I just Beat The GMAT!

After studying for six months, and on my second try, I scored a 750 today (98th percentile), with a 46 verbal (99th), and a 48 quant (84th percentile). My previous score about one month ago was a 680, and I did not expect to receive such a high mark this time around. I was just shooting for over a 700.

Here was what I did in preparation:

Studied nearly every book imaginable. I worked with the OGs, Veritas Prep guides, Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc. I highly recommend studying with Veritas Prep. I did their online course. They sent me about 15 books to study with, and gave me access to about 10 practice tests, which were very helpful. Here were my scores on the practice tests:

VeritasPrep 2009-01-09 35 50 670
Thomson/ARCO 2009-02-06 36 42 650
800score 2009-02-21 41 36 640
VeritasPrep 2009-02-24 34 48 650
GMATPrep 2009-02-28 42 46 710
VeritasPrep 2009-03-03 40 50 700
800score 2009-03-05 45 30 610
Thomson/ARCO 2009-03-10 36 48 690
VeritasPrep 2009-03-20 33 52 670
VeritasPrep 2009-03-24 30 50 640
Actual GMAT 2009-03-28 41 42 680
Thomson/ARCO 2009-04-12 38 54 730
800score 2009-04-24 49 40 730
GMATPrep 2009-04-28 35 47 680
GMATPrep 2009-05-03 41 47 710
Actual GMAT 2009-05-05 46 48 750

As you can see, on all of the +10 practice tests I took, I did not score as highly as I did on the actual thing. I cannot stress how important it is to learn from your mistakes, and to also learn from the questions that you get right on these tests. Few people take into consideration working on many of the problems they got right on these tests, assuming that if they only focus on what they did wrong, they will get better.

TEST DAY

Some other posts on this forum have suggested that doing your GMAT in the afternoon is a better idea. I took my first test at 12 p.m., but I took this test at 8 a.m. So, I think you can concentrate just as well if you wake up early. In fact, you may be less nervous.

CAFFEINE is hugely important. Today I had some espresso before, and at both breaks of the test. Research has shown that caffeine before tests leads to higher results.

Concentrate on each section, and do not assume that because you've scored highly on certain portions of the test you will get high marks in those areas. For example, the first time I took the GMAT, I expected to get a really high math score, and was surprised when I scored in the 76th percentile.

OVERALL PREPARATION

Many people suggest that you must have a firm study schedule, and that you must work on certain problems for certain amounts of time. I disagree. My studies were very haphazard. One day I would feel like studying for an hour, and another day I could not study at all because I was so tired from work. Overall, you must study more than you want to, but I disagree with the assertions that you must work in a strict study plan.

The reason for studying is mainly to build confidence, and to know when you are right and when you are wrong so that you can perfect your timing. The most productive part of my studying was probably on the math section about permutations and combinations. I ran into only one of these problems on the actual test, but it definitely helped me move much faster through that problem.

Many people study the same thing over and over again. This is not studying. Studying is working on what you suck at. You are not studying if you are not learning from your mistakes.

ESSAYS

I followed the formula and approach of Veritas Prep. Last time I scored a 5.5, so I am not worried about the essay this time. It is more about the formation of your essay than anything. Memorize an approach and take about 6 minutes for each essay to jot down notes about the sections.

MATH

I scored lower on math than verbal, but I feel that I still did well here. Look for the trick answers, and do not get fooled by them. Read the problem very carefully. Do not waste time trying to solve a question that will take +4 minutes. I guessed on several problems in the middle, because I knew it would take me WAY too long to work out, and I still guessed on about 5 questions at the end. By the way, I chose B on all of them. My theory is that test makers know you will be guessing in the end, and most people tend to choose A or C.

Know your fundamentals, know how to work with exponents well, and you can't go wrong.

VERBAL

Here I scored in the 99th percentile. I made a huge point throughout my studies of improving my SC. Sentence Correction, in my mind, is the most difficult part of this section. It is easier to get thrown off by trick answers. It is really important that you study the rules of grammar, and what makes a wrong and right sentence. Veritas has a good methodology here, again.

With the other parts of the verbal section, you must really stay focused and look for answers that stay within the scope of the reading. I wrote down notes as I read through the RC, and always read the prompt of the arguments. The SWIMMER technique from Veritas Prep is really good.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Thank you so much to this community. I have read posts here for the last six months, and I was encouraged by the high scorers here. I hope that I can be an inspiration to people who start out scoring in the mid-600s, and want to get 700+.

Don't give up. Keep taking the test until you get your best score. It is worth it in the end. Big name schools, here I come!

Cong and good luck.....

evandrake wrote:
CAFFEINE is hugely important. Today I had some espresso before, and at both breaks of the test. Research has shown that caffeine before tests leads to higher results.

I am glad this worked for you, however for some of us with weaker bladders it was just make us need to pee very bad!

Congrats on a fantastic score.

PS: How were you able to find espresso at the test centre?

Congrats to a fellow Veritas Prep student.

Congratulations! I agree with you on the study pattern. It is not necessary to be too disciplined. It is important though to ensure that cover all aspect and topics of the test in whatever way that works for you!!

evandrake wrote:
Many people study the same thing over and over again. This is not studying. Studying is working on what you suck at. You are not studying if you are not learning from your mistakes.

Well said..Good debrief ..All the best with the applications

Awesome score! Congratulations!

u really put in a lot of hard work....impressed.

Wow...this seems unfair? To you I mean...

I scored 47Q/46V (so slightly lower than you) and also got a 750! You should have a 760, how does that scoring work out?

Either way, congrats 750 buddy

No one really knows what formula is used to come up with the total score (would be a good quant question)

If it makes you guys feel better, I am absolutely convinced that the Verbal and Quant scores actually carry decimals behind them, and these numbers with decimals are used to calculate your total score. However the scores that are actually reported are rounded.

I say this because I have seen many occasions where test takers have gotten the same verbal and quant marks but received different total scores.

So while it may seem that your math marks are a full point apart, they might actually be closer. Also there might be a difference in your verbal scores, even though they look the same in the final report.

anywho, I don't need to analyze to tell you that both your sets of marks are friggin HIGH!