- 1. “We don't rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.”—Archilochus
2. 8.5 months of daily studying with Target Test Prep, varying between 1-4 hours per day with very few days off (I encourage more rest). Also did 3 private Verbal sessions with Marty Murray from TTP. Watched TTP and GMAT Ninja Verbal videos on YouTube. Purchased and went through OG materials. Took some LSAT CR tests since CR was my hardest subject.
3. Took all 6 Official Practice Tests, and the first three twice.
4. Took the GMAT 3 times in ~2 months, all in-person. Took 1-2 days of break in-between.
My Strategy:
TTP worked well for me because it facilitates actual learning and understanding rather than quick solutions. I am the type of student that reads the WHOLE book. I heard about stories where people self-studied and within 3 months or less got 760+ scores, but I knew that quickness wouldn’t apply to me. At 30 years old, I wanted a 750+ score to be competitive for top full-time MBA programs. TTP’s interface was easy to use during their free trial, reviews on support and results were amazing, and it was reasonably priced. I also thought their blog posts were extremely insightful. Scoring high on verbal was the key to boosting my score (I realistically estimated I could get a Q48 or Q49 on the actual test). Check out TTP’s well-researched score chart.
Preparation:
By the time I got the 750, I spent 600+ hours on the TTP course alone (not including practice tests, watching Scott’s quick video tips, or other YouTube videos). I followed Scott’s video tips as closely as I could, changing my habits as I was able to - moving my workouts to after work, studying for 1-2 hours before work, making index cards for my toughest quant / verbal areas, not taking any official tests until I went through all the material, imagining walking out of the testing center with your desired score in-hand, etc. One thing that I wasn’t able to do (this is just my personality) is take it easy and give myself more than a 2-day break.
I was decent at math in school, but TTP disciplined me to make less careless mistakes. TTP’s question-tracking format allowed me to hone in on and master particular question types that gave me trouble. I reached out to Jeff a few times over the chat function, and he always gave me clear and detailed explanations quickly. I was pretty amazed by his (and Marty’s) response times.
Verbal, specifically Critical Reasoning, was my toughest mental block. I would read a simple CR sentence and not be able to comprehend it. This actually happens in my day-to-day reading because of a lack of focus. The first thing I did was go to Marty’s virtual Verbal seminars. Marty was so encouraging during those sessions and walked through detailed examples. But as my negative thoughts spiraled, my Verbal score on Practice Tests kept dropping. I reached out to Marty and did 3 sessions with him, where he coached me on how to mentally approach the test and taught me how to be faster by working more slowly and thinking through the logic carefully. A combination of Marty’s coaching, watching both TTP and GMAT Ninja YouTube videos, doing LSAT CR’s, and going through OG verbal questions slowly (making sure I understand, and not burning through too many questions) ultimately got me to the V44 on Test Day.
Test Day Summary:
The day of my 750 test, I felt that I did worse than on previous tests (both 700’s) in both Quant and Verbal. The last two Verbal questions were so easy and I felt SO discouraged. I thought that my score would drop to the 600’s. Imagine my shock and subsequent jubilation after getting through IR and the essay, and seeing the score that I needed. The day before my test, I went on a hike with friends, had a really fun time, and didn’t tell anyone I was taking the test the next day. It was helpful because I realized that they liked me for me, not for my test scores. Maybe this helped ease my mental state as well.
Conclusion:
In the end, I knew that none of my efforts, sleepless nights, tears, and anxieties were wasted. I grew so much as a person because of this process, and those skills and learnings can never be taken away from me. And I know that will be true for you as well.
My practice (OG) and real test scores were:
Real test scores marked with **.
Feb. 26 (PT 1) - 620; Q45 V30 IR4. Soul-crushing.
Mar. 5 (PT 2) - 770; Q49 V46 IR6. Then went off happily on a ski trip.
Mar. 13 (PT 3) - 740; Q50 V41 IR8. My friend asked why my verbal score dropped, and that set off a tsunami of fighting with verbal.
Mar. 19 (PT 4) - 720; Q49 V39 IR8. Not a great sign, but hoping it’s a one-off.
Mar. 26 (PT 5) - 720; Q48 V41 IR8. Quant dropped for the first time, and not happy about the 720 score. Getting worried.
Apr. 2 (PT 6) - 710; Q48 V40 IR8. This is not good.
Apr. 3 (PT 1x2) - 710 ; Q48 V38 IR1. Was so discouraged.
**Apr. 7 - 700; Q49 V35 IR4.
May 7 (PT 2x2) - 760; Q49 V45 IR8. I knew this was my second time. But I saw different questions and I was so excited.
**May 13 - 700; Q49 V38 IR5.
May 21 (PT 3x2) - 770; Q50 V44 IR6. I was happy, but then started to worry that I couldn’t do this again. I didn’t want to take another practice test to crush my hopes.
**May 31 - Q49, V44 IR6. Yay!!
