730 Q-49 V-40

First of all, I'd like to point out that what you are about to read will not be a fluffy happy go-lucky account of how a college slacker over-achieved on the GMAT. This is all true, but not helpful. The story that may be helpful is how I went from a journalism and economics double-major with only remedial math classes to a solid score. I decided last summer that I wanted to take the GMAT and that two months would be enough time to study for the test. My first Princeton test score was a 620, and my highest a 670. I learned about the GMAT's format while I studied and scored a 700 (45, 41). I considered the 700 to be a threshold score for me at the time and took a break.

Then I realized that with decent grades (3.5 with easy courses), and no work experience I was going to need a better performance on the GMAT. This is where the story changes from background info to study techniques. I bought a new version of OG on Amazon and decided to study it dilligently. The math questions in OG are variations of what you will see on the test. On the test, some questions will remind you of particular problems you studied, others appear to be near carbon copies (this time anyway), and some can be answered because the analytical skills developed studying OG can enhance a non-math majors quant ability (for others the analytical skill might be in place). For the math, I didn't find anything nearly as useful as the OG. At the 49 level, perm and comb problems are going to be easy enough to answer with only the formulas and some intuition.

The verbal section I didn't improve my score at all. In fact, it went down a point, which surprised me. I was scoring in the 43 and 44 range on the powerpreps. I have no advice on verbal because my final score was the same as the score I received on both my first Princeton and first PP tests.

I think that the best advice I could give would regard pacing. I realize that this is a controversial issue (since nobody knows what pace is best) so I urge you to only consider my suggestion. When I took the test the first time, particularly on the math, I worried about getting the first ten questions right. The first ten or so are supposed to be greater determinants of final score. I agree 100 percent. However, some might overstate this. When I took the test I checked the first ten twice (even when I was 99 per. sure I was right). I wasted a total of appr. 10 minutes on the first ten because I changed none of my answers. This extra time is crucial to scoring well later in the test. Having greater self assurance is not reflected in the score. The score does not calculate how confident you are. I improved my math score 4 points by moving on when I was confident with my answer. I imagine there are other people who need to learn to move on.

I realize that this post is long, but I am not self-absorbed. Others at this site have scored better, and some worse, but we all have credibility in saying what is best for us personally. I'd like lots of questions, because I would like to try to answer them (in detail LOL) and help if I can. I'd also like to thank Akamai Brah for his passion, Stoolfi for his inspirational scores, and everyone who has posted a score they're not happy with for their character.