I just Beat The GMAT!

I never thought I'd be sitting here writing this.

I'm 36, high-tech professional, as busy as the next person working in a modern company. I have been toying with the idea of an MBA for many years, because I have great technical knowledge, but always felt my business knowledge lacked clout (even if I knew what I was talking about it, there is, for better or worse, a certain language of big business).

It was in March this year, when frustrated at my inability to break through the business BS in a temporary more-business-related role at work, that I decided that I was going to try and register for an MBA this year. I looked up the calendar for my chosen school and saw that their GMAT deadline is 10th June.

With two months to go, I ordered the OG13 and signed up with Magoosh. I didn't even know that people do classes and things, and I figured I could try Kaplan and Manhattan if there was time (but I knew there wouldn't be).

I used the Magoosh 3-month plan for people who want to focus on quant, and altered the days so that it would happen in two months. Aggressive, I know, but I didn't see another way.

For the first couple of weeks, I did Magoosh lesson videos and questions as per the plan, but ignored the practice tests and advice to read articles. I should say that English is my mother tongue and irrespective of that, I naturally have a good level (thanks Dad!).

Then the OG came and I did the diagnostic test. 9/24 PS and 13/24 DS. Oh dear. I thought I was reasonably sharp, but this wasn't going to be easy. I was disappointed but I guess it was a reality check.

I set about doing questions from a combination of the OG and Magoosh, more or less as per the plan. I didn't follow the plan religiously but I think it's a good framework to make sure you don't get too bogged down in one area.

When I saw I was getting to the end of the OG13, I ordered the QR and VR books. I believe in using the official material first and foremost, because it doesn't get more authentic.

After a month, I did a practice test and got a 650 (42 quant, 38 verbal). At this point, I made a call. My chosen schools only really care about the quant score (looking for around 47). So I decided that I would cut way down on practicing the verbal, and only come back to it once I had done all the maths practice I could. I never did get back to practicing much verbal, but I managed to understand some of the concepts which lifted me a bit (see later).

I know this may not be feasible for everyone, but the focus on quant instead of the context switching helped me a lot.

I finished the OG13 and the Magoosh questions, and did a second practice test ten days ago. An encouraging 710 (47 quant, not sure verbal). I was shocked at how far I'd come, and yet I didn't feel that confident. There is after all room for error, and I was right on the border of my desired mark. It's sometimes hard to know if the glass is half full or half empty, but the only thing to do is one's best.

So I practiced quant solidly in the last ten days, which were ruined by a cat saga at home (don't ask). I read my notes a few times, and I spent the last few days re-attempting questions I'd gotten wrong in the past. I think that's a very important measure of progress. To my delight, I was up to 70-80% on questions that I'd gotten wrong first time round.

Today, 740 - 47 in quant, 44 in verbal, 97th percentile. So no "improvement" in the quant score, but I like to think that the studying in the last ten days really shored up my quant to make it a solid 47, not a struggle with some lucky guesses.

I'd just like to thank people here who have given support and advice, and also Magoosh. I'm merely a paying customer with no connection, but I'm pretty sure that the $99 that I spent contributed in a big way. A video explanation for every question (especially when you get it wrong!) is worth its weight in gold.

Some random tips I found useful:
1. Practice questions two ways. Do blocks of 10-20 then check the answers, and also check answers after each one. The first way gets you into the rhythm, and the second way helps you reinforce why you got wrong answers, much quicker. Always check your answers *and understand where you went wrong* before moving on.

2. In my case, I noticed that there were a lot of careless errors in questions that I got wrong. This was good as at least I had a clue what to do, but bad because a wrong answer is wrong, whether you are clueless or careless. Once I noticed this, I made a very strong effort to breathe a bit deeper, remember that I have a chance at this, but not if I rush too much.

3. On my second practice test, I was under significant time pressure near the end. I spent the next (last) few days doing practice questions with a lap timer app. (Like a stopwatch but you hit the "lap" button every question.) In no time, it helped me focus my thoughts quicker, and before I knew it, I had taken massive time off most of my questions. I simply didn't account for how long small things like a look round the room, take, before I used the timer. It also gave me the data to know with confidence when to give up on a tricky question. If I was making no headway after two minutes, I might give it another minute, but no more. I felt comfortable to do this as there were always a few questions that I could get in a minute or under.

4. Learning concepts. It is very easy to watch or read a description of a concept, but I found it helped to make my own notes, even though I didn't review them much. I believe there is something about writing things down that helps them to sink in to the brain. This also goes for learning formulas. If you keep forgetting a formula, write it down 30 times in a row, and I bet you won't forget it again in a hurry.

5. I know people say don't study on the day of the exam, but I think there's no harm to do a *few* questions in a cafe before the exam, just to get the brain in the zone.

Tel Aviv University, here I come. One door closes, another opens. I wish you all luck on your paths, I am not a special person, and I used to read these posts with admiration that I could never do it, but I can now say that with application, focus, and effort, anything is possible.

Nice motivational debrief. I am also using Magoosh and yes, I have liked the videos. Anything specific you want to point out regarding the use of those videos. I mean, you just followed the videos as per the 3 month plan or did you do something extra ? I have my exam scheduled in September.
All the best in you applications.

Congratulations for an impressive score!

This is probably a silly question:

Based on your experience, how many wrong answers you could make in order to get a 44 in Verbal?

Also, how did you increase your verbal score from 38 to 44?

Thanks!

Congratulations for an impressive score!

This is probably a silly question:

Based on your experience, how many wrong answers you could make in order to get a 44 in Verbal?

Also, how did you increase your verbal score from 38 to 44?

Thanks!

rahulsehgal wrote:Nice motivational debrief. I am also using Magoosh and yes, I have liked the videos. Anything specific you want to point out regarding the use of those videos. I mean, you just followed the videos as per the 3 month plan or did you do something extra ? I have my exam scheduled in September.
All the best in you applications.

Hi and thank you!

I used the lesson videos more or less as per the plan (which covers them all in the first half of the plan, then the idea is that in the second half of the plan you return to the videos that you feel you need most support from). I also made notes from every video in a personal Google Doc - I found that writing down the core concepts helped to reinforce them in my mind.

I used the answer videos whenever I got a question wrong. There is something about seeing the solution being worked out that makes it stick better than just reading it.

Also, I found it very beneficial to write down the correct solution / method after watching it, as if I was doing the question without seeing the solution. I believe this helps the correct solution to sink in and the wrong solution to fade away. Thinking about it is not enough, doing it is best.

It is a lot like playing guitar which I do - training the correct muscle memory.

metallicafan wrote:Congratulations for an impressive score!

This is probably a silly question:

Based on your experience, how many wrong answers you could make in order to get a 44 in Verbal?

Also, how did you increase your verbal score from 38 to 44?

Thanks!

Thank you!

I have no idea how many answers I got wrong in Verbal, so can't help you there.

As for going from 38=>44, even though I didn't practice much Verbal after the first month, I am a native English speaker. It was just about cutting out careless mistakes (checking all answers even if they seem obvious), and learning what they are looking for. I learnt to look at all the answers, and discount the ones that were wrong, bit by bit. But I'm afraid I don't have any magic tips for you on that one.