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Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
14 Jun 2015, 07:08
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First of all, the GMAT is hard. Do not get discouraged. I do not think that I broke 700 for 2 and a half months, and I never did on the Manhattan GMAT practice tests. I saw scores decreasing after I started studying … still can’t explain that…but I continued onward. I would take practice tests, get frustrated, say no to plans with friends, go on long runs, and come back to do it all over again. It was humbling, frustrating, discouraging … I felt like I would never get there. But it was months of hard work and good preparation that paid off in the end.
1. Set aside 3-4 months: For me, the most important part of my preparation was studying when I had a solid 3-4 months. I had toyed around with questions for 1 year and a half – buying books and subscribing to GMAT questions of the day during my last month of undergrad, spending 2 weeks practicing questions right after graduating college, starting up again for about 1 month approx. ~1 year into my first job. But I had no real sense of urgency, and I wasn’t prepping to take it.
For most people, it’s a test date that is the motivating factor. I studied as though I had a test date (my internal deadline was that I would take by June), but actually didn’t sign up until 10 days before test. This was because I wanted to make sure that I was hitting score that I wanted (700+) before I signed up, and also because I had the time—over 6 months if I decided to apply after 3 years of working. For most people, I recommend just signing up for test date…I think it’s only ~$10 to postpone (but vertify that with GMAC).
In 1-2 months, I was not “getting it”; I was getting really discouraged. Give yourself the 3-4 months. If it takes less, then great. If it takes the full time, well that’s why you set aside 3-4 months, that’s normal.
I started studying at the beginning of January (call it a New Year’s resolution) and took at the end of April. What made me decide that it was time to REALLY prep and FINALLY take was seeing my analyst start class doing the same…and it was always something at the back of my mind that I wanted to get over with. Also, I had recently moved to a very cold city…so with bad weather and not as many friends / distractions, winter was a good time for me to prep.
2. Study consistently for those 3-4 months: I studied for ~1-2 hours on weekdays and ~4-5 hours on weekends. Some busy weeks, the balance became more like ~0.5-1 hour on weekdays and ~5-6 hours on weekends to make up for that. I am also an over-studier – I have gone into every test of my life extremely over-studied, because that makes me much more comfortable under testing conditions (and the same was true for the GMAT). And I would rather put up the time up front and know that I did my best … then come out on the other side knowing that I could have done better, had I studied more. So, that’s 10 hours / week for 16 weeks for a total of 160 hours. To be honest, I think that after 2 and a half months, I started to see the improvement and at 3 months, I was probably ready to take.
2. Study effectively for those 3-4 months: Study effectively is different for everyone. I did not study much for the SAT – and pulled off very good scores, with 700+ in all sections, and Writing significantly higher than Quant / Critical Reading. The GMAT is a very different beast, but I do think that SAT scores and of course, some GMAT assessment tests can give you a good sense of where you need to focus your efforts. Honestly, by this point in life, you probably know what’s going to be hardest, whatever’s given you the most trouble before.
For me, that was most definitely quant. Like I said, I’m not bad at Quant, it’s always been a weaker section for me relative to Verbal (I am a native English speaker and read a lot as a kid). But I was bad at GMAT quant. I think it was the combination of Data Sufficiency AND not being able to skip questions and spend the time on them later. That was really my testing style…so I needed to adapt here.
Most of all, I recommend the Manhattan GMAT books. However, I also think that it’s important to work through real GMAT questions (not just Manhattan GMAT practice questions). The real GMAT questions are easier (do not get too discouraged with Manhattan) and have a slightly different style.
Resources:
Verbal:
• Official GMAT: Reviewed question types and took some practices very briefly.
• Manhattan Verbal (3 books – Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension): Even for me, starting with a high base level verbal, this book really taught to the GMAT Verbal, which is exactly what I needed. Went through all 3 books over a long weekend – I would probably recommend 1 week. Recommended.
Quant:
• Official GMAT: Nothing groundbreaking here. The questions proved too easy for 700+ scores, in my opinion.
• Manhattan Quant (5 books): I read all 5 books cover to cover to get the basics. I thought the books were relatively easy, then outside questions stumped me. I went back through these books a second time to really make sure that I got the basics. Pace of 1-2 weeks / book. Most recommended.
• Online GMAT blog questions and explanations. Also very recommended.
• Free practice tests / trials through The Economist, Veritas.
*All said, I probably spent ~$200 on materials. Definitely a worthwhile investment. If you go for class / private instruction, then you’ll spend more. Could still be a worthwhile investment.
In the depths of despair, after a few months, and still not seeing any progress, I seriously considered a tutor and reached out to a few people. Rates for private instruction were ~$200 / hour but I would have paid it…I finally started to improve on my own, but I still wasn’t totally confident. Had I not scored well on first take, I probably would have hired someone for quant and then retaken.
Practice: I took practice tests every 2-3 weeks in the last 1-2 months. This was a good way to check on my progress and probably more importantly, my timing. I also re-took tests when I ran out of fresh material (but saved the Official GMAT Exam 2 for the last month); This inflated some of my scores but still gave me good practice in a timed setting. I only added the Essay / IR in the last week – I probably practiced 3 full essays and read a few examples of top-scoring ones, and 3-5 batches of IR questions. No need to focus on these sections; from what I have heard, they do not matter. Just get a passable essay score … and people are still figuring out what to do with IR on admissions side. However, as time-consuming as it is, it’s worth practicing with the full test a few times just for endurance.
Practice Test Scores
• The Economist: 700
• Manhattan GMAT: Almost consistently scored a 690, with just a 46Q…and 38V. Just could not break the 700 barrier here. Quant section is MUCH harder than actual test. Also, I don’t think the Verbal questions are very good here…they seem very different in style and more elusive.
• Official GMAC exam: Exam 1, 670 (Took in Month 1, 41Q, 41V). Exam 2, 740 (Took in Month 4, 49V, 41V). It was after Exam 2 that I signed up for the real deal. This test is the most representative, although it’s a huge pain to review because of the interface. Just be patient and go through questions.
Review: I did not keep an error log, but I spent just as much time reviewing questions as I did taking the test in the first place. I had heard that you should review questions that you got wrong AND questions that you spent more than 2 minutes on. I spent more time reviewing these, but did go through all questions anyway. You should leave review with a sense of specific areas for improvement and focus next study efforts on those areas.
Find a friend: I spoke with analysts at my company to figure out how they had studied and succeeded at the GMAT. Especially on those frustrating days, it was good to have someone to bounce off questions / concerns and who could provide some recommendations.
4. BEAT IT on Test Day.
Going into test day, my goal was to score a 700+. Although I had not done it many times on fresh questions, I was encouraged by the 740 on the most recent official practice test just a few weeks before, and by my preparation. It was time. Including details below, because it was hard for me to imagine what testing conditions would be like, and knowing can really help you mentally prepare.
Test morning: I took the day off of work. I had a 1 pm test about 25 miles away…Since I had signed up 10 days before the test, I couldn’t get a spot at the centers close by. That’s okay – I had a car, and I like driving. Plus, the suburbs were calmer. I slept ~6 hours…Woke up super early and got some coffee, and forced myself to eat breakfast. I paced around the block several times just to kill the time, and finally headed to the test.
Test center: I checked in about 2 hours early … but they said I could start right away. I still needed lunch … so I went downstairs to the café, managed to eat half a sandwich, and returned back up to start.
Everyone at the test center is taking something different, coming and going at different times, don’t let that throw you. I pushed in the ear plugs which blocked out everything – I tried on the headphone, but they really squeezed my ears and hurt my head—so the ear plugs were much better for me. They take a photo and scan your palm at the beginning, and then every time you enter and leave, they scan your palm again; it’s not as scary as it sounds, just go with it. I watched the movie clip from GMAC a few days before my test, just to understand more about what to expect on test day.
The last thing – Is that you do not write with pen and paper at the GMAT. You get this laminated paper and pens for it (which resemble fine-tipped Sharpies). I ordered it online to practice ahead of time, because I was so nervous about it. I don’t think this was absolutely necessary, but I’m still glad that I did. If you’re worried about it, it’s worth the $15 investment before test day.
Other considerations: You can list 5 schools to send score reports to for free … just have a list of schools in your head, so you don’t have to worry about thinking it up as you are starting your test. Also, after you finish your test (and answer a few more survey questions), your score pops up on the screen and you have 1-2 minutes(?) (Check GMAC) to accept scores…or else they will not be counted. You should have a cut-off point in your head to reject…because 1-2 minutes is not enough to decide.
I read that you should only consider rejecting if score is more than 100 points below your goal, but read up on it to make best decision. This would show up as ‘Not Reported’ on GMAC record. If you reject on test day, you can pay $100 to get scores back. If you accept on test day, you CANNOT reject later. So think about that, along with your strategy. But if all goes well, you should be ready to accept, so that scores are reported.
Test taking: I took the test how I had practiced. The essay was a more difficult question, but the basic format was the same. It was a good way to ease into the test. IR was a disaster, so I thought. The questions were incredibly hard, I wasted a lot of valuable time, I didn’t get to the last passage that had 3 associated questions; I literally had 2 minutes for 3 questions at the end…By what must have been lucky guesses, I pulled off a 7 at the end…but at the time, I didn’t know that and just had to put IR behind me as I launched into the real sections.
I paced Quant at a steady tick of 2 minutes per question…I think I started out very strong but made myself pause a few too many times before submitting…time that might have helped me get 1 more question at the end. I was flush against time going into the last 5 hardest questions…and I guessed on the 3rd to last question, which was a tricky and time-consuming ratio question, in order to get the last 2 questions…I was dead-focused on the last question and clicked an answer before seconds ran out. Practice guessing techniques and timed questions…That’s what kicked in at the end here.
Verbal was just relief…I let my mind wander a little…it was hard not to think about how it had gone so far…I thought I had turned in a solid Quant performance, which was my big goal, that I had bombed IR, which I considered as non-essential, and written a good essay (although the difficult prompt made me less certain). I forced myself to slow on Verbal (I always had extra time)…and to be sure of every answer, because Verbal could strengthen my score. It’s a tugging sensation though, to rush through it and see the score at the end…but I made sure that I was choosing the correct answer and then submitting, reminding myself that I was still taking the test.
Relief and happiness are the two words to describe what I felt when I saw the 730 pop up. As soon as I left the test room, I texted my sister “730, ecstatic!” This was when 4 months had finally paid off. I was also so grateful…if I’m being honest, I thought there was a fair chance that the screen might say 6-something… just so much relief.
Retake?: I hate when people get 700+ scores and write how they could have done better…and debate retaking. You can always leave a test, knowing that it some way you could have done better, no matter how much you tried or prepared. It happens. I let my score sit for a few days, and then I started researching schools, and making sure that my score sat where it needed to be a competitive candidate. In doing this research, I read something about the 80-80 rule, where ideally, you would be in the 80% percentile for both Verbal and Quant for a balanced score. My Quant is 74%; so I talked to some people just to be sure I didn’t have to re-take…the overwhelming answer was NO. There’s almost no reason you need to re-take if you already have a 700+…the most compelling reason is if you under-scored by at least 50 points and are CERTAIN you could score 50 points higher on a re-take. I was almost certain that I could not. It’s something to figure out in the first week…because it’s much easier to re-take 31 days later when you have spent 3-4 months studying. DONE.
In Conclusion: There are so many different approaches to studying for the GMAT…This is the story of what I did and how I did…and I hope that some parts are helpful for you too. Don’t forget to keep in touch with your friends…say, a brunch or dinner on weekends…but just let them know that you are studying…they’ll be supportive and understanding when you have to say no to social events. Also, there are tough weeks at work where you can’t find the time…that’s okay, doing well at work is also part of B-school process…it’s up to you whether to tell your work that you are studying / taking or not. I chose not to, because I didn’t want to have to report back my scores, etc. Just know that you won’t have as much to say about what you did last weekend. It’ll be hard at first…but it will pay off. Good luck!
1. Set aside 3-4 months: For me, the most important part of my preparation was studying when I had a solid 3-4 months. I had toyed around with questions for 1 year and a half – buying books and subscribing to GMAT questions of the day during my last month of undergrad, spending 2 weeks practicing questions right after graduating college, starting up again for about 1 month approx. ~1 year into my first job. But I had no real sense of urgency, and I wasn’t prepping to take it.
For most people, it’s a test date that is the motivating factor. I studied as though I had a test date (my internal deadline was that I would take by June), but actually didn’t sign up until 10 days before test. This was because I wanted to make sure that I was hitting score that I wanted (700+) before I signed up, and also because I had the time—over 6 months if I decided to apply after 3 years of working. For most people, I recommend just signing up for test date…I think it’s only ~$10 to postpone (but vertify that with GMAC).
In 1-2 months, I was not “getting it”; I was getting really discouraged. Give yourself the 3-4 months. If it takes less, then great. If it takes the full time, well that’s why you set aside 3-4 months, that’s normal.
I started studying at the beginning of January (call it a New Year’s resolution) and took at the end of April. What made me decide that it was time to REALLY prep and FINALLY take was seeing my analyst start class doing the same…and it was always something at the back of my mind that I wanted to get over with. Also, I had recently moved to a very cold city…so with bad weather and not as many friends / distractions, winter was a good time for me to prep.
2. Study consistently for those 3-4 months: I studied for ~1-2 hours on weekdays and ~4-5 hours on weekends. Some busy weeks, the balance became more like ~0.5-1 hour on weekdays and ~5-6 hours on weekends to make up for that. I am also an over-studier – I have gone into every test of my life extremely over-studied, because that makes me much more comfortable under testing conditions (and the same was true for the GMAT). And I would rather put up the time up front and know that I did my best … then come out on the other side knowing that I could have done better, had I studied more. So, that’s 10 hours / week for 16 weeks for a total of 160 hours. To be honest, I think that after 2 and a half months, I started to see the improvement and at 3 months, I was probably ready to take.
2. Study effectively for those 3-4 months: Study effectively is different for everyone. I did not study much for the SAT – and pulled off very good scores, with 700+ in all sections, and Writing significantly higher than Quant / Critical Reading. The GMAT is a very different beast, but I do think that SAT scores and of course, some GMAT assessment tests can give you a good sense of where you need to focus your efforts. Honestly, by this point in life, you probably know what’s going to be hardest, whatever’s given you the most trouble before.
For me, that was most definitely quant. Like I said, I’m not bad at Quant, it’s always been a weaker section for me relative to Verbal (I am a native English speaker and read a lot as a kid). But I was bad at GMAT quant. I think it was the combination of Data Sufficiency AND not being able to skip questions and spend the time on them later. That was really my testing style…so I needed to adapt here.
Most of all, I recommend the Manhattan GMAT books. However, I also think that it’s important to work through real GMAT questions (not just Manhattan GMAT practice questions). The real GMAT questions are easier (do not get too discouraged with Manhattan) and have a slightly different style.
Resources:
Verbal:
• Official GMAT: Reviewed question types and took some practices very briefly.
• Manhattan Verbal (3 books – Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension): Even for me, starting with a high base level verbal, this book really taught to the GMAT Verbal, which is exactly what I needed. Went through all 3 books over a long weekend – I would probably recommend 1 week. Recommended.
Quant:
• Official GMAT: Nothing groundbreaking here. The questions proved too easy for 700+ scores, in my opinion.
• Manhattan Quant (5 books): I read all 5 books cover to cover to get the basics. I thought the books were relatively easy, then outside questions stumped me. I went back through these books a second time to really make sure that I got the basics. Pace of 1-2 weeks / book. Most recommended.
• Online GMAT blog questions and explanations. Also very recommended.
• Free practice tests / trials through The Economist, Veritas.
*All said, I probably spent ~$200 on materials. Definitely a worthwhile investment. If you go for class / private instruction, then you’ll spend more. Could still be a worthwhile investment.
In the depths of despair, after a few months, and still not seeing any progress, I seriously considered a tutor and reached out to a few people. Rates for private instruction were ~$200 / hour but I would have paid it…I finally started to improve on my own, but I still wasn’t totally confident. Had I not scored well on first take, I probably would have hired someone for quant and then retaken.
Practice: I took practice tests every 2-3 weeks in the last 1-2 months. This was a good way to check on my progress and probably more importantly, my timing. I also re-took tests when I ran out of fresh material (but saved the Official GMAT Exam 2 for the last month); This inflated some of my scores but still gave me good practice in a timed setting. I only added the Essay / IR in the last week – I probably practiced 3 full essays and read a few examples of top-scoring ones, and 3-5 batches of IR questions. No need to focus on these sections; from what I have heard, they do not matter. Just get a passable essay score … and people are still figuring out what to do with IR on admissions side. However, as time-consuming as it is, it’s worth practicing with the full test a few times just for endurance.
Practice Test Scores
• The Economist: 700
• Manhattan GMAT: Almost consistently scored a 690, with just a 46Q…and 38V. Just could not break the 700 barrier here. Quant section is MUCH harder than actual test. Also, I don’t think the Verbal questions are very good here…they seem very different in style and more elusive.
• Official GMAC exam: Exam 1, 670 (Took in Month 1, 41Q, 41V). Exam 2, 740 (Took in Month 4, 49V, 41V). It was after Exam 2 that I signed up for the real deal. This test is the most representative, although it’s a huge pain to review because of the interface. Just be patient and go through questions.
Review: I did not keep an error log, but I spent just as much time reviewing questions as I did taking the test in the first place. I had heard that you should review questions that you got wrong AND questions that you spent more than 2 minutes on. I spent more time reviewing these, but did go through all questions anyway. You should leave review with a sense of specific areas for improvement and focus next study efforts on those areas.
Find a friend: I spoke with analysts at my company to figure out how they had studied and succeeded at the GMAT. Especially on those frustrating days, it was good to have someone to bounce off questions / concerns and who could provide some recommendations.
4. BEAT IT on Test Day.
Going into test day, my goal was to score a 700+. Although I had not done it many times on fresh questions, I was encouraged by the 740 on the most recent official practice test just a few weeks before, and by my preparation. It was time. Including details below, because it was hard for me to imagine what testing conditions would be like, and knowing can really help you mentally prepare.
Test morning: I took the day off of work. I had a 1 pm test about 25 miles away…Since I had signed up 10 days before the test, I couldn’t get a spot at the centers close by. That’s okay – I had a car, and I like driving. Plus, the suburbs were calmer. I slept ~6 hours…Woke up super early and got some coffee, and forced myself to eat breakfast. I paced around the block several times just to kill the time, and finally headed to the test.
Test center: I checked in about 2 hours early … but they said I could start right away. I still needed lunch … so I went downstairs to the café, managed to eat half a sandwich, and returned back up to start.
Everyone at the test center is taking something different, coming and going at different times, don’t let that throw you. I pushed in the ear plugs which blocked out everything – I tried on the headphone, but they really squeezed my ears and hurt my head—so the ear plugs were much better for me. They take a photo and scan your palm at the beginning, and then every time you enter and leave, they scan your palm again; it’s not as scary as it sounds, just go with it. I watched the movie clip from GMAC a few days before my test, just to understand more about what to expect on test day.
The last thing – Is that you do not write with pen and paper at the GMAT. You get this laminated paper and pens for it (which resemble fine-tipped Sharpies). I ordered it online to practice ahead of time, because I was so nervous about it. I don’t think this was absolutely necessary, but I’m still glad that I did. If you’re worried about it, it’s worth the $15 investment before test day.
Other considerations: You can list 5 schools to send score reports to for free … just have a list of schools in your head, so you don’t have to worry about thinking it up as you are starting your test. Also, after you finish your test (and answer a few more survey questions), your score pops up on the screen and you have 1-2 minutes(?) (Check GMAC) to accept scores…or else they will not be counted. You should have a cut-off point in your head to reject…because 1-2 minutes is not enough to decide.
I read that you should only consider rejecting if score is more than 100 points below your goal, but read up on it to make best decision. This would show up as ‘Not Reported’ on GMAC record. If you reject on test day, you can pay $100 to get scores back. If you accept on test day, you CANNOT reject later. So think about that, along with your strategy. But if all goes well, you should be ready to accept, so that scores are reported.
Test taking: I took the test how I had practiced. The essay was a more difficult question, but the basic format was the same. It was a good way to ease into the test. IR was a disaster, so I thought. The questions were incredibly hard, I wasted a lot of valuable time, I didn’t get to the last passage that had 3 associated questions; I literally had 2 minutes for 3 questions at the end…By what must have been lucky guesses, I pulled off a 7 at the end…but at the time, I didn’t know that and just had to put IR behind me as I launched into the real sections.
I paced Quant at a steady tick of 2 minutes per question…I think I started out very strong but made myself pause a few too many times before submitting…time that might have helped me get 1 more question at the end. I was flush against time going into the last 5 hardest questions…and I guessed on the 3rd to last question, which was a tricky and time-consuming ratio question, in order to get the last 2 questions…I was dead-focused on the last question and clicked an answer before seconds ran out. Practice guessing techniques and timed questions…That’s what kicked in at the end here.
Verbal was just relief…I let my mind wander a little…it was hard not to think about how it had gone so far…I thought I had turned in a solid Quant performance, which was my big goal, that I had bombed IR, which I considered as non-essential, and written a good essay (although the difficult prompt made me less certain). I forced myself to slow on Verbal (I always had extra time)…and to be sure of every answer, because Verbal could strengthen my score. It’s a tugging sensation though, to rush through it and see the score at the end…but I made sure that I was choosing the correct answer and then submitting, reminding myself that I was still taking the test.
Relief and happiness are the two words to describe what I felt when I saw the 730 pop up. As soon as I left the test room, I texted my sister “730, ecstatic!” This was when 4 months had finally paid off. I was also so grateful…if I’m being honest, I thought there was a fair chance that the screen might say 6-something… just so much relief.
Retake?: I hate when people get 700+ scores and write how they could have done better…and debate retaking. You can always leave a test, knowing that it some way you could have done better, no matter how much you tried or prepared. It happens. I let my score sit for a few days, and then I started researching schools, and making sure that my score sat where it needed to be a competitive candidate. In doing this research, I read something about the 80-80 rule, where ideally, you would be in the 80% percentile for both Verbal and Quant for a balanced score. My Quant is 74%; so I talked to some people just to be sure I didn’t have to re-take…the overwhelming answer was NO. There’s almost no reason you need to re-take if you already have a 700+…the most compelling reason is if you under-scored by at least 50 points and are CERTAIN you could score 50 points higher on a re-take. I was almost certain that I could not. It’s something to figure out in the first week…because it’s much easier to re-take 31 days later when you have spent 3-4 months studying. DONE.
In Conclusion: There are so many different approaches to studying for the GMAT…This is the story of what I did and how I did…and I hope that some parts are helpful for you too. Don’t forget to keep in touch with your friends…say, a brunch or dinner on weekends…but just let them know that you are studying…they’ll be supportive and understanding when you have to say no to social events. Also, there are tough weeks at work where you can’t find the time…that’s okay, doing well at work is also part of B-school process…it’s up to you whether to tell your work that you are studying / taking or not. I chose not to, because I didn’t want to have to report back my scores, etc. Just know that you won’t have as much to say about what you did last weekend. It’ll be hard at first…but it will pay off. Good luck!
karant
Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Last visit: 28 Jan 2020
Posts: 74
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Location: India
Concentration: Entrepreneurship, General Management
Schools: NTU '18 (D) ISB '18 (D) NUS '19 XLRI GM"18 (M)
GMAT 1: 640 Q48 V29
GMAT 2: 660 Q45 V35
GMAT 3: 680 Q48 V35
GPA: 2.8
WE:Information Technology (Computer Software)
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14 Jun 2015, 08:31
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Congrats for the great score !!!
Nice debrief and All the best for your application
Nice debrief and All the best for your application
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