I chose to take that
Online GMAT from my house in August due to lack of testing center options in the Los Angeles area, and I really did not want to do the AWA section. I did not have a horrible time logging in, or going through the technical support portion, even though I would recommend using your phone to take all of the photos of your testing room, as it was difficult to get all of the angles of the room for photos using only my laptop. Other than this I felt like I was prepared as could be for the exam.
I had gone from a 610-650 range in June to a 720-760 Range in the course of 2 months through the use of the
TTP system. I was excited that I had finally learned math, as my Quant score on the SAT and GRE were not amazing even though I lucked into a top 25 University for undergrad (Anthropology Major probably helped with that).
I chose Quant- Verbal- IR, and did not have any trouble throughout the test. Some questions were difficult, some seemed easy-isa, but overall I felt like it was consistent with the GMAC practice Exams 1-4 that I had taken. I did not like that there was not a break between Quant and verbal, but the break before IR was a life saver. I omitted 2 questions/ quickly guessed on IR as I had been doing in practice tests (score range was 7-8) and overall felt like I had done pretty well compared to my practice sessions. I spent 2 days wondering if I would be worth retaking the exam to get a higher score. I figured I had 10-20 business days until I would see my score, and then I got my score around 50 hours after my exam finished. I almost fell out of my chair.
A 610 (Q 40 V33 IR 2). I had averaged a 730 on my practice tests, and had not received below a Q-46 and V-38 IR-7 on any of the practice exams.
MY diagnostic was a 630 in April, so I was extremely broken for a the next week.
I decided to sign up for a 2nd exam 5 weeks after the 1st test, but this time I wanted to do it in-person so that I could get used to the in-person process and take it again right after Thanksgiving. I signed up for 1 more month of
TTP, and review some old Veritas Quant books that a friend gave me. The week prior to my 2nd exam I signed up for a week of GMAT club exams. Those tests are very difficult and make you speed up due to all of the 700+ level questions that you get early and often. I did not really care about my results on them but wanted to make sure that when I saw difficult questions that I could figure them out, or guess and move on due to the time constraints. My score ranges were Q-40-48 & V-35-45, so I felt like at least I was seeing a lot of new questions.
Two days before my 2nd exam I took a Gmat Club Quant and Gmat club Verbal back-to-back with an 8 minute break. I then took a few hours to watch Sunday football, and returned to review those tests. After Dinner I took another Gmat club Quant exam and received a 46, but waited until the next morning to review the exam.
The day before the exam I review my Quant test from the previous night, then I went over my AWA framework/template that I had created for myself (I like to write in college, but answering prompts over and over annoys me). I then went for a 45 minute walk and cooked dinner. I watched Monday night football and took NightQuil around 9pm to try to sleep.
The morning of the exam I woke up at 6am, as I had to signup for an 8am test time as there are very few test times available in Los Angeles right now. I spent the previous week waking up at 5:45 (reluctantly) so that I could get my body and mind used to the grogginess and routine. Although I had planned on driving to the test center (1.5 miles away), I had a lot of anxiety and decided to walk there (28 minutes with stoplights). This helped calm me down a lot. When I got up to the Pearson Vue center at 7am there were quite a few people already there waiting, spread out of course. After following the test center guidelines (wash hands in bathroom, take a number Deli style, and review the rules on a handout) I then checked in and stood in a line to get into the testing center. Seeing other people actually helped calm me down and made me feel like the test was not that crazy especially because I am going to take it again in another month. After patting myself down, getting to my station I did begin to feel some stress, and tried a lot of deep breaths, which would probably work better in an environment where there is not a mask covering my face.
As I began the Quant section, the first questions seemed pretty straight forward, a standard rate style fraction based on the investment in 2 separate businesses. And yet, I froze. It...seemed...so...easy. Maybe a 600-650 style problem tops. I took 3 minutes and finally just guessed. Question 2, didn't seem that much easier, and so I spent 2.5 minutes on that one. I felt a lot more anxiety at this point. "Well I guess I will be back here in a month. Maybe Ill just get friendly with the test administrators so I have someone to talk to next time," were my thoughts. I then guess on #3 within 30 seconds. Out of the first 10 questions 4-5 questions were actually worded completely different than anything I had seen on
TTP, GMAC practice tests or
OG problems. I always have a hard time choosing E, unless its super obvious. I chose it a lot, and had the most illogical, super obvious, "But wait!" questions that I spent 5 minutes on because I could not see how there could ever be an answer. I finally finished Quant with 70 seconds to spare, so I chose my answer on #31, and waited with deep breaths to calm myself until the clock read 10 seconds to confirm my answer.
I took a quick break, about 5 minutes for restroom and cookie/water break. For the Verbal section I did not have a lot of problems that were easy. I did have 2 problems that were very similar to
OG problems for SC and CR. I felt like I was doing okay, but not amazing. I realized that my RC questions were pretty difficult around question 23 (RC is my worst topic by far). Overall I just wanted to improve upon that 31. I finished and then headed out for my last break.
I took a quick 2nd break, maybe 5 minutes tops, but the computer said that I had taken too long. I started the IR section with only 29 minutes for some reason. Luckily the first question took me 30 seconds and the second question around a minute (that never happens for me). I always try to guess on 1 question at least to give me an extra 2-2.5 minutes on the other 11 questions. I don't like the drop down questions (choose 3 questions that have 5 answer choices). On this test I chose to guess on number 7, then number 8 was the same prompt, different question, so I guessed again, but then #9 was the SAME EXACT PROMT! I had never seen 3 straight questions on the same prompt. I had to figure out the 3rd one based on the info. It too me about 3.5 minutes or so, but then I had netted 4 minutes total so it wasn't a big deal. I finally finished and went onto the always fun AWA.
The AWA did not have any super obvious flaws. Usually there is poor reasoning AND an obvious flaw to blow up their logic, but I did not get that kind of prompt this time. I did 5 paragraphs in total just under 30 minutes, and rushed through the conclusion, but I just wanted to finish. Overall I usually can guess my scores +- 2 points for Quant, Verbal & IR. I guess (Q-40-41). (V- 36-38) (IR-2-4).
And then I saw my score. I had...finally...hit...my target score. A 700 was on the page. Yeah I know a lot of people score higher than that. But a 700 score was what I really wanted for the programs I am interested in. Score read: Quant 45, Verbal-40, IR-6. I was not ecstatic because I knew I would need to decide if it was worth taking the GMAT for a 3rd time, but I also knew that I wouldn't feel horrible dropping the GMAT study sessions from my evenings.
At this point I will take a week off, and reassess based on my goals. I work in HR, but have recently taken a role as a Talent & People Analytics program manager. My MBA goal is to become a People Analytics manager, which needs an MBA within the tech and consulting world. I most likely will go through the steps to retake the GMAT due to the Anderson and Marshall averages increasing this year due to all of the new applicants. Overall I am pretty happy with where I have come.
- A non math centric person going from a 610-700 in 5 weeks, and not giving up on my dream. 
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21 Oct 2020, 22:45
