Hello All,
After spending the past 104 days reading through other people's experiences, it is finally time to share my own.
My journey started on August 8th, when I signed up for the Manhattan Online Prep Course, and got access to the
MGMAT CATs. I took my first CAT that very day without ever seeing a GMAT question before, and scored a dismal 530. I was anxious and depressed, as I knew that I was on a time crunch and needed to take the test in 3 months.
I tried to study 2 hours every single weekday, and a minimum of 6 hours on Saturday on Sunday. The first 6 weeks of my prep, I followed the
Manhattan Prep Course Syllabus very closely, and attended class two times a week. Manhattan provides a decent syllabus of homework questions and reading sections from the
MGMAT Strategy Guides. I had no idea how else to study, so for those 6 weeks, I completed every requirement from the syllabus and read all the homework that was assigned. During this time I took 2 more
MGMAT CATs.
8/08/15
MGMAT CAT#1: 530 (37Q 27V)
9/4/15
MGMAT CAT# 2: 590 (37Q 34V)
9/19/15
MGMAT CAT #3: 610 (37Q 36V)
By this time, I had completed the online prep course, and was really frustrated that my quant score had not improved a single point. I thought to myself, how could I possibly be getting the exact same score after weeks of studying as what I scored when I didn't even know what Data Sufficiency was!!! It was upsetting but I remained determined to improve my score no matter what it would take. Following my third CAT, I had a post course assessment with Manhattan. Just as a general note, the
Manhattan Prep Course was not bad, but not fantastic either. It is worth it though, just for the fact that you receive all the strategy guides and the
OG books....and that they provide a bit of structure on studying. I had no clue how to study before I took the course, and having a bit of structure, and the right resources helped me to stay on track and eventually helped me figure out what I needed to do to move forward. From here on out, the studying was up to me, I had completed all the homework assignments from
Manhattan Prep and was now on my own.
Following the online course, my studying focused purely on
OG questions. I had completed all of the strategy guides (all the reading and all questions) by this point, and the
OG,
OG Quant Review, and
OG Verbal Review were the only books I had left. I stayed dedicated to my study schedule, and completed as many questions as I could, reviewing them carefully during my study sessions. I didn't really have any organization or plan to this studying, I basically just did questions and reviewed them for the period of time I was studying. I kept this up for six weeks from 9 to 10/31.
I'd like to mention that one of the most valuable resources I had throughout this journey is the GMAT Navigator that is provided by Manhattan. This was an incredible tool that allowed me to 1) keep track of the questions I had completed and 2) gave me a lot of great answer explanations. We all know the
OG answers are not that great, especially their verbal solutions. GMAT Navigator was extremely important to me, and I used it to track every single questions I completed throughout my studying.
On 9/26/15 I took my first GMAT Prep Exam: 640 (39Q 39V)
Finally I saw a little tiny improvement in my quant, and just kept grinding every single day. Every day I would complete
OG Questions, carefully review the answers, and also used GMAT Club to find solutions that would help me better understand the concepts.
On 10/3/15 I took the second GMAT Prep Exam: 700 (46Q 40V). This was great to see, but I have a confession to make. I was cheating during the prep exams, and hitting pause way more often than I would like to admit. I also failed to take the essay and IR, as I was not concerned about those tests. I was so anxious during this time, that I couldn't stop myself from hitting pause to spend more time on a question, so that I could see a 7-- score. For me, seeing that score was so important for my confidence, that even though I knew cheating would skew my scores and inflate them, I just couldn't control myself. Don't be like me, and listen to everybody else when they say you should take the CAT under test-like conditions at all times.
Following my second GMAT Prep Exam, I decided to purchase the GMAT Prep Exam Pack #1 and also the GMAT Prep Question Pack. The rest of my studying was done almost exclusively from these two resources. I started to work on the GMNAT Prep Question Pack during my studying, and prepared to take the 2 additional Exams. Both of these resources were really great, and the question pack was also great because it provided me with a way to answer questions on a computer, which would help me be comfortable during exam day. I highly suggest both of them.
On 10/11/15 I took
MGMAT #4: 620 (43Q 42V). A dip in my scores....again very disappointing. At this point, I had logged so many hours of studying that I thought I would just never be able to score high. I was almost resigned to this fact, but a voice in the back of my head told me that I couldn't give up. I continued to study by completing official questions, trying to be more careful in reviewing the answers. I felt so bad after the 620 score, that I took another GMAT Prep Exam the following day.
On 10/12/15 I took GMAT Prep #3: 710 (49Q 39V). Once again, I was so keen on seeing that 7-- score that I continued to pause and cheat during the exam. Even though I KNOW how important it is to take the test timed and under test conditions, I just couldn't stop myself. I would come across a question that I was SO frustrated at, that I just hit pause, take a deep breath, and take however long it would take to get the question right. This again is a horrible way to study, and I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS!!!!
On 10/24/15 I took the final GMAT Prep #4: 660 (Forgot the breakdown). This was just a few days before the actual test, so I actually took this test seriously and completed the essay and IR sections. I also finally stopped myself from hitting pause, and took the test all the way through. A devastating score, I felt that I had not shown any improvement at all over the past a several weeks. There was only one week left until my exam, so there was not much I could do. I would take the test on 11/5/15, and could not stop worrying/thinking about the exam. During the week before the actual exam, I continued to complete
OG questions, and tried to focus on making my test day go comfortable. I took the entire week off of work. During this week, I spent 6-8 hours everyday studying and reviewing material. I made an appointment for a massage the day before the exam, and also spent the day reading GMATCLUB posts on "what to do 24 hours before the test." I bought water, snacks, energy drinks, and made a trip to the testing center to get an idea of where it was. I planned everything perfectly, and hoped that this extra preparation would give me the boost I need to score well.
Finally the day came. 11/5/15. The test was at 9AM, and I woke up at 7AM. I got up early, took a shower, took a caffeine pill, and spent the next hour or so reviewing my notes for the essay and a few flashcards I had made. I drove to the testing center which was only a few minutes away, and by this point I was shaking and trembling from anxiety. I entered the testing center, and went through all of their administrative steps. There was nothing I could do now, so I decided I'd just get it over with. I sat down and began the exam. The essay was not too bad. I used the chineseburned template, and was able to find a couple points to write about. Not bad. The integrated reasoning began next, and honestly I did not even do one IR question beforehand. I honestly didn't care how I did, and was pretty sure I'd at least score a 5 or 6 without too much effort.
IR was complete, and I had to go to the restroom really badly. I'm not sure why, as I didn't drink any coffee or any other fluids before the exam, but my bladder was so full and I had to run to the bathroom during my break. Got back from the break with 3 minutes remaining, and decided waiting around would not help me. I decided to start. It was game time. The first Quant question came up, and I was stuck. Honestly, the entire Quant section was just a blur to me. I can only remember that I was guessing/throwing away on WAY too many questions, and I felt that every other question was too difficult for me to solve. I was so concerned about my timing, that if I couldn't figure out a question within the first 10 seconds, I was guessing and moving on. This strategy can work in some cases, but won't work if you are throwing every other question away. That's what I was doing. I felt the questions were so hard, and knew I was doing badly. Again, there was nothing I could do besides finish the exam. Following the Quant, I had to go to the bathroom AGAIN. Even though I had used the bathroom 75 minutes ago, I felt like my bladder was exploding again and had to run to the bathroom. The last 25 minutes of the Quant section were me feeling that uncomfortable feeling when you have to use the bathroom. It was unpleasant to say the least.
Verbal was next, and again it was pretty much a blur. I felt like it was a little better than the Quant, and was feeling okay. I completed the verbal pretty quickly, and by the end of it I thought that I had done pretty darn well. I felt good about the verbal section. Finally, I was done with the exam. I saw the admin screen that shows up following the exam, where you have to click "NEXT" a few times to get to your score. I took a deep breath, and for about a minute I stared at it. I was so scared. I clicked through the screens, and all of a sudden the score came up. I was kind of in shock. I guess I wasn't expecting the score on that screen for some reason, so as soon as it came up I couldn't process what I was seeing.
It was a 640 (40Q 38V 6IR). I didn't know what to say. I felt like I had wasted the past 3 months of my life. I felt like all my hard work was for nothing, and that my dreams of applying to school this year were gone. I didn't cry, but I felt like crying. I didn't know what to say or do. I drove home, and sat down on my couch without moving for an hour. I was in a state of shock. All those hours put into studying, and I could barely score in the 40th percentile for Quant. I was lost. For some reason, while I was going through all these emotions, a voice in the back of my head told me that I should sign up for the exam again. I told myself, "No, there's no point, I have no time to make any significant improvements. I would have to take it again in 16 days (the minimum amount of time necessary) and there was nothing I could do during that time to make my score better." For some reason, even though I was telling myself "There is no point," I went online without thinking and paid for the test in exactly 16 days. I said to myself, this is my last chance (for round 2 deadlines), and if I mess this up, I can't apply anywhere. I didn't have the luxury of preparing again for another 1-2 months because of the deadlines.
Over the 16 days I had, I had about a week off of work. During that week (first 5 days) I did several things. 1) I got access to the
GMAT Club Tests, and 2) I bought the Aristotle Prep SC Guide. Since I wasn't at work, I decided to get as many hours in of studying as I could for those 5 days. I read through the Aristotle Prep Guide in one day. I also decided to RETAKE each of the GMAT Prep Tests every single day for four days. Keep in mind, I took these 4 tests, in 4 days, starting the DAY AFTER MY EXAM. My scores went like this:
11/6/15 Day 1: 680 (44Q 39V)
11/7/15 Day 2: 720 (49Q 39V)
11/8/15 Day 3: 730 (49Q 40V)
11/9/15 Day 4: 720 (47Q 41V)
What was going on here? I wasn't cheating anymore (well I hit pause a FEW times, but kept it to a minimum), and even though I was RETAKING these exams, I really only saw a handful of questions I had already seen.... and even the ones I had seen already, I didn't know the answer off the top of my head and basically had to re-do them as if it was the first time seeing it. This really brought my confidence up. I said to myself, wait a second, I can score well on this test! It can't be a fluke that I scored 680-730 on 4 exams, right??? My confidence was boosted and I felt like I could actually do better. The Aristotle Prep SC GUIDE was incredible. Even though the Manhattan SC Guide is great, the Aristotle Prep guide was so much easier to read and understand, and really made things simple for me. It really helped me lock down SC, and I felt way more confident.
After finishing my re-takes, I turned to the GMAT CLub exams. Man these things are hard. I didn't take them timed, just completed the questions at my own pace, every single day, and used GMAT Club to understand solutions and concepts. The questions are crazy hard, but it really allowed me to try and get a handle on the 700 level questions, and to be honest, after seeing 250 ridiculously hard questions in a row, the normal questions on the real thing were way easier. I don't know how to explain it, it trained my mind to see difficult question after difficult question, somehow making easier questions seem WAY Easier.
The final week before my retest, I had to attend a conference and was unable to study at all. I was anxious about this and stressed about it every day. I was worried that not studying/focusing on the exam for the 5 days before the exam would make me forget everything and would be detrimental. But.... there was nothing I could do. I had an obligation for some other duties which did not allow for any time to review/study material. I had to accept this fact, and finally the day of my second GMAT exam was here.
This time my exam was scheduled for 2PM. I woke up at 830AM and decided to just chill out for the day. I have to admit that the morning was stress inducing, and I spent a lot of time worrying about the exam and thinking of all the worst-case scenarios. I have a habit of being really negative, and my negative thoughts were bringing me down. I sat and meditated for a few minutes, and tried to do some controlled breathing exercises. I have no idea if this helped me at all, but the time for the test was here and I got in my car to get to the testing center.
By the time I started the exam, I had kind of accepted that I wasn't going to get the score I wanted, and that there was just nothing I could do. I would just have to try again next year. For some reason, this thought process helped relax me. I didn't spend all that time preparing for the exam (like the first time) and didn't think of all the little details. I just walked in there, showed my ID, and sat down for the test.
This time, I began with the essay. Same deal as last time, nothing crazy, hopefully I did okay. IR was next, and the first IR question was killer. I had no idea what was going on. I'm not sure how much time I spent on it, but I probably reread the question 5 times and by then I realized I'd wasted too much time and guessed. IR went along like this for a while, I was able to get 2 or 3 easy questions, but I kept re-reading questions over and over because they were so complex. Surprisingly, I didn't freak out about this. I just accepted that, hey, that's how it goes, and kept moving on. I finished IR, and took a 5 minute break to use the restroom. Again, I got back and had about 3 minutes left. There was no point for me to stand in the lobby, so I decided just to get in there and get it over with.
Quant began... and the first question was really easy. I was surprised....I was suspicious. I redid the question because I felt it was TOO easy and that there must be a trick. I finally accepted that it was a softball, and continued on. Quant kept going, and I felt the questions were WAY easier than my first exam. I felt confident about my answers, and wasn't throwing out as many questions as I was solving. I was not as nervous, and as I continued to get questions right, my confidence began to grow. Towards the last 10 questions, I began to worry about my timing, and ended up throwing out one or two questions. I knew that spending more time on these questions wasn't going to do anything, so I guessed and moved on. The Quant ended.... and I felt OK. I felt, hey this is way better than last time... but I told myself I probably scored a 43 or 44.
Verbal began next. I went through verbal, and surprisingly, I didn't feel as confident as the first time. I had to re-read several of the passages, and one in particular was really long. It ate up a bunch of time, and I worried and rushed through the next 3 questions. Sentence Correction was OK...there were a few where I was stuck between two answers, but also, the Aristotle Prep SC Guide really helped me get a lot of questions quickly and efficiently. The end of the exam, kept getting harder and harder, and I began to get nervous again.I got stuck on one particularly difficult SC question, and had to take a deep breath for 10 seconds and close my eyes. I had to accept that, I was going to score what I was going to score, and there was always next year.
The exam ended and I took a deep breath and told myself it was over. It is what it is. The administrative screens came up, and this time, I didn't dwell on any of them. I clicked next and next as quickly as I could, and then it said it was "calculating my score."
720 (48Q, 41V, 7IR). I jumped out of my seat (quietly) and raised my arms up. I closed my eyes and did a few fist pumps. I stayed like that for at least 30 seconds. I opened my eyes again to make sure my eyes weren't tricking me. I could hear the test proctor giggling outside in the lobby. I couldn't believe it. I left the exam room, got my unofficial score printout, and got out of there as quickly as I could. I got in my car and screamed. I couldn't believe I did it. I was shocked. Somehow I managed what seemed to be impossible. My dreams for grad school were alive, and finally I could see my hard work paid off. I can't explain how it was possible that I could raise my score by 60 points in 2 weeks. I remember searching on gmatclub for similar success stores before the exam. Everybody was saying "its not possible to increase your score that quickly." I did it. If you are in a similar position, don't give up. Just remember it's possible, and if you've put in the work, you will see results.
Thanks to everyone on GmatClub for all the wonderful resources you provide. I relied heavily on the
GMAT CLub tests and the GMAT CLub solutions. They were invaluable to me. My GMAT Journey is finally over and I will move on. I don't plan on retaking it (at least I hope I don't have too). Now, the next part of my journey begins. This is just the first step. But damn it feels good.
23 Nov 2015, 17:52
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