Hi,

I wanted to give back and thank the Beatthegmat community, even if I took my Gmat a while ago: I graduated this year from my MBA at Columbia Business School, which I chose over Wharton (a no brainer for me).

What I changed between my first and second attempt (it worked in my personal experience, it doesn't mean it works for all):

- The first time I took the test it was in the morning and I scheduled the second test in the early afternoon: even if you are a "morning person" (i.e. you wake up early in the morning), it doesn't necessarily mean that your brain works better in the morning. Sometimes the brain takes a while to start working at its best. Of course I didn't go to work in the morning and I used that time to have a longer sleep, relax, and quickly review my hardest Gmat problems
- I took a long sleep the night before the test: no sleep no attention
- Every day, I took a break after work before starting to practice Gmat problems: this helped clear my mind and be less tired when practicing
- Worked out almost every day: working out helps reduce stress, be more healthy i.e. energized, and activate stamina
- No alcohol: I eliminated alcohol in the 2-3 weeks before the test, that's hard but alcohol slows your brain
- Coffee: even if you are not a coffee drinker, just on the test day try to drink coffee (or a caffeine-based energy drink) before the test. Caffeine improves attention. Also, eat something (light) before the test and in the break: the test takes a lot of energy
- Not a complete autodidact: if you need to improve in specific areas, invest some money in a (good) tutor rather than books (unless they are books with Gmat problems for practice), this helps easily identify and focus on those areas where you need more improvement. The return on the investment is high
- Since I didn't have much time, I avoided the theory, which is time consuming and covers broader areas, and just practiced, reviewing mistakes
- I only practiced with real Gmat problems: other problems help your math skills but can mislead you by remembering concepts that you will never find on the test. If you run out of real Gmat problems just do the same problems again (after some days), it can only help
- The first time I took the test I was trying to be perfect, that made me lose a lot of time. If one question takes a lot of time, move on. It doesn't need to be perfect: time is more important

Thanks.