I just took the GMAT exam this afternoon. I was thrilled to see my score of 700 (47 Q 40 V). This is after scoring a mediocre 620 (40 Q 35 V) just a month ago on my first attempt. Here's an overview of my strategy for anyone interested.
Before the 1st attempt, I probably studied well over 300 hours. The books I used were
-OG 11th Edition (bible/koran/torah)
-OG Quant Review
-OG Verbal Review
-Kaplan 800
-GMAT Prep Software
I did all the problems, (most of Kaplan) and thought that I would trounce the GMAT the first time around. I reviewed each problem I missed atleast once. So I was shocked when I got the first score of 620. I thought all the hardwork that I put in was useless. I was contemplating quiting and not taking it again. Thankfully I came to my senses. Here is what I did differently:
-Scheduled an afternoon exam as opposed to a morning exam
-Thoroughly reviewed my fundamentals and studied strategy and concepts. Simply doing practice problems all day won't help past a certain point.
-Analyzed OG questions I had already done: I probably reviewed the last 50 - 75 questions of each section (even the ones I did right) 3 to 4x. This will engrain the concepts in your mind.
-Bought Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction Guide. This book strengthened my weakest area in verbal, and led to my score jump from 35 to 40.
-Took a 2 hour Manhattan GMAT Data Sufficiency seminar. This dramatically improved my math score because I had a strategy to tackle each DS question. This seminar reviewed some very difficult questions, and taught me not only HOW to the answer the questions, but HOW TO THINK during these questions.
-Stopped stressing. This is probably the biggest reason for the size of my score increase. I kept telling myself that I can take this test as many times as I want, and that if I screw up the 2nd time, I'll just take it again. Adopting this "nothing to lose" attitude will keep you from getting too anxious. Just remember this is just a stupid test!
-Did 2 more GMAT prep tests. This kept me in GMAT mode.
Here's an overview of my prep test scores:
Kaplan Test 1 - First GMAT test I ever took without studying - 300 LOL
Kaplan Test 2 - 500 (Hadn't bought OG yet)
Kaplan Test 3 - 620
Kaplan Test 4 - 590
I knew how hard these tests were so I didn't let the scores get me down.
GMAT Prep 1: 760
GMAT Prep 2: 700
1st GMAT (Actual Test): 620 (40 Q 35V)
GMAT Prep 1: 710
GMAT Prep 2: 770
2nd GMAT: 700 (47 Q 35 V)
Practice, Hard work, and staying calm are the keys to success.
Best of luck to everyone yet to take this AWFUL exam.
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From 620 to 700...NEVER GIVE UP!
This topic has expert replies
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badrimallik
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I studied about 10 - 15 hours per week for about 4 months. Make sure you go through the OG several times. I did a total of 8 practice exams. I made sure I understood all the problems I missed. I wished I did the Manhattan GMAT exams, bc I may have scored even higher had I done them.
All the Best
All the Best
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zetaexmachina
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:36 pm
That is an absolutely incredible quantitative score. If I were you I would devote all my energies to verbal. Make sure you get Manhattan SC Guide if you haven't already. Go through it a few times. NOTECARDS HELP. Also, DO NOT wear yourself out with endless studying and practice. Make sure you have fun on the weekends and socialize when you can. Your brain needs a break every once in while. Giving your brain rest will pay off dividends on test day.
RC was my strongest section on verbal. My strategy was not to take notes and skim the passage, but to read the passage, line by line, pro-actively, not passively. While reading, ask yourself, Why is the author writing (what's his purpose)? What is his tone? (Explanatory or Argumentative). How has he structured the passage? (Once you've fully read, this won't be a problem). Keep practicing verbal through OG Verbal Guide (If you don't have it already), and also consider buying the GMAT Paper Tests from the website. The paper tests are ridiculously easy for math but they're great for Verbal practice which is what you need.
If you raise your verbal score just 4 or 5 points, I think you will get well over 700. Do some difficult math questions every now and then to keep you're quant score sky high.
Best of luck
RC was my strongest section on verbal. My strategy was not to take notes and skim the passage, but to read the passage, line by line, pro-actively, not passively. While reading, ask yourself, Why is the author writing (what's his purpose)? What is his tone? (Explanatory or Argumentative). How has he structured the passage? (Once you've fully read, this won't be a problem). Keep practicing verbal through OG Verbal Guide (If you don't have it already), and also consider buying the GMAT Paper Tests from the website. The paper tests are ridiculously easy for math but they're great for Verbal practice which is what you need.
If you raise your verbal score just 4 or 5 points, I think you will get well over 700. Do some difficult math questions every now and then to keep you're quant score sky high.
Best of luck
