GMAT Sprint! - 740 (Q50/V40)

[RyanGMAT]

Hi Guys,

I found this website when I started my study process and it was very helpful. I'd like to briefly share my experience with you all. If you have any questions, I'll do my best to elaborate.

It all started with a phone call to a friend. He was in my fraternity before I joined but I knew he was graduating from HBS. I am an engineering major but I feel like business would be a good fit for me. I called him up and asked him for some advice. He talked with me for a while before telling me about HBS's 2+2 program. I had just gotten done with my junior year so it sounded great to me. I knew I didn't have much of a shot, but any shot what-so-ever was worth taking.

Once I got off the phone with him I looked more into the 2+2 program and saw that the application was due in 5 weeks! I immediately signed up for the GMAT on a day that was 3 weeks away. I went right to the book store and bought McGraw-Hill's GMAT study guide. I went through the book and nailed each practice section. However, I saw a lot of stuff online about this book being pretty easy. I decided to buy a few other books from what I saw on this website (Kaplan and OG11).

I took a GMATPrep practice test at the beginning and scored a 710. I was pretty happy but I wanted more of a buffer just in case I had an off day during the test. My studying was going well but a week into it I decided to take a Kaplan CAT test and got a 580! I was pretty surprised but this website helped me out again and showed that those kind of results were pretty normal.

I found out pretty quickly that the SC questions were my weak point. Most of my wrong verbal questions were SC. I mostly studied the OG11 for SC and I think I improved a little bit.

Near the end of the 3 weeks I took the last GMATPrep test and scored a 750. I felt pretty confident going into the test because of that. I feel like I really, really could have used more time. I only scratched the surface of my books. I didn't have enough time to fully understand the SC problems, but I didn't have much choice at that point.

I came into the testing center and it was all pretty standard, they took my picture and fingerprints and allowed me to start the test a little early. I didn't really study for the AWA essays so those were a struggle, but I feel that I did alright. The issue essay was much harder than the argument essay.

It was funny that each time I left the little testing room, they scanned my fingerprints. I was the only one in there and they took my prints each time I left and each time I went back in.

As a got near the end of the verbal section I started to get nervous. I had to go through a few survey questions before I was finished but I was so glad when I saw my score. It was better than I had hoped and right in the ballpark of my practice scores. I had extra pressure to do well because this was my only shot for this particular application.

Overall the test went well and felt very much like the GMATPrep tests. No real surprises. The following were my CAT practice/real test scores.

GMAT Prep 1: 710
Kaplan 1: 580
Powerprep 1: I forgot
Powerprep 2: 730
GMATPrep 2: 750
REAL GMAT: 740

I now have everything done for my application except for the essays, which I now have 1.5 weeks to get done! Wish me luck!

[smkrn]

Congratulations on your GMAT success. I am also applying to the 2+2 program. How are your essays going? I can't wait until they're done. I'm just curious, what's your general profile?

[RyanGMAT]

It's really cool that you are applying too. The essays are going well, but I have a tough time with the whole writing thing. I figure my only chance is to really stand out at this point.

State University
Mechanical Engineering '09
GPA: 3.7

I have lots of involvement and great leadership experience on campus. I also have interesting work experience as an intern at an industrial plant.

I feel like I could get into some great b-schools, but this whole 2+2 thing just makes me nervous. Chances are I'll just have to apply at the normal time like everyone else.

It would be interesting to see your profile too.

[smkrn]

Ya, it's cool to see someone else applying to this program. I know what you mean, I'm not sure how the whole 2+2 thing is going to pan out. But I guess we have nothing to lose, right?
Here's my profile:

State University in the west
Double major in mechanical engineering and math, GPA of 3.99
25/male/white
I'm taking the GMAT next week, so we'll see how it goes. Practice tests have been 720-760, so we'll see.
I've interned for 2 summers at a large defense contractor.
I've got some typical EC's at school (chairman of student advisory committee, curriculum committee, president of an honors fraternity).
I also took 2 years off of school to volunteer full-time for my church (between freshman and sophomore years).


So who are you getting to write your letters of recommendation? Also, do you know of many other people applying to 2+2?

[Olatorera]

what is 2+2???

[smkrn]

A new deferred admission program at Harvard for college juniors.

Check out https://www.hbs.edu/mba/2+2/

[RyanGMAT]

First of all, good luck on the upcoming test! Your practice scores are great so I'm sure you'll have problems. Just remember to be calm during the tests. I forgot to mention this before, but I absolutely hated the dry-erase marker they give you. You had to hold it at an incomfortable angle to get any ink. Hopefully you won't get the same markers that I did.

I had my current boss and my academic advisor write my recommendations. I think my boss will write me a great one, but I'm not expecting much from my advisor. He knows me pretty well but not on the same level as my boss. I definitely don't think the recs will hurt me but I don't think they'll push me over the top.

You may be right about the age thing, but even so, this is such a good learning experience. Looking at your profile makes me think you'd have no trouble getting in normally, so you may be surprised. Keep me informed how it goes either way. You're the only person I've met so far that is applying.

How did you land a job in the defense area? I find that field extremely interesting and would like to find myself there eventually. I am particularly interested in working for LM.

[smkrn]

Ya you're basically the only other person I know that's applying. I've heard of a couple of others, but they've almost all been people that were business/accounting majors, and HBS implies that they're not really going to consider people from traditional business backgrounds for 2+2. But I guess we'll see what really happens.

I had a professor who's wife was a program manager at the contractor I work at. I got to know the professor pretty well and his wife gave me a great reference when applying.

I have a few friends that work at Boeing and LM that have really liked it. We work with LM on some of our big contracts, and they've seemed pretty good. It really depends though what function you get put into at a defense contractor - some are really interesting and some are pretty mundane, all within the same company. If you know someone already at a defense contractor, it really helps when applying (like anything in life, I guess). The industry in general, though, is pretty fascinating.

Let me know what happens with your application as well. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.