From 600 to 730 in ~20 weeks

Big Picture
Started studying in March. Initial diagnosis on Magoosh was very rough (600). After familiarizing myself with the high-level format of the test, I spent my first ten weeks of preparation focused exclusively on re-learning foundation quant materials. From there, I shifted applying this knowledge in a test setting. From mid-May until July 27 when I sat for the official exam. During this second phase I focused on three things: (1) continuing my pursuit of foundational knowledge for quant; (2) testing strategies; (3) stamina and testing "fitness."

Practice test progression
-Initial with Magoosh in early March: 600. Didn't pay too much attention to this.
-May 24: Manhattan CAT 1: 670 (45/39)
-June 4: Official practice CAT #1: 730 (47/44)
-June 19: Manhattan CAT 2: 660 (41/39)
-July 7: Manhattan CAT 3: 730 (45/45) *Did not time the math section.
-July 15: Official CAT #2: 760 (48/47) *Took 1 section Sunday night; 1 section Monday Night
-July 21: Manhattan CAT #3: 700 (44/40)
-July 27: Actual test: 730 (47/44)

Preparation Tips
- Volume is key to building familiarity with the question types and the various ways topics can be interwoven together. When I sat for the exam, I saw a question that was the exact same numerically as a question I had encountered in my prep. While the setup was slightly different, this was effectively a free question for me. Equally as important, there might be topics or question types that you know you’re unlikely to solve correctly in a time-efficient manner.
- Create an error log that works for you. Log every practice test question you miss, and every other question that really trips you up. Color code it like in the example attached.
- Think about different iterations of the same question to really ensure that you get it
- Not all SC prep is helpful. I found third party SC questions to be all over the map and didn’t find the 100 hardest SC questions that helpful.

Test Day Tips
- Don’t fret if it seems to be going poorly. During the test, I thought that I had really screwed up the math section and was pleasantly surprised with a 47Q/44V when I finally saw the score. The CAT really does keep you on the edge of your abilities for the most part.
- Dress in layers. Our test center kept the exam room extremely warm, so the ability to shed my button up was key to comfort.
- Know that you’ve put the work in and be realistic going in. I knew that I was going to be between a 700 and a 760. Anything above/below represented underperformance or outperformance.
- Don’t study the night before or tire yourself out cramming in the last few days. It might be tempting but you don’t want to be drained for the day of the test.

Resources
- Magoosh. I used this question bank exclusively for the first 3 months. The videos were very helpful.
- Google Sheets. For the error log. I color coded. Red = try again next day. Orange = correct but unsure, try again in 1-3 days; Yellow = correct but slow, try again in 3-5 days, green: correct, try again in 1-2 weeks. Blue = good to go, no need to revisit.
- Manhattan Study Guides. I got this half way through my prep from a friend. The sentence correction, the geometry, and the number properties guide were all very helpful.
- Manhattan CATs ($50 for 6 tests)
- One of the official guides but just used the online question bank
- Spent a total of $300 for 3 1 hr sessions with a tutor. He got me onto the error log regime, suggested I think about subtle variations in prompts and how they'd impact the answers

Routine
Studied 2-3 hours a night for 4 out of 5 weeknights and then devoted a total of 10-12 hours on the weekend (either 5 and 5, or 8 and 2). I did take a vacation during which time I maybe studied an hour or two total in about four days. I usually started with error review from day before, then videos or chapters on topics I needed to brush up on (maybe 20-60 minutes), then 10-40 questions. I took all of my notes in one notebook so that I could review it when I had idle time. I also did all of my CAT error review in a notebook.

If I could do it again, here's what I would have done differently
- Left myself more time before R1 deadline and avoided studying during the summer. It harder when it's beautiful outside all of the time.
- Kept better notes after every CAT, In a centralized place, note: how was I feeling, what kind of questions did I miss, section order, etc.
- Considered taking the GRE. I guess it's supposed to be easier on the math side which is my weakness. Probably doesn't make sense for everyone.


If anyone has questions or comments, I'll do my best to get back to them. I'm a long time lurker, so hoping to give back a bit and more actively contribute leading up to my retake in ~1 month