720 (Q48 / V41)
Done and done. I'm absolutely thrilled. BTG has been a great resource, and I feel I should share with you some of my learnings.
1. If at first you don't succeed, try again.
My first attempt was in Mar '10 with 610 (44/31). I studied for about 4 months, and took 9 prep tests with scores in 660-700 range (q 42-44, v 37-40) The material used was more or less the standard set: MGMT guides, the official guides, in a self-study approach.
One of the main reasons why I didn't do so well was the test day readiness. I consider myself fairly anxious (like some of you out there), and scheduling the exam at 9 am meant I didn't get a good sleep. My test today was at 12pm, and though I still had some difficulty sleeping last night, my energy level was definitely higher today.
I was disappointed, but with no plans to apply for schools, I shrugged it off at that point. It did lead me to quit drinking coffee and smoking (which both added to my anxiety level). One advice for test day - don't load up on sweets & carbs right before the test - I felt like I was sugar crashing by the time verbal came along during my first attempt. This time around having a pb&j between AWA and quant definitely worked though! Speaking of AWA, don't worry about it too much, but do utilize the template that's floating around here.
I went in today with the intention that if the result wasn't as good as my goal was (700), I would take it one last time. Definitely nothing wrong with that.
2. Focus on official material first; consider getting a tutor.
My prep duration this time was 52 days (just over 7 weeks). I kept a log just for fun - I put in 122 hours, or about 2.4 hrs a day - while working 9-5. Dedication is of course the key, and there wasn't a day I took off, with the exception of the day before the test. While there are some that score 700+ with half the amount of time I spent, the rest of us has to try harder. I reviewed all the MGMT guides, and focused on the official material. To me it helped a lot to be comfortable with the blue & white screen, and the jagged font! No 3rd party prep tests were taken.
One of the biggest eyeopener was when I decided to get a tutor. I happen to live in the same city as Ian Stewart (Toronto), and I can say with certainty that my 3 sessions with Ian resulted in the 4 point increase in quant. Ian doesn't teach verbal, which had made me a bit concerned, but I do agree with him that verbal is extremely difficult to improve in a short time. Thanks Ian, and I would highly recommend him for those that need the extra push.
MGMT books are great - it was my go-to material. But keep in mind there are others ways of understanding the material - Ian was able to explain things in a way that didn't rely on memorization, and was faster to solve.
3. No matter how well you do, the test will always feel terrible.
The first question on my quant was coordinate geometry with inequalities (!#$$#). I freaked out, and thought I had a terrible start. I was guessing a fair number of questions, but it's crucial not to get hung up on something and skip as necessary. I really didn't feel like I was going to end up with a 48. But one of the most important thing to know is that the test will feel terrible regardless of your skill set - that's just the way it is.
Verbal was a bit misleading for me - many mention on BTG how verbal has gotten harder, and I was surely worried about that, but I actually ended up breezing through it with 2 mins to spare at the end.
That's it for now. Good luck to those that are writing their exams soon!
Done and done. I'm absolutely thrilled. BTG has been a great resource, and I feel I should share with you some of my learnings.
1. If at first you don't succeed, try again.
My first attempt was in Mar '10 with 610 (44/31). I studied for about 4 months, and took 9 prep tests with scores in 660-700 range (q 42-44, v 37-40) The material used was more or less the standard set: MGMT guides, the official guides, in a self-study approach.
One of the main reasons why I didn't do so well was the test day readiness. I consider myself fairly anxious (like some of you out there), and scheduling the exam at 9 am meant I didn't get a good sleep. My test today was at 12pm, and though I still had some difficulty sleeping last night, my energy level was definitely higher today.
I was disappointed, but with no plans to apply for schools, I shrugged it off at that point. It did lead me to quit drinking coffee and smoking (which both added to my anxiety level). One advice for test day - don't load up on sweets & carbs right before the test - I felt like I was sugar crashing by the time verbal came along during my first attempt. This time around having a pb&j between AWA and quant definitely worked though! Speaking of AWA, don't worry about it too much, but do utilize the template that's floating around here.
I went in today with the intention that if the result wasn't as good as my goal was (700), I would take it one last time. Definitely nothing wrong with that.
2. Focus on official material first; consider getting a tutor.
My prep duration this time was 52 days (just over 7 weeks). I kept a log just for fun - I put in 122 hours, or about 2.4 hrs a day - while working 9-5. Dedication is of course the key, and there wasn't a day I took off, with the exception of the day before the test. While there are some that score 700+ with half the amount of time I spent, the rest of us has to try harder. I reviewed all the MGMT guides, and focused on the official material. To me it helped a lot to be comfortable with the blue & white screen, and the jagged font! No 3rd party prep tests were taken.
One of the biggest eyeopener was when I decided to get a tutor. I happen to live in the same city as Ian Stewart (Toronto), and I can say with certainty that my 3 sessions with Ian resulted in the 4 point increase in quant. Ian doesn't teach verbal, which had made me a bit concerned, but I do agree with him that verbal is extremely difficult to improve in a short time. Thanks Ian, and I would highly recommend him for those that need the extra push.
MGMT books are great - it was my go-to material. But keep in mind there are others ways of understanding the material - Ian was able to explain things in a way that didn't rely on memorization, and was faster to solve.
3. No matter how well you do, the test will always feel terrible.
The first question on my quant was coordinate geometry with inequalities (!#$$#). I freaked out, and thought I had a terrible start. I was guessing a fair number of questions, but it's crucial not to get hung up on something and skip as necessary. I really didn't feel like I was going to end up with a 48. But one of the most important thing to know is that the test will feel terrible regardless of your skill set - that's just the way it is.
Verbal was a bit misleading for me - many mention on BTG how verbal has gotten harder, and I was surely worried about that, but I actually ended up breezing through it with 2 mins to spare at the end.
That's it for now. Good luck to those that are writing their exams soon!
