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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.
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
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Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
12 Jul 2023, 22:34
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This is a late post (seeing as that I took my GMAT last year) but I think it'll still be helpful to people studying for the GMAT to see how random the test can be sometimes!
Materials:
Quant: Target Test Prep, OG Guides
Verbal: LSAT tests, OG Guides, GMATClub, and a little bit of GMATNinja tutoring
Official Scores
Attempt 1: 700 (Q48/V38 - 3 months of prep)
Attempt 2: 680; cancelled (Q49/V33 - 1 month of extensive prep)
Attempt 3: 740 Online (Q50/V40 - no prep; literally took the test 2 days after the 680 score)
Journey
So I started my GMAT prep last year in January. Coming from a liberal arts educational background, I thought I had verbal locked down and quant was all I needed to focus on. I turned to Reddit and GMATClub to find the best resources for quant, and it seemed like TTP was a good option (the reviews spoke for themselves!). As such, I bought the TTP course and slowly started working my way through it. Now, it took me a solid 2-3 months of prep but I gradually completed the ENTIRE quant course. Trust me when I say this, TTP is all you need for quant - it's super exhaustive and is more than enough to score a Q49+. I did use the Official Guides and Bunuel's questions to drill on some of my weaker areas, but even then, TTP laid the foundation on which I built the rest of my prep. It wasn't easy by any stretch - the course is LONG!! I think I logged over 400 hours exclusively studying for quant (I was on break from school so I could afford to spend 4-5 hours everyday on GMAT prep). I also kept an error log and went back to the questions I got wrong every weekend.
I also want to give a special shoutout to Scott's motivational and strategy videos - a lot of people just ignore those but personally, I found them really useful. I particularly remember this one video where Scott suggested writing down your "Why" for taking the GMAT (higher salary, better career opportunities, making a difference, etc.). I wrote down my "Why" for the GMAT and stuck it above my desk - looking at it helped me stay motivated whenever I felt discouraged throughout the process. So I highly recommend doing that.
I wish I had more to offer by the way of advice but to be honest, all I can say is finish the TTP quant course - that's literally all you need to get a high score on the quant section. My final Q50 score is honestly just a result of drilling TTP and reviewing any OG questions I missed.
As for verbal, again, TTP is super helpful for reviewing the theory. Their verbal questions are pretty good but honestly, nothing comes close to the official questions. There's a reason why GMAC spends thousands of dollars on each question - they are extensively tested and no third-party questions come close. Looking back, I think I was overconfident in my verbal abilities in the beginning and exhausted almost all the official questions early on. I was doing reasonably well on the verbal practice questions - IIRC, I was scoring anywhere from V40 to 46 on the practice tests. However, My confidence was absolutely shattered when, on my first attempt, I scored a V38 (I was expecting a V45+). I didn't know what I was doing wrong and I was out of (almost) all official prep questions.
At this stage, I realized that I'd done everything I could have on my own and it was time to get expert help to figure out what I should do differently. As such, I sought tutoring from GMAT Ninja and worked with Harry for about 4 sessions (I was working on a budget and couldn't afford more than that). Even then, tutoring made a world of difference - having an expert sit beside you as you think about CR and RC questions is really helpful in figuring out where you're going wrong. For a month, Harry and I worked on my CR and RC strategy. Ultimately, I realized that even though I was really good at critical thinking, I was careless and made A LOT of silly mistakes. Harry did a great job in holding me accountable for my mistakes - his words "You're sloppy!" still ring in my head every time I do a CR question now. After about a month's prep, Harry and I thought I was ready to crush the GMAT.
Now, I don't know what went wrong but for some reason, I did worse on my second attempt than I did on my first - I scored an abysmal V33!! This was crushing, especially after spending all that time and money on my verbal prep. I didn't know what to do and almost thought of giving up. However, Harry was again really helpful - he jumped on a call with me (free of cost) and told me what I needed to hear: [b]I just had a bad day!{/b]. It happens to all of us and it's best to not take the score personally. So, long story short, I booked the next available slot, which was literally the day after I took my second test. It was low pressure since I was in a comfortable environment and it paid off! I ended up with a 740 (Q50/V40)!!!
My biggest lesson from this whole journey is honestly that sometimes, luck plays a bigger role than you may think! You can do everything right but not get the score you deserve entirely due to factors beyond your control. In cases like these, it's again best to not take things personally and keep at it! Slowly but surely, things will work out (as long as you put in the hard work). So, if you're someone who's not getting the score they deserve despite multiple attempts, hang in there friend! Good things are coming your way - all you need to do is keep at it and not give up!
I wish you all the best for your future prep! Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.
A HUGE thanks to TTP, GMAT Ninja, and Harry for all their support throughout this journey!!
Materials:
Quant: Target Test Prep, OG Guides
Verbal: LSAT tests, OG Guides, GMATClub, and a little bit of GMATNinja tutoring
Official Scores
Attempt 1: 700 (Q48/V38 - 3 months of prep)
Attempt 2: 680; cancelled (Q49/V33 - 1 month of extensive prep)
Attempt 3: 740 Online (Q50/V40 - no prep; literally took the test 2 days after the 680 score)
Journey
So I started my GMAT prep last year in January. Coming from a liberal arts educational background, I thought I had verbal locked down and quant was all I needed to focus on. I turned to Reddit and GMATClub to find the best resources for quant, and it seemed like TTP was a good option (the reviews spoke for themselves!). As such, I bought the TTP course and slowly started working my way through it. Now, it took me a solid 2-3 months of prep but I gradually completed the ENTIRE quant course. Trust me when I say this, TTP is all you need for quant - it's super exhaustive and is more than enough to score a Q49+. I did use the Official Guides and Bunuel's questions to drill on some of my weaker areas, but even then, TTP laid the foundation on which I built the rest of my prep. It wasn't easy by any stretch - the course is LONG!! I think I logged over 400 hours exclusively studying for quant (I was on break from school so I could afford to spend 4-5 hours everyday on GMAT prep). I also kept an error log and went back to the questions I got wrong every weekend.
I also want to give a special shoutout to Scott's motivational and strategy videos - a lot of people just ignore those but personally, I found them really useful. I particularly remember this one video where Scott suggested writing down your "Why" for taking the GMAT (higher salary, better career opportunities, making a difference, etc.). I wrote down my "Why" for the GMAT and stuck it above my desk - looking at it helped me stay motivated whenever I felt discouraged throughout the process. So I highly recommend doing that.
I wish I had more to offer by the way of advice but to be honest, all I can say is finish the TTP quant course - that's literally all you need to get a high score on the quant section. My final Q50 score is honestly just a result of drilling TTP and reviewing any OG questions I missed.
As for verbal, again, TTP is super helpful for reviewing the theory. Their verbal questions are pretty good but honestly, nothing comes close to the official questions. There's a reason why GMAC spends thousands of dollars on each question - they are extensively tested and no third-party questions come close. Looking back, I think I was overconfident in my verbal abilities in the beginning and exhausted almost all the official questions early on. I was doing reasonably well on the verbal practice questions - IIRC, I was scoring anywhere from V40 to 46 on the practice tests. However, My confidence was absolutely shattered when, on my first attempt, I scored a V38 (I was expecting a V45+). I didn't know what I was doing wrong and I was out of (almost) all official prep questions.
At this stage, I realized that I'd done everything I could have on my own and it was time to get expert help to figure out what I should do differently. As such, I sought tutoring from GMAT Ninja and worked with Harry for about 4 sessions (I was working on a budget and couldn't afford more than that). Even then, tutoring made a world of difference - having an expert sit beside you as you think about CR and RC questions is really helpful in figuring out where you're going wrong. For a month, Harry and I worked on my CR and RC strategy. Ultimately, I realized that even though I was really good at critical thinking, I was careless and made A LOT of silly mistakes. Harry did a great job in holding me accountable for my mistakes - his words "You're sloppy!" still ring in my head every time I do a CR question now. After about a month's prep, Harry and I thought I was ready to crush the GMAT.
Now, I don't know what went wrong but for some reason, I did worse on my second attempt than I did on my first - I scored an abysmal V33!! This was crushing, especially after spending all that time and money on my verbal prep. I didn't know what to do and almost thought of giving up. However, Harry was again really helpful - he jumped on a call with me (free of cost) and told me what I needed to hear: [b]I just had a bad day!{/b]. It happens to all of us and it's best to not take the score personally. So, long story short, I booked the next available slot, which was literally the day after I took my second test. It was low pressure since I was in a comfortable environment and it paid off! I ended up with a 740 (Q50/V40)!!!
My biggest lesson from this whole journey is honestly that sometimes, luck plays a bigger role than you may think! You can do everything right but not get the score you deserve entirely due to factors beyond your control. In cases like these, it's again best to not take things personally and keep at it! Slowly but surely, things will work out (as long as you put in the hard work). So, if you're someone who's not getting the score they deserve despite multiple attempts, hang in there friend! Good things are coming your way - all you need to do is keep at it and not give up!
I wish you all the best for your future prep! Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.
A HUGE thanks to TTP, GMAT Ninja, and Harry for all their support throughout this journey!!
16 Jul 2023, 11:21
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi spider12345123.
Congrats on bouncing back from that score drop and achieving your goal!
Also, it's great to hear that the Target Test Prep course worked so well for you.
We appreciate your tips and insights, and may all go well for you going forward.
Congrats on bouncing back from that score drop and achieving your goal!
Also, it's great to hear that the Target Test Prep course worked so well for you.
We appreciate your tips and insights, and may all go well for you going forward.
18 Jul 2023, 08:09
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi spider12345123,
740 is a great GMAT score! I'm pumped to see that you enjoyed TTP!
740 is a great GMAT score! I'm pumped to see that you enjoyed TTP!
