I just Beat The GMAT!

When I decided to take the GMAT, I was unsure of how to begin the process and where to start. As an American living and working in East Africa, I was worried that I would be at a disadvantage in terms of resources. Luckily my alma mater was offering a "GMAT 101" webinar through their career center, and I decided to tune in to see if there was anything new I hadn't learned from GMAT Club and lots of Google research. I took my first full practice test the week after the webinar (without any prior studying), and scored a 660; this is when I decided to reach out to Jeff Miller of Target Test Prep, who had given the webinar. I had been a liberal arts double majors, and despite having scored a 5 on my AP Calculus exam in my senior year of high school, hadn't taken a math class or any course involving numbers since 2006. After explaining this background to him, and my score breakdown, I was able to embark on a structured study plan, reviewing one or two specific topic areas per week. Having the tutor held me accountable, as I knew we would have to review my questions from the week before; I also wanted to take advantage of this valuable resource and not squander the money I was spending on this service! We met once a week for a total of 12 sessions before I took my official exam. I was incredibly disciplined during these three months, leaving work at 7pm to study until 10pm almost every day and dedicating one weekend day to thorough studying (I made sure to balance with lots of physical activity as well!). The week before my exam, I scored a 760 on my practice exam (Q49, V45) and was pumped to fly to Kenya that weekend to get the official exam over with. In the week leading up to the exam, I did review only and didn't try to stuff too much new content into my brain (even though I felt I could have studied more probablility, statistics, etc. - don't try to cram in the final week!). The night before the exam, after landing in Nairobi, I slept for a total of about 30 minutes due to the church next store blasting music until 5:30am (despite the cops showing up at 4:30am, the church still had "several people to pray for"), so needless to say I was exhausted and a bundle of nerves before the test. However, I did my best to remain calm and think about all the hard work I had done over the past three months, feeling confident in my last practice exam as well! Final score: 720 (Q48, V42). I'm sure I could have done better on the Verbal, but I was so tired by the end of the exam I just wanted to get it over with!

Overall, I would say the most important lessons I learned throughout my GMAT study experience: set a structured study plan based on topic areas, beginning with the basics and building from there; MAKE SURE that you take timed tests so you're prepared for the ridiculous timing they give you on the real exam (this was one of my weak spots but on exam day, I was spot on); and leave the final week or two to do review ONLY (I found using flashcards was helpful to review formulas and concepts I found difficult). Of course, finding a tutor who can make this all possible is a huge bonus as well! No doubt I would've struggled if I hadn't decided to go with Jeff. He was a fabulous tutor, and the curriculum developed by Scott Woodbury-Stewart for Target Test Prep was invaluable. Huge kudos to them both! All in all, although I feel I could've definitely gone beyond the 720 if maybe I had slept the night before, I'm please with the score and incredibly happy to have it all behind me!