70 Point increase by NOT studying for a month and then taking test

Hello everyone,

I took my GMAT on December 30th @8am and I finally scored a 720 (Q48 | V41), weeks after I was already accepted into one of my target schools (Queen's University) and several months after my previous score of 650 (Q48 | V32)


The first attempt

I started studying for the GMAT in November 2018, alongside Pakman33 . I had 4 months off of work due to paternity leave benefits that I had in my province of Quebec. We routinely did 6-8hrs of work per day, every day, for several months and the work we did was divided between GMAT & Application/Essay writing. My background is in engineering from a non-prestigious school, mainly because I didn't really care all that much about engineering and just wanted to get a degree asap so I could work. The GMAT & MBA was a chance at pressing the reset button and getting a 2nd shot at a bright future. One of the first, and best, habits we started doing was waking up before sunrise and going to bed early so we can rinse and repeat day-in/day-out. The grind was real, and we poured our hearts into the GMAT. I will focus on my story now, so that Pakman33 can share his own success story when it's time.

I devised a 3.5 month study plan that I thought suited me, and didn't really refer to any of the amazing resources/advice/courses available on GMATClub. This was the biggest mistake in my whole journey, and if I were to do it all over again, I really believe my first attempt could have been 700+. There comes a point in the GMAT, especially as a native speaker, where you can see patterns in the questions (up to high lvl-700), and I got in that rhythm because of how much GMAT I was fortunate enough to be able to do per-day.

My baseline was a 620 (Q47 | V28), and from there I improved to a 650 and then a 670 (all unofficial up to this point). I scheduled CATs every 2-3 weeks (another huge mistake) and the plan was to take the first official GMAT test on March 2nd 2019. Throughout the study period, I completely ignored critical reasoning because the set of 10-15 questions that I did seemed like a joke (3rd huge mistake), and only focused on the areas where I saw were giving me trouble RC & SC. I never had an issue with quant as I was scoring between 47-49 consistently and saw better use of my time in focusing all of it on improving verbal, which started off at a V28. My goal was to get V39 or above as that would give me a 700-720 depending on my performance in Quant.

Due to poor judgment and a lack of understanding in how the GMAT worked, I would study my exams and look at each incorrect answer, thinking "That surely won't happen again!". And I was right, sometimes I would do worse in RC, other days I would do worse in SC or CR. The pattern was never consistent and I always wrote it off to "luck of the draw" or "lack of sharpness". What I didn't know was that the exam was adjusting to my skill level, and that the questions I would get were adjusted to how I performed on the ones prior, something that actually takes time to internalize IMO.

Up to this point, I was doing little-to-no CR, so I will share what I was doing for RC & SC as that stayed true throughout my prep.

RC :
1. Read entire passage
2. Internalize passage, re-read if necessary.
3. Take no notes unless there were 3+ dates or names that were important to the passage.

SC:
1. MGMAT SC book
2. Practice, Practice, Practice. Eventually you get in the groove, and you CAN use your ear.

That was pretty much it for verbal. As for Quant, I always had trouble with high level 700-lvl Combs/Perms/Geom, so I simply ignored those issues until I could justify the potential increase (30-40pts vs. Verbal which was 80-100pts potential). I kept sharp by doing MGMAT tests & once in a while brushing up on Quant.

The last CAT I did was 2 days before my March 2nd exam, and I scored a 680, exactly the same score I got through the several MGMAT CATs I attempted (Quant untimed btw). Test day came along, and I scored the same I've been scoring for weeks: 680 (Q47 | V35). After reviewing my ESR, I realized the foolishness in ignoring CR as that was the main factor in my verbal being <V39 (ESR attached).

I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I really wanted to be done with it, but on the other hand I knew that it was a solid first attempt. I was pumped for my second attempt, and at the potential increases I could have by being ~1 year away from starting at my target school (Ivey Business School).

The Second attempt

For this attempt, I decided to enrol in a course. I subscribed to EMPOWERGmat (Shout out to EMPOWERgmatRichC ) and that was one of the best decisions I made. Although I still went through the SC stuff, which I think MGMAT was superior on, EMPOWER's CR blew everything else out of the water. I combined EMPOWERGmat's approach with CR Bible, and I got the best of both worlds. I finally started to understand what "Prethinking" meant and what I was doing wrong all along. I literally did every official CR problem because I was confident that a second take with a stronger CR would lead to 700+ territory. I didn't want to rush into anything, especially because application deadlines were so far away, so I went through a lot more practice problems using the same logic I was previously : Little-to-no Quant, and a lot of verbal. I started easing up on SC towards the last few weeks of my prep because I felt it was really strong and that I needed to focus on RC & CR, because one was the bread-and-butter of the verbal section and the other was my arch-nemesis. That was another big mistake, among the many that I made throughout this journey. I wrote the GMAT a few months later and scored the same score 680 (Q48 | V35), although now CR&RC were strong and SC was the weight pulling my verbal down (ESR attached).


The third attempt

At this point, I've devoted so much time and effort into this test that I'm getting frustrated. Deep down, I know that I can score above 700, but it's just not happening. The stars aren't lining up and I need to figure it out so I can focus on bigger-better things. I decide to take it slow, taking another month before my next attempt. With RC as a fairly strong category of mine in all tests - official and non-official - I decided I would focus on CR & SC more this time. And, yes, you guessed it: CR & SC were on point, but RC brought the verbal score down. Furthermore, because RC is the bread and butter of verbal, my verbal score was impacted even harder. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the score: 650 (Q48 | V32). By this point, I'm more or less fed up of this test and decide to apply to schools anyways, although I rescheduled it once again because I wasn't done just yet.


The dark & the bright

I applied to Ivey Business School in November and was invited for either a skype or in-person interview, which I decided to do in-person so that I could make a better impression and show dedication. I drove 8hrs with my wife and 2 children, stayed at a hotel which I don't know how is rated 3.5 stars, and took a few days off of work so that I could perform at my best. For one reason or another, just like the GMAT, I made the terrible decision of putting in a ton of effort and going easy at the final stretch. I didn't do any preparation for the interview and told myself that my story is solid and organized because I've been working on it since November. Well that didn't go so well, and I knew it was probably going to be a ding when I walked out. To be quite honest, I wasn't that bummed out because I wasn't getting good vibes throughout my application and my wife echoed the same feelings, putting me at some ease.

Following the ding by a week, Pakman33 suggested that I should apply to Queen's. Up until this point I didn't do much research on Queen's and I think the main reason for that is that Queen's MBA website is due for a refresh (something I intend to address this year with them). The free application to Queen's certainly helped give me a push to apply, so I did. I was quickly contacted by the MBA Program manager (Terri-Lynn Leger) and the rest is history. The vibes have been incredible with the faculty and alumni alike, and I'm glad that an off-handed suggestion by a friend altered my life-path forever.

The fourth attempt

At this point, I've been accepted in an MBA with an above-average scholarship and don't need to put any more effort in the GMAT, but it really bothered me to know that I spent a year to not achieve what I was after the whole time & that this failure would ultimately impact my chances at placing in firms that have a 700-GMAT as a pre-requisite from MBA grads, so I decided against cancelling my exam and to write it a few weeks after my acceptance in the MBA.

I had to actually go back to my error log to see when my last practice problems were and that was a set of 16 questions that I did on December 19th. The last real sets of GMAT practice that I did before that were before November 30th. I had little motivation to do practice problems as I was determined to finish some projects at work before starting the MBA, so I told myself I'll use the final weeks of December to study for the test and get in the groove. The end of December eventually came and I still hadn't done much at all, but I didn't really mind it all that much, I was confident that the past 12 months were enough practice and I just needed to be clear-headed and stress-free on the day of to achieve my GMAT goal.

I watched 2 episodes of the Witcher with my wife the night before, going to bed much later than I typically did when I had a GMAT exam the next morning, and I woke up much later than I typically did: only an hour before the test, which was in a test center 30min drive away. I honestly didn't care at all that morning, I didn't mind seeing a 530 show up or another 680, I just wanted to be in and out so I didn't just pour money down the drain. I went to the test center, arriving late and dressed less-professionally than I would like to admit. My nerves were calm and there was no nervousness, the only thing I told myself was to take my time answering every question to the best of my ability and that my internal GMAT clock would guide me on when I needed to "Triage" (Another shout out to EMPOWERgmatRichC ) a question. I even contemplated completely skipping IR and AWA, but I decided against it just in case I actually, magically, miraculously, scored something worth keeping.

I finished my AWA in 15min - a section I always made sure to take the full time in - and clicked submit. And, there it was, "720 Q48 | V41".

I turned around to the invigilator with a face much resembling this one: , and she didn't get it. Understandable

So I didn't study for a month, went in cold, and somehow got the score I was aiming for all along. Who knew that would work? Honestly, it goes against everything I was advised by GMAT experts.. I didn't have a single thing for breakfast except coffee so that I could eliminate the need for a bathroom during the test..

I wouldn't recommend anyone do what I did.. The only advice I would give is to learn from the silly mistakes I made in the journey: There are a ton of amazing resources on this forum, MAKE GOOD USE OF EM!

I've attached all ESRs. If anyone has follow-up questions I'll gladly reply