Hi Everyone! I am ELATED to finally write my debrief
My debrief will be somewhat short, it's main purpose is to serve as an encouragement for those who went through a similar journey. I picked up the GMAT and put it down THREE different times over the course of a few years. I was not able to take the test at some points due to life circumstances.
About me: I went to an engineering school and majored in Chemical Engineering. After graduation I went into the army. I was an army officer and started studying for the GMAT while stationed in Europe.
First round of studying:After a a month of studying I took the Princeton Review practice test. I scored a 540, I began to think I was just dumb and would never accomplish anything. I bought the
Manhattan GMAT, and went through all the practice tests. I went through all six practice tests and my score went from a 580 up to a 650.
Took the GMAT and scored a 680. I applied to a few business schools and did not get into my dream school. I decided to focus on work and was unsure if I would pick the test up again.
Second round of studying:About a year after taking it the first time and months of debating about taking it up again, I decided I would give the GMAT another shot. I knew I would need a course that would basically guide me through studying because I needed modularity due to my schedule. My schedule was hectic and I didn't know what country I would be in on a particular day, so I needed a program I could pick up and put down anywhere and that would guide my through a plan. I went with the
economist GMAT course. This was expensive but I thought it was worth it. I felt their quant was ok, but their verbal was second to none. My verbal score went from a v36 on practice tests to consistently v44. I started taking multiple practice tests and my GMAT practice tests were about 680-720. I was thrilled, but I wanted to bump my score up a little higher. My verbal was very high, but my quant was around a 42-45 so I knew I had room to improve. During all of this I decided to transition out of the military. I underestimated the amount of time that would take and decided to focus on my transition. I ended up getting a job as a management consultant and started traveling heavily where I could not find time to study.
Third round of studying:After year and a half of traveling as a consultant I decided I would give the GMAT another shot. I took the
Math revolution GMAT course. The techniques were non traditional, and I did not apply all of them during my test, but the course was still value added. I started going through practice tests and practice questions. My practice tests ranged from 600-740. I was all over the place. I decided that enough was enough and I needed to take it. The reason my scores ranged so much is because I was experimentally trying to over focus on the first 10 questions instead of keeping my original strategy. This ate up my time and dropped my score a lot. I also tried experimenting with different diets, e.g. LOADS of coffee. This ended up not working for me, so I knew I needed to take the test without any "boost beverages."
Week of:I knew I had to commit this time. I ended up taking a week off from work and took 3 practice tests, one every other day. The day before I did nothing. I ran, read, and relaxed. I made sure I kept my diet exactly the same for each test. The night before I started looking at test questions (DO NOT DO THIS) realized I knew nothing, was destined to never accomplish anything ever and spent 20 minutes wondering how I could have a GMAT ninja invisibly suspend from the ceiling to whisper the answers in my ear because there was no hope.
Test day:I ended up going through my pre-test ritual (it helped me to do jumping jacks and squats before the test so I did a little workout in the bathroom

) and I ended up going through the test EXACTLY like my practice tests. I stayed disciplined with my strategy, my diet, and my breaks. when I saw the screen I was THRILLED. GMAT...GMAT complete (army joke for anyone reading this). I ended up hugging the proctor and left to celebrate.
Take aways:Never give up
Emotional discipline is key
Keep diet consistent
Go through some courses