480 to 720. Finally done with that horrible test!

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Hello ladies and gents,

When I started off, I was bad at BOTH the math and verbal sections of the GMAT. My GMAT journey has been a rocky road, but I'm finally done.

Background
I was an english major in college, and I planned to go to law school after. I studied hard for the LSAT. On the LSAT I went from a 140 on my practice exams to a 170 average on my practice exams. On the real test, however, I messed up. I could not sleep the night before the LSAT, and in order to compensate I drank two or three red bulls right before the test. During the test I froze up and I ended up with a 162 - still a good score but not what I was hoping for. This is an experience that stuck with me.

A year ago I took a GMAT practice test and scored a dismal 480. Not only was my math score abhorrent, but my verbal score was incredibly low as well. Even though I majored in English in College, the verbal section seemed foreign to me. In the sentence correction sections, for example, all of the choices would seem correct. It was very disheartening, but I decided not to let a stupid, useless, glorified math test get the best of me.

For most of the year I tried to avoid the GMAT, but I gave myself a deadline of November. I wanted to be done with the GMAT by the end of november, no matter what score I got. My sister bought a math refresher book for her SAT test, and I would look at that book every now and then. Most of the time, however, I would get slightly discouraged, and make up some excuse to not come back to studying.

6 Months to G-Day
My studying really picked up 6 months before the GMAT. I bought a bunch of used GMAT books off craigslist and skimmed through them. I felt that Kaplan and Princeton were geared towards people who want to just boost their scores by finding tricks and shortcuts - I'm not a fan of this sort of test taking. I feel like the best way to do well on an exam is to actually learn the material, then legitimately try to answer the questions being asked instead of trying to scam the system. I acquired the Manhattan GMAT ebooks, because I felt they were geared towards people with 700+ ambitions. I also sold my laptop and purchased an iPad so I could study my gmat ebooks books everywhere I went. Deep down I honestly thought the iPad would be completely useless, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was an great resource for my gmat prep. I put all of my Manhattan GMAT books and GMATPrep Paper tests on my tablet.

I started studying as much as I could bear without getting discouraged, which was only 20 minutes per day in the beginning. After a week I was studying an hour a day. Then I worked my way up to 2 hours per day. I tried studying 4 hours per day, but I found that was just too much for me. My brain could only take 2 hours per day of focused studying before I stopped retaining information. I took fridays and saturdays off...sometimes sundays too.

Studying was incredibly frustrating for me. Studying math is such a bore. Also, I was so bad at math that I had to relearn EVERYTHING. I had to study simple stuff like, "What is x squared times x squared" and "what do you do when you have a square root as a denominator". After a while though, it all began to sink in. I also read the MGMAT Foundations of GMAT Verbal, and that book is incredibly helpful. I found that I improved very quickly in the verbal department, but math was a source of great frustration. Math sucks. I hated it, but I knew I had to master it to do well on the GMAT so I stuck with it. I should also mention that although I was studying, I had not taken another practice test until about 2 months from my test date. I wanted to make sure I understood the material thoroughly before taking another practice test. Far too often I think people take a second practice test only to find their scores have decreased, and I did not want to go through that.

2 Months to G-Day
The pressure was building, because I felt I spent a lot of time studying GMAT math without actually seeing any progress. I still did not like math, but I felt like I understood it a little better than before. I decided it was time take another practice test. I had the GMAT Prep Paper tests - these are old, non-computer adaptive tests from decades ago. My first test (test 14) I scored a 710. I was absolutely thrilled about this. I actually got most of the answers correct. The math seemed simple. The verbal was easy...and then I googled GMAT Paper test 14 and found that everybody thought the paper tests were way too easy and people were getting perfect scores on them. This was a little discouraging, but I decided to continue taking the paper tests because 1. They consist of ACTUAL gmat questions, and 2. Because the questions are organized from easy to hard I can see what sort of mistakes I'm making easily. If I got easy questions wrong it was almost always due to an arithmetic mistake or a lapse in focus.

The most important thing - and the most time consuming thing - that I did was go over wrong answers. You may FEEL like you are investing your time wisely by taking a practice test, but practice tests are most beneficial when you figure out why you are answering problems incorrectly. Taking note of what sort of questions you are getting wrong, what the mistake was, then re-studying the relevant chapter(s) is the best way to improve. For example, if I got a question wrong and it had to do with geometry, I would go back to the geometry section in my gmat book and reread the relevant section. I wrote all my answers down in a little notebook - nothing fancy. I know some people like to keep spreadsheets and word documents with their wrong answers, which is fine if it helps. For me the notebook was good enough. The frustrating thing about going over your wrong answers is that it is time consuming. I would end up spending more time reviewing than I would spend taking the actual practice test.

Below is a list of my GMAT Paper Test scores.

Test 14: 710
Test 25: 730
Test 28: 730
Test 31: 690 (I tried to get a better score by spending more time
Test 37: 770 (Easy test)
Test 42: 730
Test 48: 730
Test 52: 780 (Fluke)

1 Month to G-day
Although my paper practice test scores were great, I still felt insecure because these were not CAT tests. People on forums say the paper tests are useless and should not be used as resource. I was really dreading taking an actual adaptive test. I was really afraid I would not do well on a real CAT test. Finally, I decided to just suck it up and take the first of two GMATPrep tests. When I took GMATPrep CAT Test 1, I was super nervous. I knew this was the closest thing to the real test, and I kept thinking about that fact. I got so nervous that I froze up. I just sat there staring at the screen, reading and rereading the same math problem over and over again for like 10 minutes. I thought I totally bombed. I snapped myself out of it, and completed the test. I was expecting a 500 or 600, but luckily I scored a 710. This, again, was a huge shock because I got something like 18 questions wrong. On the paper tests, you can get maybe 5-8 wrong to get a 700+. How I got a 710 after getting 18 wrong didn't make sense to me, but whatever.

I had to conquer my test anxiety, because I did not want to get anxious and freeze up on the actual GMAT. Taking the test at home, where I am comfortable and relaxed is different from taking the GMAT at the test center. At home I know the test does not matter, but of course the real one does. I decided to make a conscious effort to relax, breathe deeply if I got nervous, and just try to relax. I took the second GMATPrep test and scored a 730. I was thrilled with this score. Then something terrible happened.

2 Weeks until G-Day
I got sick. I vomited once at home, felt weak and dehydrated. I drove to the grocery store to get some gatorade. Then on the way home from the grocery store I threw up again, then again once more. I felt horrible. I was dehydrated, and I could not keep anything down. I was completely out of commission and bed ridden for three days. I had a fever, and I felt like I was dying. I was afraid I would have to go to the hospital, but my condition improved. After the three days I just felt really weak. In a way the illness was a good thing, because before I got sick all I did was think about the GMAT. When I was sick, all I cared about was getting better and being able to eat and drink again. There are worse things in life than doing poorly on some standardized test, and my illness reminded me of this fact.

1 Week to Go!
When I got better I had about a week to go before the GMAT, and I still did not feel 100% prepared. I did not feel like a math whiz, and I definitely felt like I should have studied for the verbal section more. Still, I felt that since I was getting 730's in the practice tests, I would be okay regardless. Then on a whim I decided to buy GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1 and take just one more practice test. I wanted to just make sure I was in practice and warmed up and ready for the test. I took the first test and I got a 690. Part of the problem this time was I got a little anxious again, and part of the problem was I tried to get higher than a 730. I tried to be a hero and get every question right, which of course led to me spending too much time on questions I didn't understand, which left too little time to correctly answer questions I did understand.

I was a little bit shaken by my 690. Part of me knew it was just anxiety and being overambitious, but part of me was once again insecure. I decided to take one final exam like 3 days before the real test. I know taking a practice test so close to test day is frowned upon, but I didn't care. I felt like taking one final test would put my mind at ease. Plus I spent money on the thing, so I might as well. I took the test, tried to relax, didn't try to answer every question, and I got a 730. I was happy, healthy, relaxed.

The night before
I know I shouldn't have, but I tried to read the entire MGMAT sentence correction book. Then I got tired, watched a tv show and fell asleep at 9pm.

Test Day
I got a good night's rest and woke up early. I drank 1 cup of coffee and had a bowl of cornflakes like I always do. I did not have any red bull or adderall. I arrived at the test center early - too early, actually. I was there a full hour before my test. I sat in the lobby of the building, waiting to be called up. I listened to music, went over some flash cards I made, and just tried to relax.

I went into the test center, signed in, had my palm scanned, and waited to be called in. The staff was very professional, and to my surprise I was very calm. The only thing that was annoying was there were construction workers using a jackhammer outside. Still that didn't matter. I didn't care about the writing section, and when the IR part came up, I had to go to the bathroom really bad so I left with the timer running. I got back and finished the section as best as I could, but really I didn't care about the IR section either. I remember seeing one question I didn't feel like even approaching so I guessed and went to the next one. The math section seemed to go smoothly. I was good with timing, skipping hard questions, etc. The verbal section was actually harder than usual, but maybe it was a little bit of anxiety. During the verbal section I once again had to go to the bathroom - something about tests makes my bladder go into overdrive. I left, came back, and finished with 1 minute to spare.

Then my score popped up: 720. I honestly felt like I was going to get a 650-690, but I'm happy with a 720. When I saw the score I expected to be overcome with a feeling of happiness and relief, but I was actually just tired and a little upset I didn't get a 730. Still, before the test I told myself I would not retake the test no matter what. A 600 level score would have been good enough to get me into a decent school. Of course now, I MIGHT be able to get into a top ten school. I'm happy to be done with that awful, AWFUL test. My heart goes out to everyone out there studying. Just hang in there, relax, and you'll do fine.
Vote for Quimby. He'd vote for you.

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by sanobar » Fri Dec 06, 2013 1:17 am
Thank you for a good read!

Is there any link for the paper CAT's?

I would also want to try them!

Thank you,
Sanobar

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by [email protected] » Fri Dec 06, 2013 1:30 pm
Hi sanobar,

The GMAC paper tests are available from www.mba.com. While they are a nice source for formerly used Official questions, it's worth noting that a pencil-and-paper exam doesn't properly simulate what an Official Computer Adaptive Test will "feel" like. It doesn't adapt, doesn't physically "test" you in the same way that the CAT will and doesn't require the same level of psychological discipline that the real GMAT demands. I think of them as great sources for practice, but NOT for determining current level of ability. If you plan to use this resource, then you should factor that into your overall plan.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by sanobar » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:37 pm
Thank you Rich for your input!
I will keep that in mind

Sanobar

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by bonzolientje » Wed Dec 11, 2013 2:45 am
Thank you for sharing your story.
I am going to a similar face, so it is motivating to see the progress you've made.

Good luck with your admission.

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by kathleen1986 » Wed Dec 11, 2013 11:54 am
This is such an inspiring article.

Keep up the hard work!

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by kelleygrad05 » Wed Dec 11, 2013 2:24 pm
First off props for your screen name. Second, FINALLY someone who wasn't a non-native, not english as a first language account of a DRAMATIC increase in score. Many of the forums are filled with accounts of test takers with near flawless quant scores and low verbal scores due to being a foreign national/etc. I can't relate to these unfortunately. I minored in English in school and scored a 510 on my diagnostic the first time, low verbal and like you, abhorrent quant score. I'm taking the MGMAT course right now. But this story is so uplifting and reassuring. Congrats btw, bravo.