I just Beat The GMAT!

I am super happy about my score. I had studied for the past 8 months - more so in the spring and summer than in the fall (I watch a lot of football, and my Saturdays and Sundays are spent watching college ball and the NFL respectively).

I took the test this morning, and was really surprised and really (yes, a lot of reallys) happy about my score. I received a 730 (49 Q 40V) this morning. This my 2nd attempt - I had obtained a 620 (43Q and 31V) during my first attempt in August

I had utilized the OG, the verbal and quant supplements, LSAT CRs, GMAT Prep and MGMAT CATs. I won't go in the details about my study techniques (different ppl will need different techniques/strategies.... besides there are lot of people who had already posted their techniques/strategies), but I will briefly explain what I did differently after obtaining the 620. I was pretty devastated after obtaining the 620, and took a month off before continuing my GMAT studies (football season certainly didn't help although I am psyched that Eagles are in the playoffs - anyone rooting for the Eagles here?). During that 3 mths, I redid the MGMAT CATs, redid the GMAT Prep, and did a lot of LSAT CR questions and also rereviewed SC principles (through the use of the new MGMAT SC guide). The latter two really helped my verbal - the MGMAT SC is superb in every sense and the LSAT CRs are a great practice. I find that CR guides from most publishers are useless as CR is mainly about understanding the stimulus, and answering the questions smartly - in my opinion, the best way to master CR is through practice. Granted, some of the guides will definately help you understand the different forms of CR questions, but there is no good way to apply their principles (as proposed by the publishers) as the key to success in CR is through proper understanding of the stimulus and of the question stem.

These are my practice scores:
MGMAT CATS - I started with a 590, and the later ones range from 650-740, with a lot of 700s in between.
GMAT prep - first one was 580, the 2nd one was 680, and the two retakes was 700 and 710.
PRINCETON REVIEW CAT (this is free and available online) - 670

Besides studying hard (albeit inconsistently), I reliazed that, like anything else in life, there are certain things that you don't control, and with that said I truly thank the Lord for allowing me to achieve my desired score. The GMAT was a great monkey on my back, and I think I may have finally gotten that monkey off me. I am gonna now focus on the part time programs that I am interested in...good luck to all.

Also, it is important to note that you must not give up. All of us aim to attend the best of schools, and I have to admit that there are times that I felt that I wouldn't be able to obtain a 650 (to me a 650 is the minimum that one would need to get in order to be considered by a top 15 school). The GMAT is by no means an easy test (I am not smart enough to get a good score without studying) - it is tough because it is a self selecting standardized test, but rest assured that with hard work, you'll be able to get the score that you want.

Congratulations!! I know the feeling - its unbelievable .

all the best for your apps - hope you get to the B school of your choice!

Take care,
-ngufo

congratulations ! Good Luck with your applications !

Congratulations! Great Score...
Good luck with your applications!

Go Cards!! Dont think NFC has a chance tho...

the cardinals suck..Go Eagles!

Thanks guys - I couldn't have done this without all the info posted on this forum

You're deservedly happy. Congrats, and good luck with your applications!

Congratulations and all the best with your applications

I'm impressed with your score improvement. I am kinda in the same boat, i.e., attempted GMAT once (680, 50q, 31v), planning for a 700+ in my second one, and wanted to improve on Verbal. Could you tell me specifically which LSAT CR you followed?
Also feel free to tell how different was your approach (in terms of strategy or material followed) for your second attempt when compared with your first attempt. Thanks a lot.

The CR questions are from books (you can buy them at your local bookstore or at bn.com or amazon.com) that contain retired LSAT tests. These CR questions are harder and a little different from GMAT's CR content, but they are good to practice on.

I analyzed my past practice tests, and my GMAT test experience, and found out that I was weak at CR and certain quant areas. With respect to quant, I mainly focused on my weak areas, with the aim of understanding the concepts behind the questions – I redid some of the questions on the OG and OG Quant supplement. With respect to CR, I did a lot of LSAT questions, and over time, I just was able to see and understand the stimulus. This won’t work for everyone but for me, the practice helped me dissect the structure of the argument, and I was able to do better on CR. Manhattan’s SC book (the October 2008 edition) is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor – I learnt a lot of new concepts from that book, and improved on my SC as well. In a nutshell, I focused on my weak areas prior to retaking the GMAT. Lastly, I approached my 2nd attempt in a very laissez faire manner, especially during the last few weeks prior to my test – I was very calm and collected before and during the test. In contrast, I was extremely nervous when I took the test the first time. I am not saying that nervousness alone prevented me from going into the 700s, but my performance was certainly impacted. As such, and if you are well prepared, you’ll be a cool customer the 2nd time around, and that alone should help you do better.

Good luck.

And I also believe that there is an element of luck as well...and, depending on the test taker, that alone is worth 0-+/-30 points.

Thanks for a detailed explanation....this helps.

congrats..good debrief..