640 to 740 - short story but a good one

[One Love]

Dear BeattheGmat Community,

First attempt: 640 (Q45 V35)
Second attempt: 680 (Q47 V38)
Third attempt: 700 (Q49 V37)
Fourth attempt: 740 (Q48 V44)

I'm writing this post because I couldn't have done this without reading some of the motivational stories on this site. While I believe that I can score in 770ish range, I am more then happy with a 740. This story is simple; when I first took the GMAT, I was arrogant and unprepared. I didn't follow any particular study plan to improve my score, but I tried to be very aware of problem types that made me hesitate during practice exams. I targeted my weaknesses and actively reviewed my strengths. Some people may say that taking the GMAT 4 times is frowned upon, but the reality is b-schools value the highest possible score regardless of the number of times you take it. That being said if you aren't improving after a handful of times, you should probably focus on strengthening other pieces of your application - because the GMAT is only one piece of the puzzle. My last tip: stay positive. If you are reading this post, then you are in a very enviable position compared to many others out there. Love your family and friends and know that you are the shit. It's been real homies. If I can I do it, you can do it.

- One Love

[bonetlobo]

Thanks. Can you advice what were the resources you used especially for Verbal? You have a phenomenal 44 in Verbal.

[One Love]

Sure, reference below:

SC: Magoosh
CR: CR bible
RC: Nothing

General tips: For SC, Magoosh has simple videos; I used them to review. Also, I reccommend reading for meaning and everything else will fall into place. For CR strategy, I recommend first reading the argument, second thinking of assumptions, and third attacking the answers. For RC, I didn't practice too much, but I would just imagine that I was a part of what I was reading; when I visualized myself as part of the story, I could easily relate to the questions. I finished the verbal with 15 mins to spare using the aforementioned strategies.

[gmat barcelona]

A 740/Q48 V44 is an outstanding performance and it puts you in a position to apply to any Business School, so you should apply to whatever Schools you'd like to. Good Luck with your applications and thanks for sharing your GMAT experience.

Best Wishes!

[bossmajor]

Thank for the advice man.. I have been studying for 2 months now and seriously don't know how to go about my study schedule. Please advice on how to strategically work on a study plan.

Thank you
Michael

[One Love]

Hi Michael,

When I first started studying, I tried to follow a strict study schedule. Unfortunately, that proved to be unsuccessful. Moving forward, I adjusted my study plan to be very dynamic. I'd try to take weekly practice exams to find my development areas: I highly recommend taking GMAT Prep exams from MBA.com. The first two are free, and there is a small fee for the additional two exams. Once you take an exam, google the questions that you missed. Googling the questions will normally lead you to links for Beat the Gmat and Manhattan GMAT forums. The postings on these forums will help you attack your problem areas by showing you different ways to solve problems. Don't be afraid to adjust your schedule everyday - somedays I just did SC because it made me nervous on the exam. Keep working on those development areas until your hesitation on any problems goes away - I'm sure you'll crush it. If your technique doesn't work, keep adjusting until you see results. The GMAT isn't particular difficult, once you have enough exposure to problem types you'll start to see questions patterns, and you will become a very effective test taker.

Also side note, I messed up Quant a bit during the actual exam, but I kept calm and tried my best to crush verbal. Luckily, despite a fair quant performance I still pulled through with a 740. Moral of the story, even during the exam if you mess up a bit you can still score high if you stay calm and crush another section.

- One Love