Hey guys,
Just took the exam, scored 770. Debrief below.
A bit about myself: Chinese Canadian, majored in English Literature, 24 years old.
Testing history:
GMATPrep 1 - 730 (Q48, V42) March 18th?
GMATPrep 1 retake - 770 (Q50, V46) April 27
GMATPrep 2 - 770 (Q49, V45) May 18
GMATPrep 2 retake - 780 (Q50, V49) May 19
Real GMAT - 770 (Q49, V47) May 24
A lot has already been said about how to prepare for the exam. I guess the main advice I have to give is to follow the existing advice! I especially recommend Ursula's and Twinsplitter's debriefs, linked below:
https://beatthegmat.blocked/2005/08 ... d-790.html
https://beatthegmat.blocked/2005/08 ... efing.html
Some targeted advice below:
If you scored below Q40 on your first practice run, revisit the basic math principles. Then practice - a lot. Unlike much of the Verbal section, the Quantitative section gets significantly easier with practice. There are a limited number of "question types" on the GMAT, so if you've seen a similar problem before, it makes solving a new problem of the same type so much easier and faster.
If you scored above Q47, it's diminishing returns at the top. You're best able to gain points by getting the timing down, and again - a lot of practice. It's not about whether you can solve the problems - it's about whether you have seen similar problems before, and can solve it quickly.
Furthermore, I wouldn't suggest spending too much time on the more advanced concepts such as combinations and permutations. I didn't get a single problem on these. That said, know your basic probability, and also be aware that you can utilize careful counting to solve most of the easier problems of this type!
If your problem is Verbal, aim for 100% hit rate in SC. It's by far the easiest portion of the exam to improve. It's been said many, many times, but the Manhattan GMAT book for SC will save you. Buy it, highlight in it, take notes from it, make flashcards, read it 10 times, do what it says three times... do whatever it takes to get as close to 100% hit rate for SC as possible.
For RC and CR... unfortunately, these are tough to improve on. Prepare for a lot of blood, sweat and tears if you want to gain significant ground here. If you have the time to spare, I'd highly recommend taking a Critical Thinking course. Read more - Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times.. all these are good. Again, there is no substitute for practice.
***
It's not difficult to get 700 on the GMAT. I sincerely believe that if you had what it took to do well in senior high school math and can hold coherent conversations in English, you can almost certainly achieve 700+.
In summary:
Math: practice, practice, practice.
SC: get each and every one of those grammatical rules down cold. No excuses. Study the Manhattan GMAT book until you can teach it. You'll gain way more from this than from what short term steps you can take with improving RC and CR.
Timing: I found it beneficial to turn off the clock, and only allowing myself to check the time about three times per section. This worked extremely well for me.
Last tip: if you have timing issues for Quant, I've found that the last 5 questions don't matter much at all. Obviously, don't take forever on any one question. But take your time on earlier questions if you know you can solve them - this is especially true of the first five questions (for both Quant and Verbal, actually).
That's all for now. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have; just post em below.
Good luck!
Just took the exam, scored 770. Debrief below.
A bit about myself: Chinese Canadian, majored in English Literature, 24 years old.
Testing history:
GMATPrep 1 - 730 (Q48, V42) March 18th?
GMATPrep 1 retake - 770 (Q50, V46) April 27
GMATPrep 2 - 770 (Q49, V45) May 18
GMATPrep 2 retake - 780 (Q50, V49) May 19
Real GMAT - 770 (Q49, V47) May 24
A lot has already been said about how to prepare for the exam. I guess the main advice I have to give is to follow the existing advice! I especially recommend Ursula's and Twinsplitter's debriefs, linked below:
https://beatthegmat.blocked/2005/08 ... d-790.html
https://beatthegmat.blocked/2005/08 ... efing.html
Some targeted advice below:
If you scored below Q40 on your first practice run, revisit the basic math principles. Then practice - a lot. Unlike much of the Verbal section, the Quantitative section gets significantly easier with practice. There are a limited number of "question types" on the GMAT, so if you've seen a similar problem before, it makes solving a new problem of the same type so much easier and faster.
If you scored above Q47, it's diminishing returns at the top. You're best able to gain points by getting the timing down, and again - a lot of practice. It's not about whether you can solve the problems - it's about whether you have seen similar problems before, and can solve it quickly.
Furthermore, I wouldn't suggest spending too much time on the more advanced concepts such as combinations and permutations. I didn't get a single problem on these. That said, know your basic probability, and also be aware that you can utilize careful counting to solve most of the easier problems of this type!
If your problem is Verbal, aim for 100% hit rate in SC. It's by far the easiest portion of the exam to improve. It's been said many, many times, but the Manhattan GMAT book for SC will save you. Buy it, highlight in it, take notes from it, make flashcards, read it 10 times, do what it says three times... do whatever it takes to get as close to 100% hit rate for SC as possible.
For RC and CR... unfortunately, these are tough to improve on. Prepare for a lot of blood, sweat and tears if you want to gain significant ground here. If you have the time to spare, I'd highly recommend taking a Critical Thinking course. Read more - Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times.. all these are good. Again, there is no substitute for practice.
***
It's not difficult to get 700 on the GMAT. I sincerely believe that if you had what it took to do well in senior high school math and can hold coherent conversations in English, you can almost certainly achieve 700+.
In summary:
Math: practice, practice, practice.
SC: get each and every one of those grammatical rules down cold. No excuses. Study the Manhattan GMAT book until you can teach it. You'll gain way more from this than from what short term steps you can take with improving RC and CR.
Timing: I found it beneficial to turn off the clock, and only allowing myself to check the time about three times per section. This worked extremely well for me.
Last tip: if you have timing issues for Quant, I've found that the last 5 questions don't matter much at all. Obviously, don't take forever on any one question. But take your time on earlier questions if you know you can solve them - this is especially true of the first five questions (for both Quant and Verbal, actually).
That's all for now. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have; just post em below.
Good luck!
