I just Beat The GMAT!

Finally the end of this chapter in my life. On the fourth attempt, I have scored a 740 (q:49 v:41). My historical scores (in order) were 680, 720, and 710. I retook after the 720 because I didn't even read about the AWA and made a 3.5 (made a 4.0 on the 680 but was so pissed at myself for the 680, I didn't even notice the AWA). Just to be on the safe side, and because I am applying this fall, I decided to take again - made a 6.0 on the AWA but had the WORST experience on test day and dropped to a 710 (despite getting a 760 on a GMAC practice the week before). I was going to stick with the 710/6.0, but a free consultant recommended I take it again to improve my quant, which was 76th percentile. It truly sucked studying for the next month to keep from forgetting anything, but turned out to be worth it.

I plan to apply to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, Columbia, and Stern. I have my CFA and experience at a regional investment bank and middle market private equity firm with $550M under management.

Congratulations on the score! Although I don't believe your other scores would have hurt you, it can never hurt to try and achieve a new personal best. You gave me something to think about; my quant score was also relatively low and I'm concerned it may impact my chances of getting in at some of the top-tier schools.

Good luck with your applications!

Awesome! Congratulations!

My exam is in about 10 days. My strategy is to keep taking MGMAT's practice exams every other day and review the exam the next day. Any tips/comments to consider before taking the exam the second time?

Can you share ur study plan for verbal and resources used..esp RC strategy

KAS1: Definitely review every problem, even the ones you got right. And don't forget the tricks / tips you learn in your Manhattan texts. My first test, I spent so much time doing practice problems I forgot some of the methodologies provided by MGMAT to answer questions. Don't forget those!

GMAT Kolaveri: I used Manhattan for everything. Honestly, Verbal came pretty easy to me (I scored 90th percentile plus on all exams) so I didn't spend as much time on it. That being said, I focused a lot on the Grammar portion of the MGMAT book to learn the "rules." For RC, I just read a lot and used Manhattan's review guide to figure out what to focus on. I'd say reading 'hard stuff' on a regular basis is probably the best way to improve your score there.