From 650 to 720 (Q48,V40) in a month

I took the GMAT on August 4th last year, and had only 1 month to prepare because I had to submit my scores for the ISB- Young Leaders Program by August 7th. (Got an admit :D). Before I started preparing, I read several debriefs here and they helped me tailor my study plan. I started my preparation with the Manhattan free CAT and scored 650 on it. On the test day I scored 720, and while I was not very happy with the score, it got me the admit!

List of Material I used
OG13
Manhattan SC guide
Powerscore CR
GMATPrep Question Pack 1
Manhattan Number Properties Guide (My weak area)

CATs taken

GMATPrep - 2 free + 2 Paid (Total 4)
Manhattan CATs (6 CATs) - Buy a strategy guide (Kindle version is cheaper). You get the pack free with any of their guides. It costs more when you buy it separately

Quant

One thing I figured out very early during my preparation was that the best source for practice was definitely the official material and I got hold of all the official material I could. I wrote my first GMATPrep CAT after finishing the Quant part of OG, and got a score of 670 (Q49 V32) and I was happy with that because I hadn't started my Verbal preparation by then. Just solving the Quant section of OG got me a score of 49. Over the course of the month, I did several practice problems, wrote several CATs, read a few guides but on the day of the exam, I could only manage 48 in Q. So, it really is important to complete all the questions in the Official Guide. It puts you in the right framework and helps you understand the test-makers' psychology. Completing the OG, and other official material should be enough for quant if you have a quant background.


Sentence Correction

This was my weakest area in the first CAT. But that did not scare me. Several people here mentioned how it's all about rules and how it's the easiest section to improve in. They were all right. The Manhattan SC guide is a must-have for anyone struggling in SC. Just completing it and practicing questions from the OG helped me improve my speed and accuracy. I tried to solve the most difficult problems in Gmatclub and the 1000SC, but it was a waste of time. Try to stay as far as possible from unofficial SC questions. It will just confuse you and waste your time. Stick to the official material. One non-standard 'wrong' questions could take an entire evening and leave you very confused. GMAT SC questions are generally easy. I did not memorize all the idioms in the SC guide, but I did try to practice as much as I could. Learning through mistakes helps you retain the information better.

Critical Reasoning

This was always my strong section. In fact after going Powerscore CR, my accuracy was very around 95. But it was taking up a lot of time. For most people Reading comprehension takes the most time, but for me it was Critical Reasoning and Sentence correction. This was simply because I thought I was good at them and did not want to get them wrong (This backfired). OG, Powerscore CR and other Official questions should be enough.

Reading Comprehension

On the exam day, this was my weakest section and I am pretty sure I would have gotten a better score, had I practiced it enough. I did not get enough time to practice Reading comprehension questions and did not stick to a proper strategy. I think it is very important to practice SC a lot to save up more time for Reading comprehension.


My CAT scores

GMAT Prep 1 - 670 Q49 V32
GMAT Prep 2- 720 Q50 V38
GMAT Prep 3 - 740 Q50 V40
GMAT Prep 4 - 740 Q49 V41

The GMAT Prep CATs are the closest to the real exam. Buy the 2 extra CATs. They are very valuable. The OG, GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 and GMATPrep Question pack 1 are a must have. This should give you enough practice to get a good score on the exam.

Manhattan CAT 1 -
Manhattan CAT 2 -
Manhattan CAT 3 -
Manhattan CAT 4 -
Manhattan CAT 5 -
Manhattan CAT 6 -

GMATCLUB tests

I liked the facebook page and got free access for a day. I wrote 3-4 quant tests. Amazing practice question. Was very helpful. I wanted to write all of them but did not have the time to do it. I will finish them before I retake the exam.

Use them only for practice. The Quant is way too tough and the Verbal is a little different from the official questions. Also, the algorithm is a little different. I have noticed that in the official exam and the software, the questions start becoming tough gradually. But in MGMAT's, you get one question right and they hit you with a difficult question. It's important to be calibrated and confident before the exam. So, buy the two extra official CATs and write them towards the end of your preparation.


On the exam day

Get a good night's sleep but don't worry if you're anxious and can't fall asleep early. It's okay. It's not going to make a huge difference. I wrote a few CATs when I was sick and it did not make much of a difference. It's all just over hyped.
I took 2 bars of snickers and a bottle of Gatorade. You don't want to be too full while writing the exam.
Do not take any pills, you normally don't.
Modafinil is a great pill and can help you a lot, but don't experiment with it on the exam day. Try it out some other time and if it works for you, it might be a good idea to write the exam on Modafinil, (especially if you've not had enough sleep)

DO NOT TAKE CAFFEINE

I am retaking the GMAT next month since I'm applying for MiM/2+2s abroad. 720 is not a bad score, but the MiM/2+2 scene is very competitive. Applicants don't have any work experience and the GMAT becomes all the more important.

Final tips

1. Stick to the official material as much as you can. Go to the website, there are enough official practice questions. A lot of them are there on GMATclub. There is a compilation of all the official question in this forum. I haven't done it yet. But I'm pretty sure it will help you calibrate during the last week of prep.
2. Buy the GMAT pad. It is huge and feels different. Or at least look at a few videos and understand how it's going to be on the exam day.
3. BUY THE GMAT PREP EXAM PACK. 2 Official tests at a very reasonable price! (50$)
4. Give Verbal the importance it deserves. I spent a lot of time on Quant even though I was constantly getting 48+ in Q, but on the exam day I could only manage 48. There's not much you can do after crossing 48. The Advanced Quant book by Manhattan is great. If you're scoring 48+ , complete that book and buy the GMAT Club tests.
After you cross 48, the Q score is not going to make much of a difference. To get a really high score - 750+ , mastering verbal is very important.
5. RC - Read all the strategies here and try to incorporate them. This is something I wish I did.
6. Use this forum. It is a goldmine!
7. Do not try any 'brutal' questions. They do more bad than good.
8. Don't be too hard on yourself. It's just an exam and you can take it again
9. Download all the 'Thursdays with Ron videos' and play them on 2x speed. (Doing this now)

If any of you want me to write a debrief about the YLP selection process, do let me know. Writing the essays and preparing for interviews is just as difficult

Please give me kudos if you thought this was helpful. I am retaking the GMAT and want to complete the GMAT Club tests. I wish to redeem them with the Kudos.