I just Beat The GMAT!

Hey all, this is my first post but I've been reading the forums for the past couple of months.

I am actually still touching up my undergrad (one last course to do, it's been a part time venture for the past 8 years.. yikes) But I decided in the last 5 or 6 months that I wanted to do an MBA.

after doing a little research, I learned that one of the schools I'm targetting needs a slightly higher GMAT score since my undergrad is a 3 year, rather than 4. So based on that, my goal was 600.

I booked the test a few months ago, ran out and bought the OG 12 with both supplements. I knew that Quant would be my weakpoint so I targetted that immediately. The OG wasn't doing it for me, I needed something that would help me with concepts. I ran out and bought the Kaplan GMAT math workbook.

We have a newborn at home (she was born April 17) and that's around the time I started studying, so I knew my studying would be compromised. Basically, I went through the Kaplan book page by page, cover to cover. I really needed help on the math.

Once I was done the math book, I was only a few weeks out from test day, so I took one of the GMAC prep tests, I got a 590, I know my goals were not too lofty, so I wasn't too worried. I went back over the areas I made mistakes on in the math.

Next, I did the free Manhattan test, I managed a 590 again. Many people said that I could expect to see a relatively lower score on this test, so I treated that as an improvement. I went back and looked over my errors in math.

After that, I did the free Kaplan test (yes, I'm a cheapskate studier) and managed a 600. I was a little nervous, since I know these tests have margins of error that could be up or down. Again, I went over my math errors.

Next up was the GMAC prep test number 2, I managed a 640, this was earlier this week. That gave me a little confidence, I figured I'd be within my margin of error. I looked over the math errors again.

I didn't look at anything the rest of the week, and I decided just to go over some of my completed tests yesterday, nothing made sense to me, I figured my brain was scrambled since the baby didn't sleep well, and I generally avoid any type of studying within 48 hours of a test, so that was a mistake, I started to worry, my wife had to calm me down.

I managed a good nights sleep last night and got up, had some oatmeal, a peach, and some tea (Indian man has to have his chai) and headed off to the test centre.

Writing the exam, I didn't necessarily feel better than I did while doing the practice tests, so when my score popped up, I was very surprised.

The big differences were, I had a quiet, controlled test environment.

At home, when I would study, or do practice tests, I had a sometimes agitated baby just upstairs. she's small, but she's got a healthy set of lungs.

When I did practice tests, I'd do everything straight through, it can wear you out. Today, I made it a point to take full advantage of my allotted breaks. they came in handy, to clear my mind and re-charge. Make sure you do the same, keep some snacks in your locker, have some water, it really made a difference.

All in all, I'm thrilled, pleasantly surprised at my score. I think it opens up some options, I can probably apply to a wider range of schools. My top choice probably remains the same though, but we'll see what happens when i start doing some more research. Now at least I have a couple months away from any studying/academics before I start the last course of the bachelors in September.

Sorry for the long post, but I figured I'd share.

In addition to any studying I did, I was glued to the forums, reading the questions and the explanations from the pros on the site. That probably was one of the greatest helps. the BTG community has some serious talent, I encourage anyone who is studying for the GMAT to take full advantage.

Hopefully I'll eventually be posting in to the Admissions forums!

Congrats mate!!!
That is an amazing score, and never be sorry about long posts.The longer the post, the more it helps us.

Can you please provide some information on the difficulty of the test. Of late, I have been hearing that actual test is way tougher than the ones in the GMATPrep. Did you feel so?

Baby is the lucky charm for you :) . Congrats on your great score and all the best for your application.

Hah, the baby is definitely a good luck charm. I have to give my wife a lot of credit, she's definitely been supportive.

Abid, that's a tough question, I think I was hitting some harder questions, but I think I was extra dialed in, so I was reaching those tougher questions. over all, I felt reasonably confident during the exam, but I didn't feel like I was tearing through them. I think though, that due to the adaptive nature of the exam, you'll get to a point where you struggle regardless.

Pacing is important, when I practiced, I was actually moving through the questions rather quickly, I'd finish each section with with a good amount of time to spare, and I'd get sloppy. When I'd look over my errors, I would find some really boneheaded oversights.

During the test, I'd purposely slow myself down, check and double check my answers, try not to be hasty. When practicing, I was eager to see my mark, I really had to tell myself to take it one question at a time.

Math is a weak spot for me, I made it through the Kaplan math workbook, which is not the most basic, but not the most advanced either. It gave me a basic grasp of concepts, and I was able to get to the point where I had a strong enough foundation, to at least make an educated guess when I needed to. I think today I probably had some luck fall my way. I did use the forums here to fill in gaps, and give me some background on more complex concepts.

In terms of the actual GMAT being harder, I don't necessarily believe that. you are probably extra focused, and extra dialed in, so you are trying harder, expending more mental energy...believe me, that test wears you out. I would take some practice tests, but don't overdo it too close to the test.

I forgot so much after the exam today, that I couldn't remember the term "data sufficiency" when trying to explain them to my wife. "you know, they give you a statement...then two more statements, and then you decide if the first or second statement is enough.. or both... or none.. " Just don't get to that point before the exam

ok, I've rambled. but no, I don't think it's harder. You just take it more seriously.

Cheers !!!

Congrats !!

Congrats quarterpounder!

Can you also post the verbal and quant scores of your practice tests from begining?

I really admire your verbal score and it would be great if you can share some insights with us on how you managed to get such a good score in verbal while many people on the forum struggle to get it.

I am also curious to know your educational background as you have managed to acheive a 40 in verbal without actually studying hard for that section!

With the Kaplan, I couldnt find scaled scores, but I was 70 percentile for Q, and 89 for V.
The Manhattan, my scaled scores were 39Q and 33V.

I don't remember what they were with the GMAT Preps. when I log in, it just takes me back to the beginning of the test, but on the second one, I think my V score was 38 or 39?

I'm a political science major at York University. To be honest, I was so focused on studying for the Quant component, I didn't spend a lot of time on Verbal. I looked over the OGs just to get an idea as to the different types of questions I'd see in Verbal. Reading Comprehension was difficult because I have trouble staying focused, and I find it to be pretty taxing to have to read the entire passage to answer a couple of multiple choice questions. with RC, I just had to focus in to try and extract the information that the questions were looking for.

With CR, I basically used a process of elimination. In many cases, you can eliminate one or two answers off the bat.

With the Sentence correction, unfortunately I just don't know much about the technical formation of a sentence, the English language just doesn't seem to have consistent structure. I really just read the options in place of the underlined part of the passage,and go with what sounded right.

I know, I'm not much help.. but with the RC and CR, if you want, you can send me messages with questions and I can at least give you the logic I use to come up with the answer.. but definitely make use of the forums.

Thanks for the response dude.

Shall post questions to you for explanations.

All the best for your application process.

Congratulations on your good score!!!
All the Best for your applications..