770 (Q48, V51) - thanks gmatclub!!

Well, I don't think it's fully hit yet... but I'm sure the next few days will be interesting as I scramble to get in touch with my former employers and professors for LOR's and the such. I don't consider myself to be a nervous person, but nerves were really getting to me last night. I had a ton of trouble sleeping, and I had that sick feeling in my stomach early in the day. I went to the gym to supposedly relieve some stress. It helped a little but I wound up leaving after almost throwing up on a machine (lol!)

My test was today in NYC. I got to the test 30 mins early, but there were about 10 people there before me. As I sat there, I got even more nervous when everyone ahead of me was required to show 2 forms of ID (I swore the email said we only needed 1). I got more and more nervous until it was finally my turn - luckily only 1 was needed for the GMAT.

As I sat down and began the test, I was informed that we couldn't erase any of our answers on the dry erase boards, and that if we needed more space we would have to raise our hands and hand in our current dry erase board, and we would be given a new one. I was already scared that this would waste precious time, so I told myself I'd write small.

Anyway, test starts, and I bang out the 2 essays. Not really sure how I did, since I've never gotten any of my AWA practice essays graded. I've looked at tips online so I'd venture to say I got at least a 5... let's hope.

Quant section: I COMPLETELY (and I mean utterly) blank out on question #1. Question freaking number one. I tell myself to get it together and not waste time, but for some reason I can't get myself to hit next. It was a relatively simple one too.. ugh.

I must have spent close to 4 minutes trying to work something out. Disgusted with myself, I moved on. The rest of the Quant wasn't too bad. There were a couple of questions that I knew right away I would either a) have no shot on , or b) would take me more than 4 mins to solve, so I guessed right away and moved on. I think I did this at least twice. I think if you have the confidence to do this, you will improve your score in the long run.

Quant ends, I decide to skip my break (I also skipped the previous break as I was in the "zone" so to speak). Verbal starts.. I employ a new strategy, which is basically just TAKE YOUR TIME. On all my previous tests, I've ended verbal with like 7 mins to spare, and I've gotten in the low 40s. This time, I took a very deliberate approach, took my time, and finished the section with about 1 min to spare.

Anyway, nerves kicked in after the test was done. I almost didn't report my scores (!!!!) because I had to re-read that screen several times. Luckily, I chose to continue, and I got my scores. Quant was pretty good to me, but I scored about 10 points higher in Verbal than I normally do. I can only theorize that it's because I took my time and worked slowly from the start.

I'd like to thank everyone who's responded to my posts here for giving me words of advice and encouragement. Good luck to anyone reading this - just know that you can improve your scores on D-Day if you really try!

Edited the title. My Q score was different from what I had originally written, but the V and overall score were not affected

shadowsjc congrats on mighty mighty score..

when I saw your score, I thought you miss wrote Q to verbal and Verbal to Quant so I had to read the debrief to conform that 51 is in verbal only ..

I think this is the highest score I saw on verbal in this forum. Congrats and if you think some tips in verbal section will help us, then please share them.

Goodluck with your app process.

your verbal score is insane, what did you do? what were your practice scores? Great stuff

shadowsjc, Congrats for an awesome score!! Haven't seen V 51 yet on any of the fora. This is the first time I believe many of us are seeing V 51.

Were you doing great in verbal right from beginning or did you also have to improve any section of Verbal? Please share your tips and practice scores.

All the best for your application journey. Congrats again!

have you ever heard the saying "it's better to be lucky than good"? well i think this may very well apply to me, lol.

i didn't write down my first breakdown on gmat preptest #1.
on mgmat #1, I had a 39 V (89%)
on mgmat #2, I had a 38 V (88%)
EDIT: on preptest #2 , I got a 44 V (2 days before the actual test)
on mgmat #3, I got a 44 V (97%) (day before the test)

As you can see, while I was getting decent scores, I'd never gotten anything close to what I actually got. The things I've done to prepare for Verbal are:

1. Bought and skimmed through the first 5 or so chapters of the Manhattan GMAT guide to sentence correction. I originally bought this for the 6 free CAT tests, but I also acknowledged that verbal was a weakness of mine so I figured I might as well get the book that corresponds to that weakness.

2. Looked at my MGMAT score reports, and focused on what I had been getting wrong. To me, it seemed that sentence corrections were a particularly weak point [see #1]. I read in a little more detail the explanations to the ones I got wrong. I also read the appropriate sections in the sentence correction book.

3. I had previously taken the LSAT, and did only marginally well. However, some of the topics covered on the LSAT (reading comp, logical reasoning) are the same as the ones on the GMAT, so I had at least some prior experience in these sections. I haven't touched those books recently though...but I'm sure going over these topics before helped at least somewhat.

forgot to add - and stress this, but:

#4 (continuation of my previous post) - SLOW DOWN.

let me repeat.

S L O W D O W N.

In almost all my previous tests, I had rushed through verbal.. maybe not consciously, but I definitely finished quickly, with about 8 minutes to spare. In my mind (previously), I thought - well, I either know the answer to this or I don't. It's not like a math problem where I can sit there and compute answers, so I might as well finish it and move on.

WRONG.

In my last practice test, I made a conscious effort to slow down and tackle each problem slowly (but efficiently). I did see an improvement in that score vs some of my earlier ones. On test day, I continued this practice, and took it further. I knew that I normally had 7-8 mins to spare, so I didn't think anything of slowing down and taking 5 mins on a given problem - as long as I monitored my time. I think this helped me tremendously as I only finished with about a minute to spare.

I gotta say though, the last few questions were really tough. But, if you just work through the logically and slowly, it should be ok.

Note that this strategy may not work for everyone. But for those who finish early, remember - there's no bonus for time left over. You're already there, you might as well use the time they give you as much as possible.

Congrats!!!!!!

This is really a great score. Best of luck for your application

Wow. I remember your concerns and questions from just a few days ago and how unpredictable it was back then - what a change. Remember this one: last-second-jitters-questions-83338.html?

Great job!

Must have been those 6 days you've been a GC member

bb,

i think the main thing i needed was some confidence... and i have to say, your replies (as well as many others) fully gave me that confidence. i commend you and everyone else for all the work you guys put into the forum!

Wow......What a great score. Even I mistook Verbal Score of Quant score......Verbal - 51

You say got around 10 points more than your practice scores and I need atleast 10 more points from my practice scores(or in other words 10 points less than your real verbal score)

Have fun..................

Wow! V51 Unbelievable! Congrats!

Could you give a few key short notes/advices what are crucial for getting high score.
I will add them to next release of GMAT ToolKit (iPhone App)

Sure, I'll post them below (in no particular order):

1. Study the LSAT books (LSAT CR and LSAT RC). CR and RC are the 2 sections I didn't even touch during my GMAT studying - not because I knew them so well (which I still feel I don't), but because I already studied them somewhat in depth 1.5 years ago as I studied for the LSAT (which, incidentally, I did not do so well in). I feel that the LSAT books prepared me well for these two aspects of the GMAT.

2. Use CAT tests to your advantage: the MGMAT CAT tests give you a breakdown of the types of questions you get wrong. Use this knowledge to your advantage. If you know you are getting a disproportionately high number of SC wrong, then focus on that. (in my case, I was getting many SC's wrong, so I went out and purchased the MGMAT SC book, and read through it).

3. Know what type of test taker you are: I was one of those who rushed through the verbal and had 6-7 mins to spare. I think the turning point for me was acknowledging this as a huge weakness in my strategy. I rearranged my strategy to a more focused, deliberate one in answering the verbal questions. On the actual GMAT, I finished verbal with about 1 min to spare.

4. Confidence: As cheesy as it may sound, I spent the last 24-48 hours building up my confidence. This works differently for everyone, but some things to consider are: listening to music that pumps you up, performing physical activities (run, lift weights), getting reassuring words from friends or colleagues, reading religious books, etc.

Just remember, although the gmat preptest is the best predictor of your score, it doesn't HAVE to predict it. You're free to get as high as you desire!

I guess It helps to be paranoid during prep (make sure you cover every little aspect) but then it is all about confidence on the test.

Also, couple of links for you:
700-clubbers-add-your-name-to-the-list-64636.html
99-ile-clubbers-add-your-name-to-the-list-77041.html

awesome score! I had to read the heading twice to confirm if I've correctly read 51V.

Thanks!

Congrats!! awesome Verbal score .. All the best for your applications..
I just want to know whether you have followed any kind of strategy for RC??

How can a man get 51 verbal. Wonderful.

unfortunately, i don't have any real strategy for RC. Like I mentioned above, RC was one of the sections I didn't even study this time around. To be honest, RC was traditionally a weak point for me growing up (going back a few years now to grammar school).

Other than possibly prepare with LSAT materials, and take plenty of practice tests and go over your RC responses, I don't have too much advice on the section. I would say try reading of plenty of news articles in your daily life as you prepare for the test. Also , a tip I learned from the LSAT studying is when you first get to the RC, read the question first, and then read the passage. It will train your mind as you read the story. Of course, this only helps you with the first question in the section since you can't skip ahead, but it's a start nonetheless!

Inspiring, awesome V score!

Wow.. that's impressive,.. incredible.. Congrats...