I spent over 500 hours on the gmat over the course of a little less than one year. I tried using self-study as well as enlisting the help of EmpowerGMAT. Rich Cohen of Empower was very helpful during the nascent stages of my dive into GMAT-world. He was incredibly responsive and caring. Over the course of my dialogue with Rich, I believe we sent almost 100 emails back and forth. Unfortunately, the first time I took the GMAT, after approximately 400-450 hours of study, I ended up with a 610 from an initial diagnostic of 600. The study materials I used during this time were:
2016 OG
Manhattan Prep Books
Empower GMAT 3-month plan
MBA.com Tests
Manhattan Tests
VeritasPrep Tests
Enter Marty Murray. This man is one of the greatest human beings I have ever encountered and I’m sure ever will encounter. He has developed into one of my closest friends over the last 4-5 months, but for the purposes of this post I can say unequivocally from my perspective he is the best GMAT instructor on the planet. Marty’s approach went well beyond understanding concepts...he taught me how to think about the GMAT and how to play the ‘game’. He taught me how to think. He taught me to realize my full potential as a test-taker and move closer to my potential outside of GMAT-world. We delved deep into the psychological mechanisms I had in place that prevented me from scoring well on the test. He taught me to not be intimidated by the test, but rather to become its master.
Marty let me know in no uncertain terms that I was capable of scoring as well as I wanted to on the test. He was relentlessly encouraging. His belief in me made me want to believe more in myself.
It would be easy, even incredibly logical to throw in the towel after 400 hours of study and a 10 point increase on my diagnostic with no test-day anomalies. However, the combination of perseverance and meeting Marty Murray allowed for me to realize my dreams with regards to the GMAT.
If there is one person that can help anyone reach their goals with regards to this ‘game’, it is Marty Murray.
Final Score: 710 45Q 42V
2016 OG
Manhattan Prep Books
Empower GMAT 3-month plan
MBA.com Tests
Manhattan Tests
VeritasPrep Tests
Enter Marty Murray. This man is one of the greatest human beings I have ever encountered and I’m sure ever will encounter. He has developed into one of my closest friends over the last 4-5 months, but for the purposes of this post I can say unequivocally from my perspective he is the best GMAT instructor on the planet. Marty’s approach went well beyond understanding concepts...he taught me how to think about the GMAT and how to play the ‘game’. He taught me how to think. He taught me to realize my full potential as a test-taker and move closer to my potential outside of GMAT-world. We delved deep into the psychological mechanisms I had in place that prevented me from scoring well on the test. He taught me to not be intimidated by the test, but rather to become its master.
Marty let me know in no uncertain terms that I was capable of scoring as well as I wanted to on the test. He was relentlessly encouraging. His belief in me made me want to believe more in myself.
It would be easy, even incredibly logical to throw in the towel after 400 hours of study and a 10 point increase on my diagnostic with no test-day anomalies. However, the combination of perseverance and meeting Marty Murray allowed for me to realize my dreams with regards to the GMAT.
If there is one person that can help anyone reach their goals with regards to this ‘game’, it is Marty Murray.
Final Score: 710 45Q 42V
