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EJS22
Joined: 30 Nov 2015
Last visit: 02 Jun 2025
Posts: 13
Schools: Haas EWMBA'19 (A) Anderson FEMBA '19 (A)
GMAT 1: 740 Q49 V42
GPA: 3.3
Products:
06 Feb 2016, 19:36
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After months of studying I am very excited to report I broke into the 700 club with a 740 (Quant 49, Verbal 42, IR 8)! I was so surprised and happy I received this score especially after months of studying without seeing much improvement. It all clicked exactly at the right moment for me.
My first practice test before any studying I scored a 640. I was excited to know my base score was pretty good and I only had 60 points to go to break into the 700s. I found a 2 Month study plan from Beat the GMAT using Manhattan Prep, OG 15, and Aristotle's SC book (SC was my weakest area).
After two months of rigorous studying and not seeing very much improvement on my practice tests, I was feeling very discouraged. To be honest I think the big mistake I made, in this two months, is I didn't get my Quant or IR timing down. I would just work practice problems at my leisure. When it came to practice tests it was apparent I was spending way too much time on some problems causing me to speed up and do poorly on the second half of the practice tests.
My first real test I scored a 660 (47 Quant, 35 Verbal, 4 IR) I really bombed the IR section. I spent like 5 minutes on the first problem. Going into the Quant I felt pretty discouraged and had to remind myself that IR didn't really matter. Math felt pretty easy compared to the Manhattan Prep practice tests. Verbal didn't seem too bad but I could tell I was doing poorly on the SC section.
Feeling somewhat discouraged I started working on my applications for B Schools. My score fell into the bottom of their ranges so I felt ok with it. I knew my app was going to have to be very strong. About a month later I decided I wanted another crack at the GMAT, I felt I had put so much effort into studying that seeing only a 20 point improvement really bugged me. I signed up for Magoosh and went through all their Verbal and almost all their math videos. I only had a month to study and submit a new score. I really enjoyed the tutorials as well as the videos for each individual practice problem. That seemed to help a lot. I took a few more practice tests, scoring a 670 about one week into studying and then a 640 the Sunday before my test. The 640 was really discouraging. It seemed no matter how much I studied I couldn't improve my score.
I got a lot of sleep the night before my second real test and was pretty calm on the actual test day. I think at this point I felt like I wasn't going to break the 670 and I was ok with it. I did extremely well on the IR Section this time and it just seemed like things were going my way on the test. The math felt really easy this time and I was a little scared it was because I was doing poorly. I had the timing down on test day and was a little ahead during Quant (which is something that never happened on practice tests for me). Verbal felt pretty easy as well and again I was little scared it was because I was missing a lot of problems. I submitted my last question and when the score came up I was extremely surprised I got a 740! Reflecting back now it seemed all the studying, reviewing, and practice clicked on test day. I think it mainly had to do with the fact that I had accepted that I might not break 700 and wasn't stressed out.
If you're still working on the GMAT, don't give up before results kick in and good luck!
My first practice test before any studying I scored a 640. I was excited to know my base score was pretty good and I only had 60 points to go to break into the 700s. I found a 2 Month study plan from Beat the GMAT using Manhattan Prep, OG 15, and Aristotle's SC book (SC was my weakest area).
After two months of rigorous studying and not seeing very much improvement on my practice tests, I was feeling very discouraged. To be honest I think the big mistake I made, in this two months, is I didn't get my Quant or IR timing down. I would just work practice problems at my leisure. When it came to practice tests it was apparent I was spending way too much time on some problems causing me to speed up and do poorly on the second half of the practice tests.
My first real test I scored a 660 (47 Quant, 35 Verbal, 4 IR) I really bombed the IR section. I spent like 5 minutes on the first problem. Going into the Quant I felt pretty discouraged and had to remind myself that IR didn't really matter. Math felt pretty easy compared to the Manhattan Prep practice tests. Verbal didn't seem too bad but I could tell I was doing poorly on the SC section.
Feeling somewhat discouraged I started working on my applications for B Schools. My score fell into the bottom of their ranges so I felt ok with it. I knew my app was going to have to be very strong. About a month later I decided I wanted another crack at the GMAT, I felt I had put so much effort into studying that seeing only a 20 point improvement really bugged me. I signed up for Magoosh and went through all their Verbal and almost all their math videos. I only had a month to study and submit a new score. I really enjoyed the tutorials as well as the videos for each individual practice problem. That seemed to help a lot. I took a few more practice tests, scoring a 670 about one week into studying and then a 640 the Sunday before my test. The 640 was really discouraging. It seemed no matter how much I studied I couldn't improve my score.
I got a lot of sleep the night before my second real test and was pretty calm on the actual test day. I think at this point I felt like I wasn't going to break the 670 and I was ok with it. I did extremely well on the IR Section this time and it just seemed like things were going my way on the test. The math felt really easy this time and I was a little scared it was because I was doing poorly. I had the timing down on test day and was a little ahead during Quant (which is something that never happened on practice tests for me). Verbal felt pretty easy as well and again I was little scared it was because I was missing a lot of problems. I submitted my last question and when the score came up I was extremely surprised I got a 740! Reflecting back now it seemed all the studying, reviewing, and practice clicked on test day. I think it mainly had to do with the fact that I had accepted that I might not break 700 and wasn't stressed out.
If you're still working on the GMAT, don't give up before results kick in and good luck!
07 Feb 2016, 09:29
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Congratulations on your improvement 
07 Feb 2016, 09:45
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Congrats! My first score was in the higher 600s too and I'm hoping to do better the second time. Great read for encouragement!
