so the trend is to post your gmat story so here is mine.
TimelineI actually began my "gmat prep" via the LSAT. Last year there was a time when I considered law school, and focused on the LSAT for a period of three months or so. I got a great LSAT score, but it turns out I will only be using it to get tutoring gigs
. there are like 30-40 official LSATs available which will be great fodder for GMAT prep.
I decided to ultimately apply to b-school in September. I had no recommendations, GMAT, school visits, or essays under my belt. My goal was to hit the late october/early november R1 deadlines.
prep strategyI had a limited timeline to study, so I focused on my weaknesses (SC, Number Properties, Geometry) and taking as many CATs as possible to understand the timing/stress.
materialsOG #12. unfortunately wasn't able to do as many questions as I'd like, but obviously very useful
Powerscore Sentence Correction Bible
MGMAT Number Properties
MGMAT CAT
GMAT CAT
Breakdown by section:
Logical Reasoning / Reading ComprehensionI didn't study LR/RC much at all. I had limited time to study during my month or so of prep so I focused on the other sections. LSAT was
key here; the LSAT LR/RC is much harder than GMAT so its great for prep. There is no better prep for Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. My LSAT prep let me get 0x on LR and RC during both of my GMAT CAT. I obviously have no clue about the real test, although the real one was harder in these areas.
Sentence CompletionSC was one of my areas of focus. I bought the Powerscore's Sentence Correction Bible, as I trust the Powerscore brand from my LSAT prep. The Powerscore bibles are legendary for LSAT. I give the book a solid A (prob not A+). The chapters are broken down logically and there are lots of strategies.
QuantI had a pretty good quant background, but there were gaps in my understanding. I used
MGMAT's deal where you can buy a book and get access to the online CAT, and purchased the Number Properties guide. I didn't get too much benefit from it to be honest, but it did help me learn some "tricks" for factors etc. I give the book a B, but the real reason I bought it is the
MGMAT CAT.
Tests I would rank the tests in difficulty as: MGCAT > Real GMAT > GMAT CAT. I scored a 780 on both GMAT CAT during my October studying, I think the same Q but got 99th verbal. Real GMAT definitely had harder verbal. MGCAT are great prep , but don't read too much into your scores. The section breakdown etc is quite nice. GMAT CAT still feels the most like the real test.
I started my prep with GMAT CAT #1 , then took 4 MGCAT, then took GMAT CAT #2 approx 4-5 days before the exam.
My MGCAT scores:
Q46/V38 690 1
Q37/V45 680 2
Q47/V45 740 3
Q46/V45 740 4
OverallThink of your b-school plans early. I took my test a few days before my first R1 application was due and it was very stressful. Surely this hurt the rest of my application, because I had to worry about GMAT and essays simultaneously. I do think you can study in a month though if required.
I am happy with the purchases I made test-prep wise. I had plenty of prep material for around $60 or so. I like Powerscore's style, and as I said before their LSAT stuff is legendary (LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible). The MGCAT are great and pretty cheap when you buy the book. The tests then come with the book for free; I think you get a pretty solid guidebook and a number of good prep CAT.
Another thing I regret is lack of AWA during my practice CAT. I blew off the standard advice of practicing a writing to see how tired you get. I was more tired during the verbal section on the real test due to the AWA. I didn't spend any time on AWA during prep though as it seems there isn't much value added to your application, but I did get a good score on that somehow still. Its pretty similar to the LSAT AWA
.