Initial GMAT Prep Software on 11/1: 610 (Q45, V 32; don't remember exactly)
I began studying for the GMAT sometime in May and went through all the
GMAT Club tests/resources and
Magoosh since October. I also purchased all of the additional GMAT Prep software questions. Math was always my strong point as I graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. I knew the quant section would be my strong point and focused most of my studies on that. I wish I could have taken the GMAT earlier in the year but work got in the way and I couldn't devote much study time that is necessary.
I registered for the test on 10/26 for a test day of 12/5. I immediately took the second GMAT test and scored a 660. I think the split was Q46/V36 so I made some progress. The whole month of November I studied GMAT Club and
Magoosh questions diligently and about 1.5 weeks before the test I became a machine on quant. Concepts just clicked, I was able to predict what the question was going to ask me while reading the question and was able to dissect DS questions to their simplest forms, often to a simple math relationship that would be sufficient if given.
I took off work the two days before the test and bought the additional GMAT Prep exams. On 12/3 I scored a 680 with a Q49 and V32. This was a big confidence booster for me. That night I studied more GMAT quant questions and some verbal. The next day, 12/4, I took the 4th GMAT prep exam and scored a 690 with Q50 and V33. This was another confidence booster and I just made a game plan to be extra careful on the Verbal section to get me to V36 and a 700 overall.
On Test day, I felt confident and in a good mood. I slept well the night before and my adrenaline was up. Arrived at the test center a little early and was able to start right away. The essay was on a good topic that I was able to write extensively about using real world examples and my business knowledge. The IR section seemed a little hard but I felt good on the first 8 questions and finished on time.
For the quant, I felt really good after the first 15 questions and knew I was going to get a similar score to my practice tests. The verbal section wasn't anything unfamiliar and I actually thought I did well on it. Then I saw the Score screen and got a 7 in IR, 49 in quant and a disappointing 33 in verbal. I was deflated slightly but still accepted the score because it was well above the averages of my safety school and I can use it to apply before the next deadline of each school.
Today I received my official score and all the scores were the same as on test day. I saw my AWA score; a perfect 6.0! Except for my verbal, it was otherwise an impressive GMAT. Going into my retake I am heavily studying verbal to get it to at least a 36 or higher to get that 700+ score.
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11 Dec 2015, 08:17
