I just Beat The GMAT!

Hey everybody,

I just took the GMAT today and got a 680 (Q45/V38). After doing really well in undergrad (3.85 GPA from UNC-Chapel Hill, BSBA) I was really hoping to do well on the GMAT to help me solidify me as a great candidate for a top 10 school. This score, while admittedly better than 85% (so I can't complain), does not get me there. Anyways, this community has been incredibly helpful throughout my two months of studying and I thought I would share my thoughts about my process.

Background

I just graduated in May 2013, was hired by a consulting firm and am starting in September. I do not plan on going to business school for at least two years, but many people had told me to try to get the GMAT out of the way while studying is still fresh and work isn't in the way.

Prep

I completed the 60-Day study program and kind of customized it to my own needs. I thought the program was a fantastic guideline and included useful tips. I used the OG (obviously) and MGMAT series of books to get me through the material, and took 8 practice tests over 8 weeks. I never got a consistent grasp on either Quant or Verbal, doing really well in either on some tests and poorly in either on other tests. I just couldn't get a lot of the properties memorized and, when I thought I finally had, questions popped up that threw me for a loop that I should have known. Something about the way the GMAT phrases quant questions is annoying to me (I got an 800 on SAT math and didn't think the math was too different). As for Verbal, the CR section was ridiculous as well, and although I got better, I never seemed to get a grasp on what seemed to always boil down to two subjective answer choices.

My practice test scores were as follows:

GMATPrep Exam 1 660 (Q44/V38)
GMATPrep Exam 2 670 (Q45/V37)
Kaplan GMAT 700 (Q49/V39)
Kaplan GMAT 690 (Q50/V33)
Manhattan GMAT 640 (Q40/V37)
GMATPrep Exam 1 690 (Q44/V41)
Kaplan GMAT 650 (Q48/V35)
GMATPrep Exam 2 730 (Q49/V41)

As you can see, my scores were all over the place, but the last practice test really gave me hope that I would get at least a 700 on the test.

Test Day

I had a little trouble sleeping, but got in total about 6 hours, so I was ready to go. I went for a little jog, ate a good breakfast, got driven to the site and got into the room. I was feeling great and my mind was ready to go. I feel like I crushed the AWA thanks to Chineseburned's template, and the IR started off difficult but I think overall was pretty solid.

The quant was tough to figure out. It seemed like it kept asking the same kind of question (inequality DS questions) that are always worded pretty weirdly, so I couldn't get a grasp on whether or not I was doing well. I had very good timing and thought I would have gotten at least a 48.

The verbal was MUCH more difficult than any of my practice tests. Like, a lot more difficult. I had gotten 90% of Sentence Correction questions correct on my practice tests combined, but these seemed to be ridiculously difficult. The Reading Comprehension also seemed more difficult, with sentence-long paragraphs and tough vocabulary. The critical reasoning actually seemed pretty standard. So all in all, I was kind of annoyed because it seemed like it was taking away my handicap. Ended up with a 38, which is not what I should have gotten (IMO).

Anyways, I got my unofficial score and was pretty disappointed. I know I shouldn't have expected much different since my score is basically an average of my practice tests. But I think I will have to take it again in hopes of scoring a 700+. I seemed to have plateaued and don't really have a reasonable way to get myself consistently over the hump.

Suggestions would be great, otherwise try to learn from what I did!

Takeaways:

60-day study plan is great
Get comfortable with what you are naturally good at - don't only focus on weaknesses
Don't expect the test to be exactly like the GMATPrep - mine seemed much more difficult
MGMAT and Kaplan are good (MGMAT tests seemed way harder though)

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the offer of advice!

1) I sent my scores to Kellogg, Booth, UCLA (Anderson), UT Austin (McCombs), and Harvard. I really was planning on getting ~710/720, at which my GPA and work experience would hopefully qualify me fairly soundly. I will be working in Chicago for the next couple of years, so Kellogg/Booth would be fantastic (my last boss went to Booth and would probably be able to write me a killer recommendation) but I guess I need to probably recognize where I can actually get in. I plan on pursuing a career in private equity, specifically oil and gas.

2) I would love to take it tomorrow, but with the one month necessary break in between test days, I really can decide any time between now and two years from now. I feel like I need to take a break from 3-4 hours/day of studying at least for a little bit. Maybe early 2014? It's hard to say with certainty, but I would really love to figure out a solid way to consistently score in the 700s.

Thanks preemptively for any assistance.

Wasn't your last gmat prep tests a repeat? Regardless, most of your scores are in the 600s... Why would you assume you would get that 700 mark. I would practice more until you are consistently scoring in the low 700s. A 680 seems right on mark for where you should have scored based on your practice tests..but don't get discouraged. I improved from a 570 to a 710. It may take a little longer but you'll get there.

Transfer,

I totally agree. After taking a couple of days to digest the results, I can't be very surprised with my scores. To be fair, though, I only saw 4 repeated questions (total, Q & V) when I scored my 730. And I do still hold that the real test seemed harder than the practice tests, especially on the verbal. But you're right.

It's weird not being able to get over the hump - maybe something will click the next time I start studying.

Don't stress about it. I get very nervous during tests and scored a 28 on verbal the 3rd time I took it. The 4th time I took it I was just as prepared as the 3rd... Got a 41... Difference is the 41 I was really relaxed. I also was studying for the lsat before the 41- I think that made a huge difference in th rc and cr. after the lsat, the gmat cr and rc is a complete joke...