Background: I went to a Top30 Private University, majored in Finance/Accounting/Economics, and had a decent GPA (3.67). I got a 1440 on the SAT, so I felt that I could do pretty well on the GMAT.
Materials Used:
Kaplan- not recommended
Kaplan 800- not recommended
Manhattan-Number Properties- recommended
Manhattan-Word Translations- highly recommended (contains question types of the "hard" variety)
Manhattan- VIC's- recommended
Manhattan- SC- recommended, but not as highly as some on BTG
Powerscore Critical Reasoning- THE most helpful guide (besides the OG)
OG12- goes without saying
OG Quant
OG Verbal
Practice Tests:
Manhattan 1- 670 (Huge disaster, had to pause the quant section and took about 2 hours to complete the quant section)
Manhattan 2- 700 (focused on finishing Quant on time)
Manhattan 3- 600 (Disaster, hungover)
Manhattan 4- 740
Manhattan 5- 720
Manhattan 6- 730
Princeton Review- 670
GMAT Prep- 750
GMAT Prep- 770
Real GMAT:
First attempt- 710 (early Oct)
Second attempt- 780
Study Strategy:
I began studying in July (was supposed to take the test in early September, more on that later). My strategy was to go through each of my guides - cover to cover - and leave the 2-3 weeks prior to my test date to devote to the OG guides. I felt that I would retain more by fully concentrating on one subject, mastering it (or as close as I could get to mastering it), and then moving on to the next one.
Quant:
I knew that Quant would be my weak point. It's usually a joke among my friends that I'm pretty bad at math. As I began practicing (I used the Kaplan questions as a diagnostic before I start studying), I found that I was pretty good at Problem Solving (~85% hit rate) and I was terrible at Data Sufficiency (~50% hit rate). The Manhattan Guides were invaluable in "refreshing my memory".
FYI: I got a 700 on the SAT math
Vebal:
Verbal is my bread and butter. I do well with reading comprehension questions, so I didn't expect those to be a problem (started with ~90% hit rate). I wasn't as strong in Critical Reasoning as I would have expected coming in (~80% hit rate), and I was pretty bad at Sentence Correction (~70%). Powerscore's Critical Reasoning Bible is, in my opinion, the absolute best guide out there. It really dissects what the test makers are testing you on and what they are looking to trick you with. After completing that, I expected to not miss a single Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension question on a test (it also helps with Reading Comprehension). The key for me with Sentence Correction was to take my time and remind myself that, for four of the answer choices, there is at least one definitive reason why the answer is incorrect. As long as you know the rules (all of them are in Manhattan SC), you should be able to answer every SC correction with confidence.
Advice:
- I truly believe that the most effective way to beat the GMAT is by doing as many practice problems as possible. This advice might go against the common advice on this board (quality over quantity), but I think that the more questions you see, the faster you will be able to recognize how to solve a particular problem (the key to the test).
- Be aware of how you are doing. Again, this advice goes against some common GMAT advice. You know that right off the bat you're going to get a medium-level question. Provided that you have seen enough questions to get a feel for the test, you should be able to recognize and differentiate medium and hard questions. Make sure you get the medium question correct but do them quickly, so you will have enough time for the hard question (where you really get your points).
- Don't be scared by Manhattan's quant. The real GMAT is easier. Also, don't get freaked out by the combination/permutation questions in Manhattan. The real GMAT doesn't ask many (I only saw one), and they are typically pretty basic. The GMAT also classifies these as "hard", so getting these are a good thing. It means you're probably doing well, you can solve them quickly, and you can be pretty confident that you're right as long as you know the correct formula to use.
First attempt:
The night before I read that it wasn't a good idea to be full while taking the test, because it could make you drowsy. So the next day I didn't eat enough, and went easy on the caffeine (I was afraid of getting the jitters). I ended up crashing during the Verbal section (got a 38, which I think is the 86%ile, while I had consistently been getting in the 99th%ile).
Lesson Learned: Trust your own instincts. I'm the type of person that needs food to function. I eat very often. I also need caffeine to function. If it weren't for coffee, I would probably sleep 14hrs a day.
Second Attempt:
Ate well before the test. Had 3 eggs and a bagel before I left for the test center, ate a Subway sub right before I went in, and had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the break periods. I also had a Red Bull shot during each break. I truly think that this made the difference.
Final note: My first practice test was an utter disaster. I "bombed" my first attempt. If I can do it, you can too. The GMAT can be beaten, you just need to put the time in.
WOW , great score
