2nd Attempt After 7 Weeks of Studying - 710 (Q49, V36, IR5)

Just got back from my test. Thank God for a 700+ score after only 7 weeks or studying. However, I will be aiming for 1 more retake next month as I feel strongly that I can achieve 740+. I don't plan on spending much time in studying for GMAT anymore, though, other than casual reviews and doing 2 practice CATs from GMAT Prep EP2 which I haven't used.

Here is a link to a debrief of my 1st attempt:

690-q48-v36-ir4-226112.html

Score Breakdown:

Attempt #1 - 25 SEP 2016: 690 (Q48, V36, IR4, AWA 6.0)
Attempt #2 - 15 OCT 2016: 710 (Q49, V36, IR5. For AWA, I think I did similarly as I did in the 1st attempt)

Mock CAT scores (in chronological order):

Kaplan CAT1 - 660 (Q46, V35, IR5)
GMAT Prep CAT1 - 680 (Q47, V36, IR4)
Kaplan CAT2 - 670 (Q44, V38, IR5)
Kaplan CAT3 - 670 (Q47, V35, IR6)
Kaplan CAT4 - 690 (Q46, V39, IR7)
GMAT Prep CAT2 - 690 (Q48, V37, IR8 - IR had repeat questions from CAT1)
--------------1st attempt--------------------
GMAT Prep EP1 CAT3 - 730 (Q49, V41, IR6) - 04 OCT 2016
Kaplan CAT5 - 710 (Q49, V39, IR7) - 10 OCT 2016
GMAT Prep EP1 CAT4 - 720 (Q49, V39, IR8) - 13 OCT 2016

Material used:

-Kaplan GMAT Premier 2017
-OG 2016
-GMAT Prep, EP1 & EP2
-GMAT Club Tests (subscribed after 1st attempt, only used quant materials)

Strategy:

Before the 1st attempt, finished Kaplan GMAT Premier 2017 book, and finished about half of OG 2016 quant section along with practice CATs listed above.

After the 1st attempt, I spent about equal time on quant and SC. I did not study CR or RC as I was already doing quite well on those.

I solved remaining quant questions in OG 2016, and solved about 5 quant CATs from GMAT Club tests.

For SC, I just solved all SC questions in OG 2016. I had about 90% hit rate in latter part of the SC questions.

After solving any practice problems, mock CAT or not, I made sure I reviewed all the wrong or guessed questions thoroughly and to understand them perfectly before moving on. I sometimes left the review for the next day after taking mock CATs, but did not move on to do any other studying until I finished my review.

Debrief:

I was actually expecting at least 720. I was relieved to see the 7 pop up but was a little disappointed to see 10 after it. However, I am really thankful that I was able to achieve my target of 700+ score only after 7 weeks of studying.

For my 1st attempt, I did not study at all on the day before the test day. I did not think this worked well for me as I was just anxious and unable to relax. This time, I did light studying. I solved remaining SC questions in OG 2016 (about 10 questions), read GMAT idioms list, reviewed my GMAT Club quant problem collection (collection of problems I had gotten wrong in GMAT Club quant CATs), and reviewed my quant notes (formulas and concepts I had written down, mostly from the questions I had gotten wrong since I began studying).

I didn't really get a good night's sleep but sufficient sleep of around 6 hours. I kept waking up for last 2 hours, though, from having multiple dreams about GMAT score, ranging from high 600s up to 740...

My exam was scheduled at 01:00 PM. I got to the test center around 12:35 PM. I sat in the car for a couple minutes and prayed. I then went inside the test center, told administrator that I was there for the test at 1 PM, and sat there for 10 minutes, acclimatizing myself and reviewing quant notes. I then told the administrator I was ready. I scanned my palm, took the picture, and went in for the battle.

Before I went in, I requested 5 booklets of the notepads. The administrator only brought me 3 as I was about to begin the test after entering schools to send score reports to. I did not mind as I could always request more after AWA and IR.

AWA went smoothly. I was able to type quite a lot of content. I wrote full 5 paragraphs as per the AWA template (huge shoutout to chineseburned!! how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html). I think I should get at least 5.0, if not 6.0 like my 1st attempt.

IR was okay. I was able to solve all the problems except 1 which I guessed on. I am again bummed about IR score of 5... I seriously do not know what I am doing wrong on these. Well, I did not study at all for IR except solving them in mock CATs, but I do not know how I always manage to do worse in actual exam than my mock CATs.

Quant section went smoothly. I was able to tackle all problems. Like I did in the 1st attempt, I again had to wonder if I were getting a series of questions wrong because some of the questions seemed too easy to be 700 level. But I got over that thought after a brief moment, told myself that the questions seem easy because I had improved (for a confidence boost for myself!), and continued on. I ran slightly out of time and had question 36 & 37 to solve with 3 minutes to go. I had to make a choice on which to give up. I spent 30 seconds reading the question stem of #36, and decided to guess and to allocate rest of the time for #37. I was glad I did, as I was able to solve #37 quite swiftly. However, only GMAC knows whether I got #37 question right.

Verbal section also went smoothly. Every question seemed to be pretty clear. I was getting tired at around question #20, but tried my best to focus. I made sure I made use of all the time available as I tend to finish verbal section too quickly in my mock CATs (partly because I am so eager to see the score ). I finished verbal section with 3 minutes remaining.

Then I quickly clicked through the questionnaire, expecting to see a number between 720 and 740. Then the number popped up. 710. Oh. A little disappointing. It was relieving, however, as I had a 700+ score in the bag now. Then I looked at the breakdown... "Q49. Ok. V36? What? How?? IR5? Not again!!! Haha."

I was really expecting to get at least 39 in verbal. I really do not know what I did wrong. I think it has to be SC questions yet again... I was able to fully comprehend all of the RC and CR questions, and don't think I got many wrong at all.

Anyway, the drive home was much more relaxing this time than the last. I was so focused on getting 700+ on my GMAT as my undergrad GPA is a disaster. Now I can focus on my applications, and leisurely study for GMAT in my spare time.

I still am planning on a retake for one last time, because I have time to do so before R2 deadlines, and also because I strongly feel that I can do much better in verbal. I will probably go for my last attempt sometime in next month. My target is 740+.

Huge thanks to GMAT Club as I was able to motivate myself through so many inspirational posts along with being such a huge help in my studies.

Lastly and most importantly, all thanks and praises to God, my greatest motivator.