today (1/22) i took the gmat here in pasadena CA for the first time. i got a 700, which was pretty much my goal. i'm not applying to any mba programs so i don't think i'll be retesting as 700 should be ok for what i want to do. i believe i can do at least 730 as there is a lot of room for improvement in my math (and i am more of a math guy than a verbal guy). my math score is pretty embarrassing.
my 700 score broken down comes to:
quant 44, percentile: 72% wow...
verbal 40, percentile 89%
total score 700, percentile 92%
my thoughts:
AWA is the easiest of the 3 sections. prior to this gmat test i had done only 2 practice AWA questions. my advice to future gmat test takers is that you don't overstudy for this section. find examples of essays that got a 6 and read them. you will see a repeating pattern and they are pretty much all the same. i talk as if i already know my AWA score but i'm pretty confident that i got at least a 5.
the math section was pretty hard. due to my laziness i did only 2 timed math simulations prior to taking my test (did the simulations the day before the test too lol). consequently, i was not very prepared for the math section under real test conditions (ie timed conditions).
the verbal was not too bad. i have never done any timed simulations of the verbal section, the actual gmat test was my first time doing verbal under timed condiitons. i finished with 6 mins to spare.
what i did to "study" and what i recommend for future test takers:
i bought the official orange gmat book aka the OG. it's a good book and it will give you a strong introduciton to the gmat. after finishing this book you should know where you are weak.
buy the thinner verbal and/or math supplementary OG books depending on need. i bought the purple verbal book and went through it all, thinking that i was fine in math. well, my quant score suggests that i should of bought the math book too hah!
i downloaded and used the gmat simulation software (download @ mba.com) way too late (the day before my test)--a HUGE HUGE mistake. guys, this software is good stuff and i highly recommend you practice with this software early. it's great because 1. the presentation of the real gmat test is exactly like the simulation and 2. doing questions untimed is drastically different than doing them under timed conditions (somewhat obvious but i must stress this).
i did not make any flashcards or attend any paid programs/prep academies. i did zero full length test simulations. i studied maybe 2 hours a week lol spread out over 3-4 months. in my opinion you can get a solid score if you use the OG books, use the simulation software, and try harder than Spicy61.
good luck to all future test takers.
my 700 score broken down comes to:
quant 44, percentile: 72% wow...
verbal 40, percentile 89%
total score 700, percentile 92%
my thoughts:
AWA is the easiest of the 3 sections. prior to this gmat test i had done only 2 practice AWA questions. my advice to future gmat test takers is that you don't overstudy for this section. find examples of essays that got a 6 and read them. you will see a repeating pattern and they are pretty much all the same. i talk as if i already know my AWA score but i'm pretty confident that i got at least a 5.
the math section was pretty hard. due to my laziness i did only 2 timed math simulations prior to taking my test (did the simulations the day before the test too lol). consequently, i was not very prepared for the math section under real test conditions (ie timed conditions).
the verbal was not too bad. i have never done any timed simulations of the verbal section, the actual gmat test was my first time doing verbal under timed condiitons. i finished with 6 mins to spare.
what i did to "study" and what i recommend for future test takers:
i bought the official orange gmat book aka the OG. it's a good book and it will give you a strong introduciton to the gmat. after finishing this book you should know where you are weak.
buy the thinner verbal and/or math supplementary OG books depending on need. i bought the purple verbal book and went through it all, thinking that i was fine in math. well, my quant score suggests that i should of bought the math book too hah!
i downloaded and used the gmat simulation software (download @ mba.com) way too late (the day before my test)--a HUGE HUGE mistake. guys, this software is good stuff and i highly recommend you practice with this software early. it's great because 1. the presentation of the real gmat test is exactly like the simulation and 2. doing questions untimed is drastically different than doing them under timed conditions (somewhat obvious but i must stress this).
i did not make any flashcards or attend any paid programs/prep academies. i did zero full length test simulations. i studied maybe 2 hours a week lol spread out over 3-4 months. in my opinion you can get a solid score if you use the OG books, use the simulation software, and try harder than Spicy61.
good luck to all future test takers.
