I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi everyone,

When I used to lurk on this site before becoming a member, I liked reading about how people had done well on the GMAT and I'm happy to say that I can add my story to that list of GMAT killers!

The Basics:

Timeframe:
3 months (late May to late August)

Books/Programs Used:
OG 13th edition Book
Manhattan GMAT SC Book
Kaplan Premier Book
Empowergmat Course
2 CATs and questions from mba.com
CATs from ManhattanGMAT
Free Videos and articles on Youtube, GMATPrepNow, etc.
Beat The GMAT Forum

Studying:
Usually 2-3 hours on weekdays, but I always took one day off/week
Usually 4-5 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Usually 1 CAT on the weekend with review (weekend usually included going back to redo old questions, even questions I got right before)

CAT Scores:
GMATPrep1: 490
MGMAT1: 540
MGMAT2: 550
MGMAT3: 630
MGMAT4: 680
MGMAT5: 680
GMATPrep2: 730
Test Day: 770 (Q50, V45)

Total Money Spent: $351 + $250 for the GMAT (no way to avoid that!)

Advice:
1) The books were pretty good, but there's a lot of advice that conflicts from book to book, so it takes a little while to figure out what's true and what's not. The OG 13th edition is a MUST HAVE.
2) Find an expert to work with. Use a course or a tutor, but spending the money is worth it. I'm looking at some potentially big scholarship money because I killed the GMAT. That's worth the extra few hundred bucks I spent. For me, Empowergmat made all the difference. On Test Day, I felt like Neo in The Matrix. I was ready for everything. The EMPOWER guys know their stuff.
3) There's a lot of bad advice out there about pacing, representative questions, etc. (and the problem is a lot of it's free). Be suspicious. If you practice something for a full month and it doesn't work, then it's not going to help you hit your goal. Be prepared to learn some new things.
4) Stay calm and write everything down. GMAT questions are actually pretty straight forward if you just stay organized. Don't EVER do anything in your head (thanks for that one, Rich!)
5) The Quant section is NOT a math test and the Verbal section is NOT a vocabulary test, so don't treat them like they are.
6) Learn which questions to avoid. I dumped 4 questions (2 in the Quant and 2 in the Verbal) because I was told to dump them. I can't argue with the advice or the results.
7) Take the 2 breaks, no matter how good you feel. Have a snack, a drink and run to the bathroom.

Now, I'm reading through the Veritas MBA Essential Guides and getting really excited by my prospects.

If I can do it, then anyone can do it. I was really unsure of everything when I started, but I learned the right way to look at this whole process and it made all the difference. To everyone who's helped me on this journey, I say thanks!

Josh