). I will keep my debrief as organized and to the point as I can. I will add more items to this post later if they come to my mind.Just one month ago, I scored a 730 and was determined to get my 750: https://www.beatthegmat.com/730-q49-v40- ... 55892.html . I considered the 750 goal a personal challenge not only to boost my chances but also to boost my confidence, which is much needed to face numerous challenges on the admission road ahead.
So let me state the sole, most important reason why I beat the GMAT, the only source of motivation that kept me going duing the 8 months of preparation: I. WANT. IT. BAD. I wanted that 750 so bad because I originally thought my no name school and no name company would do little to help my app (but now I don't think they are that bad thanks to BTG posts on admission criteria) and because my friend got a 750 and admitted to Ross (I know, kinda silly).
Here is my profile:
Nationality: Vietnamese (English is not my strength, Math is)
Education: BS and MS in IT, minor in Finance from a no name US university (GPA 3.8 and 3.9 / 4)
Work: 3 years in a small IT company (1 promotion so far, will ask for another one soon)
Prep time: 8 months (of pain, and frustration, and excitement)
Method: Self-teach when working full time
Material (listed in order of importance):
- MGMAT complete package of 8 books, pen and notebook, stop watch... (provided me a firm foundation)
- Official Guide (Did almost everything twice)
- GMATPrep test from GMAT.com (the only true, accurate practice exams.)
- BTG Forum discussion (I learnt from successful members' strategies to adjust mine along the way)
- MGMAT Practice Tests. Good to improve your Quant.
- Some LSAT
Test Scores:
9/2009 : GMATPrep 1st test - 640 (forgot the breakdown)
11/2009: GMATPrep 2nd test - 700 (Q:47 V:40)
02/2010: MGMAT 1st test - 680 (Q:45 V:35)
02/2010: MGMAT 2nd test - 650 (Q:44 V:35)
02/2010: MGMAT 3rd test - 670 (Q:46 V:35)
03/2010: GMATPrep 1st test redo - 760 (Q:50 V:44)
03/2010: GMATPrep 2nd test redo - 760 (Q:50 V:42)
03/2010: MGMAT 4th test - 730 (forgot the breakdown)
03/2010: MGMAT 5th test - 770 (forgot the breakdown)
04/2010: REAL TEST - 730 (Q:49 V:40 Essay:5)
05/2010: GMATPrep 1st test redo - 730 (Q:49 V:41)
05/2010: GMATPrep 2nd test redo - 760 (Q:50 V:41) - with Red Bull
05/2010: REAL TEST - 750 (Q:51 V:40 Essay:not known yet because official score hasn't come) - with Red Bull
My strategies:
+ Early stage (3 months):
- I decided to get the complete MGMAT package (8 books, 3 OG, stopwatch...) after hearing a lot of recommendations from BTG forum. I did not want to buy many different books from different authors because they might have different strategies and confuse me during this stage. I follow the books' strategies religiously (how to draw chart, write down ABCDE,...) and do all their homework and OG questions.
- I used the stopwatch for practice questions.
- Monitor BTG forum for practice questions and strategies.
+ Middle stage (3 months):
- I finished the 8 books and concentrated more on doing all the OG questions. I found out the MGAT strategies are only good for early stage. Once you get used to doing the questions, you don't have to draw charts or write down ABCDE in most cases. Doing that for easy questions might slow you down.
- I stopped using stopwatch because it slows me down and I got a feel of time by this time.
- Continue monitoring BTG forum. Learnt about LSAT. Did 1 month of LSAT practice tests. I thought they improved my Verbal temporarily because I stopped doing them 1 month before the real tests so I don't know if they did help because my verbal score in the real test is not much improved compared to my early practice tests.
+ Last stage (2 months):
- Concentrate on redoing GMATPrep practice tests. I just reinstall software before redoing and I saw new questions every time. Avoid doing any MGMAT or LSAT questions because I want to concentrate on the real questions.
- Continue monitoring BTG forum for test day strategies.
- Learn some essay templates. Here is the one I used: https://www.platinumgmat.com/about_gmat/ ... y_template.
+ Test days (2):
- Book the exam 2 months ahead to push myself to study. If you go for 750, dont book until you get at least 700 on GMATPrep practice test. GMATPrep accurately indicates your true ability as long as you are well prepared and don't get too nervous during real test.
- First test, I ate instant noodles for breakfast and bananas/water during breaks. Did essays OK. I saw first 10 Quant questions being so easy so I took my time and wasted time on some hard questions. I ended up not having enough time and had to rush through the last questions. Got disappointed. Went into Verbal with a little fatigue and bad mood. Again, did not to Verbal quickly enough and had to rush through last 2-3 questions. Got my 730, a little disappointed. When I got home, I booked the next appointment exactly 31 days from today and was determined I would not make same mistakes again.
- I did some GMATPrep tests, concentrating on strategies to save time. I found out by not writing down ABCDE and crossing each wrong answer for RC and CR, I saved a lot of time. Also I told myself to skip hard questions during Quant although I felt very tempted to try and solve them. Do OG questions, more on Verbal than Quant because my Quant has been consistently 49-50.
- Second test, I ate cereal bars for breakfast and half cereal bar/ half Red Bull during each break. I rarely drink Red Bull but I felt it helped me a good deal in concentration and speed. I didn't do coffee because it doesn't sit well in my stomach. I listened to loud music on the way to test center. Did essays OK. During Quant, did easy questions as carefully and as fast as I can. Skipped 1 hard question. Ended up finishing with 13 minutes left. I took some time during the last few questions but I didn't want to wait till end time because those were easy questions and if I end Quant now, I will have more energy for Verbal, my weak area. During Verbal, I didn't write down ABCDE for RC and CR, like I did in 1st test, to save time. I ended up finishing with 5-10 minutes left. I truly expected 750, I got 750.
Good luck everyone. Remember to aim high. I aimed for 700 initially but moved the bar to 750 later on. Heck, you are going to sacrifice a lot of time and effort and money on GMAT anyway, might as well get an extra 50 points to improve the chances of getting into the B-School of your dream.
