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My first attempt at the GMAT was in early 2009, when I was interested in a part time program at Boston University. As you can imagine, I didn't study much and was lucky to score 660. I used Kaplan and Princeton Review, didn't bother with attempting the tests from GMATPrep. I didn't use this forum either. But, I changed my mind after I got in. With my eye towards a top 10 full time program, I knew I had to get my GMAT score up. So my journey started in July 2009!!! Ha ha, yes, almost 13 months of "preparation".
I won't elaborate on the test itself as there's really nothing unique about it. I probably saw a couple of experimental questions. I didn't spend much time on any one question, but made sure to start strong, not to miss 2 in a row and finish strong! I had at least 1 minute left at the end of each section.
Basics
Silver bullet(s)?
Prep time-line
Books
Online resources & CATs
Other tips
Bottom line, there is no substitute for smart hard work! In the final 10 days, I took at least 2 CATs (combination of GMATClub tests and true CATs) every day!
Finally, thank you akaydee and everyone else! Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer.
Now come the applications...
I won't elaborate on the test itself as there's really nothing unique about it. I probably saw a couple of experimental questions. I didn't spend much time on any one question, but made sure to start strong, not to miss 2 in a row and finish strong! I had at least 1 minute left at the end of each section.
Basics
- Working full time, around 40 hours a week
- Active social life
- 2 hours every day during the week, and perhaps 10 over the weekend during the initial prep
- Final 3 - 4 weeks: 6 hours a day during the week, 15+ hours over the weekend
- Buy this set: https://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 29&catid=1
Silver bullet(s)?
- Hard work
- Timed tests until you can solve most (90%+) of the problems in under 2 minutes
- Hard work!
Prep time-line
- July and August 2009: Kaplan/Princeton Review
- September 2009 - June 2010: MGPrep (If you have a real plan and work towards a deadline, allocate 2 months)
- June and July 2010: OG11
- July and August 2010: CATs (as many as you can), GMATClub timed tests
- Weekend before: GMATPrep tests (took each 2 times), error logs review
- Day before: GMATPrep (took each one more time)
- Day of: GMATPrep Quant, one more time! I did this to get my brain going. My exam was at 11:00 am.
Books
- Manhattan Prep: Start to finish, without skipping a single word. I did not, however, attempt the OG problems listed; saved them for later. This series is crucial, perhaps the most important of all resources I used. I was a cheapskate and got these from the public library, which worked out well in a way. Since there are so few copies available, I could only get 1 at a time and had exactly 21 days to finish and return; so good to have deadlines! I bought one towards the end to get access to the 6 CAT exams. I made lots of notes (5 - 6 pages per book) (attached in later posts) while reviewing each book. I definitely recommend this: reading is one thing, writing it down completely another! MGPrep is the real deal, and should command 100% of your attention!
- OG: Once I finished all MGPrep books, in early June, I started working on OG11. I didn't time myself but tried to be as fast as possible. I referred to the answer key page and split each chapter into column based problem sets. Eg. SC has 35 answers in each column, so I would attempt to solve 35 each day. I worked on 3 such columns every day, mixing and matching math and verbal: some method to madness! This took around 2 weeks. I maintained an error log, nothing too fancy, just a sheet with the problems that took too long to solve or those that I got incorrect. I also made a small note next to each regarding my mistake. This was great as I realized most of the SCs I were getting wrong were due to Idiom mismatch. Bottom line, use error logs! CR and RC were not a problem for me (see other tips).
- Kaplan/Princeton Review: These have some interesting tips and pointers. Since I had used these the first time around and remembered most tips, didn't refer back. If you have to, use them at the very beginning to start building a base.
Online resources & CATs
- GMATCub tests: 25 Q and 6 V, buy them; these questions are awesome! https://gmatclub.com/tests/ They helped me most in getting my brain to solve most problems in under 2 minutes. The variety of questions is unbeatable! Of course, save these for the end, until after you are confident of your math and verbal foundations.
- MGPrep - 6 CATs. Scored 660 - 790, with consistent improvement from the first to the last test.
- Knewton - scored 730
- GMATPrep - took each test 3 times; scored 730 - 750
Other tips
- When you get a question wrong during prep, don't look at the solution; try solving it again! Only look at the solution if you cannot solve it even after referring to your notes.
- English: Read The Economist, Slate, NYT, WSJ, etc. regularly; helps with CR, SC and RC. Towards the end, I would laugh when I found an error in one of these articles! But seriously, reading helps a lot.
- Food: I had a heavy breakfast at 7, and then ate a special sandwich at 9:45: spread nutella on toasted slices of whole grain bread and added a sliced banana. Yummy! Plenty of carbs to last you through 4 hours of exam + 1 hour of travel. After the AWA, I gulped down a 5 hour energy drink (not sure if this helped at all, but doesn't hurt. However, try this before to make sure your body reacts well). After quant, I ate half a banana and munched on some candy.
- I made a playlist of songs that pump me up; listened to these on my way to the test center!
- I didn't sleep well at all the night before, but had plenty of rest leading up to the exam.
- Wear comfy clothes, and layer up if you get cold easily. I wore my glasses instead of contacts! Even the smallest detail can make a difference.
Bottom line, there is no substitute for smart hard work! In the final 10 days, I took at least 2 CATs (combination of GMATClub tests and true CATs) every day!
Finally, thank you akaydee and everyone else! Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer.
Now come the applications...
23 Aug 2010, 12:38
Kudos
Bookmarks
w103psp
Ok let me have have the honor of being the first to congratulate you. Congratulations that is a massive score!
Looking forward to your debrief.
- please write in some detail on how you achieved a score of Q50 (materials used, strategies, and any gaps in your preparation that you felt while taking the quant part of the exam even though you achieve an almost perfect score)
- also strategies that you used for the verbal section of the exam
- please share with us any notes you might have prepared along the way.
23 Aug 2010, 13:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations! Waiting to hear about your experience.
