I just Beat The GMAT!

I just received my unofficial GMAT score and I'm thrilled!!! My overall was a 760. My Quant was a 49 and my Verbal was a 45.

My biggest piece of advice is to TRUST YOURSELF. You are smarter than you think. Do not let all of these crazy blogs and forums get into your head and make you think that everyone else is smarter than you. All of the knowledge is inside of you. You just need to discover how to pull it out and apply it on test day!

My study methods were a bit unconventional because I realized late in the game that my first method wasn't working for me. I took the GMAT 4 years ago right after undergrad and scored a 680. Respectable, but not what I was shooting for. I started my studies back in May and was planning to take the test 8/25. I used the Knewton online program first. This program is great for anyone who needs a comprehensive program and is shooting for the 650-700 range. I realized pretty late in the game that I didn't need a comprehensive program and instead needed to focus my efforts on specific topics. I also decided I needed to push my test back a month to 9/20. I hired a tutor from MyGuru in Chicago to help with specific problems (I spent 5 hours total with the one-on-one tutor over 3 sessions) and purchased the Manhattan GMAT quant books. These were really helpful and I would HIGHLY suggest them. I also signed up for daily problem emails from Beat the GMAT and Kaplan. These were fun and helpful. The last point is to keep both your verbal and quant skills strong. My verbal skills were naturally strong, but they dipped pretty low at the end of my studying because I totally neglected to exercise them. Thankfully they came back on test day, but don't overlook one section or the other because you are already good at it. Capitalize on your strengths!

Overall, I think the most important aspect of the test preparation is to find a method that works for you and stick to it. Be consistent in your study techniques. My sample tests were no where near where my actual score came out. I was testing at a 700 on Manhattan GMAT's CAT test just days before the real one!

The GMAT is intimidating and the test makers want you to feel this way. Don't let them win! If you enter the test with the mindset that you are going to conquer the test no matter what, then that's exactly what you will do. Just remember, all of the knowledge is inside of you. TRUST YOURSELF! You are smarter than you think!

Congrats and great advice. One of the biggest keys for this exam is self confidence!

Great score Hollyhirt ! 760 baby!

hey...great score!
wat all book you followed?

I would suggest the Manhattan GMAT books. I didn't need to use their verbal ones, but I found the quantitative ones to be very helpful.

Congratulations on your GREAT score.
My target score is 770, but because of verbal I am not able to achieve that. I scored 39 on my last CAT 2 days ago(overall 710). My quant is strong. I usually tend to lose concentration in verbal.
My GMAT is in 20 days. Could you suggest how to improve verbal? I want to to score 44-45.

I scored lower on my Manhattan GMAT CAT in the verbal section than I did the day of the test. My CAT score just days before my test was a 40 and my actual score was a 45.

I would try to focus on areas of weakness in sentence correction. In the month leading up to the test, I did at least 10-20 sentence correction problems each day. I would also be sure to take at least one full length practice test a week so you can train your brain to concentrate for the entire time. Sustaining focus for the entire test is crucial if you want to get a top score.

Great score mate..!!!