710 !!!! WOOOOOHOOOO

Gave the GMAT today.

Scored 710 Q48, V39

After many weeks of preparation, I gave the GMAT today. Very Happy with the score. Always wanted to beat the 700 barrier and glad to do so on my first try. Its finally over!! YAAY!!

Thanks a lot GMAT Club and fellow members !!!!!

Debrief:

Preparation:

I had started studying back in April and did well till June. A lot of office work left me hardly any time to study and I lost focus and didn't study for the next 2 months until September.

Verbal: I Started with GMAT Club. .I got involved in answering questions in the Verbal section. Most of my CR and SC studies was done on the forum. Its good practice to answer the questions WITH explanations. One learns more trying to explain why a particular answer is wrong. Solved a few RC's along the way. Next was Kaplan 800. Excellent for tough verbal questions with explanations.

Math: I started with MGMAT strategy guides and then moved on to Kaplan 800 and GMAT Nova Math bible (selected chapters). I wasn't comfortable with math yet (especially Probability, Combinatorics, Absolute values,Geometry). I couldn't solve many problems on the diagnostic test on the forum and scored poorly in it just 2 weeks before the real test.

Countdown:
A week before the test, started with OG 12. Finished RC, SC, CR, PS. Used MGMAT's OG Tracker, an excellent resource which can also be used as an Error Log.
Data Sufficiency was a different story. Of the last 50 or so, I got almost everyting wrong. I stopped practicing and went directly to the solutions. i.e., if I didn't get a question right, I would read the solution immediately. DS was tough, and I had to take small steps to improve.

3days left for the test:
I revised SC from MGMAT SC bible and gave a practice test. Realised Math was lacking in a few topics and I hadn't even started AWA!!! I started researching on Absolute value questions and managed to failry understand them and solve them with some success.

1 day left for the test:
Had to do AWA!! Started practicing writing essays, formats etc. Went through all the notes I had made for myself earlier. Created a formula sheet for Math. Combinatorics was still a weak point. I went through the chapters on it in MGMAT strategy guide and GMAT Math Nova bible. Finally, I got a the hang of combinatorics.

Test day:
I revised in the morning and went for the test. Essays went fine. Math went well (Had to guess a couple of questions to finish in time). I took both breaks. Verbal started. By the 20th question I was ahead of time and was tired and mentally done. I got a severe headache and at that point I just wanted to get out of there, but I held on and completed the remaining questions, taking my time for the last 5. I couldn't wait for my score and was pleasantly surprised at the end.

Practice Test Scores (in chronological order):
GMAT Prep Practice Test 1: 690 (Q47 V38)
MGMAT CAT 1: 640 (Q43 V35)
Princteon GMAT Test: 670
Kaplan GMAT Test: 660 (Q42 V42) (6 days before test)
GMAT Prep Practice Test 2: 710 (4 days before test)
MGMAT CAT 2: 660 (Q43 V37) (2 days before test)

My Suggestions:

Verbal:
SC: Use MGMAT SC guide. Focus on tenses, pronouns, parallelism and subject-verb agreement while looking for answers.
CR: Only practice can improve your reasoning skills. In assumption questions, negating the assumption should weaken the argument.
RC: I recommend reading the ENTIRE passage the first time to avoid having to read it over and over again when you face the questions. Unless the first question is only concerned with the first paragraph, I found that reading the entire passage and understanding the subject matter was always more helpful than just skimming through.

Be actively involved in the GMAT Club forum. Answer questions with explanations. Trying to explain every option will teach you more than just finding the right answer.
Do verbal from OG 12, Kaplan 800 in bunches of 25. Use error log or OG Tracker. If accuracy is less than 80% , then you need to go through the basics again. Make sure you understand why you got a question wrong.

Math:
Use OG 12 with an error log or OG Tracker. Follow it up with GMAT Club tests, Kaplan 800 and/or other tough problem compilations.
Recognize your weak areas and work on them.You have to know why you got an answer wrong. There's no point solving hundreds of sums if you are not improving your accuracy. Just as in verbal, accuracy cannot go below 80% (except for the last 50-100 questions)

AWA:
Practice AWA, at least two of each type, everyday. Compare your essays with those which have scored 6 points -- it will help you understand your writing skill level. Having strong GMAT verbal skills does not help here. You have to be a good, eloquent writer.

Practice Tests:
Give a practice test every few days to understand how to use your time better. On the real GMAT Quant, there is absolutely no time to restart your approach to a problem, so have a simple and tested approach. BIG TIP: Write down the equation, relations and the numbers stated in the problems. Even if you can calculate in your mind, its better to write it down and calculate to avoid errors.

Books & Tools:
MGMAT SC Guide. (The bible)
MGMAT Strategy Guides for Math
Kaplan 800 (Good for tough verbal questions and also for math.)
GMAT Nova Math Bible (Highly underrated. The chapter on permutations and combinations was a life saver.)
GMAT Club's GMAT Math Book
MGMAT OG Tracker.(free to download at manhattangmat)

All in all, it was time and effort well spent. I would have retaken the test had I got lower than 700, but now I think I will hold on to this score.

Thanks to BB and all the GMAT Club members for a great forum which has really helped my preparations. The 100k celebrations were amazing. I was on the waiting list for some of the top prizes and that was a fun time. Hope to get that I-Pad when we hit 200K.

Cheers !!!!