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kodakfan
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Hello! I have just finished my GMATs today so AWA and IR scores are not out yet. I discovered this online community about two weeks ago and found it supremely helpful, especially as a support system. Even though I have never actively posted, it was really insightful reading other people's posts about their successes, tips, and advice. Since I feel I've gleaned a lot from other people's posts, I wanted to share my own experience.
ABOUT ME
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I'm an American student who just finished her undergraduate at a Top 5 college. Undergraduate major was Applied Math/Econ.
PREPARATION:
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Time : About 30-31 days; Week 1-3 Review, Week 4 Practice Tests
Books :
1) OG, Ed. 13 -- This was the most cumulative and thorough book. The diagnostic helped me pinpoint my weaknesses and also the very extensive (although dense) chapters gave me a really good review of things. It is quite a bit dense though so I found it helpful to post-it note important sections and also make flashcards on the side. I also used the extra 50 IR questions and found the real GMAT problems to be pretty similiar.
2) MGMAT Series (SC, Advanced Quant) -- Based on online Amazon reviews and also other BTG members, I decide to go for the MGMAT series of books. I bought the SC and Advanced Quant and both were very engaging and also easy-to-follow. Advanced Quant is highly recommended for those who want to perform 700+.
3) Veritas Prep (Sentence Correction) -- It was only good for extra prep; not a lot of strategies just a set of 125 + questions and thorough answers. The explainations did help me catch mistakes though
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Test Strategy/Tips :
GMATPrep 1: 690 (first practice test I took)
GMATPrep 2: 730 (took two days right before my actual test)
MGMAT 1: 700
MGMAT 2: 710
MGMAT 3: 710
MGMAT 4: 730
MGMAT 5: 750
MGMAT 6: 720
NOTES :
I really appreciated the MGMAT tests. Even though they were definitely tough, they helped me zone in my key weakness: time management, especially in the Quant section. I knew I could get a higher score than what I was getting because when I did the math problems untimed, my accurate rate was pretty high. However, under time constraints, I'd always run out of time the last 2-3 questions. The most important thing, I think, is to know when to give up on a question and move on. When you hit the 2-minute mark for any math problem and it's still not clicking, I'd say just narrow it down and make an educated guess rather than sweat it out for another 2 minutes and risk rushing through easier problems that you could solve if given a bit more time.
TEST DAY REFLECTIONS :
To be honest, I was a little disappointed with my Verbal Score because I had been doing 42+ on the practice exams. When I got my Verbal score, I was a little bit miffed; I generally perform better on Verbal sections of standarized testing. However, I suppose I had decided to focus more on the Quant section and didn't do much Verbal prep aside from the SCs. Overall though, I'm still very happy with my score. Of course, if I had managed to get a V42, my score probs would have been a 750 but I'm not splitting hairs over it.
I'd say for you to go into the exam thinking it's a practice exam; relax, smile, and take all your allotted breaks. I found even just pacing in the hallway or making a trip to the waterfoundation is enough for me to relax and gear up for the next section. Also, it helps to visit the test center before and locate the bathrooms before you start.
ABOUT ME
------
I'm an American student who just finished her undergraduate at a Top 5 college. Undergraduate major was Applied Math/Econ.
PREPARATION:
------
Time : About 30-31 days; Week 1-3 Review, Week 4 Practice Tests
Books :
1) OG, Ed. 13 -- This was the most cumulative and thorough book. The diagnostic helped me pinpoint my weaknesses and also the very extensive (although dense) chapters gave me a really good review of things. It is quite a bit dense though so I found it helpful to post-it note important sections and also make flashcards on the side. I also used the extra 50 IR questions and found the real GMAT problems to be pretty similiar.
2) MGMAT Series (SC, Advanced Quant) -- Based on online Amazon reviews and also other BTG members, I decide to go for the MGMAT series of books. I bought the SC and Advanced Quant and both were very engaging and also easy-to-follow. Advanced Quant is highly recommended for those who want to perform 700+.
3) Veritas Prep (Sentence Correction) -- It was only good for extra prep; not a lot of strategies just a set of 125 + questions and thorough answers. The explainations did help me catch mistakes though
------
Test Strategy/Tips :
GMATPrep 1: 690 (first practice test I took)
GMATPrep 2: 730 (took two days right before my actual test)
MGMAT 1: 700
MGMAT 2: 710
MGMAT 3: 710
MGMAT 4: 730
MGMAT 5: 750
MGMAT 6: 720
NOTES :
I really appreciated the MGMAT tests. Even though they were definitely tough, they helped me zone in my key weakness: time management, especially in the Quant section. I knew I could get a higher score than what I was getting because when I did the math problems untimed, my accurate rate was pretty high. However, under time constraints, I'd always run out of time the last 2-3 questions. The most important thing, I think, is to know when to give up on a question and move on. When you hit the 2-minute mark for any math problem and it's still not clicking, I'd say just narrow it down and make an educated guess rather than sweat it out for another 2 minutes and risk rushing through easier problems that you could solve if given a bit more time.
TEST DAY REFLECTIONS :
To be honest, I was a little disappointed with my Verbal Score because I had been doing 42+ on the practice exams. When I got my Verbal score, I was a little bit miffed; I generally perform better on Verbal sections of standarized testing. However, I suppose I had decided to focus more on the Quant section and didn't do much Verbal prep aside from the SCs. Overall though, I'm still very happy with my score. Of course, if I had managed to get a V42, my score probs would have been a 750 but I'm not splitting hairs over it.
I'd say for you to go into the exam thinking it's a practice exam; relax, smile, and take all your allotted breaks. I found even just pacing in the hallway or making a trip to the waterfoundation is enough for me to relax and gear up for the next section. Also, it helps to visit the test center before and locate the bathrooms before you start.
