I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi all,
This is a post for the folks struggling right now to achieve their target score. I just took the gmat(730/48Q/42V) and I am certainly not any "brighter" than you are.

My "journey" with this exam really starts back about 2 years ago. A couple friends of mine needed crash on my couch one weekend because they both had interviews scheduled at HBS. At that point in time, I had about 3 years of work experience and I just started to think about the pros and cons of going to business school. Since my buddies were done with their gmat prep, I had free reign over their prep material which worked out to be a pretty good deal. Anyway, I cracked open the OG and started randomly solving problem sets here and there (very limited amount). At first I thought, "this stuff isn't really too bad, for the most part if I spend enough time gazing at a problem I will eventually be able to work through to a solution" (key phrase = enough time).

Well that attitude changed 6 months later when I decided that if I really want to take this test seriously then I needed to enroll in a gmat prep course. I heard from my same buddies that Manhattan gmat was really the place to dump your dollars if you're going to pay for a prep course. I enrolled in the class and everything was hunky dory until... I took my first CAT exam. It was an awful experience. This is reaching back 1.5 plus years now but I want to say I got a 540 with a 35% in quant and a 70% in verbal. To say I was crushed was an understatement but before I get into the feel good story about how I overcame my depression here is a little information on my background that will hopefully give you a barometer on my inherent standardized test taking abilities.

SAT (the old one from like 2000) 1220 out of 1600 - ok at best

GRE 780/800 Quant, 570 Verbal - A side note, the GRE verbal is probably the hardest section of any standardized test I have ever encountered. If anyone can comment on their GRE vs GMAT experience I would be really interested in hearing your feedback.

See look I am a real person!!

Ok, so back to my "journey" - one thing was for sure, after my first CAT all of the bravado that I once had evaporated and I completely lost my footing for the rest of the MGMAT prep course. My first piece of advice is that a gmat prep course is a great way to complement a strong foundation of gmat preparation. What does that mean exactly? I would highly recommend a gmat prep course for anyone who ALREADY spent a month or two of serious test preparation that way when you take a course you can build on your gmat foundation instead of ending up like me overwhelmed with underwhelming results.

After the failed MGMAT debacle, I put a serious halt on my b-school dreams. I'd say a year to a year a half went by from the time my prep course ended to the time I worked up the courage to start looking at the material again. When I did, I noticed something surprising; Not only did I actually retain a lot of information I learned from my first prep effort, I had developed a little bit of gmat intuition! I am telling you that gmat prep is a complete data dump and if you are not familiar with a lot of the concepts, especially quant, don't except to retain even 50% of what you learn the first time around. Here is a real life example, think about reading a textbook in chemistry or physics. Would you expect understand, let alone remember, what you "learned" if you read the book cover to cover in a weekend? No, of course not - Remember learning and understanding takes time.

Alright now my story is almost at present day. My next bit of advice is to set a test date. Just do it. If you don't set a date you'll end up floundering around for another couple months like I did.

Once I was armed with a test date, I went over all of the MGMAT quant stuff again and I reviewed the red OG again. I took two MGMAT CATS and the two CATS you get from GMAC ( 620, 650, 680, 710).
Overall, I'd say I spent about 80% of my prep time on quant and 20% on verbal. I probably should have spent a little more time on verbal but I really enjoyed studying quant over verbal.

Actually Studying Advice

-Don't stop believing in yourself - If I can do it, anyone can do it - please heed those words - this is the whole reason why I am posting on this blog!

-Enjoy studying for the gmat - I like solving problems so in some twisted way I really liked working through the OG and Manhattan gmat workbooks.

-Read - This might sound dumb but I noticed a huge difference in my verbal score after I read a series of novels (6 books, 1000 plus pages) . If you really want to push the envelope read scientific journals or the Harvard business review.

-Sentence correction - I thought the MGMAT SC was useful but ultimately I still don't know what a "clause" is. My best advice is just to keep doing practice problems until your brain recognizes the reoccurring patterns that are imbedded in SC. If someone were to ask me what made me select a certain answer choice, I couldn't answer well based on a certain rule of English this answer choice is correct. All I can say is that after doing so many problems (all of the SC problems twice) this answer stands out to be correct. Honestly, I know this sounds hokey but you'll get to a point where even the hardest problems, which really tend to look like the easiest, can be solved just by pattern recognition.

Quant - Do as many problems as you can but do not focus all your time on the crazy hard stuff you find online.

- The practice CAT exams do not provide an accurate assessment of your abilities. This is pretty much fact not opinion

RC and CR - There are dozens of ways people are taught to approach these problems. My advice is to find out what works for you. If a strategy doesn't feel natural, don't do it. For example, my approach in RC, which doesn't jive with a lot of what you read online, was to read the entire RC problem slowly and carefully for complete comprehension and then answer the questions based on my gut feeling.

Test Taking Strategies

-Don't take the test at 8am - I did and it sucked. I was on 4 hours of sleep and a 5 hour energy drink.

-Again, this sort of goes against what a lot of people preach but I spent most of my time on the early questions. I found out after taking about four practice tests that I would score higher if I really ignored the clock and sank a lot of time into the first 15 questions. Try it for yourself and see what strategy works for you.

I really hope this post helps anyone who is struggling to "beat the gmat". Keep your head up and yes you can!

Feel free to message me with any questions

Loved the story! Great improvement, too, from a 540 to a 730! All the best with the rest of the journey!

Well this makes me feel alot better. Took my first practice CAT last week and scored in 30th percentile .. taking the test in May and I am going all out on practice and studying! Tnx alot for sharing

Hey,

Thanks for the helpful tips on how to practice for the GMAT! I do have one question, did you ever use a spreadsheet for questions you got wrong on practice? For instance, did you have a set schedule of what to study and when with allocated time (1-2 hours/weekday, 4-5 hours/weekend day)?

thanks for the heads up. I'm working towards taking the exam in May and that would be my fourth attempt in 3 years.. I've made up my mind to sink or swim and I'm certain that swim I will if only to grace the pages of beat the gmat with my success story that would encourage people like me.

see ya later..

Thank you so much for this story. I gasped out loud while reading this (and i'm at work, so i got some weird looks from my co-workers!) because most of your story is my story verbatim. And I'm hoping for your happy ending.

I also started studying for the gmats a year and a half ago, and also enrolled in a Manhattan GMAT which went completely over my head. It had been 10 years since I took a math class, and I could barely keep up with what was being taught in class because I was so rusty. After scoring a 530 (30% math, 70% verbal) on a CAT exam and feeling like my head was going to explode after taking the course, I put the books back on the shelf along with my business school dream. (did i mention I also got a 1220 on my sats?)

Fast forward to two months ago, and I know I can no longer deny that business school is the best place I can go to help me reach my goals and be able to do the work i want to do in the world. So I picked up the foundations math book again, and guess what? I blew through it. I am amazed at how much I remember, and this morning I finished the number properties book as well.

No test date yet, I need to move through more of the material before I feel comfortable, but i'm hoping june.
So thanks for the inspiration!

BCautomac33 wrote:Hey,

Thanks for the helpful tips on how to practice for the GMAT! I do have one question, did you ever use a spreadsheet for questions you got wrong on practice? For instance, did you have a set schedule of what to study and when with allocated time (1-2 hours/weekday, 4-5 hours/weekend day)?

Yes I did - I used a google doc to chart every problem that I completed. Not only did I chart whether I answered the question correctly but I also noted if I did the problem in the most efficient way. Here is a great website that tells you, most of the time, the most efficient solutions to the OG (https://www.gmathacks.com/officialguide12ed/index.html). I'd recommend solving a problem on your own and compare.

After I initially tanked my first CAT I swallowed my pride and went back to the basics. I really studied Manhattan gmat books, the first parts not the advanced. Once I mastered all the basic concepts attack the OG and then I went to the advanced portions of the Manhattan gmat books.

In terms of amount of time to study it really depends on your schedule. You have to really know yourself and understand when you getting something. Getting it isnt just, oh yea I see the answer and understand how they derived it. Getting it is seeing that same concept hidden in as part of a DS question etc. For instance the idea of weighted averages sneaks up all over the place and if you really understand what a weighted average is and how to recognize it you'll be able to answer a very hard question with minimal math.

Hey,

Super outcome! Reading your story really hit home with what I am experiencing anxiety, nerves...
I've got my first attempt at the GMAT in March and I'm going to take your approach "Believe that I can do it!"

Thanks for your story Breath of fresh air

are you my twin or something!? i have been visualising writing this kind of de-brief once i crack the gmat for a long time! thanks for this! can really look forward to a great score!

Congratulations! Your story is very inspiring and interesting.

I am currently studying for the GMAT. I started in December but my foundation was terrible. I still get frustrated because I haven't reached the point where I am noticing the patterns. The Manhattan Number properties book was very difficult for me so I had to get their foundations of GMAT math book. The book was a good refresher. I just finished the Number Properties and Word Translation books. It still seems like I have long way to go though. I plan to take the test in April or May but only time will tell.

Awesome! Way to go!

cpanagio, congrats! we seem to have lots of things in common
like u, I am not a genius,and wasn't ever be a wunderkind. I started my "journey" by almost the same score (mock test). right now I am still studying for the gmat, but hope my journey will have the same happy end as urs but now I try to stay positive


good luck in ur business career and thanks for ur post

Thanks a lot for the debrief... its refreshing, motivating, realistic and useful.

Cheers !!

Thanks for writing such a full detailed debrief and congratulations on your score.

Always love the success stories -- and even more so when they don't come easy! Not giving up is just as important as wanting to try in the first place -- agree with you wholeheartedly: "Keep your head up and yes you can!"

cpanagio, congrats on your triumph and can't wait to hear about how you've conquered the next phase!

EssaySnark