I just Beat The GMAT!

I have been using this forum for the last month or so and found it of tremendous value. I just took the GMAT today- scored 720 (Q49, v38).

During the GMAT I encountered a real incompetent center tech. When I chose to take the break between the AWA and Quant sections he put me on an unscheduled break instead of a scheduled break. This lopped off 5 mins. off my quant. I had to do my quant at double the speed and still made out OK. I was still able to answer all questions. I guess those 5 mins could have sent my score up by 10 but I am still a OK. Tip: between sections get to the break screen, choose break and then ask to walk out.

Its been a while since I graduated from school. I guess had I taken it then (when my quant was stronger and my verbal was grammatically pure- years of living in the US degrades your English) my scores could have been better.


Preparation: OG 11th edition cover to cover.
OG quant review and OG verbal review.
MGMAT sentence correction
GMATfocus quant bought 3 used 2.

Scores while practicing(chronologically in a 15 day time frame):
GMAT prep test1 : 660
GMAT prep test1 retake : 700
Kaplan free test: 640
Princeton free test 610!!!!
GMATfocus 1 45-50 scaled score
Gmat prep test 2 660
GMAT focus 2 47-51 scaled score
Gmat prep test 2 retake 700
Final GMAT 720.

I did the bulk of my study in a 15 day time frame. For about 3 months I would study aboout 3 -5 hours a week.

IF I HAD to do it again:
1) I would take the Diagnostic test in OG seriously, get a handle on my strengths and weakness. Work on it for a month and then take the GMATpreptest1. Your preparation does not start till you get a feel for your performance under live conditions. This includes taking the AWA sections.

2) After this go back to work on areas of weaknesses. At the same time do not let your strengths go wasted. An improvement of 1 in the scaled score can move up your score by 10. My strength used to be quant. When I took the diagnostic test I sucked. However a couple of months and I got it back. My bugbear then was verbal. I only wish I had seen this forum earlier. I got a tip from here that the MGMAT sentence correction was the bible. I got it 3 days before the test and it helped immensely! I would take the MGMAT series seriously as they seem to be well researched. Its a pity I did not see them earler. Anyway no regrets!

3) Even if your Quant is good, (as mine was) I would strongly suggest looking into the GMAT focus. It gives you some realistic test questions (I found the ones in the GMAT easier). Also it gives you your potential weaknesses. I found mine was Data sufficiency (even before the GMAT focus). Working with the GMAT focus gave me more practice in this area. Also you can expect quite a few DS questions in the actual GMAT.I think I faced about 15 questions.

Finally thanks to all the regulars and instructors in this forum. You might not know me but your approach to solving some problems gave me a fresh perspective. Some names like LOGITECH and DanaJ keep popping.

All the best in your endeavors.

Wow!!! Congratulations!!!!

I am taking the test next week! I took 1 GMAT focus test last week and got freaked out by the result!!! All through my GMAT Prep tests, I got a quant scaled score between 47 to 50. And in GMAT Focus, I got the range of 44 to 47! I found the Qs relatively difficult and have had a relook at my prepration in Quant.

My verbal is not as strong as my quant. All this time I was planning to focus more on verbal, and now suddenly I am stuck between both and lesser time.

Do you really think, Qs on GMAT focus are a little tougher than actual Gmat? In that case, should I reduce my focus on Quant and concentrate on Verbal?

RideGMAT.
If I were you I would take one more of the GMATfocus tests between now and next week. The reason is you have a lesser margin for error in quant (you are in the same predicament I was in). This is playing to your strength. In my case my English has traditionally been strong but staying in the US has corrupted my grammar.
Whilst time is your enemy in quant it is actually your friend in the verbal section (assuming you read at a decent speed). So, I would spend more time in the RC and CR questions and try to minimize losses there. This leaves the SC. Go get the MGMAT SC book and spend a night reading it from cover to cover and then practice beween now and next week.

Also your goal should be to take 2 full tests between now and D day to get that mental stamina up. In fact do a retake(repeat the test) close to the last day to get that score level up a bit and give that ego a boost.

Finally, I had meant to say this in my earlier post. Should you feel you made a mistake during the test do not panic. You do have a decent margin for error. From a time management perspective I had a simple rule. Glance at the clock every 15 mins or so. You should have about twice the minutes left as you have questions (e. if you have 30 mins left you should have 13-16 questions left. If not try to get that ratio quickly.

Srishar

Congratulations! Great score!
Took GMAT 3 days ago, same problem as you, different outcome: good quant (48), poor verbal (32), final 650. Fully agree, should not freak out in case of mistakes.
Intend to take again, should focus on SC, thanks for improvement technique.
Good luck for application!