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MBAGRL
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 4:09 pm
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- Followed by:5 members
I bet that test day is an emotional day for everyone. I know it was for me both times I took the GMAT. Right now, I'm excited, relieved, exhausted and ready for a glass of wine. This Forum has been so helpful to me and I felt that I had leeched so much useful info from everyone here that I wanted to give back with whatever my story provides.
When I was in college, I thought studying was really just about hitting the books hard... and it was (my GPA was a 3.8). So when it came to studying for the GMAT the first time, I thought that I could just do things the same way. I picked up all the books and CATs that seemed to make sense:
*OG13
*MGMAT Guides
*Kaplan 800 (got this from a friend)
*2 GMAT CATs
*MGMAT CATs
2 months later... May 2014... 590 (Q36, V35). Yuck.
My practice scores never got above a 600, so I should have known better than to take the GMAT.
First BIG takeaway - don't take the GMAT if you don't feel ready to really nail it. Rushing it was a bad idea. I should have just bought the new study material immediately instead of wasting $250 on a test that I knew I'd have to retake.
Giving up is not in my nature. I found Beat the GMAT not too long after and started digging through all the success stories. It was interesting trying to figure out what advice to follow - much of it was similar from post to post, but I'll get to that in a moment.
New study materials purchased:
Empowergmat
2 extra GMAT CATs
Kaplan Premier (bought this for the CATs)
Spent a LOT of time reading posts in the various forums
From here, I put together a consistent study plan:
Weekdays:
1 hour study in the morning
2 hours study at night
Weekends:
1 CAT on the weekend, but sometimes there wasn't time (skipping friend's weddings was NOT an option). Review the CAT the next day.
This plan helped me to keep my mind fresh (morning study can be surprisingly peaceful) and avoid over-doing things. Sometimes I'd take a day off if I needed to. I stuck to that pattern for almost 11 weeks.
Then came Test Day #2! I don't think it's necessary to write out every step of Test Day since most other posts say the exact same things that I would say: try to get a good night's sleep, eat breakfast, bring snacks, go to the bathroom during your breaks, stay calm-take notes-think, time slows right before you push the final button...
Here's what I think is the most useful advice from reading through the forum posts (and I've added some of my own):
1: Try thinking differently. Learn to answer questions in more than just 1 way. Actually practice too. Be sure that you can do the math, test values and test the answers. Find a set of verbal approaches that are easy to follow and then practice a lot.
2: The phrase "winging it" should never be in your vocabulary. If it is, then you're not really ready to take the GMAT.
3: Buy a Course. Spend some money and stop wasting time. The end results are worth it. I used Empowergmat and loved it. If someone told me at the beginning that I could have my score for $300 and a bit of work, I would have spent that money immediately.
4: Review all of your practice work!!! Go over your past CAT tests and past practice problems. Figure out what you did wrong and fix the silly mistakes. Drill them away.
5: The experts in this Forum are awesome. I especially liked Brent, Mitch and Rich (that sounds like a band from the 70s ;p). Don't just read explanations though - try to repeat what they show you.
6: Don't be shy about asking the experts (or other users) for help or advice.
I'm really excited now to work on my applications. I want to stay on the West Coast, so I'm shooting for Stanford and Berkeley for Round 1. For everyone who's still studying, keep working hard. If you haven't gotten to your goal yet, remember that you're in the right place and that help isn't far away.
Florence
When I was in college, I thought studying was really just about hitting the books hard... and it was (my GPA was a 3.8). So when it came to studying for the GMAT the first time, I thought that I could just do things the same way. I picked up all the books and CATs that seemed to make sense:
*OG13
*MGMAT Guides
*Kaplan 800 (got this from a friend)
*2 GMAT CATs
*MGMAT CATs
2 months later... May 2014... 590 (Q36, V35). Yuck.
My practice scores never got above a 600, so I should have known better than to take the GMAT.
First BIG takeaway - don't take the GMAT if you don't feel ready to really nail it. Rushing it was a bad idea. I should have just bought the new study material immediately instead of wasting $250 on a test that I knew I'd have to retake.
Giving up is not in my nature. I found Beat the GMAT not too long after and started digging through all the success stories. It was interesting trying to figure out what advice to follow - much of it was similar from post to post, but I'll get to that in a moment.
New study materials purchased:
Empowergmat
2 extra GMAT CATs
Kaplan Premier (bought this for the CATs)
Spent a LOT of time reading posts in the various forums
From here, I put together a consistent study plan:
Weekdays:
1 hour study in the morning
2 hours study at night
Weekends:
1 CAT on the weekend, but sometimes there wasn't time (skipping friend's weddings was NOT an option). Review the CAT the next day.
This plan helped me to keep my mind fresh (morning study can be surprisingly peaceful) and avoid over-doing things. Sometimes I'd take a day off if I needed to. I stuck to that pattern for almost 11 weeks.
Then came Test Day #2! I don't think it's necessary to write out every step of Test Day since most other posts say the exact same things that I would say: try to get a good night's sleep, eat breakfast, bring snacks, go to the bathroom during your breaks, stay calm-take notes-think, time slows right before you push the final button...
Here's what I think is the most useful advice from reading through the forum posts (and I've added some of my own):
1: Try thinking differently. Learn to answer questions in more than just 1 way. Actually practice too. Be sure that you can do the math, test values and test the answers. Find a set of verbal approaches that are easy to follow and then practice a lot.
2: The phrase "winging it" should never be in your vocabulary. If it is, then you're not really ready to take the GMAT.
3: Buy a Course. Spend some money and stop wasting time. The end results are worth it. I used Empowergmat and loved it. If someone told me at the beginning that I could have my score for $300 and a bit of work, I would have spent that money immediately.
4: Review all of your practice work!!! Go over your past CAT tests and past practice problems. Figure out what you did wrong and fix the silly mistakes. Drill them away.
5: The experts in this Forum are awesome. I especially liked Brent, Mitch and Rich (that sounds like a band from the 70s ;p). Don't just read explanations though - try to repeat what they show you.
6: Don't be shy about asking the experts (or other users) for help or advice.
I'm really excited now to work on my applications. I want to stay on the West Coast, so I'm shooting for Stanford and Berkeley for Round 1. For everyone who's still studying, keep working hard. If you haven't gotten to your goal yet, remember that you're in the right place and that help isn't far away.
Florence
(I play a mean triangle)
