Hello,
I went into the GMAT with overwhelming anxiety. Much to my surprise, I came out on top (relatively speaking). Here's a breakdwon:
Profile background:
Male, 23, English, 1 year of management experience; addicted to the following: pot, video games, poker
GMAT Experience:
<Study Period September 4th- November 4th>
No practice tests, just reviewed the books and studied the harder questions.
Actual GMAT- 700 Q47 V38, AWA yet to be received, Nov 4th 2009
GMAT Resources:
Barron's 2008- This book seems to get a lot of flack on review sites. Truth is, there are only two errors in the whole book, but the rest is pure gold. Excellent review of concepts, in-depth answer explanations.
Kaplan Premier Program 2008- Good variety of questions, despite some being a bit too easy. Excellent coverage of math concepts at the end.
OG 12th Edition- Great practice, but some of the answer explanations were lacking.
Structure Breakdown:
AWA- Glanced over a few examples, that's about it. The issue question on the actual GMAT was identical to a practice sample in the Barron's text.
Verbal- I spent about 1/3 of my study time reviewing verbal concepts. About 3/4 of that time was spent on sentence correction.
Quantitative- This comprised the remaining 2/3 of my study time, and the studying paid off. The math on the actual GMAT struck me as very difficult. Needless to say, I was delighted to get a 47.
Overall Impression
The GMAT wasn't easy, nor was it insanely mind-boggling. Studying pays off, I put in about 2-4 hours a day. Forget the classes, those are a waste of time and money. Better to study at your own pace in your own environment.
I smoke for insomnia and stress on a nightly basis. Every night, when the study session ended, the smoking session began. It's a great way to relax, and as you can see, there are no adverse effects on test results
If you have any questions about the GMAT, let me know. I'm going for an MSA at an above average school, wish me luck!
[/u]
I went into the GMAT with overwhelming anxiety. Much to my surprise, I came out on top (relatively speaking). Here's a breakdwon:
Profile background:
Male, 23, English, 1 year of management experience; addicted to the following: pot, video games, poker
GMAT Experience:
<Study Period September 4th- November 4th>
No practice tests, just reviewed the books and studied the harder questions.
Actual GMAT- 700 Q47 V38, AWA yet to be received, Nov 4th 2009
GMAT Resources:
Barron's 2008- This book seems to get a lot of flack on review sites. Truth is, there are only two errors in the whole book, but the rest is pure gold. Excellent review of concepts, in-depth answer explanations.
Kaplan Premier Program 2008- Good variety of questions, despite some being a bit too easy. Excellent coverage of math concepts at the end.
OG 12th Edition- Great practice, but some of the answer explanations were lacking.
Structure Breakdown:
AWA- Glanced over a few examples, that's about it. The issue question on the actual GMAT was identical to a practice sample in the Barron's text.
Verbal- I spent about 1/3 of my study time reviewing verbal concepts. About 3/4 of that time was spent on sentence correction.
Quantitative- This comprised the remaining 2/3 of my study time, and the studying paid off. The math on the actual GMAT struck me as very difficult. Needless to say, I was delighted to get a 47.
Overall Impression
The GMAT wasn't easy, nor was it insanely mind-boggling. Studying pays off, I put in about 2-4 hours a day. Forget the classes, those are a waste of time and money. Better to study at your own pace in your own environment.
I smoke for insomnia and stress on a nightly basis. Every night, when the study session ended, the smoking session began. It's a great way to relax, and as you can see, there are no adverse effects on test results
If you have any questions about the GMAT, let me know. I'm going for an MSA at an above average school, wish me luck!
[/u]
