Taken test on August 9th
total score 690 / 88%
verbal 34 / 68%
quant 49 / 86%
AWA 5.5 / 77%
My background:
- Italian male, 26yo
- Undergraduate degree in marketing in Italy. Average verbal and quant skills
- 5 years work experience in UK for American corp in sales in field of financial information services
- Aimed to score above 650
- Started studying for the GMAT in April 2010
Material used
- Beat the GMAT: during spare time at work did few exercises here and there.
- For reading comprehension: read wall street journal every day.
- For critical reasoning: critical reasoning bible
- For quant and sentence correction. Manhattan GMAT: all quant books plus sentence correction
- GMAT official book 12th edition plus quant and verbal supplement 2nd edition
- GMAT prep software and Manhattan GMAT tests
How I prepared
In April 2000 I did a mock test using GMAT prep software and scored 530. I do not recall the breakdown but I do remember the disappointment for scoring so low. I realised that I had to put a lot of hours into my preparation. For the following 4 months I was studying 3-4 hours per day every day after work plus on Saturday I usuall did a prep test and Sunday took a rest. It was a big sacrifice because I had to dedicate less time to girfriend, friends and work but I was s determined and I knew it was just going to be for 3-4 months.
During week days I was spending an average of 2 hours studying theory from the Manhattan GMAT (both verbal and quant) and 1-2 hours doing exarcises (on both quant and taken from the official GMAT guide), reviewing at the end all mistakes and noting them down. On any given day I was doing exercises from all prts of the test.
During Satudays I was doing mock tests or studying if I did not have spare 4 hours for the full test. I do not recall exact breakdowns but I do remember the scores:
GMAT prep 1: 530
GMAT prep retake: 590
MGMAT 1: 600
MGMAT 2: 650
MGMAT 3: 640
MGMAT 4: 670
MGMAT 5: 670
GMAT prep 2: 680
MGMAT 6: 670
I do recommend to take the full test as it helps in the real exam with stamina and expectations. After MGMAT test 4 sometime in June my confidence soared and was pretty confident to score above my target of 650 in the real thing. MGMAT are very reliable overall but I believe the quant is harder than the real thing while the verbal is slightly easier that the official GMAT. For the AWA I used posts found on beat the GMAT and created my own sketch which I used for all essays.
Final considerations
One month before the exam I studied less than I usually did and the week before I did not study at all. That allowed my mind to relax and to be less tense during hte exam. During the time I was studying I was also eating healthy and fresh food and running regurally. It really helped during the exam. When I was 690 on the screen I cried. I know there are people who are not happy if they score below 700 but considering my background and considering my starting point I do not think I could have done any better. I do consider this one of the biggest achievements in my life.
If I did it you all can. There are not secrets to the GMAT. You just need to be honest with yourself anf analyse your weakenesses and put the hours in. Altogther I calculated I studied a total of roughly 350 hours.
I will be applying for LBS r1, INSEAD r1, Cambridge r2 and Cranfield in October. Good luck to me
total score 690 / 88%
verbal 34 / 68%
quant 49 / 86%
AWA 5.5 / 77%
My background:
- Italian male, 26yo
- Undergraduate degree in marketing in Italy. Average verbal and quant skills
- 5 years work experience in UK for American corp in sales in field of financial information services
- Aimed to score above 650
- Started studying for the GMAT in April 2010
Material used
- Beat the GMAT: during spare time at work did few exercises here and there.
- For reading comprehension: read wall street journal every day.
- For critical reasoning: critical reasoning bible
- For quant and sentence correction. Manhattan GMAT: all quant books plus sentence correction
- GMAT official book 12th edition plus quant and verbal supplement 2nd edition
- GMAT prep software and Manhattan GMAT tests
How I prepared
In April 2000 I did a mock test using GMAT prep software and scored 530. I do not recall the breakdown but I do remember the disappointment for scoring so low. I realised that I had to put a lot of hours into my preparation. For the following 4 months I was studying 3-4 hours per day every day after work plus on Saturday I usuall did a prep test and Sunday took a rest. It was a big sacrifice because I had to dedicate less time to girfriend, friends and work but I was s determined and I knew it was just going to be for 3-4 months.
During week days I was spending an average of 2 hours studying theory from the Manhattan GMAT (both verbal and quant) and 1-2 hours doing exarcises (on both quant and taken from the official GMAT guide), reviewing at the end all mistakes and noting them down. On any given day I was doing exercises from all prts of the test.
During Satudays I was doing mock tests or studying if I did not have spare 4 hours for the full test. I do not recall exact breakdowns but I do remember the scores:
GMAT prep 1: 530
GMAT prep retake: 590
MGMAT 1: 600
MGMAT 2: 650
MGMAT 3: 640
MGMAT 4: 670
MGMAT 5: 670
GMAT prep 2: 680
MGMAT 6: 670
I do recommend to take the full test as it helps in the real exam with stamina and expectations. After MGMAT test 4 sometime in June my confidence soared and was pretty confident to score above my target of 650 in the real thing. MGMAT are very reliable overall but I believe the quant is harder than the real thing while the verbal is slightly easier that the official GMAT. For the AWA I used posts found on beat the GMAT and created my own sketch which I used for all essays.
Final considerations
One month before the exam I studied less than I usually did and the week before I did not study at all. That allowed my mind to relax and to be less tense during hte exam. During the time I was studying I was also eating healthy and fresh food and running regurally. It really helped during the exam. When I was 690 on the screen I cried. I know there are people who are not happy if they score below 700 but considering my background and considering my starting point I do not think I could have done any better. I do consider this one of the biggest achievements in my life.
If I did it you all can. There are not secrets to the GMAT. You just need to be honest with yourself anf analyse your weakenesses and put the hours in. Altogther I calculated I studied a total of roughly 350 hours.
I will be applying for LBS r1, INSEAD r1, Cambridge r2 and Cranfield in October. Good luck to me
