Ok all you GTL enthusiasts. I’ve got the official Round 2 debrief ready for you.
You can see the post for my first writing by clicking the link in my sig.
So, after my first writing I needed fresh materials to work on. I’d previously exhausted
MGMAT, all OGs and
Gmatclub tests.
I gave Jeff Sackmann a try. I scoured the forums but there was little feedback and reviews of his materials. I got his Total Math Guide as I figured it would be a good high level review of the quant section, which is my biggest trouble spot, and I didn’t want to review all the
MGMAT guides again – chapter by chapter.
If you are a true quant jock and need only a high-level overview of the types of math that the GMAT tests then this guide is perfect. It doesn’t provide nearly as much depth as compared to the
MGMAT guides. However, it did have lots of realistic questions, with varying degrees of difficult, as well as detailed answers.
I also purchased his 8 pack of “Challenge Set” questions. These were great. It was a good blend of intermediate and advanced concepts that were very authentic to the real GMAT. The answers were also very detailed.
Like I did in the
OG and the
MGMAT guides, I’d highlight the question number that stumped me or that I got wrong for later review. This was as close as I got to keeping an
error log but found it to be a VERY effective way to review concepts I had not yet mastered.
My only beef with his Challenge sets is that his style is a bit repetitive and you don’t see as many truly unique questions that you are liable to see either in
GMATclub tests or the actual GMAT. Overall though, it was a very worthwhile investment for the money and I’d endorse his products.
To keep my RC and CR sharp I got an LSAT Official Test guide and did one or two sections a night, every night. The LSAT RC/CR are more difficult than the GMAT and this practice served to perfect my top strength.
SC was still a trouble spot though. I re-read the
MGMAT SC (for like the 5th time) and chipped away at 20-30 SCs from the 1000SC a night, every night. I saw dramatic improvement here. Eventually I felt like I was “seeing the matrix” in each SC. I made it to around SC 800 before I took on the GMATclub Brutal 100SC which tested, refined and polished my SC skills into a top strength.
Learning from last test day when I tried to do
OG questions and ended up spooked as I got several incorrect I focused solely on the AWA guide from chineseburned the morning of the test. I had a 2 hour commute to the test centre so this filled the time and kept my mind occupied perfectly!
AWA was a good warmup, I'm not verbally inclined but I know I rocked these essays.
Quant was much better than last time, there we're definetly fewer oddball question types that I'd never seen before. But I didn't get any that were insanely hard, and there were no perm/comb questions so I figured I was only doing so-so. Verbal is my anchor and for the most part it went smoothly. I can get so many CR and basic SC correct in under a minute that any challenging SCs or RCs I could really slow down and focus on without having to worry about timing.
As I submitted by last question I did a quick prayer then waited... 670 (Q44,V38) ... and silently did my happy dance. I'm pretty sure the admins we're laughing at me, but who cares. This was a big jump from 620 (Q40 V35) two months ago and will carry much more weight for me moving forward. I'm VERY happy and grateful.
However, and this may sound cliche but this whole GMAT study process for me has been a real journey of sorts. For months before picking up the
OG I told myself I couldnt do it, then once I started the
OG I convinced myself I still couldnt do it. Months passed. I came back again with a new resolve to give this my best shot and consistenly over the last 6 months I have had moments where I thought I'd be best to stop wasting my time and give up but EVERY SINGLE TIME I would tell myself to shut up, that I can do it if I put my mind to it, and to get up one more time than you fall down. That shift into a 'no-excuses' type mindset is a big milestone for me personally.
BUT... my ultimate goal from day 1 has been to join the 700 club. I'm sooo close. But I'm also exhausted from months of study, way overdue to focus exclusively on job hunting and do not really want to spend more money on either the test (250usd) or additional materials (nor are there many additional materials left that I haven't already used).
So I told myself to sleep on it for a few nights, before I committ to another month of studying for one last and final ultimate showdown with the GMAT in search of that magical 700 score which I feel will secure my spot (along with a good app package of course) into a MBA program.
Anyways, ladies and gents. That's my story. If you have any specific questions, please feel free.
-TheSituation
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06 Jul 2010, 15:57
