I just Beat The GMAT!

I took the GMAT this morning and got a score of 700 (Q47/V39) without about 2 months of prep amidst a hectic travel schedule and job demands. A little disappointed that I didn't do as well as I would have hoped on the Verbal section but for what it's worth, I'm grateful that I got the score I did.

I had an epiphany 2 months ago that I wanted to pursue an Executive MBA program (I'm 35, have about 13 years of work experience, a masters in Computer Science and work as a software architect at the Walt Disney Co. in Cali). So I immediately went ahead and set my test date as Dec 20th in order to give myself the motivation I needed to start studying for the test.

I credit this forum and GMATClub immensely for the volumes of information and inspiration I received along the way. I got my hands on the Manhattan 8 Strategy Guides (which I must tell you are a MUST-HAVE for someone who has been out of school for a while) to brush up on quantitative and verbal concepts. The reviews I read about these books on Amazon spelled out very clearly the means to the outcome I had hoped for today - follow the strategies provided in these books to the last letter.

In addition to these books, I also received access to Manhattan's 6 practice tests. I also took advantage of the free practice tests provided by Kaplan, Veritas Prep, Princeton Review and Knewton. I must admit though that, in retrospect, the number of practice tests I took were probably a little excessive, given that most of these tests used seemingly different algorithms to calculate the scaled scores. Here is a breakdown of my practice test scores in the order that I took them:

MGMAT 1 (With No Prep): 580 (Q37/V33)
Kaplan Practice Test : 620
GMATPrep 1: 670(Q46/V35)
MGMAT 2:670 (Q46/V35)
MGMAT 3:670 (Q46/V35)
MGMAT 4:650 (Q42/V38)
Knewton Practice Test: 640 (Q40/V39)
Veritas Prep Practice Test: 630 (Q40/V38)
Princeton Review Practice Test: 610 (Q39/V37)

As you can see the swing in scores on these last 3 were fairly dramatic and I began to panic (I was taking 2 practice tests every weekend) However, someone on this forum suggested that I stop taking practice tests and instead focus almost entirely on review. This was about 3 weeks before my actual exam. I took his advice and switched gears and created a cheat sheet for Quant and verbal that I kept adding to and reviewing every day. The results immediately reflected on the next 3 practice tests.

MGMAT 5: 700 (Q42/V42)
MGMAT 6: 700 (Q42/V42)
GMATPrep 2: 720 (Q49/V40)

Here's what worked for me:

Critical Reasoning: CR Bible is probably the best book out there for this. The explanations are top notch and really helped my understanding of how to attack this question type. Strategies such as Negation were super useful.

Sentence Correction: Manhattan's SC Guide is about the most comprehensive when it comes to SC. Even though my grammar is naturally good, I found the SC guide especially useful for idioms.

Quant: All the MGMAT guides are exceptional when it comes to refreshing yourself on fundamentals and they go through painstaking lengths to explain concepts and give great strategies on shortcuts. BIG props to MGMAT on these.

RC: I didnt find any guide particularly compelling as far as strategies for RC are concerned, but what I will say is that the key to getting these questions right is to train yourself to read quickly and understand what you are reading at the same time. Jot down key phrases as you are reading and refer to them as you answer questions. I applied a lot of the same principles I picked up in CR for RC - staying close to the passage when answering questions, not drawing inferences beyond what is almost explicitly stated in the passage etc - you guys know the drill.

I would be completely remiss if I didn't mention Grockit as an absolutely amazing resource especially towards the end of my prep period. Grockit's question bank is mostly recycled questions from old GMATs and from all the OGs and they have about the closest look and feel to what comes in the real test. In some cases (especially verbal), I found Grockit's Verbal Challenges and targeted practice immensely useful and really helped me hone in on my problem areas towards the end so I could spend a little extra time on those areas. Very, very useful site and a great value for the money (Only 20 bucks a month).

All in all, it's been a short but eventful journey for me and I am thankful that it is over and I can now enjoy the holidays. I hope this is useful for anyone going to take the test. Remember - half the battle is believing that you can do it. Keep the nerves down, stay calm while taking the test and get a lot of sleep the night before! They all helped me.

I have my application submitted at UCLA Anderson, also thinking maybe UC Berkeley and Columbia? Is this score enough for an EMBA at these schools?

Good luck. Beat the GMAT!

700 is a Real Good Score ! Congratulations! and Yes Happy Holidays !

Congrats! 700 is a good score for FT programs, so it's definitely good enough for EMBA programs where the GMAT is de-emphasized and more attention is paid to work experience.

Agree with Bschool2013. The 700 score is pretty much the threshold for the top schools, and it is more than competitive for the EMBA.

Congrats on beating the GMAT and good luck with your app!

Wharton West could be with-in your reach as well!!

Thanks guys for your comments. Got my AWA score today - 6.0 - happy with that result.

I got accepted at UCLA Anderson! Got my admissions letter today.

Congratulations. Any other schools you are aiming towards??