If you want to skip the story, I'll condense my tips at the bottom

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I say not really because the first week was spring break and I was away from school, but I should probably start from the beginning:

I was originally planning to take the GMAT after spring break in 2009. I applied to my masters program on a whim and didn't have much time to study; however, due to some clever maneuvering, I was able to get out of taking it because I was doing my Masters in the same place as my Undergraduate. Business undergrads could do a join masters program during their undergrad. While I was going to graduate, on paper, we made it look like that. So I thought that was the end of it. For whatever reason, I kept my books (OG 11th Ed, and Pearson Review).

Fast forward to the 3 days before the beginning of my Masters classes. I speak to a few people who heard what research I had done as an undergrad. They suggest I do a Ph D in their department. I immediately accept. I love to research and the faculty in that department is top notch. I turn in my application indicating that I'll take the GMAT in February.

I begin studying over winter break; however, like most people, I study what I'm already good at. I write the GMAT off as being very easy for someone who is still in school (it's NOT, don't think that - first mistake). Fast forward to a month before the test. I start studying a little more seriously; however, I hadn't discovered GMATPrep until now (don't ask me how). I also hadn't thought of looking for forums of others who had done this before. Basically, I was completely unprepared.

I took my first GMATPrep test and got a 570. This was a shock to me as I knew I would need at least a 600 to get into the program. However, I was not too stressed as I thought raising the score by 30 points shouldn't be too challenging. I kept studying and a few days later took another practice test. This time, I scored a 520. I was not at all happy. I studied more, and then came the whole test day debacle.

The night before my test was the friday before spring break. My apartment is known as the "party apartment". I told my roommates and girlfriend that they could have a party there that night... BIG mistake. I can usually fall asleep through anything, but the stress of the test didn't help. I ended up putting earplugs in and trying to go to sleep.

I woke up in the morning, showered, ate breakfast, and drove out to the testing center. The test center is about half an hour away when you're driving the speed limit. That part's important, so keep that in your minds. I got there just before 7; my test was at 8. At 7:30 they let us in the building. Before then, even though they were inside, they would not answer the phones. At 7:45, I checked in and was told I needed my passport. I was not aware that I had to bring it. I had 30 minutes to drive home and back or I would forfeit the test. In my panic, I was able to get back and forth on time. Had I been one minute faster, I would have been pulled over as a cop had gotten someone about one minute in front of me.

I was finally admitted, took the test, and to my utter dismay, got a 540. I emailed the admission's person in my school to tell him the score so that they could make their decision. In the meantime, I went home for break.

A few days into break, he emailed me back saying that this was not an acceptable score for admittance. It was up to me whether I'd like to retake the test and get a higher score, or wait a year to study more and reapply. I immediately schedule a test for the earliest possible time, 31 days from my previous test. Unfortunately, I didn't use the first week for studying.

When I got back to school, I tried to use all my free time to study as much as I could. That was what I did for two weeks. I took a practice test and got a 620. My spirits were moderately higher; however, I knew I'd need above a 630 to be admitted (as per the Email). About a week and two days before the test, I discovered GMATClub and I got really nervous. I realized the questions I was studying weren't challenging enough, the way I was studying wasn't right, etc. From then on, every day before the test, I forced myself to get up at 5 AM. I would do all the work I could for school to get it out of the way so all I would have left is GMAT stuff for the next week. I took another practice test and got a 630. I studied a little more and a week before the test scored a 660 on my practice test. I continued to work out problems in the math section here. I also reworked the entire math section of the OG guide over 2 days. I made sure I understood how to do all the problems (I cannot stress how important that is).

Two days before my test, I told my professors that I will not be going to their classes. I had crows feet from lack of sleep and so I did what studying I could in the morning, and then took a nap. Woke up, did a little more studying, and relaxed for the evening. The day before the test, I did very little of anything. I watched some TV, played some mindless games on my phone. And made sure I understood the last few math questions I'd put off from the book.

Test day, I woke up early, ate some cereal and had some coffee. I had a little time to kill so I watched a little more TV. Before leaving for the test, I reviewed my cheat sheet for some of the math techniques I didn't quite know before (how to find the ones digit of a chain of products, how to do consecutive integer questions, etc. I drove really slow and had the radio on quiet. I was doing my best to relax. I got there a little early so before going in, I played a short game on my phone.

Got in, took the test. The first math question was a complete shock to me. It was something that should have been so simple, but I couldn't remember how to do it. I was able to narrow down my choices to 2, but I spent a lot of time on it. All in all, I remember having 7 minutes to do 10 questions. I finished the section with about 30 seconds to spare. The verbal went a lot better for me, but, during the last two questions, I was shaking. I started thinking "what will happen if I don't pass?" I didn't have a backup plan. I applied to one school and no jobs. If I didn't get in, I couldn't think about that. I finished the test. As they were running through the background questions, I felt physically sick. It started calculating my score. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I was almost in tears. I got a 660.

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Sorry for the long story, but here's what you should take out of it. It's been said before, but this just reinforces how true it is:

- OG guide is your bible, treat it as such. Know if front to back. I'm not religious, but this is probably as spiritual as it gets for me.
- Use these forums like the OG guide's messenger. Each topic is a different sermon. Read them well.
- This test is NOT easy. Don't ever think it is or you will lose.
- GMATPrep - use it. It's amazing. Don't think just because you've taken a test before, you'll take the same test again. I took each test 3 times and only saw maybe 3 of the same questions.
- Don't drink lemonade before you're test, you will have to go to the bathroom.
- Read what others have said their strategies are. Hopefully you will find this forum sooner than I did. This is the best suggestion you can get. See what worked for others in terms of good guides. I like the OG guide for knowing what styles of questions will be on the test, but the Manhattan guides for difficulty. Use more than one, but make sure you use good ones.

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of any right now. I earned a day off

Congratulations on your success. I felt the tension when I was reading your post about the exam day. You cracked it. Good luck.