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01 Oct 2024, 13:08
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Hey Guys!
Wanted to debrief my GMAT experience with y'all. I got a late start to my prep, deciding in July that I wanted to apply for B-school in round 2 this year, and I knew I was going to have to work quickly. My GMAT study started at the end of July when I took my first mock, having never seen anything related to the GMAT before. I was pleasantly surprised to score a 615 with an 89 in Verbal. I did ok in Quant and not so great in Data Insights, which gave me a good starting point for studying. I knew I didn't have to spend any time on verbal, and instead needed to brush up quite a bit on my Quant knowledge. I've always been decent at math and I use it for my job, but since I work in Excel I don't need to do it by hand very often. Also, as you all know, there are many number property concepts on the GMAT FE that you don't really use all that often.
Knowing I was on a tight deadline, especially with a 9-5 taking up the majority of my weeks, I decided that I needed something structured and signed up for TTP after seeing great reviews. In hindsight, this was absolutely the right choice. I spent 20-30 hours a week on TTP, cranking through their mission-based Quant course in about 3.5 weeks. I had essentially given up on having a life outside of work and GMAT prep haha. The sheer amount of practice problems TTP has was essential for me since I learn by repetition. The "textbook" sections were good to refresh my brain on concepts, but most of my learning definitely came from busting out over a hundred practice problems a day, trying to work within the 2-minute timer.
After I finished Quant I started working through the DI section of TTP, but frankly, Quant prepared me for all the actual math in the DI section, and after a few days I decided I didn't need to finish that section. I was understanding the concepts, but getting tricked by the "gotcha" answers, of which there are fewer on the actual exam. I took my second mock at 9pm after a full day of work to see where I was at and scored a 695. Feeling confident that I could do even better after a restful week and a good night's sleep, I scheduled my test for the next weekend (first week of Sept). I took the week off of studying, instead completing a custom test of medium and hard questions each day, specifically on the topics I struggled with the most. The custom test feature was huge in that last week of prep, allowing me to really hone in on weaknesses and drill them into my brain. I completed several 20-30 question tests of just Data Sufficiency questions, since those were one of the toughest for me.
I took the day before my test off of work to really rest and didn't touch anything GMAT related, trying to completely rest my brain. I got a good night's rest, and spent the morning of my test going on a walk, eating a good breakfast, and reading outside in the sun. I said a prayer, and then sat down at 10am, feeling pretty confident. Quant went well, and truthfully it just felt like completing another practice test on TTP, that's how representative the TTP questions are of the real exam. DI was next, and as expected it was the most challenging. I was running right up against the clock at the end and definitely got tricked by a few "gotcha" answers. Happy to be through that, I went into verbal feeling great, and finished the whole section in half the allotted time, only getting tripped up once or twice by strangely worded questions. My goal had originally been to break 700 and score 99th percentile, but just a couple days before my test, GMAC changed the percentiles so that 705 was no longer 99th percentile (thanks for the extra pressure GMAC). You can imagine my elation when 715 popped up on the little box at the end of the test. I was so excited I clicked away too fast to actually see my section scores lol.
I logged off with the proctor, dropped to my knees to praise god, and then went about my day on cloud 9.
My final results were:
Total: 715 (99th %ile)
Quant: 85 (88th %ile) <--- it's crazy that an 85 is only 88th percentile, people are really nailing the quant section I guess
Verbal: 89 (99th %ile) <--- same as my first mock lol
DI: 82 (93rd %ile) <--- compared to Quant, an 82 is 93rd percentile in DI, that's how hard this section is now
Overall, I'm thrilled with my result. I believe with more time with TTP I could probably have scored even higher, and may end up taking it again if I complete the rest of my applications with time to spare before Round 2 deadlines. My advice for those of you prepping right now is to accept the fact that GMAT prep needs to be your entire life for a period of time. It sucks saying no to fun stuff with your friends and being mentally exhausted all the time, but there will be a moment when you get the score you want and you get to be done with it forever. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. My other piece of advice is to start way sooner than I did hahaha. Evidently it's possible to get a great score in 5 weeks, but it's a hell of a lot more stressful than 6 months of prep. Honestly if you spent 6 months with TTP I don't think there's anything stopping you from scoring very very very high.
Thanks be to God, and good luck to you all in your GMAT journeys!
Wanted to debrief my GMAT experience with y'all. I got a late start to my prep, deciding in July that I wanted to apply for B-school in round 2 this year, and I knew I was going to have to work quickly. My GMAT study started at the end of July when I took my first mock, having never seen anything related to the GMAT before. I was pleasantly surprised to score a 615 with an 89 in Verbal. I did ok in Quant and not so great in Data Insights, which gave me a good starting point for studying. I knew I didn't have to spend any time on verbal, and instead needed to brush up quite a bit on my Quant knowledge. I've always been decent at math and I use it for my job, but since I work in Excel I don't need to do it by hand very often. Also, as you all know, there are many number property concepts on the GMAT FE that you don't really use all that often.
Knowing I was on a tight deadline, especially with a 9-5 taking up the majority of my weeks, I decided that I needed something structured and signed up for TTP after seeing great reviews. In hindsight, this was absolutely the right choice. I spent 20-30 hours a week on TTP, cranking through their mission-based Quant course in about 3.5 weeks. I had essentially given up on having a life outside of work and GMAT prep haha. The sheer amount of practice problems TTP has was essential for me since I learn by repetition. The "textbook" sections were good to refresh my brain on concepts, but most of my learning definitely came from busting out over a hundred practice problems a day, trying to work within the 2-minute timer.
After I finished Quant I started working through the DI section of TTP, but frankly, Quant prepared me for all the actual math in the DI section, and after a few days I decided I didn't need to finish that section. I was understanding the concepts, but getting tricked by the "gotcha" answers, of which there are fewer on the actual exam. I took my second mock at 9pm after a full day of work to see where I was at and scored a 695. Feeling confident that I could do even better after a restful week and a good night's sleep, I scheduled my test for the next weekend (first week of Sept). I took the week off of studying, instead completing a custom test of medium and hard questions each day, specifically on the topics I struggled with the most. The custom test feature was huge in that last week of prep, allowing me to really hone in on weaknesses and drill them into my brain. I completed several 20-30 question tests of just Data Sufficiency questions, since those were one of the toughest for me.
I took the day before my test off of work to really rest and didn't touch anything GMAT related, trying to completely rest my brain. I got a good night's rest, and spent the morning of my test going on a walk, eating a good breakfast, and reading outside in the sun. I said a prayer, and then sat down at 10am, feeling pretty confident. Quant went well, and truthfully it just felt like completing another practice test on TTP, that's how representative the TTP questions are of the real exam. DI was next, and as expected it was the most challenging. I was running right up against the clock at the end and definitely got tricked by a few "gotcha" answers. Happy to be through that, I went into verbal feeling great, and finished the whole section in half the allotted time, only getting tripped up once or twice by strangely worded questions. My goal had originally been to break 700 and score 99th percentile, but just a couple days before my test, GMAC changed the percentiles so that 705 was no longer 99th percentile (thanks for the extra pressure GMAC). You can imagine my elation when 715 popped up on the little box at the end of the test. I was so excited I clicked away too fast to actually see my section scores lol.
I logged off with the proctor, dropped to my knees to praise god, and then went about my day on cloud 9.
My final results were:
Total: 715 (99th %ile)
Quant: 85 (88th %ile) <--- it's crazy that an 85 is only 88th percentile, people are really nailing the quant section I guess
Verbal: 89 (99th %ile) <--- same as my first mock lol
DI: 82 (93rd %ile) <--- compared to Quant, an 82 is 93rd percentile in DI, that's how hard this section is now
Overall, I'm thrilled with my result. I believe with more time with TTP I could probably have scored even higher, and may end up taking it again if I complete the rest of my applications with time to spare before Round 2 deadlines. My advice for those of you prepping right now is to accept the fact that GMAT prep needs to be your entire life for a period of time. It sucks saying no to fun stuff with your friends and being mentally exhausted all the time, but there will be a moment when you get the score you want and you get to be done with it forever. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. My other piece of advice is to start way sooner than I did hahaha. Evidently it's possible to get a great score in 5 weeks, but it's a hell of a lot more stressful than 6 months of prep. Honestly if you spent 6 months with TTP I don't think there's anything stopping you from scoring very very very high.
Thanks be to God, and good luck to you all in your GMAT journeys!
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poojaarora1818
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01 Oct 2024, 13:15
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Thank you for sharing the detailed debrief. All the best for the applications.
02 Oct 2024, 06:35
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Wow 5 Weeks damn thats good!
All the best for your application!
All the best for your application!
