I'm still having trouble getting over a nasty case of the shakes all throughout my body even though my test is long over. It's true, once you hit that high score you dreamed of, you can't help but tremble with satisfaction despite the fact that an even harder road lies before you.
TEST 1: My first GMAT score was achieved upon sole utilization Kaplan Test Prep's GMAT 2010 book. I finished the book, about 200-300 pages worth of retired GMAT questions, in approximately one month. My methods of problem solving were untimed, undisciplined, and in all honesty, unprofessional- and it justly netted me a 500 on my first exam.
TEST 2: About a month or two after the first, my 2nd exam precluded little distinction in the methodology of study I employed from the first exam. Instead of using Kaplan's crappy excuse for a study guide, I used the Official GMAC 12th edition. There were far more questions and far better explanations; albeit, my studies were still untimed, and unregimented; moreover, the only two practice tests I took were those provided by GMAC. I scored a 4.0 on my essays and a 550 on my second exam.
TEST 3: After much frustration, lamentations, and a long winter to look forward to, I took a lengthy break from GMAT studying, about 4 months worth. After which, I enrolled in Kaplan's advanced GMAT course, which is a 10 week long intensive program designed to improve one's score without fail, and it did just that. 9 full length CAT exams, 2 books (totaling about 300 questions), 10 class sessions, and a quiz bank with over a thousand questions offered a much more suitable base of study than I had previously exposed myself to. After this course, I continued my studies until I felt that I was ready. In June of 2011, I took the exam for the first time in 8 months and scored a 5.0 on my essays and a 610 on the test.
INTERLUDE: Given that the amount of effort and time I put in between the 2nd and the 3rd test, and that between the first and second test, were about 200% (3x) apart, I felt justly indignant that my increases in score almost matched. After which, I came to the practical determination that there was something wrong with "ME" and not my knowledge of GMAT test content. In the month following, I had several medical tests done on myself including an EEG, MRI, and psychic evaluation. I thought, at the time, that I might be diagnosed with ADHD, ADD, OCD, or some ailment that could be interfering with my test performance. The important thing is that I didn't give up. All the results showed that I was normal and was probably just paranoid and discontented with my lack of performance (*the GMAT is an easy thing to become discontented with).
TEST 4: The next few months I devoted approximately 1-2 hours every weekday to working the Kaplan quiz bank. That's 1,500 (one - five - zero - zero) questions. Over the course of two or three months, I narrowed that bank down to about 200 questions. A strict, daily regimen devoted to practice questions on the computer with dry erase pad in hand to accurately mimick the lovely PEARSON VUE test-center atmosphere. Mind, discipline like this does not come to you on a silver platter without having horrible past failures and $1,500 in GMAT test and prep debt. The hardest part at this point was the foresight of my next test and what the outcome could be. I imagined it time and time again during the day and in the middle of the night. How would I react to another 550? How would I react to a 700 (maybe I'd kiss the ugly fat test proctor)? Low and behold, and with no further adieu, my 4th and final test netted me a 680 and a 2 minute long jaw dropping stare at the test-center computer screen. What a funny YouTube video that would've made if a camera had been mounted on the PC screen!
In the end, it feels great knowing that I accomplished something I worked extraordinarily hard at, and by "extraordinary", I mean the hardest thing I can remember ever doing in my life "extraordinary"; but also, no roads come to an end in the world of business as there are always greater profits to be made and struggles to surmount, and blah blah blah.
The GMAT is just one step in your professional life towards a brighter future. Once you've attained it, you have more hurdles on the way, that are hopefully less difficult, to look forward to!
From 500 to 680 in 1¼ years <- ATTAINMENT BITCHES!
