675 (DI/Q/V) GMAT Focus Debrief

­Received a 675 on GMAT Focus Edition after 5 months of studying and 3 previous attempts. Very happy with my score, as 650 was my goal.  

DI: 82 / 94th percentile
Quant 86 / 76th percentile
Verbal: 82 / 98th percentile

My prep for this fourth and final attempt was a little unorthodox, so I would like to lay it out in detail; I purchased OG Practice Test package 5&6 the week before and took PT 5 on friday, took the weekend off, then studied TTPs global review and some chapter tests which I struggled with on Monday and took PT 6 on Tuesday morning.  Tuesday afternoon, the same day as PT 6, I took my official FE attempt.  I had not gone about doing a practice test the same day as test day before and most sources I consulted did not recommend doing so, but it worked for me.  My score on PT 5 was better than any I had gotten before and while my PT 6 score was not as good, I felt "warmed up" if you will, before taking the test when it mattered.  I am sure this is not for everybody, but just worth noting that it worked for me.  

Another side note, I took my final attempt at a test center, and I am a firm believer in taking GMAT FE in person at test centers, I have found the lack of distractions and unique environment to help me lock in better.  Again, many feel otherwise, but to each his own.  

Quant has always been my toughest subjuct, so I tackled it first.  This attempt, I felt that the questions seemed easy, almost too easy, and at the end of the section I had 8 minutes to review my answers.  I looked through quite a few, and did feel some anxiety about the questions coming too easily, but I changed none and stuck with my initial intuition.  This turned out to be a good call, as my quant score this go-around was better than it had been in previous attempts.  

DI came next, and I had no such concerns of being too easy.  I was very unsure of many of my answers, and I felt I had dropped the ball on the attempt by the time I had come to the end of the section.  Of note, the test makers have started making DI questions with the typical DI format of "select from the two drop-down boxes the answer that best completes the sentence, based on the given information" but with given information being Verbal-esque passages.  Basically, Verbal section has spilled over into the DI section. This was no sweat for me, personally, as I have been pretty strong on verbal, but it is something of a curveball if you are not ready for it.  

Verbal section was fairly straightforward, no real surprises, and as I mentioned above, I have had good luck with verbal throughout my GMAT story. That being said, I would like to not that GMAT FE seems to be using more and more longer passages, which take alot of time just to read, with 3-5 questions based on that passage.  My strategy for these was to read the passage thoroughly, then skim back through, highlighting what seems to be key points and purposes of each paragraph, and then take on the first actual question.  It worked well for me, but to each his own.  

Previous Attempt scores: 
Attempt 1: 535
Attempt 2: 585
Attempt 3: 625

mock scores:
Mock 1: 535
Mock 2: 555
Mock 3: 525
Mock 4: 625
Mock 5: 655
Mock 6: 595

TTP was crucial to achieving my target score.  Their immersive quant curriculum and chapter tests that not only provided challenging questions but explanations that made sense were invaluable when test day came along.  I followed their recommended flow-path and have no complaints about the program or the content.  Really the best there is out there for GMAT FE prep.