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16 Jan 2024, 08:52
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Hi all! I wanted to share my GMAT test taking experiences and study tips for anyone who might be interested 
BACKGROUND
I've been in management consulting for about 2.5 years now and prior to that, I was an ICU RN. I've also been teaching and tutoring for the SAT for the last 6 years. This helped me greatly when it came to studying because although the tests are different, there is definitely a lot of crossover when tackling a standardized test. The SAT also contains sentence correction and RC; this translated nicely to GMAT content as well.
I took a diagnostic test (official practice exam 1) early 2023 and scored a 640 (Q46 and V31 and IR7). I definitely did not give this test my all and rushed through it.
STUDYING
I started studying for the GMAT in early September 2023. From what I had seen on Reddit, TTP seemed like the right choice for Quant. Looking back, I wish I had done more research and developed a more personalized study plan. I also did not buy the official guide questions or tests until November (big mistake!) I would recommend everyone to not only understand your weaknesses, but also (and almost more importantly) understand the test itself. I'll talk more about this later, but this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U69BTder8lc&ab_channel=GMATClub) really changed how I studied for the GMAT.
I enrolled in TTP immediately and started reviewing. By December, I had completed almost all of the TTP Quant (spent about ~400 hours). Initially, I was doing EVERY chapter test and question. Not only is this not feasible, it's not necessary (unless you do not have the foundations down already). TTP is great, however the question bank is a bit repetitive. Also, as GMATNinja says, no one writes questions like GMAC. It is really helpful to supplement your TTP learnings with the official guide QUANT questions.
My biggest mistake while studying was undoubtedly my late discovery of GMATNinja. Again, as someone who tutors for the SAT, I've never doubted my sentence correction skills. While doing the TTP Sentence Correction course, I was getting extremely caught up in grammar jargon. I was NOT doing well in the course and it made me second guess all my SC skills. I even had to stop working on SC for 3 weeks because my confidence took such a big hit. This is when I started to look for other options and discovered GMAT Ninja's SC course! This should be EVERYONE's starting point in SC, RC, and Logical Reasoning. Like a good tutor should, Charles (and the rest of the team) emphasizes the importance of tackling each question with STRATEGY. I plan on emailing Charles a long, detailed thank you note, but for everyone else TLDR: START WITH GMAT NINJA! As you work through the GMAT Ninja course, try to do 10-15 questions of Official Guide Verbal questions.
*I do want to caveat that TTP Verbal was not particularly helpful for me since 1) I am a native English speaker 2) I know my foundations well as an SAT tutor.
It may be incredibly helpful for you!
I did little/no work for reading comprehension before my first attempt since I was performing well in practice. I did not write any practice essays or do any sections of IR for practice (even when doing my official practice tests).
I took 3 of the 6 official practice tests from GMAC while studying
1. practice test 2: 710 (Pre- GMAT Ninja)
2. practice test 5: 740 (after GMAT Ninja discovery)
3. practice test 6: 760 (after GMAT Ninja course completion)
GENERAL TIPS
1. Keep an insight notebook! As a tutor, I've always required this of my students since it is the ONLY way to get better. This is also why it is important not to burn through the limited supply of OG questions. Again, I've noticed a majority of my students make this mistake over the years (burning through official College Board questions without getting all the learnings from the questions), so I was easily able to avoid this by practicing what I preach.
In my insight notebook (digital), I kept track of...
- Each question I got wrong and why I got it wrong (I recorded my logic in picking the wrong answer with extreme detail, ex: "You thought C sounded awkward because of this phrase and chose B since it avoided that phrasing, even though it had another error you spotted")
- What I learned from the question (some concept)
- How I will avoid making the same mistake in the future (ex: do not rely on "awkwardness" if you can identify another concrete error)
2. DO NOT LET REDDIT OR GMAT CLUB PSYCH YOU OUT
Reddit and GMAT Club are both fantastic resources for this test. However, sometimes they can be incredibly discouraging and even straight up incorrect.
Your confidence and mental attitude towards this test (and any test or anything in life for that matter) will make or break you.
I was really good about not reading Reddit posts and GMAT Club posts until right before test day 1 and I deeply regret doing so.
I read (on Reddit) that people were taking the GMAT classic and scoring 100-150 points lower than their practice tests. Most people stated that the test was nothing like their practice ones and that GMAC definitely increased the difficulty level prior to discontinuing the test. Reading multiple posts like this definitely made me anxious, which translated poorly to test day 1. The truth is, you will never know someone's natural intelligence, practice efforts, or test anxiety predispositions through an online post. Never let someone else's negative experience shake your own confidence!
3. Mimic test day conditions closely when taking the practice tests to get the most accurate representation of your current skill level
4. Use official guide questions only. I did not know about this resource until too late, but if you cannot afford the official guide questions, this link has all of them (https://www.thegmatco.com/all-official-questions/). I actually never completed 2 of the practice tests I bought and a lot of the official guide questions in my WILEY software so if anyone wants that, happy to share!
TEST DAY 1
As stated above, I was pretty anxious that I would not do well on the test (because of the Reddit posts) and my score may drop due to this "harder test". I am not generally an anxious test taker whatsoever. In fact, growing up, I excelled at standardized tests. This just goes to show that mentality (and, of course, hard work) are incredibly important when taking the GMAT.
Not much to say about this testing experience except that I was anxious. This affected both my quant and verbal performance and I never got into a good rhythm like I did during my practice tests. Unsurprisingly, I got a 700 (Q47 V40 IR6). While this is not a bad score, I did not think it was an accurate representation of my skill level. Of course, the test was NOT different from or more difficult than the practice tests, like the Reddit posts said. I dropped the ball because of my nerves, not because of the test content.
I knew I was going to retake the test, ASAP. After taking a day break, I got back to studying. I analyzed my ESR and realized I needed to work on RC (I was in the 92-94th percentiles for SC and Logical Reasoning). This is when I discovered the GMATNinja x Colton youtube video (linked above). As Colton astutely points out, GMAC weighs Verbal heavier than Quant. It is possible to get a 51 in Quant and still do poorly on the test if you underperform in Verbal. Since I did not have any large gaps in Quant, I decided not to do any more Quant practice. This is another KEY POINT; do NOT waste your time doing nuanced probability questions that have a minuscule chance of showing up on test day. Instead, spend your time IMPROVING YOUR VERAL SKILLS IF YOUR QUANT IS ALREADY IN THE HIGH 40s.
I started doing 1 LSAT passage a day (watch the video for more info) and 10 logical reasoning and 10 SC questions each day. This really helped to build my mental stamina before I sat for my second exam. I also did not take any full length practice tests during this time.
TEST DAY 2 - 2 weeks after my original test date
Did NOT read any posts before this test- went in with a good breakfast and good mentality. I tackled each question at a time and focused only on the question at hand. I was extremely happy after my verbal section and felt good going into Quant. Quant was pretty rough. I was crumbling towards the middle and was convinced I was bombing the section. Took a deep breath and just gave it my all. Something that Charles often says in his videos (and I often say to my students) repeated in my head- let it hurt. It's supposed to hurt! You have to persevere through the pain.
Got a 750 (Q49, V44, IR 7, AWA ?)! Again, I cannot thank Charles and the GMAT Ninja team enough. To put out such valuable information for FREE is so commendable and so appreciated!
BACKGROUND
I've been in management consulting for about 2.5 years now and prior to that, I was an ICU RN. I've also been teaching and tutoring for the SAT for the last 6 years. This helped me greatly when it came to studying because although the tests are different, there is definitely a lot of crossover when tackling a standardized test. The SAT also contains sentence correction and RC; this translated nicely to GMAT content as well.
I took a diagnostic test (official practice exam 1) early 2023 and scored a 640 (Q46 and V31 and IR7). I definitely did not give this test my all and rushed through it.
STUDYING
I started studying for the GMAT in early September 2023. From what I had seen on Reddit, TTP seemed like the right choice for Quant. Looking back, I wish I had done more research and developed a more personalized study plan. I also did not buy the official guide questions or tests until November (big mistake!) I would recommend everyone to not only understand your weaknesses, but also (and almost more importantly) understand the test itself. I'll talk more about this later, but this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U69BTder8lc&ab_channel=GMATClub) really changed how I studied for the GMAT.
I enrolled in TTP immediately and started reviewing. By December, I had completed almost all of the TTP Quant (spent about ~400 hours). Initially, I was doing EVERY chapter test and question. Not only is this not feasible, it's not necessary (unless you do not have the foundations down already). TTP is great, however the question bank is a bit repetitive. Also, as GMATNinja says, no one writes questions like GMAC. It is really helpful to supplement your TTP learnings with the official guide QUANT questions.
My biggest mistake while studying was undoubtedly my late discovery of GMATNinja. Again, as someone who tutors for the SAT, I've never doubted my sentence correction skills. While doing the TTP Sentence Correction course, I was getting extremely caught up in grammar jargon. I was NOT doing well in the course and it made me second guess all my SC skills. I even had to stop working on SC for 3 weeks because my confidence took such a big hit. This is when I started to look for other options and discovered GMAT Ninja's SC course! This should be EVERYONE's starting point in SC, RC, and Logical Reasoning. Like a good tutor should, Charles (and the rest of the team) emphasizes the importance of tackling each question with STRATEGY. I plan on emailing Charles a long, detailed thank you note, but for everyone else TLDR: START WITH GMAT NINJA! As you work through the GMAT Ninja course, try to do 10-15 questions of Official Guide Verbal questions.
*I do want to caveat that TTP Verbal was not particularly helpful for me since 1) I am a native English speaker 2) I know my foundations well as an SAT tutor.
It may be incredibly helpful for you!
I did little/no work for reading comprehension before my first attempt since I was performing well in practice. I did not write any practice essays or do any sections of IR for practice (even when doing my official practice tests).
I took 3 of the 6 official practice tests from GMAC while studying
1. practice test 2: 710 (Pre- GMAT Ninja)
2. practice test 5: 740 (after GMAT Ninja discovery)
3. practice test 6: 760 (after GMAT Ninja course completion)
GENERAL TIPS
1. Keep an insight notebook! As a tutor, I've always required this of my students since it is the ONLY way to get better. This is also why it is important not to burn through the limited supply of OG questions. Again, I've noticed a majority of my students make this mistake over the years (burning through official College Board questions without getting all the learnings from the questions), so I was easily able to avoid this by practicing what I preach.
In my insight notebook (digital), I kept track of...
- Each question I got wrong and why I got it wrong (I recorded my logic in picking the wrong answer with extreme detail, ex: "You thought C sounded awkward because of this phrase and chose B since it avoided that phrasing, even though it had another error you spotted")
- What I learned from the question (some concept)
- How I will avoid making the same mistake in the future (ex: do not rely on "awkwardness" if you can identify another concrete error)
2. DO NOT LET REDDIT OR GMAT CLUB PSYCH YOU OUT
Reddit and GMAT Club are both fantastic resources for this test. However, sometimes they can be incredibly discouraging and even straight up incorrect.
Your confidence and mental attitude towards this test (and any test or anything in life for that matter) will make or break you.
I was really good about not reading Reddit posts and GMAT Club posts until right before test day 1 and I deeply regret doing so.
I read (on Reddit) that people were taking the GMAT classic and scoring 100-150 points lower than their practice tests. Most people stated that the test was nothing like their practice ones and that GMAC definitely increased the difficulty level prior to discontinuing the test. Reading multiple posts like this definitely made me anxious, which translated poorly to test day 1. The truth is, you will never know someone's natural intelligence, practice efforts, or test anxiety predispositions through an online post. Never let someone else's negative experience shake your own confidence!
3. Mimic test day conditions closely when taking the practice tests to get the most accurate representation of your current skill level
4. Use official guide questions only. I did not know about this resource until too late, but if you cannot afford the official guide questions, this link has all of them (https://www.thegmatco.com/all-official-questions/). I actually never completed 2 of the practice tests I bought and a lot of the official guide questions in my WILEY software so if anyone wants that, happy to share!
TEST DAY 1
As stated above, I was pretty anxious that I would not do well on the test (because of the Reddit posts) and my score may drop due to this "harder test". I am not generally an anxious test taker whatsoever. In fact, growing up, I excelled at standardized tests. This just goes to show that mentality (and, of course, hard work) are incredibly important when taking the GMAT.
Not much to say about this testing experience except that I was anxious. This affected both my quant and verbal performance and I never got into a good rhythm like I did during my practice tests. Unsurprisingly, I got a 700 (Q47 V40 IR6). While this is not a bad score, I did not think it was an accurate representation of my skill level. Of course, the test was NOT different from or more difficult than the practice tests, like the Reddit posts said. I dropped the ball because of my nerves, not because of the test content.
I knew I was going to retake the test, ASAP. After taking a day break, I got back to studying. I analyzed my ESR and realized I needed to work on RC (I was in the 92-94th percentiles for SC and Logical Reasoning). This is when I discovered the GMATNinja x Colton youtube video (linked above). As Colton astutely points out, GMAC weighs Verbal heavier than Quant. It is possible to get a 51 in Quant and still do poorly on the test if you underperform in Verbal. Since I did not have any large gaps in Quant, I decided not to do any more Quant practice. This is another KEY POINT; do NOT waste your time doing nuanced probability questions that have a minuscule chance of showing up on test day. Instead, spend your time IMPROVING YOUR VERAL SKILLS IF YOUR QUANT IS ALREADY IN THE HIGH 40s.
I started doing 1 LSAT passage a day (watch the video for more info) and 10 logical reasoning and 10 SC questions each day. This really helped to build my mental stamina before I sat for my second exam. I also did not take any full length practice tests during this time.
TEST DAY 2 - 2 weeks after my original test date
Did NOT read any posts before this test- went in with a good breakfast and good mentality. I tackled each question at a time and focused only on the question at hand. I was extremely happy after my verbal section and felt good going into Quant. Quant was pretty rough. I was crumbling towards the middle and was convinced I was bombing the section. Took a deep breath and just gave it my all. Something that Charles often says in his videos (and I often say to my students) repeated in my head- let it hurt. It's supposed to hurt! You have to persevere through the pain.
Got a 750 (Q49, V44, IR 7, AWA ?)! Again, I cannot thank Charles and the GMAT Ninja team enough. To put out such valuable information for FREE is so commendable and so appreciated!
16 Jan 2024, 11:03
Kudos
Bookmarks
Gratz on the 750. All the best going forward.
-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm
-contact: gmatknight site | gmatclub dm
16 Jan 2024, 18:21
Kudos
Bookmarks
LLLIRIYF800
Indeed, but rumors persist.
In any case, nice work scoring 750 the next time, and may all go well for you going forward.
