I just arrived home from my test (round 2) and had to add to this thread which I think played the biggest role in making me try harder when I really just wanted to give up and play some golf with my mates.
I live in South Africa so my options for getting this GMAT waxed were quite limited with there being no strong GMAT prep classes around like the guys in the States have access to. That said I spent a few hours researching online and found the MGMAT self-study the way to go - It did not let me down...
I wrote my first GMAT test in September this year, I wish I could say it was a half-hearted attempt but I actually studied really hard. Yes most of us all have day jobs but I was putting in 2 hours per day during the week and up to 6 on the weekend. Anyway I left that exam pretty dissapointed with a 590 (Q42,V28). The worst part about this is I was a native speaker of English and really couldn't understand why my verbal was so poor, actually it was worse than that. Initially I thought I would apply to some schools that may not be too fixated on my score as I believe other parts of my application are pretty strong. Then after a week I decided I would give it one more crack...
I dug out my Manhattan books (all brilliant by the way) and took 2 weeks to go through all of them again. I was amazed by how much I had missed the first time, specifically in SC. Then what followed was loads and loads of examples... I almost did all examples from the OG guides and also looked online for some advice on certain items such as combinatrics and other concepts I hadn't grasped. Ron - you the man, there's not much he doesn't know!
Anyway, I wrote today after 9 weeks of the same study routine but applied a little differently and arrived at 710. I really never saw that coming... The amount of nerves I had really screwed up my IR as I couldn't focus, I only got through half and cant even say the half I did I was confident on, that said I am happy with my mark.
So yes, it is slightly bitter sweat but I think I will take the 710 (Q48, V39) and run as I don't think I could do this again just for a better score on IR. Any comments out there on what IR means for my application if I plan on applying for schools in the US and UK that start September next year?
If any of you are in a similar boat I have some advice: Learn the concepts, practice them as much as you can and then rest (or rather don't burnout) as the biggest challenge with the GMAT is endurance to concentrate for the full duration, if you not fresh you will suffer.
Anyway I need to go find my clubs and work out how to use them again - good luck to all you guys, I have no doubt with a lot of hard work anyone can beat this test!
I live in South Africa so my options for getting this GMAT waxed were quite limited with there being no strong GMAT prep classes around like the guys in the States have access to. That said I spent a few hours researching online and found the MGMAT self-study the way to go - It did not let me down...
I wrote my first GMAT test in September this year, I wish I could say it was a half-hearted attempt but I actually studied really hard. Yes most of us all have day jobs but I was putting in 2 hours per day during the week and up to 6 on the weekend. Anyway I left that exam pretty dissapointed with a 590 (Q42,V28). The worst part about this is I was a native speaker of English and really couldn't understand why my verbal was so poor, actually it was worse than that. Initially I thought I would apply to some schools that may not be too fixated on my score as I believe other parts of my application are pretty strong. Then after a week I decided I would give it one more crack...
I dug out my Manhattan books (all brilliant by the way) and took 2 weeks to go through all of them again. I was amazed by how much I had missed the first time, specifically in SC. Then what followed was loads and loads of examples... I almost did all examples from the OG guides and also looked online for some advice on certain items such as combinatrics and other concepts I hadn't grasped. Ron - you the man, there's not much he doesn't know!
Anyway, I wrote today after 9 weeks of the same study routine but applied a little differently and arrived at 710. I really never saw that coming... The amount of nerves I had really screwed up my IR as I couldn't focus, I only got through half and cant even say the half I did I was confident on, that said I am happy with my mark.
So yes, it is slightly bitter sweat but I think I will take the 710 (Q48, V39) and run as I don't think I could do this again just for a better score on IR. Any comments out there on what IR means for my application if I plan on applying for schools in the US and UK that start September next year?
If any of you are in a similar boat I have some advice: Learn the concepts, practice them as much as you can and then rest (or rather don't burnout) as the biggest challenge with the GMAT is endurance to concentrate for the full duration, if you not fresh you will suffer.
Anyway I need to go find my clubs and work out how to use them again - good luck to all you guys, I have no doubt with a lot of hard work anyone can beat this test!
