710 on my first try!

[gmA t]

Investment
160 Hours
$500 (including the $250 for the test)

The Result
GMAT: 710 (92%)
V38 (84%)
Q49 (81%)
AWA: 6.0 (91%)
IR: 7 (82%)

Background
Graduated in 2009 with a BS in Accounting (3.7 GPA) from a state university
Worked for the last 4 years as a finance analyst for a Fortune 50 manufacturing company

Journey to breaking into the 700's
6/30 - Start basic studying
7/14 - GMAT Practice Test 1: 620 (Q44,V31)
7/21 - MGMAT Test 1: 660 (Q43,V37)
7/28 - MGMAT Test 2: 660 (Q45,V37)
8/04 - MGMAT Test 3: Quit early
8/04 - MGMAT Test 4: 620 (Q43,V33)
8/25 - GMAT Practice Test 1: 700 (Q45,V40)
9/02 - MGMAT Test 5: 640 (Q44,V34)
9/08 - GMAT Practice Test 2: 700 (Q47,V39)
9/16 - GMAT: 710 (Q49,V38)

Resources Used (in order of importance)
Original GMAT Book (13th Edition)
GMATPrep Practice Tests & GMATPrep Question Pack 1
Magoosh Online GMAT Prep (https://gmat.magoosh.com/)
Manhattan GMAT Test Bank
PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible (boosted my CR from 50% to 90%)
AWA Template
Kaplan 800
Manhattan Series

Study Schedule
Total time investment over 10 weeks: 160 hours
(M-F) Woke up every day about 4:30AM and studied for one hour (1 hr morning)
(M-F) Came home for work and studied for another hour (1 hr evening)
(Sat) Studied for about 4-6 hours (until I would get burnt out) (4-6 hrs day)
(Sun) Took a practice test and then examined the results after (2-4 hrs day)

Details
Absolutely loved Magoosh as it laid a great foundation for the GMAT and the GMAT material
I only got familiar with the IR via Magoosh and practiced it for 4 hours max
I only wrote one essay the night before the GMAT using the template
I traveled a lot in the month of August (low study month)
Took only cold showers (how I was able to work 60 hours a week and study 20 hours a week); if motivation to study is holding you back check out this TED talk(https://youtu.be/Gb0h8ZKvJW4)

Areas I would change
Error Log...if I had one I know I would have gotten a higher score
Spent too much time studying concepts and not enough time studying questions (with an error log)
Should have spent more time with my CATs

Ask me questions if you would like insight or help... I am applying to top ten b-schools now!

[ani781]

Wow many congrats.
I have a question... how did you practice SC . also can you pls let me know how much the Question Pack helped you on the Quants and DS ? Also how much of the similarity did you find on the real GMAT quant or verbal questions when compared to the quants and verbal in the Official GMAT Question pack 1 or the OGs or the GMAT Prep tests ?


And yes ... All The Best with your apps.

[Bhavin@Magoosh]

Congratulations! And I'm glad that we (Magoosh) could help you break the 700 mark.

[NB1234]

Congrats! THis is a very good score and I can see you put in a lot of effort into it.

I know GRE Magoosh has an estimated number/score based on the answers provided by the student for the practice questions. Is that true for GMAT as well? Was your actual GMAT score comparable to what you used to see on the estimate?

[aznshmlsguy]

I did something similar 4 years ago. It takes great practice and congrats. I know how much stress leading up to the test haha.

[s.damani31]

Congratulations...You are on your way to a B-school now.

Just wanted to know..You mentioned that you took tests on Sunday. What kind of tests would you take?

[powelcr]

Awesome job!

I am starting my studying soon. I am an accountant at a fortune 50 manufacturing company so I enjoyed reading your story.

[monikasharma]

Congratulations for crossing 700+!

I am also starting GMAT preparation. It took you 2.5 months only, great!

[Valentin]

Congratulations! I hope I can also get a good score in my first try.

I got a question for you. I noticed that your mock scores were in the 600s for most of the Manhattan GMAT tests that you took. Was there a big difference between the real thing and MGMAT tests? Also, were you able to finish the MGMAT tests on time? Cause' I'm struggling to finish them on time.

Thanks and good luck with the applications!

[AmyTan]

Investment
160 Hours
$500 (including the $250 for the test)

The Result
GMAT: 710 (92%)
V38 (84%)
Q49 (81%)
AWA: 6.0 (91%)
IR: 7 (82%)

Background
Graduated in 2009 with a BS in Accounting (3.7 GPA) from a state university
Worked for the last 4 years as a finance analyst for a Fortune 50 manufacturing company

Journey to breaking into the 700's
6/30 - Start basic studying
7/14 - GMAT Practice Test 1: 620 (Q44,V31)
7/21 - MGMAT Test 1: 660 (Q43,V37)
7/28 - MGMAT Test 2: 660 (Q45,V37)
8/04 - MGMAT Test 3: Quit early
8/04 - MGMAT Test 4: 620 (Q43,V33)
8/25 - GMAT Practice Test 1: 700 (Q45,V40)
9/02 - MGMAT Test 5: 640 (Q44,V34)
9/08 - GMAT Practice Test 2: 700 (Q47,V39)
9/16 - GMAT: 710 (Q49,V38)

Resources Used (in order of importance)
Original GMAT Book (13th Edition)
GMATPrep Practice Tests & GMATPrep Question Pack 1
Magoosh Online GMAT Prep (https://gmat.magoosh.com/)
Manhattan GMAT Test Bank
PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible (boosted my CR from 50% to 90%)
AWA Template
Kaplan 800
Manhattan Series

Study Schedule
Total time investment over 10 weeks: 160 hours
(M-F) Woke up every day about 4:30AM and studied for one hour (1 hr morning)
(M-F) Came home for work and studied for another hour (1 hr evening)
(Sat) Studied for about 4-6 hours (until I would get burnt out) (4-6 hrs day)
(Sun) Took a practice test and then examined the results after (2-4 hrs day)

Details
Absolutely loved Magoosh as it laid a great foundation for the GMAT and the GMAT material
I only got familiar with the IR via Magoosh and practiced it for 4 hours max
I only wrote one essay the night before the GMAT using the template
I traveled a lot in the month of August (low study month)
Took only cold showers (how I was able to work 60 hours a week and study 20 hours a week); if motivation to study is holding you back check out this TED talk(https://youtu.be/Gb0h8ZKvJW4)

Areas I would change
Error Log...if I had one I know I would have gotten a higher score
Spent too much time studying concepts and not enough time studying questions (with an error log)
Should have spent more time with my CATs

Ask me questions if you would like insight or help... I am applying to top ten b-schools now!

Congratulations on your awesome score.
I have been practicing MGMAT cats and i m stuck in the 600s. Was the real GMAT like the MGMAT cats? Was the Quant section as tough?

Thanks in advance..

[gmA t]

Sorry everyone! I didn't know people were responding to my post... I am glad it is helping people and I will start answering questions!

Sorry I am late!

[gmA t]

Wow many congrats.
I have a question... how did you practice SC . also can you pls let me know how much the Question Pack helped you on the Quants and DS ? Also how much of the similarity did you find on the real GMAT quant or verbal questions when compared to the quants and verbal in the Official GMAT Question pack 1 or the OGs or the GMAT Prep tests ?


And yes ... All The Best with your apps.

SC was really tough for me. Here are the strategies/resources that I used to get a little better.

1. ABSOLUTELY use an error log and write down every error you make
2. Magoosh offers video explanations of EVERY practice problem. This was huge for me.
3. Use the OG GMAT questions, GMAT PREP, and additional question pack.

Question Pack was very useful, but make sure to do the OG questions and any other questions first.

The OG Practice and GMAT PREP are VERY similar to the actual test. The last two weeks, those were the only questions I used.

[gmA t]

Congrats! THis is a very good score and I can see you put in a lot of effort into it.

I know GRE Magoosh has an estimated number/score based on the answers provided by the student for the practice questions. Is that true for GMAT as well? Was your actual GMAT score comparable to what you used to see on the estimate?

Yes they do provide scores and they were pretty spot on (a little bit lower) than my actual scores. This is probably due to when I was not very successful with my first few practice questions, and I brought my average down.

[gmA t]

Congratulations...You are on your way to a B-school now.

Just wanted to know..You mentioned that you took tests on Sunday. What kind of tests would you take?

Official GMAT PREP tests and the MGMAT CAT's.... (the ones that I listed in my original post).

[gmA t]

Congratulations! I hope I can also get a good score in my first try.

I got a question for you. I noticed that your mock scores were in the 600s for most of the Manhattan GMAT tests that you took. Was there a big difference between the real thing and MGMAT tests? Also, were you able to finish the MGMAT tests on time? Cause' I'm struggling to finish them on time.

Thanks and good luck with the applications!

I believe that the big difference in the MGMAT and the real test were the difficulty of the Quant questions. The MGMAT quant questions required many more steps and I was always stressed for time, which lowered my score. I made a lot of headway on my Verbal, and probably should have gotten a 730, but one group of RC questions really messed me up on my test day.

I really struggled with timing on my MGMAT, but Magoosh has a really good timing technique/strategy that always kept me honest and going on my time management. Time management IS a HUGE factor of the GMAT.