530 --> 560 (Q38 V29) --> 690 (Q47 V37)!

Wrote my third attempt on Nov. 29th and scored a 690 (47Q, 37V)...Finally! What a relief! I'm so glad it's over with.

I know it's not the greatest score, but considering my situation, I'm definitely happy. Although, I do feel that I can score 700+. I started to run out of time towards the end of Verbal (maybe last 6-8 questions) and slightly panicked. When this happened, I apparently forgot how to concentrate. I thought I was doing pretty well in Verbal, as I got maybe two sentence correction questions where the use of "being" was in all of the answer choices. I have a feeling that I messed up several of the last questions because of my lack of focus and that's what caused my low Verbal score. You gotta finish strong and I didn't. I don't think I'll take it again. Not sure how 4 attempts will look - a 3-attempt 690 may look better than a 4-attempt 720 candidate. I'm an engineer from a top 10 eng. school, with great experience at a Japanese Auto Company, so hopefully my background will help me compete with the top schools.

Anyway, I was so determined to write my story on this forum and here I am!!! And that's the key - DETERMINATION. I never considered myself good at standardized tests, I'm actually pretty bad at them. My score is proof that if you work hard, you will do well on this test. You have to believe it, and I did. I knew I could get a higher score, it was just a matter of working hard.

I'd like to thank everyone who contributes to this forum - it truly is great. I owe much of my success to it. Unfortunately, I found out about this forum only two weeks before my second attempt. If I only knew about this site before I started studying. Wow, what a difference it made. Looking back, I can't believe how poor my study habits were. This site gave me the motivation/insight to create a plan, stick to it, and execute. There are so many great strategies listed here and you must browse the forum periodically as part of your studying.

One thing I want to stress is timing. Timing is soooo important - I cannot stress this enough. I used the incremental timing chart that's listed on this forum in some of the posts - this is a must, practice with it. I did a good job with it in Quant, but I let my timing slip in Verbal and I believe it cost me a 700+ score - I'm pretty sure I got several wrong towards the end. I would'nt veer off the chart by more than 2-3 minutes.

Quant
Quant was pretty similar to what you see in OG and GMATPrep. I did have one or two probability problems (DS). Not many surprises in Quant.

Verbal
Besides the "being" questions, SC was similar to GMATPrep and OG. My RC passages mainly dealt with money/economics, my last passage or two I thought were pretty tough and because of time (again stay on track!) I had to guess on a couple RC questions towards the end. CR was also similar to GMATPrep and OG, although I did get couple of difficult ones. One in particular dealt with percents, but by then, I had already lost concentration because of my timing issue, so I had to guess. It was probably an easy question and just got to me because I wasn't thinking straight - STAY ON TRACK!!!!

Overall I studied for about 2.5 months. Using OG wisely is critical. I used the charts that are available on this forum to track my errors - very important. Ursula's debriefing is great - read it. Quality over Quantity. This is important. Read all the OG explanations and do not just read them - understand them. Also, work out the problems you get wrong before looking at the solution. Learn from your mistakes! At first I was like, how do I learn from my errors? Well, to start, use the charts and track them. Then, review your errors periodically and think about how you can correct them. For example, say your errors are misreading what the question asks or forgetting to immediately factor an equation. As part of your studying, make a mental note periodically - say to yourself - ok, I'm going to read the questions carefully and always confirm what the question is asking, I'm going to always try to factor equations, etc...have this pep talk with yourself before you take any practice exam too. Eventually, it'll stick. Spotting your errors is a huge step. Then, as your doing problems just be conscious of them.

My CAT scores are below:

MGMAT1 - 600 (36Q 36V)
MGMAT2 - 600 (37Q 35V)
MGMAT3 - 690 (43Q 40V)
MGMAT4 - 700 (44Q 41V)
MGMAT5 - 710 (45Q 41V)
Kaplan - 580
PREP1 - 660 (Q44 V37) I knew I could
PREP2 - 630 (Q47 V29)
Prep 1 Retake - 650 (I marked repeats that were wrong, wrong again)
Prep 2 Retake - 710 (I marked repeats that were wrong, correct)

Just a few Recommendations:
Read Ursula's debrief and use the charts to track your errors
Read Eric's blog for some strategies
Use the timing charts listed on this forum and always practice with them during your tests- do not veer off track by more than 2-3 minutes
MGMAT SC
Powerscore CR Bible - Powerscore does a fine job explaining CR, especially how the test makers write wrong answers
MGMAT Math - all 5 books
OG and V/Q supplements
Kaplan/Princeton books have good strategies and are worth looking over.
Take each GMATPrep test twice (at least)

Sorry for the long post. I hope it will provide motivation for those who have scored low on the GMAT or who have yet to take it. I know you've heard this a million times, but if you study hard, you will do well. And if you need motivation, keep reading the "I just beat the gmat" posts and picture yourself writing your story on this board.

Special thanks to Eric and all the moderators/instructors who contribute their insightful strategies.

This topic has expert replies