580 (Q36, V34) to 740 (Q49, V41)!

I can't even begin to convey the excitement I felt walking out the Pearson doors on Friday night. I finally won. I will now try to share the techniques and the approach I used to achieve this score.

First off, I am not the smartest guy applying to top business schools. There are plenty of people out there who are able to study for 10% of the time that I dedicated to this exam, and score a 760. So, as much as I think everybody has a different "ceiling" containing their intellectual capacity, I definitely feel as if I reached my own ceiling - through hard work, not innate intelligence.

In 2009, I took a generic test prep course, sat for the GMAT, and scored a 580 (Q36, V34). Devastation was an understatement. I had consisitently been scoring in the 650-680 range on practice exams and was sure I could do better. I took the exam a month later and scored a 640 (Q44, V35). This is where I cite my first mistake:

1.) Mix it up!
I had done nothing - other than review the same material I had been studying - to augment my method of preparation. I didn't use new materials, forums, or study plans as I thought I had what I needed.

I applied to business school last year, and was accepted at a top 20 school despite my mediocre GMAT score. Though, I felt like I would be "settling" if I didn't take another shot at my dream school. This desire acted as the catalyst for my new plan of attack.

2.) Research what works!
I researched forums and study plans and came across Brett Hanneson's 60 day study plan. It is a grueling study plan, but it works. It also uses the Manhattan books as study guides and, as far as I'm concerned, Manhattan study guides should be the bible for GMAT prep - of course, the GMAC 12th edition is a great resource as well.

I cut off ties from the normal world and completely immersed myself in the world of GMAT. I religiously reviewed problems I got wrong and, despite being a native English speaker, spent a lot of time on reading comprehension and sentence correction, my two weakest subject areas. The Manhattan books for each of these topics are incredible. Next point....

3.) Focus on your weakest subjects!
It is absolutely crucial that you focus on the topics you like the least, which, in turn, are normally your worst subjects. I was horrible in reading comprehension, sentence correction, and absolute value problems. Yet, I continued to practice ratios, critical reasoning, and the subject matter I was good at; let's face it, that's more "fun". But, it didn't improve my score. I needed to spend more time on the stuff I wasn't good at.

So, I made that a focal point while using the 60 day study guide. I took a number of practice tests throughout the 60 days (dont remember all of them), and took 3 in the final week. My scores are as follows:

Attempt 1: Manhattan 640 (Q42, V35)
Attempt 2: Manhattan 720 (Q48, V41)
Attempt 3: Manhattan 690 (Q42, V41)
Attempt 4: GMAT Prep 730 (Q49, V40)
Attempt 5: GMAT Prep 710 (Q47, V40)

Manhattan math was significantly harder than the actual GMAT Prep math, and I highly suggest using MGmat exams. In hindsight, I think it is what helped me be so prepared during the actual exam. Speaking of which.....

So, I was pretty confident that I would be able to break the cosmetic 7XX barrier and remember thinking "I would LOVE to score a 720". On test day, I walked into the test center and was pretty calm (I had been there before). I wrote my essays, and got prepared for the math section. The first math question I saw I had no idea how to solve. Literally, I read it 3 times, couldn't come up with an approach, guessed, and moved on. Great start. I was flustered, but didn't let it affect me as I got the next question right in about 20 seconds. I felt good for the next 10 questions. From there, every question I encountered seemed really difficult. There were a couple of combinatorics problems, some intense coordinate geometry problems with similar triangles, etc. and I did NOT feel good at the end of the section. Not to mention, the last problem was really easy. Bad sign?

Verbal was a breeze. I actually enjoyed the reading comprehension passages which I knew was a good sign.

I clicked submit (expecting a 660-690 IF I was lucky). 740(Q49 V41) popped up on the screen and I immediately threw about 10 air jabs that would have knocked Mayweather out. I was elated.

My last piece of advice:

4.) Hold yourself accountable
I literally worked 3 hours a day for two months to earn the score I did. Some people don't need to. But, in the midst of your preparation, it is tempting to go get beers with the guys (or go shopping with the girls or whatever you girls do), or go to the gym, or take a nap, etc. You NEED to recognize that every moment you are doing something other than studying, you're sacrificing your potential. That may sound harsh and military like, but you need to find a way to motivate yourself to excel; do everything you can to ensure you realize your "ceiling" come test day. I knew I had done my best to prepare for the exam and whatever popped up on the screen was what I had earned. Noone did it for me. I determined my own fate. Put yourself in the position to be proud of your own ceiling. Unrealized potential will leave you wondering "what could have been"?