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Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
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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.
02 Aug 2018, 07:48
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Hi all,
I found this forum very helpful during my prep, so thought I’d give back and share my story!
My GMAT “journey” started during my last semester of college. I studied engineering and went to UPenn. Many of my peers were starting to prep, so I sort of jumped on the bandwagon. As most second semester seniors, I was preoccupied with everything but the GMAT and as a result my studying was inconsistent and completely lacking in focus.
Having a very strong math background, I assumed I didn’t need to prep much for quant and attempted to focus on verbal. But even my verbal prep was pretty arbitrary. Finally, with just two weeks until my exam date, I started taking practice tests and realized I was nowhere near where I wanted to be. I was surprised to find that my quant was pretty subpar hovering the 44 range. This was not going to cut it considering I was hoping quant would be my strength!
A good friend then told me about Target Test Prep (TTP) and how it helped him improve his Quant. I signed up right away and even postponed my test another 2 weeks. I even set up some tutoring sessions with Jeff Miller (one of the founders of TTP) to reinforce the new tricks I was learning. Right away I could tell that TTP was the real deal. They manage to put together a curriculum that is thorough and not daunting at all! It covers all the important tricks and traps that you may find on the GMAT and sets up a study plan with many reinforcement quizzes to ensure that you are retaining all of your newfound knowledge.
After just 2.5 weeks of VERY intense use of TTP (>4 hours a day), I felt ready for Quant. I took my first go at the GMAT April 25 and got a 690 (Q49 V35). I was ecstatic about my Quant score, but pretty bummed at the overall score as I was aiming for a 720, and decided to keep my score but work on verbal the way I worked on quant and try it again. I was going into finals and graduation, so I took some time off and revisited the GMAT studying in June. I continued regularly taking quizzes on TTP to keep up my Quant practice and started sort of aimlessly studying for Verbal. I finally narrowed verbal down to Manhattan Prep’s Sentence Correction book and The GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible (both suggestions I got from this forum!). I found both books to be super thorough and helpful in establishing the proper techniques for solving SC and CR questions.
I found that learning the grammar basics, practicing pre-thinking for CR, and making sure to spend time on understanding the question prompt made all the difference.
During this time my practice tests were a little varied, but my last two practice tests before the test (both from mba official website) were 740 (Q49 V41) and 730 (Q49 V40). I was feeling really good!
My second GMAT attempt was scheduled for July 11. At the end of each section I found myself a little rushed, but overall didn’t feel too badly about it. Turns out I got a 700 (Q48 V38). Definitely a bit of an improvement, and I was happy to at least beat that 700 cut off, but I knew that I could test better.
I was pretty conflicted as to whether I should retake for a third attempt, and finally decided that I would give it one more go! This time I tried to reduce the pressure I put on myself and allowed others to put on me. I decided not to even tell anyone that I was retaking the exam and limited my study to 1-2 hrs a day to avoid any burn out. (This was after I went on a 1 week trip to refresh). I scheduled my next test for just 3 weeks after the 2nd exam. I felt that I had already prepped what I needed to prep and now I just needed to reinforce practice and preform on test day. I did very minimal prep the 10 days leading up to the exam and took 2 more official mba practice tests (these are by far the best and most accurate tests!). I truly think giving myself a break and not letting myself burn out made a big difference!
Finally, on my last attempt I got a 740 (Q50 V40)!!! I was so happy that I trusted my ability and decided to take it one more time!
In conclusion, be focused and targeted in your prep – find what guides or tricks work for you for each question type, and don’t burn out!
Quant: Target Test Prep
SC: Manhattan Prep
CR: Critical Reasoning Bible
RC and AWA I used the Manhattan Prep books but didn’t feel the need to spend too much time on personally.
Good luck!!
Bari
I found this forum very helpful during my prep, so thought I’d give back and share my story!
My GMAT “journey” started during my last semester of college. I studied engineering and went to UPenn. Many of my peers were starting to prep, so I sort of jumped on the bandwagon. As most second semester seniors, I was preoccupied with everything but the GMAT and as a result my studying was inconsistent and completely lacking in focus.
Having a very strong math background, I assumed I didn’t need to prep much for quant and attempted to focus on verbal. But even my verbal prep was pretty arbitrary. Finally, with just two weeks until my exam date, I started taking practice tests and realized I was nowhere near where I wanted to be. I was surprised to find that my quant was pretty subpar hovering the 44 range. This was not going to cut it considering I was hoping quant would be my strength!
A good friend then told me about Target Test Prep (TTP) and how it helped him improve his Quant. I signed up right away and even postponed my test another 2 weeks. I even set up some tutoring sessions with Jeff Miller (one of the founders of TTP) to reinforce the new tricks I was learning. Right away I could tell that TTP was the real deal. They manage to put together a curriculum that is thorough and not daunting at all! It covers all the important tricks and traps that you may find on the GMAT and sets up a study plan with many reinforcement quizzes to ensure that you are retaining all of your newfound knowledge.
After just 2.5 weeks of VERY intense use of TTP (>4 hours a day), I felt ready for Quant. I took my first go at the GMAT April 25 and got a 690 (Q49 V35). I was ecstatic about my Quant score, but pretty bummed at the overall score as I was aiming for a 720, and decided to keep my score but work on verbal the way I worked on quant and try it again. I was going into finals and graduation, so I took some time off and revisited the GMAT studying in June. I continued regularly taking quizzes on TTP to keep up my Quant practice and started sort of aimlessly studying for Verbal. I finally narrowed verbal down to Manhattan Prep’s Sentence Correction book and The GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible (both suggestions I got from this forum!). I found both books to be super thorough and helpful in establishing the proper techniques for solving SC and CR questions.
I found that learning the grammar basics, practicing pre-thinking for CR, and making sure to spend time on understanding the question prompt made all the difference.
During this time my practice tests were a little varied, but my last two practice tests before the test (both from mba official website) were 740 (Q49 V41) and 730 (Q49 V40). I was feeling really good!
My second GMAT attempt was scheduled for July 11. At the end of each section I found myself a little rushed, but overall didn’t feel too badly about it. Turns out I got a 700 (Q48 V38). Definitely a bit of an improvement, and I was happy to at least beat that 700 cut off, but I knew that I could test better.
I was pretty conflicted as to whether I should retake for a third attempt, and finally decided that I would give it one more go! This time I tried to reduce the pressure I put on myself and allowed others to put on me. I decided not to even tell anyone that I was retaking the exam and limited my study to 1-2 hrs a day to avoid any burn out. (This was after I went on a 1 week trip to refresh). I scheduled my next test for just 3 weeks after the 2nd exam. I felt that I had already prepped what I needed to prep and now I just needed to reinforce practice and preform on test day. I did very minimal prep the 10 days leading up to the exam and took 2 more official mba practice tests (these are by far the best and most accurate tests!). I truly think giving myself a break and not letting myself burn out made a big difference!
Finally, on my last attempt I got a 740 (Q50 V40)!!! I was so happy that I trusted my ability and decided to take it one more time!
In conclusion, be focused and targeted in your prep – find what guides or tricks work for you for each question type, and don’t burn out!
Quant: Target Test Prep
SC: Manhattan Prep
CR: Critical Reasoning Bible
RC and AWA I used the Manhattan Prep books but didn’t feel the need to spend too much time on personally.
Good luck!!
Bari
02 Aug 2018, 08:34
Kudos
Bookmarks
barigordon1217
Hello barigordon1217 ........... Congratulations on this great achievement. And thanks a bunch for the great debrief. This will inspire a lot of people in the community.
02 Aug 2018, 08:42
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations. Great that you didn't settle with 690 and aimed for a higher score. The efforts definitely paid off. This will motivate the rest of us still studying for the test. Best wishes with your applications.
Cheers!
Cheers!
barigordon1217
