All-
This is my first post but I am a long time lurker, even before studying began. My goal was to get a 700 but I knew it would be tough due to my poor grammar skills. I took the GMAT 2 weeks ago. I used the Princeton Review course For 7 weeks and it really helped me. I took the test a week after the class.
My background is a finance degree at Michigan with a 3.6 GPA but I started very weak in the verbal section (first practice scored a 29). I was poor in all 3 sections. PR did a great job with tips on how to dissect each problem type. The one thing I learned thru the entire process is to practice practice practice. If you get your hands on as many problems as possible, you can notice patterns especially in verbal. I took the 5 PR tests and the two GMAC Tests and scored as followed.
PR Cat 1: 650
PR Cat 2: 570
PR Cat 3: 640
PR Cat 4: 620
PR Cat 5: 680
GMAC 1: 710
GMAC 2: 740
For Practive questions I used:
PR 1000 Questions
OG12
MGMAT
Various Free Online Sources
When I took the practice tests, I was confused as to whether the GMAC scores or PR scores were more accurate. I definitely recommend getting your hands on the PR tests as they score you tougher which keeps you motivated and they have some very difficult questions. I also strongly recommend the class for great test taking strategies and for the reviewing of concepts.
Test Day:
I had a 8:00 am test day and I was feeling confident. I knew that I gave it everything I could and that I was capable of scoring well. The AWA was pretty easy. The quant started out pretty easy thru the first 10, got a tough permutation question and barely finished at the buzzer. The verbal section gave me two difficult science fiction passages and I took my time which made me have to guess on my last 5 questions. I took very short breaks as I was very excited to just get the test over with. After barely finishing, I was extremely nervous as I knew that my pacing fell a bit in the verbal. I was thinking while my score was being calculated that I would score in the high 600's. When I saw the 730 I was in disbelief. It was the end of a lot of hard work and dedication.
My key takeaways:
1. Find your weaknesses early. The earlier you find them, the earlier you can search for any problem to learn how to improve.
2. Pacing is key. PR has a great pacing system which with practice leads to a great test taking strategy.
3. The GMAT is not life or death- The test is made to confuse and cause nervousness, just relax and have fun,
I will not be applying for a few years but will be trying to get into the top 5 business schools for finance. If anyone has any questions about how to improve the verbal score, I would be glad to help as I would have never dreamed of scoring 92nd percentile in verval.
Thanks to the site for all the encouragement and remember, with hard work you can acheive your goals.
This is my first post but I am a long time lurker, even before studying began. My goal was to get a 700 but I knew it would be tough due to my poor grammar skills. I took the GMAT 2 weeks ago. I used the Princeton Review course For 7 weeks and it really helped me. I took the test a week after the class.
My background is a finance degree at Michigan with a 3.6 GPA but I started very weak in the verbal section (first practice scored a 29). I was poor in all 3 sections. PR did a great job with tips on how to dissect each problem type. The one thing I learned thru the entire process is to practice practice practice. If you get your hands on as many problems as possible, you can notice patterns especially in verbal. I took the 5 PR tests and the two GMAC Tests and scored as followed.
PR Cat 1: 650
PR Cat 2: 570
PR Cat 3: 640
PR Cat 4: 620
PR Cat 5: 680
GMAC 1: 710
GMAC 2: 740
For Practive questions I used:
PR 1000 Questions
OG12
MGMAT
Various Free Online Sources
When I took the practice tests, I was confused as to whether the GMAC scores or PR scores were more accurate. I definitely recommend getting your hands on the PR tests as they score you tougher which keeps you motivated and they have some very difficult questions. I also strongly recommend the class for great test taking strategies and for the reviewing of concepts.
Test Day:
I had a 8:00 am test day and I was feeling confident. I knew that I gave it everything I could and that I was capable of scoring well. The AWA was pretty easy. The quant started out pretty easy thru the first 10, got a tough permutation question and barely finished at the buzzer. The verbal section gave me two difficult science fiction passages and I took my time which made me have to guess on my last 5 questions. I took very short breaks as I was very excited to just get the test over with. After barely finishing, I was extremely nervous as I knew that my pacing fell a bit in the verbal. I was thinking while my score was being calculated that I would score in the high 600's. When I saw the 730 I was in disbelief. It was the end of a lot of hard work and dedication.
My key takeaways:
1. Find your weaknesses early. The earlier you find them, the earlier you can search for any problem to learn how to improve.
2. Pacing is key. PR has a great pacing system which with practice leads to a great test taking strategy.
3. The GMAT is not life or death- The test is made to confuse and cause nervousness, just relax and have fun,
I will not be applying for a few years but will be trying to get into the top 5 business schools for finance. If anyone has any questions about how to improve the verbal score, I would be glad to help as I would have never dreamed of scoring 92nd percentile in verval.
Thanks to the site for all the encouragement and remember, with hard work you can acheive your goals.
!!
