Intern
Joined: 07 Apr 2011
Posts: 6
Location: CT
Schools:MIT, NYU, IU
WE 1: USMC Enlisted (11yrs)
WE 2: USN Commissioned (4yrs)
GMAT Debrief - 730 (Q-49, V-41)
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07 Jul 2011, 15:14
So here is my GMAT story. It is short, sweet and to the point.
I majored in Actuarial Mathematics at a large state school and did well. I currently work in nuclear power, so my quant skills are a strength. I was taking the GMAT to gain entry into a top 20 public B-school so my needs were not that extreme; I did not need to ace the GMAT.
I did not know much about the GMAT prior to taking it, so I bought a McGraw Hill book for 19.95 at Border's Books and skimmed it. Then I took some practice tests and would typically miss 3 questions or so per section per exam and I finished with plenty of extra time. Then I stumbled into this site and read a lot of the advanced study techniques and dedicated study time here. Frankly you guys intimidated the heck out of me, and I seriously doubted my ability to earn a great score. I thought about cranking up my efforts but in the end, I really just need a mid 600s score and I was projecting above it on the cheesy paper tests from MH, so I opted to just take the test.
I took the test and the MH book did a good job of informing me of what to expect and basic question strategy. I took all available breaks even if just to throw some water on my face and I thought it helped. I never wrote a single essay while preparing and I think that was a mistake; the time crunch was much worse then I expected.
Quant: I did not do as well on the quant as I thought I would. I underestimated how quickly and how much the difficulty level came up. The questions were definitely tougher than I expected and to be honest, I thought I bombed the Quant.
Verbal: The verbal questions, like the math were much harder than anything that I saw in MH. The sentences were just longer and the passages were just a little more ambiguous and there was very little variation in the answer choices. Again, I thought I bombed it.
I hit submit score, saw my 730 and was shocked. I figured I was in the low 600s.
The moral of my story is: Remember why you are taking the test and what score you need to get on your chosen path. If you just need a 650 and you are scoring 700s early on, then save yourself the time and frustration, man (or woman) up and take the test. Not everyone needs a 750+ so if you don't need it, enjoy your life and get out and live. Know when to pull the plug on your studying.
Here is a caveat to consider though, I was offered significant scholarship money (probably as a result of my GMAT) and I had not considered that, so that is a plug for overpreparing.... you don't know what opportunity you will create for yourself.