760 (99th percentile Q49 V44)

Find out how Beat The GMAT members tackled GMAT test prep with positive results. Get tips on GMAT test prep materials, online courses, study tips, and more.
This topic has expert replies
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:59 am

760 (99th percentile Q49 V44)

by ccn2368 » Fri Aug 13, 2010 10:55 am
Just took the GMAT this morning (13 Aug) and I could not be happier with my score. Honestly I think I'm still in shock. Thank you to everyone on this forum, I can't tell you how many times I came here for help and advice.

About me:
25 year old native english speaker
I work in the arts, but on the business side

My study plan:

I bought the OG and Kaplan in April 2010 but let them sit in the corner until May. In May I took the diagnostic tests in which I did great in verbal but not so great in math. Thus I started by reading the math reviews and doing practice problems. In June I had deadlines at work so I didn't have time to do much studying. I started to buckle down in July (a little late honestly) and finished almost all the math practice problems in both the OG and Kaplan. Generally speaking I liked the math review in Kaplan but didn't like their sample problems. As many people have said the OG is really the source to rely on. Given that I had scored so well on the verbal diagnostic I only spent 3 days reviewing verbal and doing practice problems, could have spent a little longer in hindsight. I spent 2 days on AWA. There are several posts on this forum that provide great outlines. For me the most important thing was to write full essays in my practice exams to get my stamina up. Between 25 July and 9 August I took 4 practice tests. I though the Kaplan practice tests were scaled way down (as you can see below), after taking the first one I was terrified. But the GMATprep ones went much better and I convinced myself they were more representative, and my score seems to suggest that. I will admit that I didn't study nearly as long as many people but I did complete almost every practice problem in the OG and I think that was the best prep available.

Practice Tests:
Kaplan 1-570
GMATprep 1-730
Kaplan 2-590
GMATprep 2-720

While taking the test I had no idea how I was doing, it really could have gone either way. I took the exam at 8am which was rather early, however, it did mean that I couldn't stress myself too much in the morning since I had to get going and it was nice to have the afternoon to decompress. I also only did about 30 minutes of review for the three days before the exam, there were things I didn't know but I didn't want to spend the last few days freaking out.

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 138
Joined: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:59 am
Thanked: 1 times

by skins81 » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:30 am
great score. What helped you the most to prepare for Quant and Verbal?

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 422
Joined: Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:47 am
Thanked: 22 times
Followed by:1 members
GMAT Score:680

by beatthegmatinsept » Fri Aug 13, 2010 11:30 am
Congrats on the awesome score!!

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 362
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:18 am
Thanked: 26 times
Followed by:1 members

by indiantiger » Fri Aug 13, 2010 12:36 pm
Great score
"Single Malt is better than Blended"

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:59 am

by ccn2368 » Sat Aug 14, 2010 8:04 am
skins81 wrote:great score. What helped you the most to prepare for Quant and Verbal?
I relied most heavily on the OG. I did almost every practice question and then went back a few weeks later and did them again. Anything I got wrong twice I really focused on making sure I learned the concepts behind. I liked the math review in kaplan, I think it addressed all the concepts, but the practice questions were not nearly as good as the OG. For verbal I relied on the OG as well for practice but actually used this forum a lot, several people have posted useful SC study guides. As a native english speaker the verbal wasn't too difficult for me so I spent 90% of my time working on the quant section.

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 138
Joined: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:59 am
Thanked: 1 times

by skins81 » Sat Aug 14, 2010 1:08 pm
so do you think just doing problems from OG 11 is enough to do well on the test? I have the MGMAT books for concepts. Is that enough?

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 82
Joined: Thu May 27, 2010 12:23 pm
Location: Newyork
Thanked: 2 times
Followed by:3 members

by selfmade » Sat Aug 14, 2010 1:36 pm
Great score , congrats !!
----------
Aiming for 780

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 191
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:27 am
Thanked: 6 times
Followed by:2 members

by ashish2104 » Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:38 am
Congrats on a wonderful score.

Can u brief on SC questions based on their similarity to either OG questions or from other source?

Thanks in advance