A Unique Path to 740 (50Q, 41V)

I just took the GMAT this past Sunday and earned a 740. Below is my story, with everything from my study plan to my mental approach on test day.

The biggest takeaway is don’t assume a score is out of reach. Going into the exam, I had never scored above a 680 on a practice test. Safe to say I was ecstatic to see that 740.

BACKGROUND

I am an Army Officer currently deployed to Southwest Asia, and am approaching my return to the States. I first took the GMAT in the summer of 2013, after about two months of prep; my goal was primarily to gain familiarity with the exam, since I knew I would likely take it again as I got closer to transitioning out of the military. I scored a 640, and then subsequently dumped everything I learned lol.
Fast forward to summer 2015, and I decided that a GMAT study plan would be a great way to spend my downtime outside of work (you can only go to the gym so much over here). I was familiar with the exam, so I didn’t take a diagnostic. I bought the Manhattan GMAT set of 10 books and went through each one, one by one. It took me about six weeks to go through them all, and if I came across something noteworthy (e.g. difference of cubes, properties of special triangles, etc.), I would star it in my notes. At the end of those six weeks (end of June ’15), I compiled all the “starred” notes, and made notecards. At this point, I was ready to develop a deliberate study plan, with hopes to take the GMAT in 3 months.

STUDY PLAN

There are a million ways to go about studying for the GMAT. I think the first step is knowing yourself, and understanding the best methods in which you learn, retain, and recall information. For me, I knew my approach needed to be twofold: a strong emphasis on the fundamentals and reps, reps, and more reps. As a former Division 1 athlete, I appreciated the value of practice. I cannot understate this part enough; as you complete problems over and over again, you begin to pick up on the patterns in which the GMAT tests certain subjects. This was one of the most tangible skills I used on test day. Now, poor repetitions and practice is harmful, and can create bad habits, so I made sure I slowed down and took six weeks to learn the reinforce the basics, with the MGMT study guides already in my mind.


6/21/15: MGMT Exam #1: 650 (41Q, 37V)
It was at this point, early July, that I discovered this forum; it was exactly what I needed. I found the GMAT PS Question Directory by Topic & Difficulty, and made a table by topic in Excel (see attachment). I started with 500 level questions, and made myself answer 10 questions in a row before moving on to the next topic. I did the same thing for all other categories (DS, CR, SC, RC), but started at the 600 level for Verbal, since I was a bit stronger initially.
This approach took time, but helped tremendously. The explanations by members such as Bunuel, bb, Karishma, among others, made this portion of my study plan possible. Additionally, the dialogue on the question forums was great; it added another dimension to the review process. After completing the Problem Solving, 500 level portion, I took another practice exam.

7/4/2015: MGMT Exam #2: 680 (46Q, 37V)
I was definitely pleased with the improvement, and was convinced that this study plan would work. Unfortunately, over the next six weeks, we had extensive training exercises that limited my ability to study thoroughly. Still, I felt prepared going into my next practice exam…


8/30/2015: MGMT Exam #3: 640 (39Q, 38V)
Damn, I dropped big time. I neglected quant too much, and had to get back to the drawing board. Worked on problem solving again, but at level 600. An important thing to note is that each time I completed a section on GMATClub, I compiled all the notes and created a lessons learned by question type. This would form the basis for my review notes down the road. To light a fire under my butt, I scheduled a test date of October 18. Time to grind it out.


9/27/2015: MGMT Exam #4: 640 (40Q, 37V)
Another 640?! By this point, I noticed something about the MGMT exams. On verbal, I would quickly score well enough to be at the 99th percentile for an extended period of time (one exam, I answered eight questions in a row, all at the 99th percentile, only to miss one and drop considerably to 92nd percentile). I didn’t try to wrap my head around the algorithm, but instead just continued to focus on the basics and reps. At this point, I switched gears to Grockit and Kaplan 800 for the final push. I choose Grockit because of their user-friendly dashboard, strong reviews, robust question bank, and adaptive practice sets. Kaplan 800 also had good reviews, and I wanted to switch up the interface in which I used to study. The Kaplan 800 was probably the closest thing to the real exam. It was also at this point that I begin implementing two drills before each practice session: list out the first 30 prime numbers and all perfect squares up to 25. It helped get my mind into practice mode, and reinforced basic number property principles. Also, on test day, had a question that asked for the units digit of the product of the two largest prime numbers less than 50…piece of cake.


10/4/2015: Veritas Prep Exam #1: 650 (45Q, 35V)
Much better on quant this time, but a little drop in verbal (even though I felt good during the Verbal section). I was confident in my preparation. Initially, I had planned to cram in a few practice tests my final week. I have a friend who scored the elusive 700, and his approach was a practice test each night for the 14 days prior to his test day. His argument was predicated on the importance of stamina and endurance. However, while I continued to do problems during the second week of October, I began to feel a little burnt out. I think this was not only due to a busier period for work, but also to the fact that I had been studying since June. So I pulled the plug, and didn’t study for the final 10 days before the exam. Instead, I lightly reviewed my notes every couple of days for maybe 15 minutes or so. I went into the test day with a clear and confident mind.


10/18/2015: GMAT: 740 (50Q, 41V)
Absolutely ecstatic! I couldn’t believe it at first, but it slowly started to set in. I finished quant with 5 minutes to spare, thinking that was way too easy. Also, there were several verbal questions in which I could eliminate three or four answers almost immediately. I was odd at first, but I made sure I “dumped” the previous question and treated each as its own mutually exclusive event.

PRODUCTS USED

MGMT Study Guides: Great just starting out. The number properties and sentence correction books were probably the best.

GMATClub: I created a custom study plan by just going topic by topic and forcing myself to achieve proficiency. This was critical, I think, because I saw so many questions and different ways to answer them.

Kaplan 800: The questions in this book were by far the closest thing to what I saw on test day. I was roughly 80% correct for this book went I went through, so I was initially unsure about its accuracy. However, the wording of its questions and difficulty I though most closely resembled the actual GMAT.

Grockit: Great for reps, and fun. The website and its games make it fun to practice and try to earn “hot streaks” or different badges. This was great towards the end of my study plan, when I needed variety of practice.

TAKEAWAYS

• Know how you learn, retain, and recall information. This will determine your study plan.

• Start with the basics/fundamentals. I took up to Calculus II at West Point, and could easily have let pride get in the way. But if you swallow your pride and realize that you need to brush up on exponent rules and rates, you’ll be good.

• Repetitions are key. Practicing the right way, over and over again was critical to my mind taking over on test day, and just “knowing” which approach was needed to answer the question (picking numbers, using answer choices, etc.).

• As you study, compile notes and “lessons learned”. This helped my recall the information much more effectively, because the lessons learned were tied to a specific question or topic that I had previously struggled with.

• Don’t put too much stock into your practice exams. If you’re learning the material, just stay disciplined to your study plan.

• Implement simple but effective drills. I found that primes and perfect squares were both important and simple enough to knock out in 2 minutes before each practice session.

• No score is out of reach!!! I was expecting a score in the high 600s, but felt that a 740 was a breeze.

• Don’t feel like you need to be acing all 700-level questions to get a high quant or verbal score. I spent the majority of my time on the 500 and 600 level questions, but had them down pat. I was able to just combine approaches on test day for any of the difficult questions.

• Finally, for me, cramming was not the right approach in the final two weeks before the exam. I had learned the material. I needed to clear the head and be confident in my preparation. It also helped that I’m looking to apply next year, so I had much less pressure than someone who needed a good score for this year.

Final note: I am not a genius by any means, but I achieved a 97th percentile on the GMAT by hard work and self-discipline. A great score on the GMAT is possible for anyone. If you have any questions, please just post below or pm me.

Thanks to GMATClub for being an integral part of my GMAT conquest!!