Broke the Barrier: 690 to 720 (Q49 V39)

Broke the Barrier: 690 to 720

Table of Contents:

I. Backstory
II. What I Think Helped
III. General Outlook
IV. Night Before and Day of Routine
V. History of Scores



I. Back Story
I was first motivated to take the GMAT out of frustration. You see, at the time, my boss was playing favorites. Despite doing most of the work for my department, I got the least amount of credit. But honestly, I don't blame him. At the time, I was an immature engineer bent on proving everyone else wrong. I lacked the political maturity to prosper in that environment.

But the one takeaway I did get was that I felt like my job duties were not representative of what I felt I was worth (notice I said, "I felt." I may well indeed have been worth little to others haha). So, with determination, I bought the Manhattan Guide (Anderson cousin recommended it) and got to studying. After three months of intense studying, I got a 690. I was heart broken. To steal and butcher a quote from Wolfe, I fell so hard "that no one in the room even heard the sound, the whoosh as {I} fell, the clatter of {my} broken heart. It was a sure silence, but {my} life was shattered." Dramatic--I know. But I really was shattered. I didn't want to devote so much time of solitude and loneliness to such a wretched test again. So I accepted my fate, closed the books, and went about enjoying my early 20s.

Fast forward three years: I have been working at the same engineering company for 5 years. Although I have been promoted many times and even left my first role as an engineer, I realized I hit ceiling. I needed to get an MBA.

I started researching schools late in 2015. I realized, from looking at the statistics of these schools, that I was at a severe disadvantage. Reading the admissions consultants' websites didn't help my anxiousness either. So, I decided to retake the exam. This time, I went to a Manhattan 9-week course. Every day, for three months, I spent 4 hours studying after work and 8 hours on the weekend. I bled GMAT. I poured my heart and soul into trying to do every problem. In the end, on May 11th, nearly three years from my last test, I took the GMAT and got a 680.

You know that feeling when you fail? Well do you know that feeling when you fail again at the same exact thing thinking that you had fixed all your mistakes? Yeah, it was a lightening bolt. What made matters worse was I had a vacation in exactly one week. No opportunity to retake in a short amount of time. So resigned to my fate again, I packed my bags for Thailand and diarrhea (I ate street-food every day and never stopped ).

So from May on, I just focused on the schools from US News rankings 8-15. I really did feel I was good enough for the other top schools, but the evidence showed otherwise. Because I am trained as an engineer, I couldn't argue. According to the paper, I am not what I feel I am. But on August 20th, I went to a MBA conference. I met with an admissions counselor who had a heart-to-heart talk to me. I won't mention from what school cause I don't want to create bias amongst readers. But this adcom convinced me that I could be better and that I should retake the test. In addition, one of my best friends from high school also convinced me to retake the GMAT. Both thought I was better than what that test said I was. In their minds, that test made a mistake.

So, determined again, granted confidence shaken, I went back to studying after months of not touching GMAT-related. I put in the same 4 hours after work and 8 hours on the weekends. I stopped seeing friends and potential dates. On September 6th, I retook the test and received a 720.




II. What I Think Helped
I was doing problems but I was not thinking about solving the problems. This took me so long to understand. The first two times I was preparing for the test, I merely tried to cram as many problems as I could. What I didn't realize was the importance of trying to understand why I got things wrong and how I could learn from those mistakes.

In addition, the first two times I studied, I didn't really utilize GMATclub.com. Ignoring such a valuable resource was a huge oversight on my part. This website has so much material you can use. If you don't want to buy the gmatprep exam packs (I did though haha), fine! Just use the website! I swear, the material, the tips, and the experts are so freaking (you know what I mean) helpful.

I also focused a lot more on verbal, SC and CR in particular. I'll be honest, I didn't improve much in verbal: V37 to V39. But that jump helped me put myself over the top in the end. For SC, I actually hardly read the Manhattan book. I just kept doing problems, getting them wrong, and then reading why I got them wrong. If the reason was modifier related, I'd search the internet for rules. If it was "meaning" I went on youtube to check out the Veritas videos. You just gotta search for the material, its out there.

Worked a lot on timing. I went by the tip that you equally divide up the nine pages by 4 (except for the 1st, you use 5) boxes. I also drew these boxes and put the time left on the bottom corners.

Changed the test from afternoon last time to morning. I am not a morning person. But I feel like I have more of a brain to use in the morning.

Things that I didn't change or forsake for the next go around: GMAT Official Guide, GMAT Prep Exam Bundles, and Manhattan CATs.




III. General Outlook
You may not get the score you want. I know the feeling. The room gets dark. You don't remember the closing the blinds. The sounds that once hummed like a vivacious buzz suddenly seem to be drowned out by this beckoning of silent melancholy.

But you are better than that. You can do anything you want to do. All it takes is a little effort. Remember how your parents went through tough times but somehow pushed through. Remember how their parents had to suffer to bring them, and ultimately you, into this world. Remember the stories of heroes that seem to destroy the odds. They didn't plan on winning--they just did. To them, it was living. This test is something you can conquer. But don't just put the time and effort into this. I proved twice how those two factors alone can't get you a high score. You need to study smart. You need to want to know why you got the answer wrong.

Let's say you run out of time and you can't take the test again. I want you to know something. I am NOT smarter than you. I am not special. I am just someone who happened to get a good score. What does it prove? It proves I am good at taking this particular test. It's like crossfit, what does winning the Crossfit games tell you? It tells you that that person who won is good at Crossfit. That's all.

But in the end---you can do it bro/bruh/sista.




IV. Night Before and Day of Routine
I will actually start two days before.

Sunday
I woke up in the morning, bought the Exam Pack 2, and took the test under test like conditions. I got a 730. Boom--I sign up for the Tuesday at the nearest testing center for the morning shift (I feel like I have more brain bandwidth in the morning). The rest of the day, I go to my friends house and drink. I didn't get crazy though, I could still drive home at 8:00 PM and reviewed my incorrect answers at night.

Monday
I woke up at 8:00 AM to try to make myself more tired so I could sleep earlier (didn't work). I went to my friends house and spent the entire day working out with him and his brother. This was an amazing experience for me since I hadn't seen either of them for a month. It felt so nice to just relax with friends. I got home around 6:00 PM and watched Rounders (their suggestion). Went to bed at 9:00 PM. Didn't sleep till 12:00 AM hahaha.

Tuesday
Woke up at 6:00 AM after tossing and turning all night. Believe me, I could feel tired sitting in the passenger seat while I was driving to the test center. I got no breakfast. Why? Cause I don't normally eat breakfast. Yeah, studies show it wouldn't hurt not to. I was just lazy. In the words of Aristotle, "All I need is coffee." Pretty sure I am wrong on that quote.

Anyway, got to the testing center at 7:30 AM. Checked in. Drank some water that they provided. Now here, I was super nervous. I mean, I failed twice lol. But I just went to the bathroom, splashed some water on my face and thought, "All I gotta do is get at least 6 questions right on IR and I know I am good at essays--so, this will be my calm down period." So for those two sections, I just focused on getting into rhythm and calming down.

Math portion came up. I never felt it get really hard. It felt, manageable. That was the worst feeling ever because I started to doubt myself. It's supposed to get HARDER!!!! Screw it! Once I am done, go the bathroom, splash some water on my face. Calm down. Go back in.

Verbal. Verbal felt amazing. Well, until the end. Even though I am a native English speaker and have always finished 10+ minutes ahead on all exams, practice and real, this exam was different. I had to rush the last five problems to finish with 20 seconds to spare. I thought to myself, well--guess I have to study again.

Then the loading screen came up. I waited for what felt like a lifetime. Finally, the score came up: 720. I did a fist bump that turned into an awkward mid-raised hand cause, you know, you gotta raise your hand to let them know you're done. I actually did all that prematurely, I still had to "Accept My Score" haha.

And that was how it went.


IV. History of Scores

5/04/13 - MGMAT CAT 1 640 (Q44/V34)
5/05/13 - MGMAT CAT 2 660 (Q44/V36)
5/11/13 - MGMAT CAT 3 680 (Q47/V36)
5/12/13 - MGMAT CAT 4 700 (Q45/V40)
5/16/13 - MGMAT CAT 5 650 (Q45/V34)
5/17/13 - MGMAT CAT 6 670 (Q45/V36)
5/18/13 - MGMAT CAT 1A 720 (Q48/V40) RETAKE
Took GMATPrep twice but I don't remember the original scores. Probably 690+
5/23/13 - GMAT 690 (Q48/V37)

1/13/16 - MGMAT CAT 1 630 (Q39/V37)
3/27/16 - MGMAT CAT 2 670 (Q44/V37)
4/03/16 - MGMAT CAT 3 670 (Q44/V37)
4/08/16 - MGMAT CAT 4 700 (Q44/V40)
4/28/16 - MGMAT CAT 5 430 (Q44/V03) - Wanted to see if only my quant improved. Stupid...lol
4/30/16 - GMATPrep E1 740 (Q49/V41)
5/02/16 - GMATPrep E2 730 (N/A)
5/04/16 - GMATPrep E3 660 (Q48/V33) Confidence shattered. But also highlighted how I didn't really understand SC or CR, I was using my ear too much.
5/11/16 - GMAT 680 (Q47/V37) CANCELED

6/19/16 - MGMAT CAT 6 700 (Q46/V40)
8/01/16 - MGMAT CAT 1 690 (Q46/V38)
8/22/16 - MGMAT CAT 2 750 (Q48/V45) Keep in mind that I am retaking these
8/27/16 - MGMAT CAT 3 720 (Q45/V42)
8/28/16 - MGMAT CAT 4 720 (Q46/V42)
9/03/16 - MGMAT CAT 5 710 (Q47/V40)
Took a bunch of GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 retakes here. Ranged from 700 to 730. I focused more on Exam Pack 1 cause I felt like that was harder than the free version. Also, retaking these tests made me go on GMATClub and try to do every problem of Exam Pack 1 and other GMATPrep questions (except Exam Pack 2).
9/04/16 - GMATPrep E5 730 (Q47/V40) NOT a Retake

9/06/16 - GMAT 720 (Q49/V39)

I can now consider the schools I've always wanted to--the top ten.

Thanks to everyone on this website and especially to the contributors who try to make understanding problems that much easier. I've already thanked everyone in my personal life haha--but literally, I thanked even the people who said, "Oh you're smart enough, just try again." Not really words of encouragement, but the fact that people believe in you is so uplifting (may not seem that way at the time, but it will).

Now go out there and destroy that test!