760 (Q47, V50) - 99th %ile

Quick debrief of my experience, hope someone might find it useful.

I began by taking an official CAT as a practice at the end of May, scoring 660 (Q42, V40); very rusty on the maths. Bought Kaplan Premier and GMAT official books, and later Kaplan 800. Worked through pretty much all the technique sections, and then hit the practice sections pretty hard. At the end of June, I took the 2nd official CAT to see how I was doing. To my surprise, I scored lower: 640 (Q37, V41).

So I spent more time working on technique, particularly on the maths side. On 18th July I took the full length practice test in the main Kaplan book, and scored lower still: 610 (Q42, V40). By this time I was getting worried: many evenings and weekends ploughed into this with and a declining score to show for it...

So I focussed on "taking the test" strategies. It seemed to pay off: I retook the 1st official CAT on 23rd July and scored 740 (Q47, V45). At this point I was on vacation from work (2.5 clear weeks ahead of the test), and I was working through official GMAT questions, GMAT Club tests and Manhattan GMAT CATs. My Manhattan GMAT CAT scores were 700 (Q44, V41), 690 (Q42, V41) and Q40 from 28-30 July. Again, declining; moreover, way under what I was aiming for. On 1st August I took the 2nd official CAT again, scoring 720 (Q45, V45).

So how did I go from an expected 700-720 to a 760? I focussed on the test. About 5 days before the actual test (which was yesterday, Aug 4th), I realised that it's not just a matter of how many questions you get right, but also what sequence your right/wrong answers come in, and how long you take to answer. With this in mind, I focussed on the clock a little harder - no more spending 6 minutes agonising over a question I couldn't quite get, but that I KNEW I could answer! I had a couple of these instances in the M GMAT CATs, and I could see in the report afterwards where I spent too long on a question, and hurried through the next few to get back on track.

Furthermore, I put in place an unshakable positive mental attitude. I think this is crucial. During the test today, I was telling myself after every question that I had aced it, and that I was definitely on track for an 800. Obviously I knew I wasn't, but I let myself believe it, which kept me in a good frame of mind. This was especially important for me, because on the day before the test, I came down with some viral infection: sore throat, headache, neckache, inability to concentrate. I spent most of that day in bed. The day of the test, I just threw everything I had at it.

The difficulty level was in line with the official CATs. I really focussed on the quant, and I found that the GMAT Club tests and M GMAT tests were harder than the GMAT itself.

Took the test in London, UK. Let me know if you have any questions I might be able to help with!