-
mtt240
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:18 pm
- Thanked: 4 times
- Followed by:3 members
- GMAT Score:770
Hi everyone, I just got back from the testing center and I was floored by my score. I would be remiss to not discuss my journey from 650 to 770.
I purchased the complete set of MGMAT books in January 2011 and had planned to take the test last year. I wound up deciding to refocus on work and my GMAT prep went to the back burner. Fast forward to February 2012 and I decided I wanted to go to b-school again. I had heard the test format was changing in June so I targeted the end of April as my first attempt and I figured I could take it again at the end of May if I didn't do well. I read all of the MGMAT books for my first test, but neglected any practice tests until the last weekend. I scored a 650 on my MGMAT practice test and scored the same (48Q 33V) on the real thing. I was disappointed in my score as I was shooting for a 700+ score.
After that test, I started reading the forums and realized that I hadn't been doing enough preparation or practice tests. I purchased the aristotle Sentence Correction ebook and refocused. I went over every MGMAT book again and I did a number of practice tests, probably too many! I did about 6 within 6 weeks. My scores were as follows:
MGMAT:
700 660 680 740
GMAT prep:
700 720
I was fairly confident about my next attempt. I did a bunch of practice problems the day before the test and on the morning of. I found that I got exhausted during the Verbal during the real thing. I scrolled through the score report and found that I scored a 680(48Q 36V). I was bummed. I thought that I would give it another shot, but take more time and study the right way. I bought the Powerscore CR Bible and the new OG. My study technique was to do every problem in the OG and then redo every problem that I got wrong the first time through the book. I focused more on verbal, but did all the quant problems too. I did every problem with a 2 minute timer and would redo them if I didn't finish within 2 minutes. Regarding practice tests, I only did 4 between June and August 29. I did the the new GMAT prep tests once and I redid the MGMAT practice tests, with the following results:
GMAT Prep: 700 750
MGMAT 730 680
I did my final MGMAT practice test on the Sunday before the test and scored the 680. I lost some confidence. During this final practice test, I was too slow on the quant and wound up guessing on the last 6 questions and I was too slow on the verbal and didn't finish. The last practice test showed me that it was imperative for me to speed up if I fell behind. On my test this morning, I skipped some quant questions in the middle in my weak areas (combinatorics and geometry). I was about 6 minutes ahead of pace on the verbal and really slowed down on the last 6 questions to make sure I got those right. I didn't expect such a high score, 770 (50Q 46V), but I am happy with the results. So here is some advice for those of you still working hard at the GMAT:
-Use the MGMAT books, OG, and the Powerscore CR Bible, and apply the techniques on real problems
-Take a max of 1 practice test per week and review every problem in the test
-Review your problem areas and make sure you finish those OG questions within 2 minutes
-Relax on the day before the test! Cramming won't do anything, but exhaust you for test day
-Review your practice test question timing. The GMATPrep software tells you how much time you took for each question, so use that information to your advantage!
-Guess early rather than later
-Eat a plain breakfast the morning of the test and get a good night's sleep before. Don't stress yourself out the night before.
-Take advantage of the forums and read up on your problem areas. You can do a forum search for each subject area and review those problems.
Sorry, I know this was long! Good luck on your preparation everyone and PM me if you have any questions!
I purchased the complete set of MGMAT books in January 2011 and had planned to take the test last year. I wound up deciding to refocus on work and my GMAT prep went to the back burner. Fast forward to February 2012 and I decided I wanted to go to b-school again. I had heard the test format was changing in June so I targeted the end of April as my first attempt and I figured I could take it again at the end of May if I didn't do well. I read all of the MGMAT books for my first test, but neglected any practice tests until the last weekend. I scored a 650 on my MGMAT practice test and scored the same (48Q 33V) on the real thing. I was disappointed in my score as I was shooting for a 700+ score.
After that test, I started reading the forums and realized that I hadn't been doing enough preparation or practice tests. I purchased the aristotle Sentence Correction ebook and refocused. I went over every MGMAT book again and I did a number of practice tests, probably too many! I did about 6 within 6 weeks. My scores were as follows:
MGMAT:
700 660 680 740
GMAT prep:
700 720
I was fairly confident about my next attempt. I did a bunch of practice problems the day before the test and on the morning of. I found that I got exhausted during the Verbal during the real thing. I scrolled through the score report and found that I scored a 680(48Q 36V). I was bummed. I thought that I would give it another shot, but take more time and study the right way. I bought the Powerscore CR Bible and the new OG. My study technique was to do every problem in the OG and then redo every problem that I got wrong the first time through the book. I focused more on verbal, but did all the quant problems too. I did every problem with a 2 minute timer and would redo them if I didn't finish within 2 minutes. Regarding practice tests, I only did 4 between June and August 29. I did the the new GMAT prep tests once and I redid the MGMAT practice tests, with the following results:
GMAT Prep: 700 750
MGMAT 730 680
I did my final MGMAT practice test on the Sunday before the test and scored the 680. I lost some confidence. During this final practice test, I was too slow on the quant and wound up guessing on the last 6 questions and I was too slow on the verbal and didn't finish. The last practice test showed me that it was imperative for me to speed up if I fell behind. On my test this morning, I skipped some quant questions in the middle in my weak areas (combinatorics and geometry). I was about 6 minutes ahead of pace on the verbal and really slowed down on the last 6 questions to make sure I got those right. I didn't expect such a high score, 770 (50Q 46V), but I am happy with the results. So here is some advice for those of you still working hard at the GMAT:
-Use the MGMAT books, OG, and the Powerscore CR Bible, and apply the techniques on real problems
-Take a max of 1 practice test per week and review every problem in the test
-Review your problem areas and make sure you finish those OG questions within 2 minutes
-Relax on the day before the test! Cramming won't do anything, but exhaust you for test day
-Review your practice test question timing. The GMATPrep software tells you how much time you took for each question, so use that information to your advantage!
-Guess early rather than later
-Eat a plain breakfast the morning of the test and get a good night's sleep before. Don't stress yourself out the night before.
-Take advantage of the forums and read up on your problem areas. You can do a forum search for each subject area and review those problems.
Sorry, I know this was long! Good luck on your preparation everyone and PM me if you have any questions!
Last edited by mtt240 on Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
