I just Beat The GMAT!

I took the GMAT for the first time today, and while I didn't realize I hadn't selected the answer bubble on the final quant question until it was too late, I'm happy overall.

Background:
I graduated from college in 2007 with a Bachelor of Music... alright I won't bore you here. However, I'm now a medical student and took the MCAT a few years ago, so I wasn't completely lost with the idea of standardized exams. Plus, I took a CLEP in college which is a CAT like the GMAT.

How I studied:
I really wasn't sure how to study at first as I tested out of math and writing in college. When I studied teaching/learning theory, I read that the human brain really works by application and repetition, but more importantly from failure, acknowledgment of failure, reasoning behind the failure, and correction of the failure. (That's a lot of failure!) And then after teaching college-level sciences for a bit I really looked into what role practice exams play. Wouldn't you know it, but many studies have come out recently showing that students learn more in general from properly taking practice exams than from sitting and taking notes in lecture. Of course, most people knew this already. Therefore, I was going to focus on practice exams and going through every correct and incorrect problem afterward.

A couple days after my last final I pulled out the Manhattan GMAT books and began studying from those (after reading Book 0). I did the books almost in order. It looked like this:
Day 0: Practice Exam
Day 1: Read MGMAT Book 1 and do practice problems as necessary
Day 2: Do OG practice problems as listed in the back of the MGMAT book
Day 3: Critical Reasoning Bible
Day 4: Practice Exam
etc.

Of course, it wasn't exactly like this. On some days I managed to do more, on others less. Nonetheless, I realized after the first few practice exams that my verbal skills were probably as good as they would get, so I didn't focus on that. Also, I added in the Kaplan 800 book that I had bought last year. Overall, I ended up doing a bit more than half of the OG Quant and a little less of the OG Verbal.

I would say that in total I studied for about three to four weeks, about half of it part-time. In between I had a week of being horribly sick during which my computer and phone died as well. I didn't study then so didn't include it above. I didn't usually study past 5pm. Nor did I study much on the weekends. Time with my fiancee is important.

I took 5 MGMAT practice exams with IR, a Kaplan one, and two GMATPrep ones.

1. Kaplan: 670 (This was to see what I should focus on.)
2. MGMAT 1: 710 (42Q, 45V)
3. MGMAT 2: 680 (37Q, 45V)
4. MGMAT 3: 720 (44Q, 45V)
5. MGMAT 4: 720 (47Q, 41V)
6. MGMAT 5: 740 (47Q, 45V)
7. GMATPrep 1: 750 (49Q, 44V)
8. GMATPrep 2: 760 (49Q, 45V) This is the same breakdown as my real GMAT!

One note: I didn't realize that the MGMAT software doesn't record the final answer unless you confirm it (unlike the real exam) so I didn't plan to ever click submit so that I could be completely sure on it. Of course in the software that meant it was a wrong answer. I was also annoyed that the second GMATPrep exam uses the same IR questions as the first.

After the first practice exam I realized, like most people taking the exam, that just because I knew the math didn't mean I knew how the GMAT would test it. The verbal was pretty straightforward. I chose to focus more on the math. I also didn't realize how much fun the GMAT would be to study for. I thought my friends that had taken it were being sarcastic when they suggested it. It definitely makes it easy to sit down to study each day.

My impression on my study materials:

• GMATPrep: The IR questions are exactly the same between the two practice exams, which is annoying. However, other than that, I thought the software was great, with practice problems, explanations, tests. Just keep in mind that it's not the same as the real GMAT and is not scored exactly the same way either. However, it's free and from the makers. You can't beat that.
• MGMAT Books: Well done and well worth it. There are typos here and there, but the explanations tend to be sound and there are no gimmicks which was a relief. (What I mean by gimmick: "When you see a problem involving a circle, touch your nose and look sideways. The answer will just pop out and you won't have to do any math.") I didn't use the verbal books that much as they weren't adding much to what I already knew, as I took the MCAT a few years before and felt the verbal there was harder. The online question banks aren't bad, and the online tests were fantastic for practice. Those alone are worth the cost. However, there's a caveat: *MGMAT IR was very different from not only the OG IR, but also GMATPrep and my real exam, all of which I felt were in line with each other. Therefore, I think scoring low on the MGMAT IR is not an accurate predictor of that score.
• OG 13 and OG Quant: I glanced through many adjunct materials and I just don't think many beat the OG. Also, it comes with 50 IR questions which was more than enough to bring up my IR score. Overall, the book every person taking the exam must use.
• MGMAT OG Archer: This is a fantastic tool, especially considering it's free. Once I started using it, I used it for every OG and OG Quant session I did. The analysis tools are fantastic for picking out your weaknesses and what takes you too long overall. Just be careful not to peak at the answer after each question and you'll be all set. Also note that most of the questions are labeled with difficulty levels by MGMAT staff which makes studying more helpful too.
• Kaplan 800: Having used their MCAT 45 book, I assumed that the GMAT one would be of similar caliber (which still wasn't all that high). However, I found that there was a lot of fluff and white space and not nearly enough practice problems. The format was also weird. I finished the entire book in a matter of hours and didn't find it worth it. It wasn't worth the cost and the first two books I picked up had online codes that had "already been used." In the end, I couldn't use any of their online exams because the final code I got actually expired right before I wanted to take them.
• PowerScore's Critical Reasoning Bible: Not worth it. It seemed way too gimmicky for me to like and I didn't find anything in it I didn't know and remember already. It felt more like someone saying, "Why learn what a noun is when you can just memorize how many letters on average one contains?" Of course that's an exaggeration, but I didn't like it. It made so much work for each problem that there's no way you could finish the verbal section on the real GMAT if you tried to apply everything they suggest. The practice questions were good though and I thought many of the explanations were fine. It's a very quick read, but I split it up into a few days and ended up only doing the questions for most of it. An extra two cents: I think a non-native speaker might actually get a lower score after going through this book.

Test day:
I didn't sleep well the night before so I wasn't exactly on my game.

When I walked in, the test center thought I was there for a surgery test... said I looked like a medical professional. I thought that was funny as I am a medical student. Anyway, the staff was great, and the test center was even better. It's a short walk from my apartment, and it was very easy to find the office in the building. At first I was given an F (Fine) pen instead of an S (Superfine) which I had been practicing with (as you can get a dozen for less than $10 online), but when I asked for a second pen she noticed this and gave me two S pens. They both wrote like new so I was happy. The pad had a darker grid than I was used to. However, I should note that in general stuff like this doesn't trip me up or bother me (as it shouldn't). If they gave me a stone and chisel I probably would have been just as happy. The earplugs were fantastic, though apparently someone recently used the earplug box to cheat so now they have to take the earplugs out of the package before handing them over. Interesting.

When taking the MCAT, many people use the "tutorial time" to write down as many formulas and concepts as they can remember. It's harder to apply that to the GMAT as there is no physical science section, but you have time to write down perfect squares, special triangles, etc. that maybe you just reviewed before walking in. Also, unlike that on the MCAT, the tutorial section on the GMAT is correct. Bonus! (To clarify for those wondering: When I took the MCAT, the instructions not only said that clicking anywhere on an answer would select it, but had it as part of their "try it" tutorial and their practice exams. It took me a few questions to realize that selecting anywhere but the radio button actually crossed out the answer, which left me with a few unanswered that I had to go back and do again later. Weird!)

AWA was fine. At first I was thinking, Hmm, this guy's reasoning is great! Of course I smartened up and got down to bashing the crap out of the argument. I hadn't practiced AWA other than a few outlines, but it was fine. I had more than enough time to write, review, and edit.

IR was also fine. Like those on GMATPrep and with the OG, it wasn't nearly as tough as MGMAT. Something to remember is that each question counts for correct or incorrect. So if on one question you have three yes/no parts and you get one of those wrong, the entire question is wrong. No partial credit. Also, the test center's calculator was infinitely better than the on screen ones in the OG, GMATPrep, and MGMAT.

Yes, I took my breaks. The employee was prompt to come get me and scan out and back in so even though the bathroom was relatively far from the test center, I could use it, get back, eat, drink, and still be in my seat with time to spare.

Quant was interesting. There were definitely a few questions where I knew i could solve them but not in enough time so just had to estimate and go. I wasn't on my game. Also, I thought I had selected an answer on the final problem before starting the problem, but apparently hadn't. And as I went to click the answer, I ran out of time and didn't get the chance to. However, like it says on the official GMAT website, an unanswered question is the same as an incorrect answer, so at least they don't penalize for it like they used to. However, it would have been nice as I knew the right answer. It also would have been nice to have gotten sleep the night before, but we can always get what we want.

Verbal was about what I expected. Everything was on par with practice exams.

Overall: A good test day experience with a little Doh! moment at the end of Quant.

What to take away:

• Modern teaching theory has a million arrows pointing to doing practice exams to learn material, but do them correctly. When you take a practice exam, really go through every question afterward. This way you solidify what is correct and fix what isn't. Also, you may realize another way to do a problem. It will get certain problem types into your head, which with a standardized test can translate to more time for other problems.
• If you think you'll be distracted by the pad/pen used for the test, buy or make a set. A month ago, I tried Staples Print Shop (online) and was able to make a laminated and bound GMAT test booklet for around $5. However, I had already bought the MGMAT one.
• In addition to the above, you can buy the same test center pens for very little money online. A few weeks ago I picked up a 12 pack of the exact same pens (superfine non-permanent black lumocolor) for $10 on eBay from an office supply place.
• For people like me (applying in 2013), the IR score will probably matter, so make sure you try to do your best. Your percentile will change regularly which means it will most likely go down rather than up as people expect to need to do better.
• Focus on what you need to. I can't say this enough. If you're fantastic with grammar, then you don't need to spend a week studying sentence correction. Use that extra week to study something that you really need to.
• Don't just do practice problems. Study practice problems.
• Schedule free time into your studying! Don't work and study straight through each day or you will burn yourself out. It's just a bad habit to get into anyway. If there's one thing i took away from college it's that you need to keep time for yourself or you will hate what you do pretty quickly.
• Don't expect a perfect test day. While mine was great, I've read many others here that were below expectations, but not what I'd call sub-par or horrible. If there's a real issue, bring it up. However, expect that you won't be comfortable, the pen(s) won't be perfect, the notepad grid will be too dark, the keyboard too loud, the earplugs too tight, etc. It's how life is and chances are it's how your actual test day will be.

I hope you take everything in this post with a grain of salt, as we are all individuals and have our own way of doing things. With that said, I wish you all the best of luck![/b]

Congratulations! That's a great great debrief.I really enjoyed reading it..
Since I will also be applying next year, and as you rightfully pointed out- the IR will be more important by then, could you tell me a little more about how you prepared for this section/how much time you devoted to it? Are the 50 OG Questions sufficient?

Thank you

Congratulations! That's a great great debrief.I really enjoyed reading it..
Since I will also be applying next year, and as you rightfully pointed out- the IR will be more important by then, could you tell me a little more about how you prepared for this section/how much time you devoted to it? Are the 50 OG Questions sufficient?

Thank you

Suz wrote:Congratulations! That's a great great debrief.I really enjoyed reading it..

Thanks Suz!

Suz wrote:Since I will also be applying next year, and as you rightfully pointed out- the IR will be more important by then, could you tell me a little more about how you prepared for this section/how much time you devoted to it? Are the 50 OG Questions sufficient?

First, let me say that because of its nature, it was harder for me at first. However, as many people smarter than I have said in various places, preparing well for the quant and verbal sections is the first step. While you won't use any complicated math in IR, when you do use math, you need to determine what to do quickly. Often you will have a good amount of data that will be unused so without that skill, you have little hope.

As alluded to above, I did not score well on IR in my first few practice exams. Let's overlook the fact that I didn't know there was a calculator for the first two exams. After taking them I noticed that I wasn't completely used to parsing data the way you should in IR (which is similar to the way you will in business school). Nonetheless, we've all done this at some point before. For me, it's reading medical journals critically. While all the data is important, there are times I'm looking to answer a single question so I determine what sort of data I need before parsing tables and graphs for it. Note the word "before." I never just dive into an article when I'm pressed to come up with an answer without figuring out what I'm looking for beforehand.

Next, I realized that I wasn't taking the time to read table and graph captions beforehand. Or I was skimming the prompt rather than trying to fully understand it. In the end, I spent more time having to "realize" that I needed to after not knowing how to answer a question. This was time wasted.

After that, I tried to become faster at the math. As noted above, you need to determine quickly what math needs to be done, and the more IR I did, the faster I understood the patterns of what is commonly asked. It was just a matter of refining a skill that I already used in the quant section.

Lastly, I corrected the little things. For instance, let's say I was given a table of vehicles and their average prices. The prompt then asks for the percent difference between the average price for all of them and the average for one. If you're like me, the first thing you'd think is to average all the prices. Then you'd realize that you should have weighted the averages. Oops! Wait, how can you weight them? Oh man, this is going to take forever. My mistake? One of the "vehicles" is named "All vehicles" which is either a really bad name for a model, or just the number I was trying to calculate. Understand? If the math seems too long or complicated, it probably is. Another example: Let's say you're giving a flow chart algorithm problem and asked to calculate the value of a variable at a given stage. Often the questions don't require you do run the entire algorithm, but just a part of it. And you may even be able to skip steps that don't apply to the variable in question. It can be easy to get caught in the trap of trying to follow through completely, but this isn't golf. It's IR. A half-swing can get you to the green.

What I learned, in list form:

1. Read the captions! They often contain data or conversions that you need.
2. Optional: Take notes on the multi-page ones (such as a chain of emails question). I found that since they usually note differences, either between processes or people's opinions, taking notes on this meant I almost never had to go back to the reading. It always saved time in the long run.
3. After carefully reading the question, formulate a way to solve the question with the data given. If math is needed, write down the formula, at least while you're learning to do IR. Do this before actually trying to answer the question or you'll be lost in your sea of data.
4. Apply this to solve the problem. If it involves math, get used to using the calculator, as you will need it often (though not always).
5. Check you answer. Does it make sense? When using a calculator, it's very easy to get lost in the keys. We all know that 10*10 does not equal 1000, but when you do it quickly on a calculator it's much easier to overlook this than when you do it by hand.
6. In multi-part questions, you will often use data that you calculated to solve one in all of them (such as an average number). Or maybe all the questions have a similar thread of reasoning. Whatever you do, do not treat each part as a new question as you would in the quant or verbal sections, because they often aren't.

Materials: In terms of material, I thought the OG 13 had more than enough and I never managed to do all of it. GMATPrep also has 15 study-mode questions built-in as well that don't show up on the exams. Also note that the webpage explaining the new section has a good number of IR problems that you can practice with. I think I got the most out of the practice exams that I took. Just like with any practice questions, it was extremely helpful to look back at every question and solution to be sure i had the correct reasoning, or to see why my reasoning was incorrect.

I should note that the MGMAT IR book (which was no more helpful that the GMAT website) comes with an online question bank (which is more helpful). I did about half of that but found that the questions there, as on the MGMAT practice exams, are harder on average and require more calculation than the ones from GMAC so I switched to the GMAC ones to get a better feel for IR. However, doing ones at such a high level has something to be said for it.

Time: Although from above it may look as though I spent a lot of time, I didn't. I worked efficiently and in total spent in the ballpark of ten hours outside of practice exams on IR. The reason is that once you get the hang of it, you realize that preparing for quant and verbal is probably one of the best things you can do to prepare for IR in addition to applying what is found in the "What I learned" list above. Yes, it's a new mode of testing, but for most people it should prove to be more about efficiency and understanding than about learning something new.

Sorry for such a lengthy answer, but I hope this shows how I quickly went from 3s and 4s running out of time to 8s with time to spare.

Hey congrats,thats a great score!!
Did u refer to earlier OG editions?What kind of questions did u encounter during the exam,especially in quant.Which topics u feel one should stress more on in quant?

Thanks,
Shreeraj

Thanks for taking out the time to reply to my post! That is EXTREMELY helpful information and insight.

Good luck with your applications! x

Congratulations! Looks like all of your hard work really paid off.

You mentioned that you used the explanations for GMATPrep tests? I took 2 of their CATS and did not find any explanations. Googling the questions themselves sometimes did not produce any results. What do you suggest? Besides there and MGMAT CATS, where else did you take any practice tests?

Congratulations on the great score !

shreerajp99 wrote:Did u refer to earlier OG editions?

No, I only used the 13th edition.

shreerajp99 wrote:What kind of questions did u encounter during the exam,especially in quant.

I encountered at least one of each type from what I recall. I expected more geometry (especially triangles and circles) but encountered only a few.

shreerajp99 wrote:Which topics u feel one should stress more on in quant?

My personal opinion is to be comfortable with anything because that's what you should expect. I don't think any specific topic is stressed. However, if you're having even the slightest bit of trouble with word problems, you should focus on being able to read and understand them faster. This comes with practice. Word problems can really eat up your time and endurance if you're not comfortable with them.

pradalove wrote:You mentioned that you used the explanations for GMATPrep tests? I took 2 of their CATS and did not find any explanations. Googling the questions themselves sometimes did not produce any results. What do you suggest?

I'm sorry I wasn't clear. I used the explanations for the practice problems. Most GMATPrep test questions have been answered somewhere. When searching in Google, be sure to just use part of the problem and place the search in double quotes to search by phrase rather than just a combination of keywords.

pradalove wrote:Besides there and MGMAT CATS, where else did you take any practice tests?

I only used five of six from MGMAT, two GMATPrep, and the free Kaplan test.