Been lurking here for a few months now but haven't posted yet. I've benefited greatly from a number of posts and, having just finished the GMAT, figured it was about time that I contributed something.
I took my first practice GMAT about a year ago and scored a 520 (15 Q - didn't finish, 44 V). I wanted to target some top schools so I knew I had plenty of work to do. I bought the latest
Official Guide and the entire Manhattan series. I later added the Kaplan general and quant guides along with a 5 CAT package from 800score. For the first few months of prep I did 1-2 hours a day, 4-5 days a week and focused entirely on quant. As the test approached I started really buckling down. I run my own business from home so it was easier for me to carve out time. I began spending nearly 5 hours a day, Monday through Thursday studying, doing practice problems, and writing two AWA's and then taking practice tests each Friday. I just received my official score report and couldn't be happier with the way it all panned out: 730, 44 Q, 47 V, 6.0 AWA.
Looking back at my experience, the most important things for me were repetition and practice tests.
Here's a break down of my practice test progress:
PT 1 - 800score 1
520, 15 Q, 44 V
Studied for a few months before starting these...
PT 2 - Princeton Review
600, 36 Q, 37 V
PT 3 - 800score 2
710, 42 Q, 45 V
PT 4 -
MGMAT680, 42 Q, 40 V
PT 5 - Knewton
650, 37 Q, 44 V
PT 6 - 800score 3
730, 43 Q, 47 V
PT 7 - 800score 4
730, 45 Q, 45 V
PT 8 - 800score 5
730, 44 Q, 46 V
GMAT
730, 44 Q, 47 V, 6.0 AWA
Now on to the real work...the applications!