I just Beat The GMAT!

Hey Everyone,

I retook the GMAT today. First time around I got a 710 (47 Q, 40 V). I knew I could score higher as my practice tests were consistently in the mid 700's so I re-took.

Today I retook the test and got a 750 (47/47) which I'm definitely stoked about. A bit disappointed that I didn't improve math (still 78th percentile) but I think my college quant courses will speak to my abilities on that side.

My preparation:
- Kaplan Tutoring + Kaplan advanced material
- OG 11 and 12
- Manhattan SC
- Manhattan World Problems

I started prepping on and off in April. First MGMAT practice test w/o any prep was 640 so I knew I could hit 700 w/ prep. I studied on my own for a month and reviewed all the basic math concepts in OG 11. OG definitely does not have the best review material but good enough to refresh the basic high school math.

I then picked up Manhattan SC and World Problems books after identifying those two weaknesses in prep tests. I knew all along that I would take a course/tutoring but wanted to brush up on the basics so as to take the most advantage of the class.

The tutoring was very helpful. I went to a couple of the Kaplan Advanced classes too. Overall well worth the money (especially since my work paid for half of it!)

As you can see below I took A LOT of practice tests. Probably overdid it but just wanted to get comfortable:

MGMAT 1: 640
MGMAT 2: 680
MGMAT 3: 660
MGMAT 4: 670
Kaplan Paper Diagnostic: 670
Kaplan CAT 1: 630
Kaplan CAT 2: 740
Kaplan CAT 3: 770
MGMAT 5: 680
Kaplan CAT 4: 740
GMAT Prep 1: 760
MGMAT 6: 740
Kaplan CAT 5: 750
Kaplan CAT 6: 740
GMAT Prep 2: 750
Kaplan UPT: 670
GMAT Prep 1 (repeat): 750
Actual GMAT: 710 AWA: 6.0
GMAT Prep 2 (repeat): 770
Actual GMAT: 750


Test Day (#2)
Essays started off strong. Not sure if I hit the 6.0 again but def a 5. Felt pretty good going in to math.

On the first test last month, I started off math on a weak note. This time, I made sure I got the 5-7 right for sure. The first 20 went pretty well. Got myself upto a combination problem so I felt good. After #20, though, was a different story. Got tripped up on a couple of data sufficiencies and soon I felt the nerves getting the best of me. I definitely felt that I wasn't doing well on the last few and had to guess a few times.

Took a 4 minute break and started off verbal. Verbal has been a strong point for me through out my prep. I always end verbal with 10-15 min. to spare even if I try to get through it very slowly. Felt the passages were easier than the last test. A couple of tricky SC's but got them. Probably got 3 or 4 wrong to end up w/ the 47.

I honestly was expecting another 710 or even lower when I pressed the report scores button. Was shocked to see the 750!!

Some general tips:

Math:
Not my strongest suit. GMAT math is certainly not hard but I'm not not great at standardized test math. I got my math scores in to the high 40's by just hammering down the basics and learning some of the helpful tips (i.e., the "x" method for ratios, picking numbers, knowing to test for positives/negatives/integers in data sufficiency, never assuming anything in DS problems, etc.).

The Manhattan Word Problems book is great. Really good explanations and helped me a lot in that area. Can't speak to any of the other Manhattan math books.

One word of advice: make sure you do all the math problems in the OG. On my first GMAT, there were two problems right out of the OG!! (w/ different numbers of course)

Verbal:
Verbal started off pretty tough for me (was constantly in the mid 30's) but following a deep dive into Manhattan SC, reviewing Kaplan strategies for RC and CR, I got myself solidly in to the mid 40's.

Sentence Correction:
Manhattan SC ... enough said

Critical Reasoning:
You need to learn the common ways that GMAT tries to trip you up. Once you do that CR becomes easy. Looking out for out of scope, extreme, irrelevant answer choices, you can typically eliminate 3 of the 5 answers. With enough practice CR actually became very straight forward for me

Reading comp:
My accuracy level here was horrible at the beginning. What helped me the most was just taking 10 seconds after each paragraph and jotting down a sentence about what the paragraph was about. I'm not a believer in Kaplan's method of doing passage maps and wasting your time writing down scope, etc. The 10 seconds that I took after each paragraph helped me think about what I just read. What I wrote down actually didn't matter! I never referred back to those notes. Very much like CR, RC answer choices have very similar patterns in the wrong choices. One big tip: NEVER assume anything about the passage. Even the "imply" questions are from the passage --> you're looking for the wishy/washy answer that is broad enough to not be extreme yet make some sense!

AWA
I started doing all the AWAs in the practice tests after my 4th or 5th practice. It just helps w/ stamina. No real practice needed here .. just review some basic strategies from Kaplan:

Issue Essay:
Paragraph 1: Paraphrase the issue presented in the prompt (VERY IMPORTANT) ... then sign post the 3 main points you will be talking about in the following paragraph

Paragraphs 2, 3, 4: each paragraph should only have ONE main idea w/ some SPECIFIC example. If you have to make up the example, DO IT!!!! Preferably it's a real world example but if you can't think of one, just make it up!!

Paragraph 5: IF you are disagreeing w/ the issue presented, say how the author could go about convincing you of his point (this is a subtle but important part of this paragraph). Then just having a concluding sentence or two

Analysis of argument:
Paragraph 1: same drill ... definitely paraphrase the quote ... then sign post

Paragraph 2 to 4: same as above

Paragraph 5: Bring up a point that the opposite side would bring up and then shoot it down w/ a specific reason (again a subtle but important point). Then conclude

Overall:
I'm definitely not a good standardized test taker (as evidenced by my SAT scores which I will spare myself the shame of posting here). So I'm a firm believer that the GMAT can be beat w/ enough practice. Stress levels are what killed me on the first test (relatively speaking) so try to relax as much as possible ahead of the test.

Thanks to everyone on this forum ... this site has been an invaluable source of information!

Good luck everyone!

Thanks for the detailed and helpful debrief. Congrats on the awesome score!

Congrats on ur GMAT score!!