I'm done! 760

BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

This topic has expert replies

Post new topic Post Reply

Previous Topic Next Topic

mreperson27: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:43 pm; Thanked: 1 times

I'm done! 760

by mreperson27 » Fri May 09, 2008 4:29 pm

Hi everyone,

I discovered this blog four weeks ago during my prep and want to thank everybody for sharing their resources and offering assistance. I took the GMAT today and scored a 760 (M50V41). I am still a student, however, so I am not sure what exactly my plans are, but I hope that it comes to good use in the near future.

Thanks to everybody in this community, and best of luck to all!

Quote

Source: Beat The GMAT — I just Beat The GMAT! | Fri May 09, 2008 4:29 pm

kourosh: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 8:57 pm

Excellent score

by kourosh » Fri May 09, 2008 9:16 pm

Congrats! this is really excellent score. do you have any recommendation or any Lessons learned tips for obtaining this score. my exam due is approaching.
Tnx in advance

Quote

moneyman: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 468; Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:17 pm; Thanked: 5 times

by moneyman » Sat May 10, 2008 5:46 am

Mind blowing score..congrats!! Hope to be in the 700 league soon..Can u pls tell us about your test experience and how u prepared for the test?

Maxx

Quote

mbadrew: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 198; Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:16 am; Location: San Francisco; Thanked: 14 times

by mbadrew » Sat May 10, 2008 7:51 am

Congrats! Can you share your strategy with us please.

Quote

mreperson27: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:43 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by mreperson27 » Sun May 11, 2008 8:10 pm

My biggest advice to those who are preparing for the exam is to be patient and calm throughout the actual examination. This sounds easy but I was surprised at how difficult this was for me on test day. I started with a diagnostic score of 700+ so I was not worried regarding my capabilities. Towards the end of my 4-week preparation I was comfortably hitting 750+ so I was fairly confident that the exam will be a smooth ride.

Normally I consider myself a good test taker but there is something fundamentally different about CAT exams: you cannot skip questions. Because I tend to be a perfectionist, this really shook me up during the test when the 3rd question in the MATH section was the hardest question in the entire exam. I started to panic after 5 minutes, and thus guessed on the question, but it bothered me throughout the rest of the hour+ that I had to skip a question, and my morale was significantly hurt. I also realized that I started to become anxious, unable to focus on new problems and getting caught up on the past mistakes. And I could not stop myself from checking the clock every 2 minutes. When I finished my math section, I was nearly convinced that I had failed to even touch the 700 zone. At the end of the day, it turns out I did just fine in this section and if I were more patient and thoughtful during verbal, I could have scored higher as I did during my practice tests.

My biggest advice therefore is to NOT be discouraged no matter what because you really don't know until the end and you don't want to regret any decisions. Thankfully, I still walked away with a fair score but I am well-reminded that excellent test-taking ability is as important, if not more, than the content-based knowledge.

Quote

mbadrew: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 198; Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:16 am; Location: San Francisco; Thanked: 14 times

by mbadrew » Sun May 11, 2008 8:51 pm

What did you do to prepare yourself for the test?

Quote

mreperson27: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:43 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by mreperson27 » Tue May 13, 2008 7:56 pm

I used the Official Guide book and the computer GMATPreps. I took a sample test every two days for about two weeks before the exam. This averaged to 6 hours every week.

Honestly, I browsed through other books including Kaplan and Barron's and I think while practice is important, doing sample questions over and over is not the best strategy. Instead of doing multiple books, I constantly reviewed the questions on the OG that I got wrong, noting tricky mistakes and re-taking the computer GMATPreps and getting used to test-taking situations. Timing yourself is VERY important, pacing is critical, and so growing the stamina to tackle the exam is the most worthwhile way to increase your score.

Regarding math, I never tried to solve the DS question if I can avoid it. Unless it is some number crunching that you need to work out, I avoid it by plugging numbers and doing trial and error. It works out faster that way. Sentence correction is fairly straightforward, and used process of elimination and made sure I read every question. For critical reasoning, I always read the question first (but not the answers) and browsed through the essay several times, reading quickly first and meticulously scrutinizing the context for each specific questions.

I hope this advice helps - I was recently offered a chance to retake the examination (because the temperature of the room was 85+ degrees on my test day) but I did not choose to retake it. However, I am hoping they will note the unusual circumstances on the score report. Do they usually offer re-tests? I thought it was slightly bizarre, since they could not get rid of the old score anyway.

Quote

mreperson27: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:43 pm; Thanked: 1 times

by mreperson27 » Thu May 15, 2008 1:00 am

I just got my AWA score - 6.0 which was exciting.

Also, GMAT reps called me yesterday and asked me if I wanted a retest for free because the testing conditions were awful. In fact, they sent someone to measure the temperature and it was 86 degrees officially. Do you know if they make notes on the score report? I imagine for those who are retaking it, the GMAT report will try to explain the situation.