I just took the GMAT today and scored a 700 (48Q, 38V) and AWA 6/6
. I studied during my winter break (a bit more than a month) and improved by 60 points (my first diagnostic test score was a 640).I wasn't born in the US, but I moved here when I was eight, so close enough
I'm currently a sophomore in college doing a BS in biochemistry and because I entered college with so many credits, I have the opportunity to graduate with a BS and an MBA at the same time - so hey I tried it 
Honestly, I did not spend a lot of money on GMAT prep tools. I don't think that everyone could get away with that and what I did was very risky, so unless you have confidence in yourself, don't do it!
Practice Exam Scores - I don't have the detailed version, just the general score
[*] GMAT Prep1, no essay - took it cold - 640 (Q44, V35)
[*] GMAT Prep2, no essay - took after a bit of review - 670 (Q45, V30-something)
[*] GMAT Prep2, no essay - 680
[*] Princeton Review, no essay - the free test - 690
[*] Manhattan Review, with essay - the free test - 650 (Q46, V33)
[*] GMAT Prep1, no essay - 730
I think my last GMAT practice test score was probably inflated because I recognized one of the passages and probably recognized a whole lot more, just I don't remember
These were the study materials I used:
[*]12th edition, official guide
[*]2nd edition, official guide quantitative review
[*]downloaded an online version of Verbal Guide Review
[*]downloaded the old version of the Manhattan GMAT sentence correction
[*]downloaded 11th edition of official guide
[*]downloaded an online version of the Manhattan GMAT word translations book (there were no other online versions
)[*]Spidey's sentence correction notes
[*]Sahil's sentence corrections notes
As you can see, I didn't buy many books, I just downloaded a whole bunch from torrents. I think the key to the GMAT is practice, practice, practice. The only time I actually studied for the GMAT was when I read the Manhattan GMAT sentence correction guide back to back about three times - I learned a lot from that book! That book is amazing! Other than that book, I just did about 20 each of two sections of the math and 15 each of each section of the Verbal. I also took notes whenever I learned something I didn't know. Like if there was some way of doing a math problem that would really help me, I wrote it down. or if i learned some new grammar technique, i wrote it down. I kept going over these at least once every 2 days, so that it was fresh in my mind.
The only part of verbal that I was really bad at was sentence correction, I didn't have much of a problem with RC or CR; Manhattan GMAT helped me a lot with that
Also I didn't participate in any of the forums, just randomly asked questions once in a while (that no one answered back to
).On the test day, I didn't do anything special except for wash my face with cold water and eat pears and a peanut butter sandwich.
Everyone says that the verbal section is much harder on the real GMAT than in the official guide. I disagree. The verbal sections are the same, it might just seem harder because you're tired and your concentration is down the drain by the time you get to the verbal section. So folks, don't worry, if you have good stamina then the verbal section will be just as hard/easy for you as the official guide is.
If I can do it, then you definitely can
