710 on my first try!

AmyTan wrote:

gmA t wrote:Investment
160 Hours
$500 (including the $250 for the test)

The Result
GMAT: 710 (92%)
V38 (84%)
Q49 (81%)
AWA: 6.0 (91%)
IR: 7 (82%)

Background
Graduated in 2009 with a BS in Accounting (3.7 GPA) from a state university
Worked for the last 4 years as a finance analyst for a Fortune 50 manufacturing company

Journey to breaking into the 700's
6/30 - Start basic studying
7/14 - GMAT Practice Test 1: 620 (Q44,V31)
7/21 - MGMAT Test 1: 660 (Q43,V37)
7/28 - MGMAT Test 2: 660 (Q45,V37)
8/04 - MGMAT Test 3: Quit early
8/04 - MGMAT Test 4: 620 (Q43,V33)
8/25 - GMAT Practice Test 1: 700 (Q45,V40)
9/02 - MGMAT Test 5: 640 (Q44,V34)
9/08 - GMAT Practice Test 2: 700 (Q47,V39)
9/16 - GMAT: 710 (Q49,V38)

Resources Used (in order of importance)
Original GMAT Book (13th Edition)
GMATPrep Practice Tests & GMATPrep Question Pack 1
Magoosh Online GMAT Prep (https://gmat.magoosh.com/)
Manhattan GMAT Test Bank
PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible (boosted my CR from 50% to 90%)
AWA Template
Kaplan 800
Manhattan Series

Study Schedule
Total time investment over 10 weeks: 160 hours
(M-F) Woke up every day about 4:30AM and studied for one hour (1 hr morning)
(M-F) Came home for work and studied for another hour (1 hr evening)
(Sat) Studied for about 4-6 hours (until I would get burnt out) (4-6 hrs day)
(Sun) Took a practice test and then examined the results after (2-4 hrs day)

Details
Absolutely loved Magoosh as it laid a great foundation for the GMAT and the GMAT material
I only got familiar with the IR via Magoosh and practiced it for 4 hours max
I only wrote one essay the night before the GMAT using the template
I traveled a lot in the month of August (low study month)
Took only cold showers (how I was able to work 60 hours a week and study 20 hours a week); if motivation to study is holding you back check out this TED talk(https://youtu.be/Gb0h8ZKvJW4)

Areas I would change
Error Log...if I had one I know I would have gotten a higher score
Spent too much time studying concepts and not enough time studying questions (with an error log)
Should have spent more time with my CATs

Ask me questions if you would like insight or help... I am applying to top ten b-schools now!

Congratulations on your awesome score.
I have been practicing MGMAT cats and i m stuck in the 600s. Was the real GMAT like the MGMAT cats? Was the Quant section as tough?

Thanks in advance..