This has been a long journey and I always hoped I would be in a position to write a final write-up like this... Today is the day.
This is quite a long read and I'll include a summary of key takeaways at the bottom. I learned a lot through this process and would do many things differently if I could start over again. I went through three distinct phases/paradigms through this journey and if you're hitting the wall at the ~700 range, I hope my story can help you.
TL;DR: Studied 4 months, scored 700 (41V, 44Q), studied another 4 months, scored 700 (41V, 44Q), studied one more month, scored 760 (47V, 49Q). 500-600 total hours.---Attempt #1 700 (41V 44Q) - "Going Through The Motions" - Oct 2017-Feb 2018I started studying for the GMAT October 2017. I had scored well on the SAT and figured since I was coming from an engineering background, I would be able to dismantle the Quant section and would primarily have to focus on Verbal. Turns out, the reverse was true; I was awful at Quant. In my first Kaplan diagnostic test, I was scoring in the ~560 range. Ouch. It was humbling, considering I knew I needed to get 700+. I got to work.
Materials
GmatFree
OG Guide 2018
Kaplan Guide 2015I approached this like I approached most other test in my life; work backwards. I've admittedly always been lazy about studying. I justified it by finding satisfaction that I could always score around a ~3.2 putting in a minimum of effort. Why study more and "waste" time when I can learn the most essential parts with minimal time investment?
I scheduled my test for Feb 2018 after reading how high scorers typically studied 200 hours. I gave myself 4.5 months so I could fit in 200-300 hours of study in. With a 100 hour buffer, I figured I was guaranteed a good score. I started studying by doing massive amounts of OG problems after a read through of strategy from the Kaplan guide. I focused my studies on doing repetition and developing strong pattern recognition and intuition. I read through every gmatclub post detailing various Quant tricks and explaining the most difficult Verbal questions. I heavily preferred Verbal study during this period... I rarely studied Quant. After reading about how inflated Quant scores had become I figured Verbal was my highest point of leverage. A good observation, but it would ultimately impact my total score.
I kept an
error log, but did it mostly because I read it was essential for a high score. I was very lazy about this and went through the motions. I downloaded a template off GMATClub and filled it out, but I didn't have a great understanding of why it would be helpful beyond the obvious benefit of tracking my performance. Honestly, it barely helped me at the time. I had some data to run analytics and know I was making a lot of careless issues and had problems in certain areas, but that was it.
In December, I took a GMATPREP CAT. I scored 730!
I was happy with my progress and honestly started slacking. I took a few weeks off studying as other things came up in my life, and started studying again near the end of January. I focused primarily on Verbal during this time and barely studied Quant.
1-2 weeks before my GMAT, I took another GMATPREP CAT. 690. Ouch. My Verbal was still strong (around a 41V), but my Quant had suffered. Spent the rest of my time drilling practice problems in both Q and V.
On test day, I felt confident and finished the test with good time management. I scored 700 (41V 44Q).
700. I did it. I walked away satisfied in the moment, but knowing that I could score better.
---Attempt #2- 700 (41V 44Q) - Failing to Execute and Losing Hope - Jun 2018 - Oct 2018Materials
OG 2018 QR
OG2018 VR
All Manhattan Books (various editions)
Magoosh App (flashcards)
GMAT PREP Exams 3-6
Manhattan Prep Exams 1-5I studied very lightly for the next four months, maybe 10-20 questions a week. Traveling and doing other things, I wasn't ready to commit to studying. After a two-week trip to Europe celebrating one of my friends admittance into med school, I went heads down again intent on scoring 730-760.
I decided mass problems this time was not enough; I would need to learn all of the fundamental concepts. I ordered all of the
Manhattan Prep books and read through each book cover to cover, even going as far as modifying my exercise routine to include incline treadmill walking so I could read the Verbal books while I trained. I diligently kept an
error log. I took practice tests every two weeks, logging the performance and analyzing my performance breakdown by subject area. I was progressing nicely! My performance was as followsMGMAT - 620MGMAT 650GMAT PREP - 720 (41V, 48Q)GMAT PREP - 750 (44V, 49Q)
I was ecstatic. My performance kept climbing. However, the weekend before my exam I took another two practice tests, and was horrified.
GMAT PREP 700 (38V, 48Q)
MGMAT - 660 (35V, 45Q)
My confidence shattered, I panicked and rescheduled the test. I didn't think I was ready. Coincidentally I got sick the day before I was to take the test, so perhaps it was meant to be. I kept studying, drilling through the Question of the Day entries on gmatclub. By this point I had exhausted all of my GMAT PREP exams and on retakes was scoring in the 740-750 range.
I was scared approaching Test #2. I had scored 740+ a few times on tests, but my inconsistency and retaking of previous GMAT PREP tests had me doubting my abilities. The 700 I scored weeks prior on a fresh test had really shaken my confidence. I felt like I needed to get lucky, or have a great performance. I got pumped on on test day and faked confidence as much as I could. I kept on telling myself that I would crush it.
I did my best to stay calm on test day but was rattled in the Quant section as I hit several dead-ends in problems I knew how to solve and was forced to guess on. My time management was poor and I had to rush through 3-4 questions at the end. I knew I had screwed up; I was forced to do incomplete work and guess on problems I knew I could solve with adequate time.
Verbal was a little better but I faced several problems I could only narrow down to a 50/50. The score flashed on my screen; 700 (41 V, 44Q). I shook my head. It stung as the proctor pointed out there was no printout and asked to confirm that I had canceled my score. I drove home in disbelief.
I had easily studied another 200 hours... What now?
---Attempt #3- 760 (47V, 49Q) - Sacrifice and Acceptance - Oct 2018 - Nov 2018
Materials
Target Test Prep
GMATClub Quant Tests (Halloween special lol)A few days later, I rescheduled my 3rd GMAT five weeks out. Despite doing terribly on the exam, I remained hopeful I could still score higher. While I felt good the first time I scored 700, I felt like EVERYTHING went wrong this second 700. Without these testing errors, I felt like I could hit my goal score. Bottom line, I knew my knowledge base was much deeper; I just needed to execute.
I knew I needed to do something differently this time. I had exhausted all of my previous study materials and I fundamentally knew my approach had to be more than just brute force. Having read about
Target Test Prep on Reddit, I started their $1 trial and purchased an additional month without second thought. Besides offering a comprehensive study plan of all the Quant topics, it offered easy drill-down into problem areas with additional practice problems and general analytics like accuracy.
After a week of general study and planning, I decided on these two focuses for the next month:
[*]Eliminate careless errors.
[*]Strive for mastery of problem areas.
Realizing I was prone to careless errors that punished me as I attacked ~700 level questions, I knew I had to find a way to focus 100%. I stopped passively studying material and actively engaged with problems, especially ones that I struggled with and I wanted to turn away from. I stopped looking at my phone while studying. I stopped listening to music with lyrics. Anything that distracted my focus at all while I was working on problems, I cut it out. I woke up at 5 AM to study before work so I could be as sharp as possible. When I incorrectly answered a question or especially had trouble, I studied the solution carefully and wrote out in a new notebook
error log how I went wrong and what I needed to do differently. I didn't just capture errors, I worked out logically what needed to happen to solve the problem.
To achieve mastery, I drilled into each topic area until I hit >80% accuracy in Hard questions.
Target Test Prep's practice tests were invaluable in achieving this. Rather than solve just a few problems of a difficult topic and call it good, I forced myself to understand the ins-and-outs of each challenging topic until I could solve it as consistently as single-variable algebra.
On Halloween I had the chance to try GMATClub's Quant tests for free. I wish I had taken these sooner! They were very helpful. Very difficult tests, but unlike Mahattan's Quant section, very accurate and close to the real GMAT.
I woke up at 5:45 AM on test day feeling confident. I was still uncertain about getting the score I wanted, but this time I felt ready. I had a Quest Protein Cookie and brought a bar of Lindt 85% Dark Chocolate, something I used to eat in High School before the SAT and AP Tests. My self-talk was different this time. My mantra was "I've never been more ready for this," and I believed it. It was true.
Sitting in my car before the test, I let go of expectations that I would score well. I reflected on the sacrifices it took to get here, and accepted that no matter how well I did, I would be proud of myself. I had never worked this hard for something in my life. I turned off my music and found a motivational YouTube video to watch (Jocko's War Path was the one I found). I honestly got a little teary-eyed before laughing it off, patting myself on the back, and walking into the test center.
The test started off rocky. Quant problem #1, and I had hit a brick wall. What seemed like a simple algebra problem turned out to be something more complex (I think perhaps a weighted average, I had never seen a problem like it). Three minutes in I snapped out of my trance and realized I couldn't waste time. I took a guess and moved on. I picked up momentum as the section went on and deftly maneuvered through several difficult problems I had mastered in the weeks prior, catching several trap answers which bolstered my confidence. I finished with 6 minutes to spare (Damn I could've given more time to problem #1...)
From the problem types I had seen in Quant, I was pretty sure I had scored >47Q, and I was nervous about Verbal. I hadn't studied it much in the last month and the margin for error above 41V is just so small. I worked carefully through each problem, though I noticed at three of my checkpoints I was running late (My timing strategy involved time-checks at the 25%, 50%, and 75% mark) so I picked up the pace as much as I could after burning a lot of time in RCs. In the last 10 questions I realized I had miscalculated time and needed to hustle. I wasn't able to devote full time to the last few questions but was able to allocate a minute each, narrowly catching small nuances in a few SC problems that narrowed my choices down to 50/50.
I had no idea. While Quant felt good, Verbal could've gone either way. I hoped for 710-720. I cruised through Integrated Reasoning and slammed out an essay in 20 minutes and clicked to end my exam.
760.
I stared at the screen in disbelief and carefully selected Accept Score.
I did it.
---
TakeawaysIf I could do this over again, I would do several things differently. I think the your goal score and how far you need to rise to hit it will dictate how you should study. Climbing from 560-700, spamming practice problems to get basic proficiency was fine. I'm generally a good test taker so this would've been enough for me. YMMV.
[*]If you want to score 720+ or have a long way to climb (200) points in my case), I believe striving for mastery is essential from day 1. I wasted a lot of time learning shortcuts which gave me false confidence and made it difficult to know where I needed to improve. Dive deep into one topic, then another, then another. Space your study out to review and re-learn a topic after some time has passed.
[*]Cultivate focus. At the highest level, the GMAT punishes laziness. Oftentimes the most difficult problems simply incorporate some trick (e.g. difference of squares identify) or trap answer that can catch you if you're not razor sharp. Don't study with distractions. Put away your phone. Learn how to deeply focus. This one was incredibly hard for me.
[*]Wrestle with difficult topics and intentionally learn the ins-and-outs of troubling concepts. Don't be satisfied with understanding a solution and being able to resolve it. Understand the mechanics of it. Understand why you got it wrong, how to do it, how the problem type is generally solved, everything. Be able to explain it in your own words.
[*]Commit to a medium-investment rather than try to cut corners and save time/money. Had I just started out with
Target Test Prep/
Magoosh along with the OG books, I probably could've saved $600+ (between materials and retakes) and several months of my life. Instead, I tried to get by on just OG problems, then tried to get by on just
Manhattan books, then finally bought the comprehensive platform (
Target Test Prep). It's possible to learn fully through these cheaper resources, but be honest with yourself. There's a difference between "could" and "would." I "could" master content with free resources, but would I?
Target Test Prep organized the material in a way I could actually fully utilize.
If you've stuck around this far or just skipped to the bottom, thanks for reading. I'm so glad to be done with this and move on to the rest of my applications.
If you're still studying, don't lose hope. It can be done.