I just Beat The GMAT!

So I retook the gmat this morning and scored a 750 Q(48)/V(46), and I am happy as can be.

Thought I would share what I did differently the second time around from the first.

My first test I really mismanaged my time on the math and ended up rushing though the last 10 problems in like 10 minutes. I felt ok on the verbal. I think there were a few key things I should have done differently, that I did the second time around.

1. On my first test the week before I did mostly manhattan gmat tests. I think they are good tests, but not what you should be doing the week before. Gmatprep or powerprep both use OG problems which are much more representive of the real gmat material. I think overall those tests should be the focus the final week. I did one every other day the last week.

2. When I missed problems in the gmatprep software and couldnt figure out why I missed them, I went to this site and looked up the problem. I think this is critical to figuring out what key point I was missing.

3. Finally, I did all the OG 12 math problems, and made an excel spread sheet of which ones I missed, and which ones I took more then 2 minutes on. I think later after a week or two I went back and redid all of the problems to make sure I learned the material. To make sure I was doing all the problems at 2 minutes a piece I used the gmat paser program on the iphone (a timer that beeps every 2 minutes.) This also helped me to figure out were I had weaknesses.

4. Basicly, the key take away is OG is your friend the last week I think people should really just focus focus focus on OG instead of any of the other books.

One other note, my verbal improved a lot though all I did for studying was review the Manhattan sentence correction book the day before. For setence correction this book is definitely number 1.

Finally I would just like to thank the creators of this site, and everyone that has posted questions on it. All the information on the site has been invaluable.

To all those still studying. Goodluck!

J

I heartily congratulate you!

CONGRATS. what was your prev break up like;

Hi J, Can you clarify what you refer to when you say OG?

Thanks!

arcoiris: OG = Official guide for GMAT 11th or 12th edition

what a boost!
Congrats on the great score!!

I believe on my first test I had a Q42 and V 41. So I improved across the board.

-J

Jmitchell,

What did you use to improve on verbal? 41 is great as it is, 46 much better.

To be honest I wish I could say I studied a lot on something but really.... I did nothing, but review the Manhattan Gmat book the day before the test.

The last 5 weeks I focused almost exclusively on the math part of the test since that is where I got hung up last time.

I will say I was good at CR and RC before, I almost never missed a problem when doing the OG. I attribute that to a gmat class I took more then a year ago. That has always been real solid for me. I think that I just must of gotten lucky on the first few SC on the test. I remember I hit a reading passage around question 18 or 19 and it was easily the hardest passage I have ever seen when compared to the OG. Hard to understand and hard to answer the questions. So in summary, I think there was just an element of luck.

Also, "being" I hit a SC question where I thought for sure the sentence with being in it was definitely the only right answer so don't always rule that out automatically.

Hope that helps,
J

Who did you take the GMAT Prep Class through? And why do you think the Manhattan is better? I'm just curious.

v/r

Thanks for the follow up. My buddy also took his first GMAT and got 620, and then retook it one month later with very little prep and scored 710. He attributed it to poor timing the first time around, and just learned to move on with a question if he got stuck for too long.

I had the same problem my first time around. Had 10 minutes for 10 questions left in math, left me really angry for verbal. I still don't know how I managed 48Q. I think it's best not to overdo it when prepping second time, so I'll stick with your story and chill out more. Thanks!


Congrats again on your great score.

Well I took a gmat class from the my university. The guy that taught it was excellent. He has been teaching gmat, lsat, gre, and what not for about ten years. He was a really good teacher ( unfortunately I cant remember his name....). I learned a lot in that class as far as strategy and it made me to a lot of practice problems earlier on. I went over his notes the day before the test.

Why do I think the manhattan SC is better? Well for one, I really really sucked at grammar, always have, and the manhattan book broke things down for me very simply with lots of examples so I could get a handle on gmat grammar rules. I think that was the main benefit for me. Plus, they give you the OG problems at the end that go alone with the chapter you just read so it helps reinforce the grammar rules.

@mp2437

I wouldnt say I necessarily took it easy before the second test, just that I studied the math mostly. I was studying everyday, but I just didn't feel like focusing on the verbal part of the test was going to help me at all.

J