieve my goal on the GMAT, which I'm happy to say I was able to do yesterday by scoring a 680 (Q46, V37)…this for me equates to a full annihilation of the GMAT after scoring a 590 four years ago. Over the past few months the personal stories I've read on this forum about the success and failures during their test prep and on test day have helped me focus and keep me motivated the past few months. Thanks. Maybe my story will speak to you and help you find your path to beating the GMAT.
About four years ago I decided I wanted to go to graduate school. I bought the study materials and worked with a tutor. During my studies I took a few practice tests and was scoring in the low-600's, I even scored over 700 on a retake a week before the exam. I was not the most dedicated GMAT student and sort of just went through the motions. My success on the last practice test gave me confidence, over-confidence that is. After two months of prep I took the test.
590 (Q39, V31), 5.5
I was devastated. Looking back I made three mistakes.
(1) SMART STUDY: What I didn't realize is that the practice tests using the old software repeated questions from the OG so my scores were inflated. Looking back, I learned the answers to the questions, not how to solve the questions, or identify tricks, nor had I mastered how the GMAT works - what it tests, how the questions are constructed, etc.
(2) PRESSURE: I talked about my plans for grad school and the GMAT with family and friends. For me, this added pressure. I’m a BAD test-taker who gets sweaty palms, can’t eat, can’t sleep, and forgets what my name is on test day. The added pressure did not help.
(3) HAVE FUN: My studies were a struggle. I felt the GMAT was just in my way to getting into school – it was a nuisance. I think #1 is related to #3…by not understanding the GMAT “puzzle” I didn’t find it interesting.
Fast forward a few years to 2009. I became re-motivated for business school and started studying again. However, this time, learning from my mistakes, and using tips from Beatthegmat.com, I had a plan to study smart, relieve the pressure, and to have fun. I bought the OG 11 and took the diagnostic – 590 (Q39, V31). Sound familiar? Based on my low SC score I bought the MGMAT SC guide – this is a great resource.
(1) Other than my girlfriend, I told no one of my plans to retake the test. No one. I just told friends I was busy at work. For me this relieved the pressure and allowed me to immerse myself in my own, private GMAT world. I did self study with the OG 11, OG Verbal/Quant, and MGMAT SC.
(2) I tracked how many problems I did each day on a spread sheet (usually studied 1-2 hours per day, 5 days a week) and tried to do 10-20 of each question type. Making sure to analyze each question I got wrong after I finished.
(3) For quant, I logged each topic or rule for the questions I got wrong. This became a great tool for me to review and add to. By the end of my studies it was about six pages front/back.
(4) I started to have fun with the GMAT and lived by the words from why HS football coach. “When hard work becomes fun, success will follow.” I rebranded the GMAT in my mind from a boring standardized test to a puzzle. A puzzle I could solve. I like puzzles so this worked for me.
(5) After one month of prep I started with the practice tests. I took a practice test every weekend, usually on Saturday then analyzed each question on Sunday. This takes ALL DAY. You really have to look at each question and each answer option and learn what the question is testing and why each answer choice is wrong and why the choice is correct. My results for the practice tests (without doing writing sections!)
MGMAT #1, 620 (Q39, V35)
MGMAT #2, 690 (Q46, V38) I stopped the time on some questions, don’t do this!
MGMAT #3, 640 (Q46, V32)
GMAT Prep #1, 690 (Q44, V41)
MGMAT #4, 640, (Q43, V35)
GMAT Prep #2, 680 (Q47, V37)
MGMAT #5, 690 (Q46, V38)
My 2nd GMAT was schedule for early May at 11am. I took most the week off from studying. I felt confident. On test day it was a different story. I started thinking about the test from the moment I woke up. Given my success on the practice tests I kept thinking, “just don’t screw this up and you’ll be fine, you know the material just don’t screw it up”. I arrived at the testing center and was a nervous wreck. I couldn’t settle myself down. I had not studied for the writing section and had not written an analysis of an argument/issue is years. Given my 5.5 a few years back I figured I cold wing it. My lack of preparation showed in my writing and I freaked out and had a nice layer of sweat worked up when I took the first break. I had problems with the palm scanner because I had sweaty palms- this didn’t help my psyche. I was able to “compose” myself and start the Quant. I got the first question wrong and from there allowed the test to own me. I would see easy questions and get discouraged. The same happened for Verbal.
630 (Q40, V35), 4.5
Arg! I knew I could do better. I decided to take the test again before I left the testing facility. Me vs. The GMAT, June 6th, 2009. D-DAY. The real D-DAY. Using the “analyze reports” function on MGMAT I focused on my weaknesses (Geometry, Number Properties, and Sentence Correction). Learning from my mistakes from round 1, I worked through some new question from QG12. I also focused on my mental attitude on test day. I took three practice tests (with writing sections).
MGMAT #6, 640, (Q44, V34)
Retake GMAT Prep #1, 680 (Q47, V37)
Retake GMAT Prep #2, 680 (Q47, V37)
Each test day would be exactly how it would be on 6/6 at 2pm – I woke up at the same time, ate the same meals, etc. So this past Saturday I woke up 8am (9 hrs of sleep) and went to breakfast at my favorite restaurant and had eggs, toast, fruit and coffee. I was so excited that after 4 months of study that today would be my last day worrying about the GMAT! Today was going to my day to beat the GMAT! I ignored images of failing and kept telling myself that no matter what my score would be a success. I was strong mentally all day. After breakfast I went on a walk from 10:30am-12:00pm listening to chill music. The Texas heat was tough but it helped me sweat out some of my nerves and burn off some extra energy. This was so helpful! I got home and took a cold shower and relaxed watching baseball and did some easy warm up questions. I then headed to the testing center. Oh what do you know, a parking space was available right out front! And oh, the only locker available is lucky locker #7. This helped reinforce the fact that this was my day!
I was happy with my writing and most importantly I was stress free! I took my break, ate a banana and started the Quant. I felt like I had more control of the questions. I attacked each question and followed my game plan for each question type. For those I didn’t know how to solve, I spent about 1 minute on, guessed, and didn’t think twice about it. Despite my game plan I thought I bombed it . The verbal was much easier although I noticed time was running out and then I was hit with a 90 line science RC – arg! In the end I guessed on the last two. All my administrative info was saved from my previous test so I quickly made it to the report screen. I paused and of course hit “report scores”. The computer started to calculate and in my mind I was at peace with the fact that 630 would prob be the score.
680 (Q46, V37) – look familiar? Basically the same score as my last practice tests.
I’m happy with the score. Sorry this is so long. I’m not even sure if it is helpful to anyone but writing has been therapeutic for me. I wish everyone luck and remember, “when hard work becomes fun, success will follow.” If you don’t reach your target score, don’t do as I did and quit. Regroup, focus and attack the GMAT. Once I was able to do this I was able to beat the GMAT. Good luck.
About four years ago I decided I wanted to go to graduate school. I bought the study materials and worked with a tutor. During my studies I took a few practice tests and was scoring in the low-600's, I even scored over 700 on a retake a week before the exam. I was not the most dedicated GMAT student and sort of just went through the motions. My success on the last practice test gave me confidence, over-confidence that is. After two months of prep I took the test.
590 (Q39, V31), 5.5
I was devastated. Looking back I made three mistakes.
(1) SMART STUDY: What I didn't realize is that the practice tests using the old software repeated questions from the OG so my scores were inflated. Looking back, I learned the answers to the questions, not how to solve the questions, or identify tricks, nor had I mastered how the GMAT works - what it tests, how the questions are constructed, etc.
(2) PRESSURE: I talked about my plans for grad school and the GMAT with family and friends. For me, this added pressure. I’m a BAD test-taker who gets sweaty palms, can’t eat, can’t sleep, and forgets what my name is on test day. The added pressure did not help.
(3) HAVE FUN: My studies were a struggle. I felt the GMAT was just in my way to getting into school – it was a nuisance. I think #1 is related to #3…by not understanding the GMAT “puzzle” I didn’t find it interesting.
Fast forward a few years to 2009. I became re-motivated for business school and started studying again. However, this time, learning from my mistakes, and using tips from Beatthegmat.com, I had a plan to study smart, relieve the pressure, and to have fun. I bought the OG 11 and took the diagnostic – 590 (Q39, V31). Sound familiar? Based on my low SC score I bought the MGMAT SC guide – this is a great resource.
(1) Other than my girlfriend, I told no one of my plans to retake the test. No one. I just told friends I was busy at work. For me this relieved the pressure and allowed me to immerse myself in my own, private GMAT world. I did self study with the OG 11, OG Verbal/Quant, and MGMAT SC.
(2) I tracked how many problems I did each day on a spread sheet (usually studied 1-2 hours per day, 5 days a week) and tried to do 10-20 of each question type. Making sure to analyze each question I got wrong after I finished.
(3) For quant, I logged each topic or rule for the questions I got wrong. This became a great tool for me to review and add to. By the end of my studies it was about six pages front/back.
(4) I started to have fun with the GMAT and lived by the words from why HS football coach. “When hard work becomes fun, success will follow.” I rebranded the GMAT in my mind from a boring standardized test to a puzzle. A puzzle I could solve. I like puzzles so this worked for me.
(5) After one month of prep I started with the practice tests. I took a practice test every weekend, usually on Saturday then analyzed each question on Sunday. This takes ALL DAY. You really have to look at each question and each answer option and learn what the question is testing and why each answer choice is wrong and why the choice is correct. My results for the practice tests (without doing writing sections!)
MGMAT #1, 620 (Q39, V35)
MGMAT #2, 690 (Q46, V38) I stopped the time on some questions, don’t do this!
MGMAT #3, 640 (Q46, V32)
GMAT Prep #1, 690 (Q44, V41)
MGMAT #4, 640, (Q43, V35)
GMAT Prep #2, 680 (Q47, V37)
MGMAT #5, 690 (Q46, V38)
My 2nd GMAT was schedule for early May at 11am. I took most the week off from studying. I felt confident. On test day it was a different story. I started thinking about the test from the moment I woke up. Given my success on the practice tests I kept thinking, “just don’t screw this up and you’ll be fine, you know the material just don’t screw it up”. I arrived at the testing center and was a nervous wreck. I couldn’t settle myself down. I had not studied for the writing section and had not written an analysis of an argument/issue is years. Given my 5.5 a few years back I figured I cold wing it. My lack of preparation showed in my writing and I freaked out and had a nice layer of sweat worked up when I took the first break. I had problems with the palm scanner because I had sweaty palms- this didn’t help my psyche. I was able to “compose” myself and start the Quant. I got the first question wrong and from there allowed the test to own me. I would see easy questions and get discouraged. The same happened for Verbal.
630 (Q40, V35), 4.5
Arg! I knew I could do better. I decided to take the test again before I left the testing facility. Me vs. The GMAT, June 6th, 2009. D-DAY. The real D-DAY. Using the “analyze reports” function on MGMAT I focused on my weaknesses (Geometry, Number Properties, and Sentence Correction). Learning from my mistakes from round 1, I worked through some new question from QG12. I also focused on my mental attitude on test day. I took three practice tests (with writing sections).
MGMAT #6, 640, (Q44, V34)
Retake GMAT Prep #1, 680 (Q47, V37)
Retake GMAT Prep #2, 680 (Q47, V37)
Each test day would be exactly how it would be on 6/6 at 2pm – I woke up at the same time, ate the same meals, etc. So this past Saturday I woke up 8am (9 hrs of sleep) and went to breakfast at my favorite restaurant and had eggs, toast, fruit and coffee. I was so excited that after 4 months of study that today would be my last day worrying about the GMAT! Today was going to my day to beat the GMAT! I ignored images of failing and kept telling myself that no matter what my score would be a success. I was strong mentally all day. After breakfast I went on a walk from 10:30am-12:00pm listening to chill music. The Texas heat was tough but it helped me sweat out some of my nerves and burn off some extra energy. This was so helpful! I got home and took a cold shower and relaxed watching baseball and did some easy warm up questions. I then headed to the testing center. Oh what do you know, a parking space was available right out front! And oh, the only locker available is lucky locker #7. This helped reinforce the fact that this was my day!
I was happy with my writing and most importantly I was stress free! I took my break, ate a banana and started the Quant. I felt like I had more control of the questions. I attacked each question and followed my game plan for each question type. For those I didn’t know how to solve, I spent about 1 minute on, guessed, and didn’t think twice about it. Despite my game plan I thought I bombed it . The verbal was much easier although I noticed time was running out and then I was hit with a 90 line science RC – arg! In the end I guessed on the last two. All my administrative info was saved from my previous test so I quickly made it to the report screen. I paused and of course hit “report scores”. The computer started to calculate and in my mind I was at peace with the fact that 630 would prob be the score.
680 (Q46, V37) – look familiar? Basically the same score as my last practice tests.
I’m happy with the score. Sorry this is so long. I’m not even sure if it is helpful to anyone but writing has been therapeutic for me. I wish everyone luck and remember, “when hard work becomes fun, success will follow.” If you don’t reach your target score, don’t do as I did and quit. Regroup, focus and attack the GMAT. Once I was able to do this I was able to beat the GMAT. Good luck.
