While many of the posters here might consider my score a "failure", I am very very happy to have achieved a 710 (45q, 41v) on my GMAT yesterday, and I owe my success to this forum!
I would not recommend my approach for anyone considering taking the GMAT. Initially I planned on spending around 3 months preparing for the test, but life circumstances out of my control forced me to accelerate my timetable, and I found myself with just over 3 weeks to prepare. Now, that alone might have been a challenge, but in addition, the last time I took advanced math was in high school (it was a college level course for credit), and believe me--I'm further removed from high school than most MBA candidates!! Not only was I completely rusty on most of the quantitative problems, but I also had never touched probability or combinations/permutations in my life. Luckily I did have a few things working in my favor. I am a voracious reader, so even though I don't have a fabulous recall for persnickety rules of grammar, I have an extensive vocabulary and I generally recognize what sounds "best" in a sentence. I also have always been relatively relaxed when it comes to standardized test taking, so I didn't have any concerns on the mental front.
The way I structured my preparations was that I began by putting myself through an intensive mathematics boot camp. To address my lack of familiarity with probability, etc, I spent a day teaching myself the concepts beyond formulas--I made sure I could see *why* the equations made sense, rather than just sitting around plugging numbers into them. There are so many resources online that I had no trouble finding clear explanations of various theories, and I soon felt reasonably comfortable with those topics. I also went back and reviewed the basics of algebra, geometry and calculus. Since I had some background in those topics, I was in better shape, but I still had forgotten a number of rules that are vital to GMAT success.
I had neither time nor resources to sign up for any professional GMAT tutoring, so after my math refresher "course", I took a couple of practice tests to see where my weaknesses were. I found that I was having the most trouble in Data Sufficiency and in Reading Comprehension. I tended to respond impulsively, rather than fully examining the question, and I often fell for the "trick" answer. My shortcomings in math were also affecting my DS scores, as the questions often rely on a greater knowledge of the principals of numbers and equations, rather than on practical applications. So I often found myself missing questions because I didn't remember basic rules. I did occasionally make errors in SC, but I felt that I was better off relying on my instinct rather than confusing myself with trying to learn extensive rules and lists of idioms in a short time frame.
I spent the majority of my studying time on these boards working through various practice questions that the members have posted. What I liked best was that if I couldn't figure out the problem on my own, members and experts would post a variety of detailed explanations. If you don't understand the underlying concept, having a few explanations makes it a lot easier to find your mistakes than having one "official" explanation. Sometimes having just one extra step explained or demonstrating the problem from a slightly different angle was the key I needed to understand how to approach the problem. I also learned to approach the DS and RC problems more methodically through these examples. Instead of jumping on an answer, I found myself mentally going through the same checklists that members here use in their answers: "That answer is out of scope! That answer contradicts the passage!" By my last practice test, I had improved my RC to the point where I only made 1-2 errors, and those were questions where I was debating between two very similar answers.
As for the AWA, I felt proficient enough with it that it seemed of little use to spend much effort focusing on it. The difference between "studying" and "not studying" was likely to be less than a half point, so I felt I was better off focusing my efforts on the areas where I could greatly improve. My only mistake is that if I had taken a little bit of time to look at the AWA forums here (before yesterday, lol), I would have found the official list of topics from MBA.com, and I would have been able to spend 15 minutes a day figuring out how to break down each potential topic. That preparation would have been quite helpful on test day!
I took my test yesterday afternoon on a record hot day, which is only noteworthy in that I was scared to death that my test center would be hit by a rolling blackout. (They happen here during heatwaves) I couldn't find any information online about what would happen if the power went out before I was finished with the test, and I had visions of being one click away from finishing, and having the screen go blank, lol! Luckily, no such calamity befell me, and my testing experience was completely uneventful. I brought a small snack to the center, but I had eaten lunch shortly before heading over, and I didn't end up touching it. I also brought a light sweater, on the off chance that the AC was set unbearably cold, which did cause a few amusing reactions as I was walking over to the center in the broiling heat.
I felt very confident with the "Argument" portion of the AWA, and felt that my essay on that portion was the best out of all of the practice essays I'd written. On the "Issue" portion, I received a topic that I had happened to look at on the official list, but unfortunately it was the one topic that was completely flat and uninspiring to me. I put in a good effort on it, and I believe I did fine overall, but I'm very glad I don't have to see that essay ever again!
One thing that I wasn't exactly prepared for was that after I finished the AWA, the software gave me two choices. I could either continue with the next section, or I could leave the room. I wanted to sit quietly and just take a breather, but if the proctor saw that you had the break up on your screen, he would come in to escort you out. So I ended up declining the breaks and just plowed on with the test.
The only thing noteworthy out of the Quantitative and Verbal sections was that the first 10 problems on the Quantitative section were so difficult for me, I began to worry that I was completely unprepared. I did eventually see a number of problems that I was fine with, but I had blown my schedule struggling with the first ten, and I was forced to guess on the last five questions to get answers in before the section ended. I had never had serious time issues with any of the practice tests, so I was unprepared for facing such a drastic time deficit on test day. I'd recommend really memorizing the benchmark times ("The clock should be at X time or greater after Y problems). I had been nervous about working with the scratchboard, but it was very easy to use, and the 8 pages were plenty for me.
I also was asked to take the Integrated Reasoning section, and my one complaint there was that I was *really* looking forward to taking a break after the "real" test. By that point, I really wanted to stretch my legs and get a sip of water. But the software does not offer a break, and I was pushed immediately into the extra section. I found that by that point, my brain was fried, and it was a lot harder than it normally would be for me to do problems like that. As for the IR section, I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, I think the type of problem solving that it measures is far more related to most business demands than anything else on the GMAT. On the other hand, a number of the problems tended to involve 2-3 steps, and many of the charts were hard to read, so a few times I'd get to the end, and none of the answers would match my results. I had 12 questions to answer in the 30 minute time frame, and I was definitely up against the clock by the end.
As I said, I never would recommend trying to tackle the GMAT in such a short time. I worked an average of 8 hours a day on preparation, and while I succeeded and got a grade I am pleased with, I don't think my approach was the right way to go about it. I also think the forums here are a fabulous resource--without the explanations of concepts and discussion of problems to help me grasp unfamiliar concepts, my score would have been far lower. So thank you all!
I would not recommend my approach for anyone considering taking the GMAT. Initially I planned on spending around 3 months preparing for the test, but life circumstances out of my control forced me to accelerate my timetable, and I found myself with just over 3 weeks to prepare. Now, that alone might have been a challenge, but in addition, the last time I took advanced math was in high school (it was a college level course for credit), and believe me--I'm further removed from high school than most MBA candidates!! Not only was I completely rusty on most of the quantitative problems, but I also had never touched probability or combinations/permutations in my life. Luckily I did have a few things working in my favor. I am a voracious reader, so even though I don't have a fabulous recall for persnickety rules of grammar, I have an extensive vocabulary and I generally recognize what sounds "best" in a sentence. I also have always been relatively relaxed when it comes to standardized test taking, so I didn't have any concerns on the mental front.
The way I structured my preparations was that I began by putting myself through an intensive mathematics boot camp. To address my lack of familiarity with probability, etc, I spent a day teaching myself the concepts beyond formulas--I made sure I could see *why* the equations made sense, rather than just sitting around plugging numbers into them. There are so many resources online that I had no trouble finding clear explanations of various theories, and I soon felt reasonably comfortable with those topics. I also went back and reviewed the basics of algebra, geometry and calculus. Since I had some background in those topics, I was in better shape, but I still had forgotten a number of rules that are vital to GMAT success.
I had neither time nor resources to sign up for any professional GMAT tutoring, so after my math refresher "course", I took a couple of practice tests to see where my weaknesses were. I found that I was having the most trouble in Data Sufficiency and in Reading Comprehension. I tended to respond impulsively, rather than fully examining the question, and I often fell for the "trick" answer. My shortcomings in math were also affecting my DS scores, as the questions often rely on a greater knowledge of the principals of numbers and equations, rather than on practical applications. So I often found myself missing questions because I didn't remember basic rules. I did occasionally make errors in SC, but I felt that I was better off relying on my instinct rather than confusing myself with trying to learn extensive rules and lists of idioms in a short time frame.
I spent the majority of my studying time on these boards working through various practice questions that the members have posted. What I liked best was that if I couldn't figure out the problem on my own, members and experts would post a variety of detailed explanations. If you don't understand the underlying concept, having a few explanations makes it a lot easier to find your mistakes than having one "official" explanation. Sometimes having just one extra step explained or demonstrating the problem from a slightly different angle was the key I needed to understand how to approach the problem. I also learned to approach the DS and RC problems more methodically through these examples. Instead of jumping on an answer, I found myself mentally going through the same checklists that members here use in their answers: "That answer is out of scope! That answer contradicts the passage!" By my last practice test, I had improved my RC to the point where I only made 1-2 errors, and those were questions where I was debating between two very similar answers.
As for the AWA, I felt proficient enough with it that it seemed of little use to spend much effort focusing on it. The difference between "studying" and "not studying" was likely to be less than a half point, so I felt I was better off focusing my efforts on the areas where I could greatly improve. My only mistake is that if I had taken a little bit of time to look at the AWA forums here (before yesterday, lol), I would have found the official list of topics from MBA.com, and I would have been able to spend 15 minutes a day figuring out how to break down each potential topic. That preparation would have been quite helpful on test day!
I took my test yesterday afternoon on a record hot day, which is only noteworthy in that I was scared to death that my test center would be hit by a rolling blackout. (They happen here during heatwaves) I couldn't find any information online about what would happen if the power went out before I was finished with the test, and I had visions of being one click away from finishing, and having the screen go blank, lol! Luckily, no such calamity befell me, and my testing experience was completely uneventful. I brought a small snack to the center, but I had eaten lunch shortly before heading over, and I didn't end up touching it. I also brought a light sweater, on the off chance that the AC was set unbearably cold, which did cause a few amusing reactions as I was walking over to the center in the broiling heat.
I felt very confident with the "Argument" portion of the AWA, and felt that my essay on that portion was the best out of all of the practice essays I'd written. On the "Issue" portion, I received a topic that I had happened to look at on the official list, but unfortunately it was the one topic that was completely flat and uninspiring to me. I put in a good effort on it, and I believe I did fine overall, but I'm very glad I don't have to see that essay ever again!
One thing that I wasn't exactly prepared for was that after I finished the AWA, the software gave me two choices. I could either continue with the next section, or I could leave the room. I wanted to sit quietly and just take a breather, but if the proctor saw that you had the break up on your screen, he would come in to escort you out. So I ended up declining the breaks and just plowed on with the test.The only thing noteworthy out of the Quantitative and Verbal sections was that the first 10 problems on the Quantitative section were so difficult for me, I began to worry that I was completely unprepared. I did eventually see a number of problems that I was fine with, but I had blown my schedule struggling with the first ten, and I was forced to guess on the last five questions to get answers in before the section ended. I had never had serious time issues with any of the practice tests, so I was unprepared for facing such a drastic time deficit on test day. I'd recommend really memorizing the benchmark times ("The clock should be at X time or greater after Y problems). I had been nervous about working with the scratchboard, but it was very easy to use, and the 8 pages were plenty for me.
I also was asked to take the Integrated Reasoning section, and my one complaint there was that I was *really* looking forward to taking a break after the "real" test. By that point, I really wanted to stretch my legs and get a sip of water. But the software does not offer a break, and I was pushed immediately into the extra section. I found that by that point, my brain was fried, and it was a lot harder than it normally would be for me to do problems like that. As for the IR section, I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, I think the type of problem solving that it measures is far more related to most business demands than anything else on the GMAT. On the other hand, a number of the problems tended to involve 2-3 steps, and many of the charts were hard to read, so a few times I'd get to the end, and none of the answers would match my results. I had 12 questions to answer in the 30 minute time frame, and I was definitely up against the clock by the end.
As I said, I never would recommend trying to tackle the GMAT in such a short time. I worked an average of 8 hours a day on preparation, and while I succeeded and got a grade I am pleased with, I don't think my approach was the right way to go about it. I also think the forums here are a fabulous resource--without the explanations of concepts and discussion of problems to help me grasp unfamiliar concepts, my score would have been far lower. So thank you all!
