1. I feel 20 pounds lighter without that "GMAT Monkey" on my back.
2. Thanks to beatthegmat.com for providing all the resources and connecting all our minds in preparation for the common task.
3. How accurate is the unofficial score? I verified percentiles with mba.com. But, I won't get the offical for 20 days.
My preparation:
1. My diagnostic score was approximately 680 (with some idea as to the question types that would be asked).
2. I studied for approximately two months for the exam (about 16 hours a week).
3. I really only wanted to take the exam once. I wanted to score high enough the first time for entry into my school of choice).
3. I took approximately 9 different CATs during my preparation. These were, by far, the best way to prepare for the the "taking" of the test.
4. I found that the best way to "push" my results into the 700s was to utilize the resources on this site for individual challenge problems and for strategy methodology. Nothing improves your score and reduces your per problem time like having a plan/approach for each and every type of problem.
A few notes on preparation in general:
- I read that you want to study to YOUR habits. I've never been a 3+ hour studier. So, I tried to break up my studying into smaller 1-2 hour chunks. I found that this worked very well for me.
While the CATs help prepare you for the test in general, I found the results VERY misleading. I would alternate receiving 99s in both Quant and Verbal (with the other score dropping to low 80s). Although the results were consistent (700-740), I didn't expect to see those types of swing.
- Official Guides - Garbage, in my opinion, for those already achieving in the upper 600s. The questions are far too easy for a 700+ crowd.
Kaplan Guides - Good overall for the fundamentals. And, it's nice that they use "retired" GMAT questions.
BtGMAT.com Resources - Good overall. Some of the resources are not useful at all, or they might be catered to a non-native speaker. Others have errors, as the questions were just made up by someone. But, it was highly helpful to see the success stories and study strategies of high achievers. Their resources, typically, were superior to any others.
