Hi all,
I promised myself that after taking my first real GMAT exam, no matter the outcome, I would share my GMAT experience. My goal, at the outset of my study program, was to score 700+ - unfortunately, I walked away from the test center last Tuesday with a 670 (Q41, V40) and 8 on IR. Gutted, although aware it is still a relatively decent score, I am now planning for a retake exam where I was hoping to start working on everything
but GMAT.
I apologize for the length of this post, but I hope it can help some of you! And if anyone has advice on a good retake strategy based on what you read below, I would very much appreciate hearing it!
A little bit about me- Born in the Netherlands, moved to New York City 3 years ago
- 3-5 years work experience in marketing/sales
- 25 Years Old
- Goal to get in to a top 10 US Business School or Top 5 European Business School
My Strategy/TimelineBelow is the timeline/materials I planned on going through. I started with a 'diagnostic' CAT exam from GMAT Prep on 2/25 where I scored a 640 (Q39, V38).
Weeks 1-5: Math Focus- MGMAT Foundations of Math, Strategy Books 0-5
- All OG DS & PS questions (leaving OG Math Review for Weeks 10-12)
- All Magoosh videos relating to Math
- Track all questions and answers in error log
- Create & review flashcards on a daily basis
- AWA Practice
- Take a CAT practice exam in week 5 to identify remaining weaknesses
Weeks 6-10: Verbal Focus- MGMAT Strategy Books 6-9
- All OG RC, CR and SC questions (leaving OG Verbal Review for Weeks 10-12)
- All related Magoosh Videos
- Track all questions and answers in error log
- IR practice
- Take a CAT practice exam in week 10 to identify remaining weaknesses
Weeks 10-12: Review & TEST!- OG Math & Verbal Review Questions
- Closely review error log and retry questions - identifying key areas of improvement needed
- More practice exams to become comfortable with timing strategy
- Somewhere in week 12 or 13 (May 16-May 29) - take my GMAT
What changed in this plan?So I didn't follow this plan to a T. For starters, I could not get myself to use/create an
error log so I ditched that as it was too distracting for me. However, I did use the
MGMAT Navigator product a lot, which to me felt like a relatively solid replacement of an
error log to at least show me which areas I lacked in. Secondly, I decided to focus very little on verbal - I just skimmed through the books very fast. Why you may ask? When I started studying for math, I realized that a very big chunk of time at the start was spent on rebooting how I looked at math, I essentially had to 'unlearn' bad habits as to how I approached problems and replace them with better ways of doing certain math problems. This initially led to a drop in my math performance, but after a while it slowly started to climb. As my Verbal score was already in the 90th percentile range (I actually score a V44 later on a GMAT Prep exam before starting verbal) I decided spending too much time on a subject I already seem to master quite well, would just take away from time I could spend improving a subject I do not master. And last, but definitely not least, my father sadly past away just a couple of weeks ahead of my exam and that, for obvious reasons, took away a lot of my ability to study well. Nevertheless, I promised myself, and him, that I would continue my path to a top business school so I got back to studying, and when I started scoring well on CATs (700+), decided to book my exam.
Score Evolution- 2/25 - GMAT Prep - 640 (Q39, V38)
- 3/5 - Veritas CAT (free test, did not focus well here) - 570 (Q34, V35)
- 3/19 - GMAT Prep - 660 (Q37, V44) - here's the math drop I mentioned earlier
- 4/10 - MGMAT CAT - 640 (Q42, V35)
- 4/23 - MGMAT CAT - 670 (Q44, V37)
- 5/1 - GMAT Prep - 730 (Q49, V41)
- 5/8 - MGMAT CAT - 690 (Q44, V39)
- 5/14 - MGMAT CAT - 670 (Q45, V36)
- 5/15 - GMAT Prep - 710 (Q45, V41)
- 5/22 - GMAT Prep - 720 (Q46, V44)
- 5/23 - GMAT Prep - 730 (Q48, V42) - this was the day before the exam, I figured I had this exam in the bag!
- 5/24 - ACTUAL GMAT - 670 (Q41, V40)
Except for the first GMAT Prep exam and the Veritas CAT - all of these exams were taken under 'test-like' conditions at home (no pausing, 8-min breaks only etc.). Based on the fact my 4 most recent GMAT Prep exams got me in the 700+ camp (with Quant ranging from 45-49 and Verbal from 41-44) I feel confident I can do better and that hopefully this was my worst performance and it can only go up from here. Which is why I'm planning a retake.
The Test ExperienceThe test center surprised me, I have not had the pleasure of visiting a test center before and unfortunately I was not expecting to feel that uncomfortable in the test center environment. It took me a while to 'warm up' as I just felt so awkward having to put all my stuff away, show my my pockets are empty before entering the room and having my palms scanned.
So when I finally got to my magic cubicle, the test center guy gave me a booklet that was very different from what I used in my initial test preparations. First of all, it was probably first used in the late 80s based on the state of it, and the squares on the booklet felt like they were as large as bricks. Not a big deal, of course, but it just added to the uncomfortable feeling I was already experiencing.
Then the exam started, I quickly selected my 5 schools and moved on to AWA. I wrote down the order of the 3 topics (or flaws) I wanted my essay to be about and started typing away. I finished the first draft with about 20 minutes left so i took that time to relax a little, slowly read through the essay and make adjustments and finally clicked next after about another 10 minutes. Next up, IR, this did not feel as easy but turns out I did nail it with a score of 8.
Break time - I took the break immediately after wrapping up the IR section. I was getting excited for the Quant section now, I drank some of my energy drink, ate a protein bar, stretched my legs, and moved back into the room. Clicked next to start the Quant section and was slapped across the face with a question I did not recognize immediately. Finally, when I realized how to get through this I was already 2 mins in, I took another 30 seconds to cancel out 1-2 answers and I had to guess. GUTTED. I felt this was a terrible start and while I did feel I got the second question right, I wasn't 100% sure. It took me at least 5 more questions to get back into my 'flow'. When I wrapped up the Quant section I felt defeated, I knew I just messed that up but not yet how badly.
I took the following 8-min break, went to the rest room to throw some water in my face and got right back to the Verbal section. I knew, that if I wanted to get this score up, I needed to shine like a diamond here. The section went very well, I got most of the questions and was able to narrow the tough ones down to at least 2 answer choices. At the final 5 or so questions, I started getting excited to click that final next button. But when i did, excitement quickly turned to sadness as I realized I did not reach my goal of 700.
Retake StrategyClearly, I dropped the ball on math. so that will be the core of my new study plan. I am currently planning to take out 3-6 weeks focusing solely on math (I ordered the Kaplan Math book) and retake the exam in July. However, I would love some of your advice on this - is there anything in particular I should think about as I plan for a retake?
The materials reviewSomething I'm sure some of you who are just starting to think about the GMAT exam will find helpful, a review of the materials I used:
GMAT Materials- GMAT Review, 13th Edition - 10/10 - Get this book. No doubt.
- GMAT Quantative Review - 10/10 - For me, focused on Quant, this was a godsend. I didn't open it up until very late and it very quickly showed the level of progress I had made since the start.
- GMAT Verbal Review - */10 - No idea. I bought it but realized I didn't need it. I am sure it is good though, if it's anything like the Quant
- GMAT Prep - 11/10 - If any of you are still wondering if you need to get this, stop wondering. I bought all of the additional test exams as well, great way of getting to know the materials and how the test makers think
MGMAT- Foundations of GMAT Math - 9/10 - Great way of solidifying the basis of math, absolute must for me. It was also very helpful to familiarize myself with the English words for certain math topics as I only learned this level of math in Dutch
- MGMAT Quant Books - 9/10 - If you're struggling with math like I did, start with Foundations. I read all of the books once and read Number Properties and Algebra twice as those were specific areas of weakness for me.
- MGMAT Verbal - */10 - Unfortunately, I also could not give this an honest review, I skipped through this.
- MGMAT CATs - 7/10 - I felt the math was significantly harder and complex than anything I've seen on the actual GMAT exam, but nevertheless a great way to review progress and see where you're still lacking.
- MGMAT Navigator - 9/10 - This was my de facto error log during my study period (or is my error log, sad to say) and some of the videos that explain the answer process are invaluable in better understanding how to solve key problems. It comes with the package so I advise you to use it.
- MGMAT App - 10/10 - Only just remembered, I actually downloaded a MGMAT GMAT App for my iPhone. I work in New York City, and pulling out a massive book on the subway is not a great idea during the rush hour commute, but just going through questions during my 30-min subway ride was a great way to spend time traveling to and from work. If you have a similar commute where you can't study, get the app, it's not great compared to their other materials but outstanding in the context I used it for
Magoosh- Videos - 7/10 - It took me a while before I started realizing the value of the Magoosh videos. But once I grasped math at a basic level, and I wrapped up my first round of the MGMAT Quant Books - I started putting on the Magoosh Quant Videos on my laptop and watching 2-3 videos per night before going to bed - safe to say I fell asleep numerous times with Mike McGarry from Magoosh explaining how to find the Greatest Common Factor or how to simplify Quadratics. I don't think this is a must, but for those of you who enjoy learning through video 'tutorials, this can actually be useful
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25 May 2016, 20:43
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