I just Beat The GMAT!

I am a 25 year old officer in the Air force. My GMAT journey took a total of 6 months. Most of the work for me was in the quant section. I quickly raised my verbal score to consistently performing above the 94th percentile. So that became a constant for me. There was one rule I applied in the verbal section that never failed me. Read everything in the verbal section as though it is the most interesting information you have ever read. I was given this advice when I was studying for my Master's degree in Philosophy, and as dense and difficult as some of that reading was, the biology and anthropology that comes up on the GMAT is the definition of dense and boring for me. That said, even when reading about some bone decay that tells us about some ancient species from a million years ago, I convinced myself it was the most interesting thing I had ever read and so I read with this kind of an attitude. This approach was true for me even on sentence correction. If the sentence was about how "Mary Johnson, a renowned botanist, was perplexed by what she learned on her tour with John Smith, a famous geologist" (totally fictional), I would be genuinely intrigued for a moment about the relationship between botany and geology, and often, this level of interest would highlight a subtlety in the sentence or passage! For example, taking a second to be interested in the relationship between botany and geology (I am not interested in these subjects if that isn't clear) it might make obvious to me that the focus for comparison is these two themes or people, I might notice the parallel structure, and it might also highlight the reason she is perplexed. Meaning, maybe she is perplexed because there is some meaningful difference between biology and geology.

Anyhow, the verbal example is fictional and not intended to be instructional or anything like that, but I use that example just to illustrate my point about reading as though you are truly invested in every word of the verbal section on the exam. Additionally, I found that the more I applied this method, the faster I finished the verbal section. On my final GMAT exam, I finished the verbal section 10 minutes early reading this way. You will find over time you will have to reread passages less, you will ascertain correct answers faster, and the overall verbal section will become easier and potentially even pleasantly challenging as it became for me. For my verbal study, I completed Veritas's 6 week in person course, and then I used Magoosh's idiom app which has about 90 idioms ranked easy, medium, and hard. I completed the idioms at work when I was goofing off during lunch as well as when I went to the bathroom. Then I bought the two additional study packs on the GMAT software so that I had all 6 official practice exams, and the additional practice questions as well. So all in all, beyond the 6 week course and the idiom app, my verbal prep included all 6 practice exams, and then all of the practice questions you can buy on the GMAT prep software. Once I had exhausted all of that, I felt like a pro when it came to verbal and was extremely confident each time I took the test.

As far as quant goes, I found that studying the math was really like getting in shape for a sport. For example, prepping for a basketball season that starts in 6 months, the first 3 months might be mostly about running, shooting, dribbling, lifting weights, etc...then the next 3 months might really focus on running plays and learning to execute those plays to perfection. Running those plays enables you to implement all the dribbling and aerobic fitness in a way that best exploits your opponent and maximizes the training you have done. My first 3 months on the math section was like the off season spent getting in shape, or learning the fundamentals, number properties, exponent rules, how to factor, how to simplify, etc..etc...the second 3 months was where tactics and efficiency began to be effective and important. This second 3 months is where I significantly increased my investment and began using Target Test Prep and working with Jeff the tutor. I started using Target Test Prep after I had already gone through the Veritas course could not get above a 610 on the GMAT. A friend urged me to try Target Test Prep. Initially I was reluctant because I am not a big fan of computer based learning. Target Test Prep quickly changed my perspective on what can be gained through a computer based medium, and especially what can be accomplished online with the tutor that Target Test Prep has. I started Target Test Prep (TTP) on September 30th 2016 and started working with Jeff (the Tutor from TTP) a few weeks after that. By November 12th 2016 I scored a 650. This is when I started to get serious with TTP. Based on that improvement, Jeff encouraged me to have faith in the platform, follow the curriculum, and work with him. I took his advice and alongside the curriculum, I met with Jeff (on average) once a week until the end of December and scored a 710 on December 29th 2016. I know that if I continued to work with Jeff and use TTP, my score would likely go even higher, but a 710 was good enough for me and met the balance I needed between a good score and time invested.

So to summarize my advice and experience, this is what I would take away:
1. Read everything in the verbal section as though it is the most interesting information you have ever read.
2. If you are as behind in the math as I was, understand the math section is going to be a marathon and not a sprint, but once you have gotten into good shape, you can "learn the plays" and play a far more efficient and effective game, just like athletes do in sports, they get in shape, then they implement a team strategy for winning.
3. I saw this piece of advice on someone's post and agree with it for the most part, "don't switch horses mid-race." The person was emphasizing that all of the test prep programs are excellent and can probably get you the score you need, so having faith in the one you are using is an important part of the process. My caveat to this is that the needed level of faith can be difficult to maintain studying on your own. I think working with a tutor can really help keep you focused, encouraged, and disciplined.
4. My last piece of advice is based on number 3, which is that this process is an investment. I would recommend using a tutor for as much of the process as possible, especially the second three months I referred to earlier. This means you have to budget what this will cost you and you probably will need to save up for this part of the process. I have plenty of friends who have been studying for years, and so, for me, to have put the 6 months in and officially have this test behind me makes the money invested well worth it.
Best of luck!

Interesting read, will help all the GMAT Aspirants. Thanks a lot

NomoreGMAT:) wrote:I am a 25 year old officer in the Air force. My GMAT journey took a total of 6 months. Most of the work for me was in the quant section. I quickly raised my verbal score to consistently performing above the 94th percentile. So that became a constant for me. There was one rule I applied in the verbal section that never failed me. Read everything in the verbal section as though it is the most interesting information you have ever read. I was given this advice when I was studying for my Master's degree in Philosophy, and as dense and difficult as some of that reading was, the biology and anthropology that comes up on the GMAT is the definition of dense and boring for me. That said, even when reading about some bone decay that tells us about some ancient species from a million years ago, I convinced myself it was the most interesting thing I had ever read and so I read with this kind of an attitude. This approach was true for me even on sentence correction. If the sentence was about how "Mary Johnson, a renowned botanist, was perplexed by what she learned on her tour with John Smith, a famous geologist" (totally fictional), I would be genuinely intrigued for a moment about the relationship between botany and geology, and often, this level of interest would highlight a subtlety in the sentence or passage! For example, taking a second to be interested in the relationship between botany and geology (I am not interested in these subjects if that isn't clear) it might make obvious to me that the focus for comparison is these two themes or people, I might notice the parallel structure, and it might also highlight the reason she is perplexed. Meaning, maybe she is perplexed because there is some meaningful difference between biology and geology.

Anyhow, the verbal example is fictional and not intended to be instructional or anything like that, but I use that example just to illustrate my point about reading as though you are truly invested in every word of the verbal section on the exam. Additionally, I found that the more I applied this method, the faster I finished the verbal section. On my final GMAT exam, I finished the verbal section 10 minutes early reading this way. You will find over time you will have to reread passages less, you will ascertain correct answers faster, and the overall verbal section will become easier and potentially even pleasantly challenging as it became for me. For my verbal study, I completed Veritas's 6 week in person course, and then I used Magoosh's idiom app which has about 90 idioms ranked easy, medium, and hard. I completed the idioms at work when I was goofing off during lunch as well as when I went to the bathroom. Then I bought the two additional study packs on the GMAT software so that I had all 6 official practice exams, and the additional practice questions as well. So all in all, beyond the 6 week course and the idiom app, my verbal prep included all 6 practice exams, and then all of the practice questions you can buy on the GMAT prep software. Once I had exhausted all of that, I felt like a pro when it came to verbal and was extremely confident each time I took the test.

As far as quant goes, I found that studying the math was really like getting in shape for a sport. For example, prepping for a basketball season that starts in 6 months, the first 3 months might be mostly about running, shooting, dribbling, lifting weights, etc...then the next 3 months might really focus on running plays and learning to execute those plays to perfection. Running those plays enables you to implement all the dribbling and aerobic fitness in a way that best exploits your opponent and maximizes the training you have done. My first 3 months on the math section was like the off season spent getting in shape, or learning the fundamentals, number properties, exponent rules, how to factor, how to simplify, etc..etc...the second 3 months was where tactics and efficiency began to be effective and important. This second 3 months is where I significantly increased my investment and began using Target Test Prep and working with Jeff the tutor. I started using Target Test Prep after I had already gone through the Veritas course could not get above a 610 on the GMAT. A friend urged me to try Target Test Prep. Initially I was reluctant because I am not a big fan of computer based learning. Target Test Prep quickly changed my perspective on what can be gained through a computer based medium, and especially what can be accomplished online with the tutor that Target Test Prep has. I started Target Test Prep (TTP) on September 30th 2016 and started working with Jeff (the Tutor from TTP) a few weeks after that. By November 12th 2016 I scored a 650. This is when I started to get serious with TTP. Based on that improvement, Jeff encouraged me to have faith in the platform, follow the curriculum, and work with him. I took his advice and alongside the curriculum, I met with Jeff (on average) once a week until the end of December and scored a 710 on December 29th 2016. I know that if I continued to work with Jeff and use TTP, my score would likely go even higher, but a 710 was good enough for me and met the balance I needed between a good score and time invested.

So to summarize my advice and experience, this is what I would take away:
1. Read everything in the verbal section as though it is the most interesting information you have ever read.
2. If you are as behind in the math as I was, understand the math section is going to be a marathon and not a sprint, but once you have gotten into good shape, you can "learn the plays" and play a far more efficient and effective game, just like athletes do in sports, they get in shape, then they implement a team strategy for winning.
3. I saw this piece of advice on someone's post and agree with it for the most part, "don't switch horses mid-race." The person was emphasizing that all of the test prep programs are excellent and can probably get you the score you need, so having faith in the one you are using is an important part of the process. My caveat to this is that the needed level of faith can be difficult to maintain studying on your own. I think working with a tutor can really help keep you focused, encouraged, and disciplined.
4. My last piece of advice is based on number 3, which is that this process is an investment. I would recommend using a tutor for as much of the process as possible, especially the second three months I referred to earlier. This means you have to budget what this will cost you and you probably will need to save up for this part of the process. I have plenty of friends who have been studying for years, and so, for me, to have put the 6 months in and officially have this test behind me makes the money invested well worth it.
Best of luck!

OMG...It`s too long to read, sorry. I tried to read your thoughts but I haven`t enough patience to do that.))Would you write shorter?))

AlexBarret wrote:

NomoreGMAT:) wrote:I am a 25 year old officer in the Air force. My GMAT journey took a total of 6 months. Most of the work for me was in the quant section. I quickly raised my verbal score to consistently performing above the 94th percentile. So that became a constant for me. There was one rule I applied in the verbal section that never failed me. Read everything in the verbal section as though it is the most interesting information you have ever read. I was given this advice when I was studying for my Master's degree in Philosophy, and as dense and difficult as some of that reading was, the biology and anthropology that comes up on the GMAT is the definition of dense and boring for me. That said, even when reading about some bone decay that tells us about some ancient species from a million years ago, I convinced myself it was the most interesting thing I had ever read and so I read with this kind of an attitude. This approach was true for me even on sentence correction. If the sentence was about how "Mary Johnson, a renowned botanist, was perplexed by what she learned on her tour with John Smith, a famous geologist" (totally fictional), I would be genuinely intrigued for a moment about the relationship between botany and geology, and often, this level of interest would highlight a subtlety in the sentence or passage! For example, taking a second to be interested in the relationship between botany and geology (I am not interested in these subjects if that isn't clear) it might make obvious to me that the focus for comparison is these two themes or people, I might notice the parallel structure, and it might also highlight the reason she is perplexed. Meaning, maybe she is perplexed because there is some meaningful difference between biology and geology.

Anyhow, the verbal example is fictional and not intended to be instructional or anything like that, but I use that example just to illustrate my point about reading as though you are truly invested in every word of the verbal section on the exam. Additionally, I found that the more I applied this method, the faster I finished the verbal section. On my final GMAT exam, I finished the verbal section 10 minutes early reading this way. You will find over time you will have to reread passages less, you will ascertain correct answers faster, and the overall verbal section will become easier and potentially even pleasantly challenging as it became for me. For my verbal study, I completed Veritas's 6 week in person course, and then I used Magoosh's idiom app which has about 90 idioms ranked easy, medium, and hard. I completed the idioms at work when I was goofing off during lunch as well as when I went to the bathroom. Then I bought the two additional study packs on the GMAT software so that I had all 6 official practice exams, and the additional practice questions as well. So all in all, beyond the 6 week course and the idiom app, my verbal prep included all 6 practice exams, and then all of the practice questions you can buy on the GMAT prep software. Once I had exhausted all of that, I felt like a pro when it came to verbal and was extremely confident each time I took the test.

As far as quant goes, I found that studying the math was really like getting in shape for a sport. For example, prepping for a basketball season that starts in 6 months, the first 3 months might be mostly about running, shooting, dribbling, lifting weights, etc...then the next 3 months might really focus on running plays and learning to execute those plays to perfection. Running those plays enables you to implement all the dribbling and aerobic fitness in a way that best exploits your opponent and maximizes the training you have done. My first 3 months on the math section was like the off season spent getting in shape, or learning the fundamentals, number properties, exponent rules, how to factor, how to simplify, etc..etc...the second 3 months was where tactics and efficiency began to be effective and important. This second 3 months is where I significantly increased my investment and began using Target Test Prep and working with Jeff the tutor. I started using Target Test Prep after I had already gone through the Veritas course could not get above a 610 on the GMAT. A friend urged me to try Target Test Prep. Initially I was reluctant because I am not a big fan of computer based learning. Target Test Prep quickly changed my perspective on what can be gained through a computer based medium, and especially what can be accomplished online with the tutor that Target Test Prep has. I started Target Test Prep (TTP) on September 30th 2016 and started working with Jeff (the Tutor from TTP) a few weeks after that. By November 12th 2016 I scored a 650. This is when I started to get serious with TTP. Based on that improvement, Jeff encouraged me to have faith in the platform, follow the curriculum, and work with him. I took his advice and alongside the curriculum, I met with Jeff (on average) once a week until the end of December and scored a 710 on December 29th 2016. I know that if I continued to work with Jeff and use TTP, my score would likely go even higher, but a 710 was good enough for me and met the balance I needed between a good score and time invested.

So to summarize my advice and experience, this is what I would take away:
1. Read everything in the verbal section as though it is the most interesting information you have ever read.
2. If you are as behind in the math as I was, understand the math section is going to be a marathon and not a sprint, but once you have gotten into good shape, you can "learn the plays" and play a far more efficient and effective game, just like athletes do in sports, they get in shape, then they implement a team strategy for winning.
3. I saw this piece of advice on someone's post and agree with it for the most part, "don't switch horses mid-race." The person was emphasizing that all of the test prep programs are excellent and can probably get you the score you need, so having faith in the one you are using is an important part of the process. My caveat to this is that the needed level of faith can be difficult to maintain studying on your own. I think working with a tutor can really help keep you focused, encouraged, and disciplined.
4. My last piece of advice is based on number 3, which is that this process is an investment. I would recommend using a tutor for as much of the process as possible, especially the second three months I referred to earlier. This means you have to budget what this will cost you and you probably will need to save up for this part of the process. I have plenty of friends who have been studying for years, and so, for me, to have put the 6 months in and officially have this test behind me makes the money invested well worth it.
Best of luck!

OMG...It`s too long to read, sorry. I tried to read your thoughts but I haven`t enough patience to do that.))Would you write shorter?))

hahah totally a TLDR reply. I DID however read teh post and it is a very encouraging sharing! thank you for that