Hello, everybody and thank you all for inspiration and tons of useful information. Here is my story from the blog:
Full disclosure
I think, it would be fair to start with my own result to manage everybody's expectations. Who knows, maybe some of you will leave after this part...
I took the test twice and scored exactly the same, 710. Q49 and V38 - first time and Q48 and V39 - second time. It is the 92th percentile. In other words, 92% of those who took the test did worse while 8% of them did better . Ironically, I received 6.0 out of maximum 6.0 for Analytical Writing Assessment, GMAT section I almost did not prepare for.
Many think that any result starting from 700 is great. However, I personally was shooting for 750+. Prep. tests were in the range of 720-770 (from 94th to 99th percentile). This is where post subject is coming from. You can see lots of "How I beat the GMAT" posts on forums, such as beatthegmat.com. But as my situation is not so univocal, I added "(did not?)" to the title. But regardless of it I am sure that the lessons I learned will be helpful for many.
I personally spread my preparation process over a long period of time. This is probably a matter of personal preference. But a shorter period of preparation of one to three months is probably better. I know people who prepared over a short period of time and did better. I, on the contrary, chose to do it in a more comfortable manner and not to sacrifice too much of work, my entrepreneurial projects, workouts, social life and sleep because I had no reason to hurry and wanted to study thoroughly.
Motivation
First, preparation will require a relatively strong motivation to pass the test. That is because there are really no shortcuts. Yes, it sounds boring, but you will need to invest a significant amount of time into preparation regardless of the preparation strategy you chose if you want to get a solid score. As most, including me, prepare while working full-time and juggling multiple other activities, something will need to be sacrificed in order to find this additional time. It is just as simple as that. What is even more important is that you will need to persist over a course of several weeks or months.
Also, if you are like me, not a native speaker and never lived in an English-speaking country for a long time, you should probably realize that it is going to be even more challenging as you do not have an advantage that native speakers have. Yes, GMAC claims that the GMAT is adapted for international test takers, but it is still expected of you to have a considerable vocabulary.
This good article shows with numbers that on average it took those who got 700+ score 96 hours to prepare. So, the point is that "I will try it for a while and maybe take the test one day" approach is likely to fail. Committing to a particular plan and a deadline, no matter how limiting it sounds, might actually be liberating in a way that it allows you to set your priorities and focus.
Plan
Second, you will need a plan.
I would suggest that you use principles of deliberate practice that I briefly covered before in the blog. Put simply, track your progress, get feedback and adapt as quickly as possible, chose the optimal plan for you, focus on the most problematic areas, etc. Ideally, create a so-called "if - then" plan with a clear time slots that you will use to practice. For instance, "I will study at least for an hour each day before or after work except for my workout days and for at least 4 hours on weekend".
Before anything else, it is probably better to choose whether you are going to prepare by yourself or attend prep. courses. This is a decision largely dependent on your individual preferences. I personally decided to study solo because people I knew who received good scores chose the same strategy, because I am like to pick my own schedule and rhythm and not be slowed down or, otherwise, pushed by the group. Besides, you will need to spend additional time commuting. In case of Moscow, it would be siginificant time. So, I relied on my discipline. But some may do better studying in a group. As this decision greatly influences the whole process, I will focus primarily on advice in regards to independent preparation
Generally speaking, GMAT does not test any really deep knowledge. It tests concepts most of which you learned in high school, mostly not even in senior years, but it does so in a very tricky manner and sometimes with a special emphasis on subjects that were less important in school. Again, especially, if you are not American and you educational system had different topic priorities.
Overall, big picture looks something like this:
1. Read the basic information about the test: understand its structure, logic, scoring principles, etc: Wikipedia, official website.
2. Read stories and plans of others: spend an evening to find successful patterns and get inspired (see links below).
3. Revise theory using textbooks and the Web: try to fill gaps from school and remind yourself of such infinitely practical concepts in day-to-day life as proportions of sides in a triangle with angles 30-60-90.
4. Solve the actual problems from books: when you get confident with basics, start using a timer and getting quicker, review problems that you did not solve correctly and the ones that took you too long.
5. Practice tests, practice tests, practice tests.
Please, go to the blog to read the rest as it is harder to make a user-friendly formatting on the forum. https://zze.st/how-i-beat-the-gmat/
What to expect: materials recommendation, section-specific advice, analysis of my mistakes (that you are also likely to make), recommendation of best prep. tests and other useful tools (such as Evernote and Anki), timing strategy and do's/don'ts on the test day.
Hope, you will find it useful! I wish you patience in your preparation and success on the "G" day!
Full disclosure
I think, it would be fair to start with my own result to manage everybody's expectations. Who knows, maybe some of you will leave after this part...
I took the test twice and scored exactly the same, 710. Q49 and V38 - first time and Q48 and V39 - second time. It is the 92th percentile. In other words, 92% of those who took the test did worse while 8% of them did better . Ironically, I received 6.0 out of maximum 6.0 for Analytical Writing Assessment, GMAT section I almost did not prepare for.
Many think that any result starting from 700 is great. However, I personally was shooting for 750+. Prep. tests were in the range of 720-770 (from 94th to 99th percentile). This is where post subject is coming from. You can see lots of "How I beat the GMAT" posts on forums, such as beatthegmat.com. But as my situation is not so univocal, I added "(did not?)" to the title. But regardless of it I am sure that the lessons I learned will be helpful for many.
I personally spread my preparation process over a long period of time. This is probably a matter of personal preference. But a shorter period of preparation of one to three months is probably better. I know people who prepared over a short period of time and did better. I, on the contrary, chose to do it in a more comfortable manner and not to sacrifice too much of work, my entrepreneurial projects, workouts, social life and sleep because I had no reason to hurry and wanted to study thoroughly.
Motivation
First, preparation will require a relatively strong motivation to pass the test. That is because there are really no shortcuts. Yes, it sounds boring, but you will need to invest a significant amount of time into preparation regardless of the preparation strategy you chose if you want to get a solid score. As most, including me, prepare while working full-time and juggling multiple other activities, something will need to be sacrificed in order to find this additional time. It is just as simple as that. What is even more important is that you will need to persist over a course of several weeks or months.
Also, if you are like me, not a native speaker and never lived in an English-speaking country for a long time, you should probably realize that it is going to be even more challenging as you do not have an advantage that native speakers have. Yes, GMAC claims that the GMAT is adapted for international test takers, but it is still expected of you to have a considerable vocabulary.
This good article shows with numbers that on average it took those who got 700+ score 96 hours to prepare. So, the point is that "I will try it for a while and maybe take the test one day" approach is likely to fail. Committing to a particular plan and a deadline, no matter how limiting it sounds, might actually be liberating in a way that it allows you to set your priorities and focus.
Plan
Second, you will need a plan.
I would suggest that you use principles of deliberate practice that I briefly covered before in the blog. Put simply, track your progress, get feedback and adapt as quickly as possible, chose the optimal plan for you, focus on the most problematic areas, etc. Ideally, create a so-called "if - then" plan with a clear time slots that you will use to practice. For instance, "I will study at least for an hour each day before or after work except for my workout days and for at least 4 hours on weekend".
Before anything else, it is probably better to choose whether you are going to prepare by yourself or attend prep. courses. This is a decision largely dependent on your individual preferences. I personally decided to study solo because people I knew who received good scores chose the same strategy, because I am like to pick my own schedule and rhythm and not be slowed down or, otherwise, pushed by the group. Besides, you will need to spend additional time commuting. In case of Moscow, it would be siginificant time. So, I relied on my discipline. But some may do better studying in a group. As this decision greatly influences the whole process, I will focus primarily on advice in regards to independent preparation
Generally speaking, GMAT does not test any really deep knowledge. It tests concepts most of which you learned in high school, mostly not even in senior years, but it does so in a very tricky manner and sometimes with a special emphasis on subjects that were less important in school. Again, especially, if you are not American and you educational system had different topic priorities.
Overall, big picture looks something like this:
1. Read the basic information about the test: understand its structure, logic, scoring principles, etc: Wikipedia, official website.
2. Read stories and plans of others: spend an evening to find successful patterns and get inspired (see links below).
3. Revise theory using textbooks and the Web: try to fill gaps from school and remind yourself of such infinitely practical concepts in day-to-day life as proportions of sides in a triangle with angles 30-60-90.
4. Solve the actual problems from books: when you get confident with basics, start using a timer and getting quicker, review problems that you did not solve correctly and the ones that took you too long.
5. Practice tests, practice tests, practice tests.
Please, go to the blog to read the rest as it is harder to make a user-friendly formatting on the forum. https://zze.st/how-i-beat-the-gmat/
What to expect: materials recommendation, section-specific advice, analysis of my mistakes (that you are also likely to make), recommendation of best prep. tests and other useful tools (such as Evernote and Anki), timing strategy and do's/don'ts on the test day.
Hope, you will find it useful! I wish you patience in your preparation and success on the "G" day!
