Target GMAT: Anything above 700
Actual: 750 (Q48, V45)
AWA: 6.0
I heard advice from a few of my peer at Bain and Company to begin studying with the GMAT Math Bible from gmathacks.com. It was more useful than any other single tool I used. I also should mention, upfront, that if you take GMATPrep early on in the process, and again at least a month later - you should be able to use each test twice. I only saw 1-2 questions in each section repeated, and those that were repeated, I could not remotely recall the answer to. The GMATPrep software also give me scores which matched my actual GMAT score quite accurately.
I should also note my study routine which I felt helped a lot. I studied 1 hour per day, every day. That's it. But I ensured that no matter how busy I was, I dedicated 1 hour. Further, each day, I would spend the first 10 minutes of my 1 hour review reviewing what I had reviewed the day before to "snowball" my learning.
Also worthwhile noting that I thought that I BOMBED the GMAT when I got to the cancel score screen. Especially because I totally guessed on the first question of each section. This is proof that not only should you not stress over the first question, but that you can actually get several questions wrong and still do well.
Also worthwhile noting that the big difference between my experience (getting it right the first time) versus my peers (who fired off 660s-700s) was timing. As per the recommendation of the GMAT Math Bible, I gave myself 5 "get out of jail free cards", or rather, I allowed myself to guess on 5 questions without actually trying to figure the questions out (but eliminating answer choices as best I could). This allowed me to spend time on questions I actually had a chance of solving within 2 minutes.
My aids were as follows
GMAT Math Bible
GMAT Verbal Bible
GMAT Focus
GMATPrep (1 and 2)
GMAT OG11 (last 50 questions of math and verbal and the assessment test)
Kaplan 800 (Verbal only)
Beatthegmat.com Flash Cards
In total, I studied for 3 months. My study time and test results were something like the following:
Weeks 1-3: GMAT Math Bible (excellent, excellent tool)
Weeks 4-5: GMAT Verbal Bible
GMATPrep 1: 760
Weeks 6-7: GMAT OG 11 (last 50 questions of math and verbal)
GMATPrep 2: 730
Week 8: Vacation
Week 9: Kaplan 800 Verbal
Week 10: Beatthegmat.com flashcards (actually very useful as a quick review)
Week 11: Review of GMAT Match Bible and GMAT verbal bible
GMATPrep 1 RT: 750
GMATPrep 2 TR: 750
Actual: 750 (Q48, V45)
AWA: 6.0
I heard advice from a few of my peer at Bain and Company to begin studying with the GMAT Math Bible from gmathacks.com. It was more useful than any other single tool I used. I also should mention, upfront, that if you take GMATPrep early on in the process, and again at least a month later - you should be able to use each test twice. I only saw 1-2 questions in each section repeated, and those that were repeated, I could not remotely recall the answer to. The GMATPrep software also give me scores which matched my actual GMAT score quite accurately.
I should also note my study routine which I felt helped a lot. I studied 1 hour per day, every day. That's it. But I ensured that no matter how busy I was, I dedicated 1 hour. Further, each day, I would spend the first 10 minutes of my 1 hour review reviewing what I had reviewed the day before to "snowball" my learning.
Also worthwhile noting that I thought that I BOMBED the GMAT when I got to the cancel score screen. Especially because I totally guessed on the first question of each section. This is proof that not only should you not stress over the first question, but that you can actually get several questions wrong and still do well.
Also worthwhile noting that the big difference between my experience (getting it right the first time) versus my peers (who fired off 660s-700s) was timing. As per the recommendation of the GMAT Math Bible, I gave myself 5 "get out of jail free cards", or rather, I allowed myself to guess on 5 questions without actually trying to figure the questions out (but eliminating answer choices as best I could). This allowed me to spend time on questions I actually had a chance of solving within 2 minutes.
My aids were as follows
GMAT Math Bible
GMAT Verbal Bible
GMAT Focus
GMATPrep (1 and 2)
GMAT OG11 (last 50 questions of math and verbal and the assessment test)
Kaplan 800 (Verbal only)
Beatthegmat.com Flash Cards
In total, I studied for 3 months. My study time and test results were something like the following:
Weeks 1-3: GMAT Math Bible (excellent, excellent tool)
Weeks 4-5: GMAT Verbal Bible
GMATPrep 1: 760
Weeks 6-7: GMAT OG 11 (last 50 questions of math and verbal)
GMATPrep 2: 730
Week 8: Vacation
Week 9: Kaplan 800 Verbal
Week 10: Beatthegmat.com flashcards (actually very useful as a quick review)
Week 11: Review of GMAT Match Bible and GMAT verbal bible
GMATPrep 1 RT: 750
GMATPrep 2 TR: 750
