I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi everyone,

This is long overdue, but I thought it might benefit some of you to hear my GMAT story.

I had been studying off and on since I graduated college in 2009; however, I never fully committed until I made a 2012 New Year's Resolution to acheive a 700+ score. Here's a breakdown of how I met my goal.

January 2012:
- Took a GMAC practice test to get a baseline score and got a 690 (49Q, 35V)
- Registered to take the exam on April 28th...I thought if I didn't get the score I wanted, I could retake before the IR section was added in on 6/5
- Created detailed study plan for myself

February 2012:
- Dedicated to studying for Quant section using MGMAT study guides and OG

March 2012:
- Dedicated to studying for Verbal section using MGMAT study guides and OG
- Took 3 MGMAT practice tests:
- 640 (42Q, 35V)
- 610 (41Q, 33V)
- 710 (48Q, 39V)

April 2012:
- Dedicated to studying for Verbal section using MGMAT study guides and OG
- Was worried by my low Quant scores on MGMAT exams, so crammed for Quant section for the final week
- Took 2 MGMAT practice tests:
- 740 (46Q, 45V)
- 670 (40Q, 41V)
- Took the real GMAT: 680 (49Q, 34V, 6.0 AWA)
- Tried to register for a retake before the IR section was available, but they were (obviously) all booked up by this point - d'oh! Ended up registering for June 17th...
- Signed up for the Knewton course

May 2012:
- Created calendar for myself to ensure I met all the criteria for the 50 point guarantee
- Completed ~9 sessions
- Took 3 Knewton practice exams:
- 640 (41Q, 38V)
- 640 (42Q, 37V)
- 650 (42Q, 38V)

June 2012:
- Completed remaining ~3 sessions
- Took 3 Knewton practice exams:
- 680 (44Q, 40V)
- 710 (45Q, 44V)
- 640 (37Q, 43V)
- Studied ~5 hours for IR using Knewton materials and MBA.com examples
- Took the real GMAT again: 730 (48Q, 42V, 6.0 AWA, 6/8 IR)


Here's my advice to you all:
- Always take full length practice exams. I didn't do this for my MGMAT exams and felt tired during the Verbal section on my first attempt.
- There are no shortcuts--the name of the game is identifying your weaknesses and then reviewing materials/doing practice problems to fill those gaps.
- For you high quant scorers--you can make bigger total score gains by focusing on Verbal! If you already crossed the 80th percentile barrier (49Q at present), then why bother devoting serious time to the Quant section? It requires a lot of time and effort to go from a Q49 to a Q51, and you can only improve your total score ~20 points!
- The Knewton course was great, but if you're going to do it, take an actual GMAT to get your baseline score. I'm convinced that their diagnostic exam is scored lower than your actual ability so they can make good on their 50 point improvement guarantee.
- On MGMAT and Knewton practice tests, the Quant scoring is not very accurate...I scored much higher on the real thing, but I've seen a lot of people score much lower...however, the Verbal scoring seemed accurate. Bottom line, don't read into the score too much, focus on the problem types you're having issues with.

Best of luck!
OptimisticApplicant