Another GMAT 700 debrief (Q46, V40) 75th and 89th percentile respectively. 90th percentile over all.
Am I entirely happy? No, but I'm sure as hell not going to retake it.
Where to begin? Here is my background. My undergraduate major is psychology and I have recently completed my Masters in cognitive neuroscience. I am a native English speaker and I attended the University of California San Diego. In general, I tend to think my verbal skills are stronger than my quantitative skills.
When I took the GRE for entry in the masters program, my score was 1320. 60 something percentile for math and 96th percentile for verbal. Overall, the GMAT is a more difficult test, for me at least.
A WARNING: These are the methods that worked for me and not anyone else, so take it with a grain of salt.
Past scores:
Round 1:
GMATPREP 1: 610
GMATPREP 2: 610
MANHATTAN: 580
MANHATTAN: 620
MANHATTAN: 660
MANHATTAN: 680
MANHATTAN: 680
MANHATTAN: 690
At this point, after exhausting all of the question banks from both the MGMAT and GMATPREP. I began to retake the exams.
Round 2:
GMATPREP 1: 710
GMATPREP 2: 720
MANHATTAN 1: 690
MANHATTAN 2: 680
MANHATTAN 3: 720
MANHATTAN 4: 710
MANHATTAN 5: 710
MANHATTAN 6: 700
Actual GMAT 700
There is NOTHING wrong with exhausting the question banks; in fact I would highly recommend it. The test loses its validity, but who the hell cares? Its great testing practice and there are usually 10-20 percent new questions each round that are in the 700+ range.
Books
I studied with the MGMAT sentence correction book and it messed up my verbal score many times. Most people experience the exact opposite. For me, my "natural" verbal skills are strong. Learning all those technical uses just messed with my ability to "hear" mistakes. By just following my ear I did about 40 percentile points better. No joke. I'm sure this isn't typical, but it has been my experience.
GMAT official 12th edition:
Great to begin with, but almost useless if you want a 700+ score. Begin your studying here, but the GMAT is MUCH harder and if you want a high score it just isn't sufficient study material.
GMAT official quantitative review
Same as above. Almost useless if you want a high score. It's a good beginning but it will only make you cocky. The real GMAT is much much much harder.
Practice tests:
GMATPREP is indispensable as both a practice test and study aid. Use it until you score well above your desired outcome.
MGMAT is also indispensable. They have put a lot of thought into their tests and they are only second best to GMATPREP.
Am I entirely happy? No, but I'm sure as hell not going to retake it.
Where to begin? Here is my background. My undergraduate major is psychology and I have recently completed my Masters in cognitive neuroscience. I am a native English speaker and I attended the University of California San Diego. In general, I tend to think my verbal skills are stronger than my quantitative skills.
When I took the GRE for entry in the masters program, my score was 1320. 60 something percentile for math and 96th percentile for verbal. Overall, the GMAT is a more difficult test, for me at least.
A WARNING: These are the methods that worked for me and not anyone else, so take it with a grain of salt.
Past scores:
Round 1:
GMATPREP 1: 610
GMATPREP 2: 610
MANHATTAN: 580
MANHATTAN: 620
MANHATTAN: 660
MANHATTAN: 680
MANHATTAN: 680
MANHATTAN: 690
At this point, after exhausting all of the question banks from both the MGMAT and GMATPREP. I began to retake the exams.
Round 2:
GMATPREP 1: 710
GMATPREP 2: 720
MANHATTAN 1: 690
MANHATTAN 2: 680
MANHATTAN 3: 720
MANHATTAN 4: 710
MANHATTAN 5: 710
MANHATTAN 6: 700
Actual GMAT 700
There is NOTHING wrong with exhausting the question banks; in fact I would highly recommend it. The test loses its validity, but who the hell cares? Its great testing practice and there are usually 10-20 percent new questions each round that are in the 700+ range.
Books
I studied with the MGMAT sentence correction book and it messed up my verbal score many times. Most people experience the exact opposite. For me, my "natural" verbal skills are strong. Learning all those technical uses just messed with my ability to "hear" mistakes. By just following my ear I did about 40 percentile points better. No joke. I'm sure this isn't typical, but it has been my experience.
GMAT official 12th edition:
Great to begin with, but almost useless if you want a 700+ score. Begin your studying here, but the GMAT is MUCH harder and if you want a high score it just isn't sufficient study material.
GMAT official quantitative review
Same as above. Almost useless if you want a high score. It's a good beginning but it will only make you cocky. The real GMAT is much much much harder.
Practice tests:
GMATPREP is indispensable as both a practice test and study aid. Use it until you score well above your desired outcome.
MGMAT is also indispensable. They have put a lot of thought into their tests and they are only second best to GMATPREP.
