I just Beat The GMAT!

Hi everyone,

I just took the GMAT yesterday and scored a 760 with 50Q and 44V. Now I would like to relay some things I learned to those who are planning to take the test soon.

First of all, these forums are really a great resource. When I first came here I knew nothing about the GMAT or how to study for it. Reading some of these topics on here is a great way to get started and make a plan. With that being said, I myself used this plan (https://www.beatthegmat.com/770-50-q-46- ... 40093.html) as a rough guideline.

My background
I am a European who studied finance for undergrad in the US. Moved back to Europe last month after completing my post-completion OPT. Decided to go for my Master's after I got back to Europe and hence had to work on a tight schedule to make the application deadlines.

My study plan
I used the following books:
OG 13
MGMAT Number Properties
MGMAT Geometry
MGMAT Word Problems
MGMAT Advanced Quant
MGMAT Equations, Inequalities and VICS
MGMAT Sentence Correction

I only had about 5 weeks to study all material for the GMAT due to the fact that I only decided towards the end of March to apply to a Master's program and the deadlines to apply are usually in April/May. I studied for about 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening every day (I am not currently working). I first worked through all the MGMAT Quant Guides as well as the OG 13 Math review. I read every chapter and did the problem sets at the end. I then took my first MGMAT CAT exam and scored a 700. I took this exam untimed and spent about 2+ hours on the quant section, so I was way over the 75 minutes that you get on the actual exam. I then knew I really had to work on improving my speed. Also, I did OK on the verbal section as a whole, but terrible on SC in particular (<50% correct). Between then and my next CAT exam I worked through problems in OG 13 and did problem sets from the MGMAT advanced guide, always doing 10 problems in one sitting and attempting to take about 20 minutes for this. I also read through the MGMAT SC guide. On my next CAT exam a week later I scored a 710. I was still way over the time on the quant but my SC accuracy had improved to >80% correct. After that I went back and did more quant practice problems and then took the first GMAT Prep exam. Scored a 750 and was well within the time on all sections. That's when I decided that the MGMAT quant on the CATs is not really comparable to the actual GMAT quant. I still continued doing problems from MGMAT advanced quant because it does really help to familiarize yourself with the concepts but I was not worried if I couldn't solve a particular problem or was taking too much time. At this point I had studied for about 3 weeks and was feeling good that I would be able to sharpen my skills within the remaining 2 weeks before the test and do well. I then unexpectedly received an email from GMAT saying that my test had been cancelled due to construction at my test center on my chosen date. I immediately called them and was forced to reschedule my test to the coming Monday (I received their email on Friday). This meant I only had 2 days left to study. I really had to prioritize during those 2 days and hence only spent minimal time on AWA and IR (combined probably less than 20 minutes). I took another GMAT Prep exam on Sunday and scored 750 again with no problems time-wise. One piece of advice regarding timing: something that worked well for me was, knowing my weakest quant area was geometry, if I saw a geometry problem that I didn't immediately know how to solve I usually just guessed. This never really hurt my score and saved me a great deal of time.

Test day
On test day everything went as I expected. The GMAT Prep exams prepare you well for what is to come on the actual exam. I was not surprised by the difficulty and did not have problems with timing. In the end I was happy I scored better on the actual than on my practice exams!

Main points in summary:
- MGMAT guides mentioned above cover all important areas for you to be able to score well
- MGMAT SC in particular helped me improve my verbal a great deal
- Don't freak out if you are having trouble on quant of MGMAT CAT..use the GMAT Prep as an indicator of where you stand
- Spend minimal time on AWA
- Don't be afraid to guess on some questions
- GOOD LUCK!