660, 690....720! I Beat the GMAT!!!

I just wanted to get on here and quickly thank everyone who helped me get to my target score of 720. It was good enough to get me into a top-5 program, which I'll be attending in the next couple months.

My score split was 44Q (58%) 44V (98%) - 720 (94%), so I wish I could've stolen my 48Q score from my 690 test, but it doesn't matter at this point, I suppose. However, I do think that hurt the strength of my HBS application (which was ultimately denied).

As far as prep goes, I highly recommend the MGMAT Prep Plus program. It gave me the flexibility I needed to watch classes when I could. That by itself gave me the foundation in test format and strategy I needed and got me to a 660 - 41Q(49%) 40V(49%). Then 3 days (I was busy so I couldn't do more) of the Kaplan GMAT 800 book pushed my quant score up from 45 to 48 with a 690 overall - 48Q(74%) 37V(83%). That book is amazing; if you want to score over 700 you need it. If I hadn't had to pee so badly during the verbal portion and maintained my original verbal score of 40 I would've had the 720 then...oh well.

My work schedule got ridiculous after the second test (left the country for 4 months, working 17-hour days). So when I got opportunities, I did general overview and a lot of practice tests (800score tests are great after you exhaust the MGMAT set of 6). I spent the majority of my time practicing quant, but it obviously didn't help. Thankfully, I also perfected my verbal. I took the third test two weeks after returning to the States. I pushed back applying in round one to take the third test in October and wish I had just afforded myself more time instead; if you can apply round one, do so. I got 5 and 5.5 on the writing portion of the first two tests, but the essay template from "MyOhMy" on this site absolutely worked and using that as a template secured a perfect score for my final rep. Midway through the quant section, I noticed an obvious decrease in difficulty of the questions, so I messed up somewhere in there, but pressed through and maintained positivity through the verbal. I finished and didn't even believe my score when I saw it, haha; I thought it was a sample screen to explain what it would look like when my score came up. I think I hugged the woman who came to escort me out - it was an awesome feeling!

This is definitely a test that tests how well you know the test, not necessarily your intelligence or knowledge of the content. It's pretty easy to identify the pattern in my test scores; and although I'm not completely convinced I'd get a 750 if I took it again (following the +30 trend), I know I'd continue to improve. Keep taking the test and studying effectively and you'll reach your target score for the most part.

Thanks again to all of you who responded to my earlier posts and gave me encouragement and advice. Thanks to all of the people who posted very detailed study plans and tips and tricks - I read a ton of those posts and I know they helped.

If you're reading this post like I was last year around this time thinking you'll never get to this point, I'm here to tell you that you're wrong. All the clichÃ©s people post on these victory posts are true. The only way you lose your fight against the GMAT is if you quit. Keep pushing through it and it'll pay off.

At long last I can say....I BEAT THE GMAT!!!

Deuces.

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