600 to 680, not quite beating the GMAT, but worth the effort

Hi, all.

I first took the GMAT in May, and while I thought I'd been studying, I definitely had not been putting forth the effort that the test deserved.

I got a dismal 36Q, 35V. The 6.0 AWA, and 6 IR score didn't really offset the low quant score I received. So, I was really disappointed with the score and initially set out to improve by buying a lot of guides, which I'll list a little bit later. However, I didn't want to fork over the 250 dollars to re-take the test. So, I punted on the GMAT, especially when

For awhile, I thought I'd focus on the GRE. (I'd taken that test in February and gotten a 162V, 154Q. As you can see, math is not my strong suit.) But eventually, I realized I needed to bite the bullet and reattempt the GMAT. So, around October, I decided to re-dedicate myself to studying. Now, a lot of people have written what worked for them, as far as programs go!

I'll tell you, I went to Amazon, and bought the 4th Edition of Manhattan GMAT's series of 8, which is slightly outdated, but VERY useful, even now. Then, I bought a used copy of the 13th Edition OG, as well as used copies of the supplementary problem books for the OG, Verbal and Quant.

Finally, I went to Manhattan GMAT's online website and bought 6 CAT exams.

All told, I spent about 100 dollars on probably some of the best preparation you could get, and this was right after I took the test in May.

Manhattan GMAT is really good for people like me, who haven't had a math class since high school, and are on their fourth year out of college.

I started on and off for a bit when I bought all the guides, but it was in October that I got serious. I focused less on the problem sets that the Manhattan GMAT set pointed out, and more on meticulous note-taking. If I could summarize the points and concepts in the MGMAT series of 8 in my own way of speaking, I knew that it would do two things for me: give me that additional boost of handwriting something to commit it to memory, and give me a short concept list that I could reread regularly without completely re-combing through the books.

This came invaluable when I started doing 20 Problem Solving questions and 20 Data Sufficiency questions a night, from October up until the test date, with a few breaks in between due to work.

I was able to test myself almost weekly to track my progress, and my CATs looked like this:

CAT1: 600
CAT2: 610
CAT3: 620
CAT4: 640
CAT5: 640
CAT6: 660, this one being taken December 28th.

I thought, surely I'll have a week to do just a little more prep! But surprise, all tests at my local Pearson Vue location were booked out until the end of January, I discovered on December 30th. The only test available was on December 31st.

That was it. It was do or die.

Some things that I discovered worked for me: The constant process of doing 40 quant problems a night and the 6 CAT tests totally eliminated the mental fatigue I tended to get on the quantitative part. I found myself still caring about how I was doing on the math portion all the way to problem 37. This was a huge victory for me, and I felt pretty good coming out into both breaks.

Even though I didn't focus on IR, MGMAT's IR section on their CAT test felt 10 times more difficult than what was actually on the GMAT, so it gave me that extra bit of confidence.

I made sure I had a mocha, and something delicious waiting on me for dinner, since my test was in the middle of dinner. This worked out well, because most of the time I would do my CAT exams during dinnertime. The reward made the breaks actually feel like a break.

My goal had been to get a 690, but given the rush job, when I saw 680 (47Q, 36V) pop up, I was ecstatic. In my final report, I also learned I had gotten a 7 on the IR and a 5.0 on the AWA, which was a drop, but not one I minded all that much.

So, for those who have not had a math since high school:

- Write down what you learn! Categorize it so you have something you can refer back to at any time!
- Keep track of what problems you miss. I would go back on occasion and redo every single problem I had missed, to see if I'd gotten why I missed it.
- Don't TOTALLY ignore your strong points. My Verbal increased a little, but I'm sure I could have gotten up to 37 if I'd been as dedicated to it as I'd been to Quant.
- Practice like you play. That 620 dip was because I'd taken the practice test in a coffee shop, where people were pretty inconsiderate with regards to sitting next to me and talking loudly on their phones.
- To add to the former, if you get used to taking 3 hours to take a test with CATs, it makes the real thing seem less mentally jarring. Your brain is used to it by that point.
- Spending more money does not guarantee quality! I got all my review materials for very cheap, and had every advantage, provided I made myself study.
- Make sure to treat yourself during the test. And don't worry about how 'hard' the questions are, just treat yourself regardless. Having a delicious snack can be a great incentive. I also made sure to wear my most comfortable of lounge clothes. It's not like the Admissions Committees of my short-listed b-schools were going to see me in my sweatpants and t-shirt.

And... that's it. I don't think I beat the GMAT by any means, but I did have some good lessons learned.

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