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25 Nov 2010, 15:57
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Alrighty then. When I initially found gmat club and started exploring I was slightly annoyed at all the victory lap, play-by-play explanations for these people who raised there score 100+ points. Sheesh, it's a dumb test, not the superbowl. Spare me the John Madden details. However, after staring at the 720 on my screen at 3:00pm Monday afternoon after 4.5 hrs of head sweaty fun, I completely understand all the whooping and hollering and feel justified in a little shameless play-by-play myself.
First a little background (Feel free to skip):
Graduated in 2007 from a large state University with a finance major. Did an internship at a boutique investment bank, but spent most of my last two years working with the University's Venture Center and got really inspired to do something entrepreneurial after graduating. So while my peers went off to work for banks and consulting companies, I took the road way less traveled to small business ownership and started a martial arts and fitness gym. I figured it would be cool to spend a few years pursuing my passion for all things kicking and punching and be the boss/janitor. It's been a fun, yet eye-opening several years, but that's a story for another day. Suffice it to say the plan was always to see how far I could grow the business and then start something else or go to bschool. My business partner is ready to take over the day to day operations so I decided it was time to hit the books and take the GMAT. Dang, I should have done that right after college. I wasn't "too busy starting a company." I knew that with a "non-traditional" work experience I would probably need a good gmat score to even be considered by top 10 schools. ps if anyone has advice on how to position similar experiences, I'd love to hear it.
Study Materials/Practice Tests
1. OG12. MGMAT Online Materials. Veritas Prep books and online.
2. CATS: Ok, big time apologies here, but my online access to mgmat cat tests expired nov 17--5days before I was scheduled to retake the gmat
and I never took time to write down all my scores. All, I can remember is the rough range of scores for the 4 MGMAT CATS I actually took.
800 Score: 660 (Q38V43)
GMAT Life: 550 (Q32V32)
MGMAT Range of first 3 tests: 620 (Q36V40) - 670 (Q39V42). The Last test I took 1 week before my second gmat I got a 700, but no thanks to the quant score Q40V46 (99% on the verbal).
GMAT Prep: 620 (Q36V40) 1 week before first gmat attempt. Ok, so I know this was dumb, but due to time management. I only took one of the gmac provided tests two days before my first GMAT attempt.
Study Strategy 1st attempt
Did a little research on prep programs, fell for Veritas' slick marketing and bought the self-study (books + online). I think overall the material is all there, but I was disappointed at how some of the books seemed to be sort of fluffy--like there's this huge thick book and inside one thought/page. My biggest complaint are the pre-recorded "classes" It's basically some guy reading out of the book line by line. There's really no comparison to the pre-recorded MGMAT classes which are actual sessions with a participating class. Finally, the CATs veritas provides you can buy much cheaper elsewhere and given the access to the CATs was the main reason I purchased the online portion, I felt a little cheated.
1. For about two months I spent around 2 hrs maybe 4 days/week going through the Veritas books (abandoned the online lessons within hours. Waste of time. The pace was so slow!)
2. Took the 800 Score test. It felt really easy. Lots of basic word translations and % problems. Got a 660 and figured I could take it easy with 4 weeks to go till test day. Figured it would be easy to make up the remaining 40 points. Naive.
3. Finished going through the MGMAT lectures and worked through maybe 10% of the OG12. (Big mistake).
4. Took an MGMAT CAT and got a 640. Missed a lot on the math. MGMAT CATs have a lot of high difficulty problems so I think it tends to inflate your score because they are problems you would never see unless you were doing really well on the actual gmat.
5. Took a GMAT Prep Test 2 days before and got a 620. Wake up call.
6. Actual GMAT 1: 600 (Q34V38) AWA 4.0
Ok. So that sucked. I knew I could do better, but all of a sudden even the Top 50 schools were looking out of reach much less top 10-20.
Summary GMAT Attempt #1: Test day I wasn't that nervous actually. AWA I felt rushed, but managed to crank something out. I never thought writing a paper was hard so I really didn't prepare for the AWA at all and it shows.
I've always been a strong in verbal so CR/SC/RC were all pretty easy though early on I fell for a lot of hard RC questions. I'd been averaging mid 40s on practice tests so it was still disappointing to get a 38.
I actually felt like I did pretty well on the math so I was really bummed to see the Q34. Just goes to show you that you really can't have any feel for how you're doing during the actual exam.
GMAT Attempt 2 Study Strategy
So this time I pretty much focused exclusively on the OG12. I knew I was weak on Quant. So for the next month I spent maybe 2-3 hrs a day going through the everything in the Quant section over and over. The MGMAT online tracker (error log) was invaluable. There explanations are very good as well. It helps you form a framework for working with each type of problem.
I also used Jeff Sackmann's website gmat hacks and Khan academy video explanations to get another look at OG problems.
Watched all the MGMAT lessons again.
Took 2 more practice tests and got a 700 on my last CAT. Never got higher than Q40 on any practice test. Was really struggling with coordinate geometry and barely touched combinations/permutations. I still don't have a good grasp on that stuff.
GMAT Attempt #2
This test was scheduled at 11:00 which I did on purpose. I usually am at work until 9pm or so and rarely fall asleep before 1am so it was important for me not to schedule the test at 8am like I did the first time.
AWA: Completely ran out of time on the issue section. Spent way to long organizing my thoughts before diving in and started over a couple of times. Took the break and grabbed some water and did some jumping jacks.
Quant: Hit a couple of difficult algebra problems up front, but I felt pretty good about algebra and exponents/roots. Then a long stretch of DS. Was really surprised by how few geometry questions showed up. In the whole test I think I saw 1-2 and maybe 2 coordinate geometry. Hit some permutations and overlapping set DS towards the very end and had solve the last couple in 30-45 sec. Took the alternating solve and guess approach so I wouldn't have to guess multiple problems in a row.
Took the break and ate a clif bar and got some water. Didn't feel too tired or like I did very well either.
Verbal: Lots of SC up front. Then a short RC passage. Everything felt pretty easy. I was able to find quick 3-2 splits on the SC and the RC wasn't too bad. Hit some tough CR midway through the test and a really, really long RC that seemed to go on forever. Ended with some SC. Was running out of time at the end and guessed the last question with 5 seconds left.
Experimental section: Brain fried. I ran out of gas and my eyes glazed over. Seriously I couldn't bring myself to read the simply tables and charts that were on the screen. Hope I still get the credit.
Last screen. Read it twice and then realized it would cancel my score if I the time ran out. Submit. Wait. Smile.
720 (Q47V42)
Summary
So here's my thoughts in no particular order.
1. MGMAT stuff rocks. If you are looking to crack 650. It's awesome.
2. Don't for a second think a fancy prep company can replace the OG. In fact, I think the best part of Mgmat was the OG tracker. Do every problem until you understand it completely and can do it in under 2.5 minutes.
3. Practice tests may not be the best use of time. I only took 7 practice tests in over 3 months of studying and only 2 between my first and second attempt. Once you understand the timing, there's not much to be gained from getting the same problems wrong. Figure out what you don't understand. It was however probably dumb of me to only take one gmat prep test. I think I secretly didn't want to know what I would score after my first demoralizing attempt
4. Forget about the crazy hard problems. If you get the rate/wtranslation/algebra/percent stuff wrong you'll never see it anyway. I had a basic understanding of permutations, but literally I saw maybe 2 overlapping sets, 2 coordinate geometry, 1 permutation problem, 1 sequence problem on the whole test. Getting a high score is as not as much about getting hard problems right as it is about not getting any easy problems wrong.
5. Know how to guess GMAT style. There were several DS problems that I had narrowed to 2 answers and then guessed the opposite of the answer my intuition lead me towards. Basically, it's almost never answer C on hard DS.
Finally, I have no idea how I was doing during the test. Don't let that freak you out. I'm still shocked because I never felt that comfortable with the math. It's funny I'm writing this on Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for.
Oh, crap. I still have apps to write!
First a little background (Feel free to skip):
Graduated in 2007 from a large state University with a finance major. Did an internship at a boutique investment bank, but spent most of my last two years working with the University's Venture Center and got really inspired to do something entrepreneurial after graduating. So while my peers went off to work for banks and consulting companies, I took the road way less traveled to small business ownership and started a martial arts and fitness gym. I figured it would be cool to spend a few years pursuing my passion for all things kicking and punching and be the boss/janitor. It's been a fun, yet eye-opening several years, but that's a story for another day. Suffice it to say the plan was always to see how far I could grow the business and then start something else or go to bschool. My business partner is ready to take over the day to day operations so I decided it was time to hit the books and take the GMAT. Dang, I should have done that right after college. I wasn't "too busy starting a company." I knew that with a "non-traditional" work experience I would probably need a good gmat score to even be considered by top 10 schools. ps if anyone has advice on how to position similar experiences, I'd love to hear it.
Study Materials/Practice Tests
1. OG12. MGMAT Online Materials. Veritas Prep books and online.
2. CATS: Ok, big time apologies here, but my online access to mgmat cat tests expired nov 17--5days before I was scheduled to retake the gmat
and I never took time to write down all my scores. All, I can remember is the rough range of scores for the 4 MGMAT CATS I actually took.800 Score: 660 (Q38V43)
GMAT Life: 550 (Q32V32)
MGMAT Range of first 3 tests: 620 (Q36V40) - 670 (Q39V42). The Last test I took 1 week before my second gmat I got a 700, but no thanks to the quant score Q40V46 (99% on the verbal).
GMAT Prep: 620 (Q36V40) 1 week before first gmat attempt. Ok, so I know this was dumb, but due to time management. I only took one of the gmac provided tests two days before my first GMAT attempt.
Study Strategy 1st attempt
Did a little research on prep programs, fell for Veritas' slick marketing and bought the self-study (books + online). I think overall the material is all there, but I was disappointed at how some of the books seemed to be sort of fluffy--like there's this huge thick book and inside one thought/page. My biggest complaint are the pre-recorded "classes" It's basically some guy reading out of the book line by line. There's really no comparison to the pre-recorded MGMAT classes which are actual sessions with a participating class. Finally, the CATs veritas provides you can buy much cheaper elsewhere and given the access to the CATs was the main reason I purchased the online portion, I felt a little cheated.
1. For about two months I spent around 2 hrs maybe 4 days/week going through the Veritas books (abandoned the online lessons within hours. Waste of time. The pace was so slow!)
2. Took the 800 Score test. It felt really easy. Lots of basic word translations and % problems. Got a 660 and figured I could take it easy with 4 weeks to go till test day. Figured it would be easy to make up the remaining 40 points. Naive.
3. Finished going through the MGMAT lectures and worked through maybe 10% of the OG12. (Big mistake).
4. Took an MGMAT CAT and got a 640. Missed a lot on the math. MGMAT CATs have a lot of high difficulty problems so I think it tends to inflate your score because they are problems you would never see unless you were doing really well on the actual gmat.
5. Took a GMAT Prep Test 2 days before and got a 620. Wake up call.
6. Actual GMAT 1: 600 (Q34V38) AWA 4.0
Ok. So that sucked. I knew I could do better, but all of a sudden even the Top 50 schools were looking out of reach much less top 10-20.
Summary GMAT Attempt #1: Test day I wasn't that nervous actually. AWA I felt rushed, but managed to crank something out. I never thought writing a paper was hard so I really didn't prepare for the AWA at all and it shows.
I've always been a strong in verbal so CR/SC/RC were all pretty easy though early on I fell for a lot of hard RC questions. I'd been averaging mid 40s on practice tests so it was still disappointing to get a 38.
I actually felt like I did pretty well on the math so I was really bummed to see the Q34. Just goes to show you that you really can't have any feel for how you're doing during the actual exam.
GMAT Attempt 2 Study Strategy
So this time I pretty much focused exclusively on the OG12. I knew I was weak on Quant. So for the next month I spent maybe 2-3 hrs a day going through the everything in the Quant section over and over. The MGMAT online tracker (error log) was invaluable. There explanations are very good as well. It helps you form a framework for working with each type of problem.
I also used Jeff Sackmann's website gmat hacks and Khan academy video explanations to get another look at OG problems.
Watched all the MGMAT lessons again.
Took 2 more practice tests and got a 700 on my last CAT. Never got higher than Q40 on any practice test. Was really struggling with coordinate geometry and barely touched combinations/permutations. I still don't have a good grasp on that stuff.
GMAT Attempt #2
This test was scheduled at 11:00 which I did on purpose. I usually am at work until 9pm or so and rarely fall asleep before 1am so it was important for me not to schedule the test at 8am like I did the first time.
AWA: Completely ran out of time on the issue section. Spent way to long organizing my thoughts before diving in and started over a couple of times. Took the break and grabbed some water and did some jumping jacks.
Quant: Hit a couple of difficult algebra problems up front, but I felt pretty good about algebra and exponents/roots. Then a long stretch of DS. Was really surprised by how few geometry questions showed up. In the whole test I think I saw 1-2 and maybe 2 coordinate geometry. Hit some permutations and overlapping set DS towards the very end and had solve the last couple in 30-45 sec. Took the alternating solve and guess approach so I wouldn't have to guess multiple problems in a row.
Took the break and ate a clif bar and got some water. Didn't feel too tired or like I did very well either.
Verbal: Lots of SC up front. Then a short RC passage. Everything felt pretty easy. I was able to find quick 3-2 splits on the SC and the RC wasn't too bad. Hit some tough CR midway through the test and a really, really long RC that seemed to go on forever. Ended with some SC. Was running out of time at the end and guessed the last question with 5 seconds left.
Experimental section: Brain fried. I ran out of gas and my eyes glazed over. Seriously I couldn't bring myself to read the simply tables and charts that were on the screen. Hope I still get the credit.
Last screen. Read it twice and then realized it would cancel my score if I the time ran out. Submit. Wait. Smile.
720 (Q47V42)
Summary
So here's my thoughts in no particular order.
1. MGMAT stuff rocks. If you are looking to crack 650. It's awesome.
2. Don't for a second think a fancy prep company can replace the OG. In fact, I think the best part of Mgmat was the OG tracker. Do every problem until you understand it completely and can do it in under 2.5 minutes.
3. Practice tests may not be the best use of time. I only took 7 practice tests in over 3 months of studying and only 2 between my first and second attempt. Once you understand the timing, there's not much to be gained from getting the same problems wrong. Figure out what you don't understand. It was however probably dumb of me to only take one gmat prep test. I think I secretly didn't want to know what I would score after my first demoralizing attempt
4. Forget about the crazy hard problems. If you get the rate/wtranslation/algebra/percent stuff wrong you'll never see it anyway. I had a basic understanding of permutations, but literally I saw maybe 2 overlapping sets, 2 coordinate geometry, 1 permutation problem, 1 sequence problem on the whole test. Getting a high score is as not as much about getting hard problems right as it is about not getting any easy problems wrong.
5. Know how to guess GMAT style. There were several DS problems that I had narrowed to 2 answers and then guessed the opposite of the answer my intuition lead me towards. Basically, it's almost never answer C on hard DS.
Finally, I have no idea how I was doing during the test. Don't let that freak you out. I'm still shocked because I never felt that comfortable with the math. It's funny I'm writing this on Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for.
Oh, crap. I still have apps to write!
Hussain15
Retired Moderator
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Last visit: 07 Jul 2021
Posts: 1,075
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 157
Status:The last round
Concentration: Strategy, General Management
Schools: Stanford '14 (D) Booth '14 (D) Johnson '14 (D)
GMAT 1: 680 Q48 V34
Schools: Stanford '14 (D) Booth '14 (D) Johnson '14 (D)
GMAT 1: 680 Q48 V34
Posts: 1,075
Kudos:
3,541
26 Nov 2010, 02:12
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Congrats on a great score!! 
& best of luck for your applications.
Keep us posted.
& best of luck for your applications.Keep us posted.
