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Been lurking here for a few months now but haven't posted yet. I've benefited greatly from a number of posts and, having just finished the GMAT, figured it was about time that I contributed something.
I took my first practice GMAT about a year ago and scored a 520 (15 Q - didn't finish, 44 V). I wanted to target some top schools so I knew I had plenty of work to do. I bought the latest Official Guide and the entire Manhattan series. I later added the Kaplan general and quant guides along with a 5 CAT package from 800score. For the first few months of prep I did 1-2 hours a day, 4-5 days a week and focused entirely on quant. As the test approached I started really buckling down. I run my own business from home so it was easier for me to carve out time. I began spending nearly 5 hours a day, Monday through Thursday studying, doing practice problems, and writing two AWA's and then taking practice tests each Friday. I just received my official score report and couldn't be happier with the way it all panned out: 730, 44 Q, 47 V, 6.0 AWA.
Looking back at my experience, the most important things for me were repetition and practice tests.
Here's a break down of my practice test progress:
PT 1 - 800score 1
520, 15 Q, 44 V
Studied for a few months before starting these...
PT 2 - Princeton Review
600, 36 Q, 37 V
PT 3 - 800score 2
710, 42 Q, 45 V
PT 4 - MGMAT
680, 42 Q, 40 V
PT 5 - Knewton
650, 37 Q, 44 V
PT 6 - 800score 3
730, 43 Q, 47 V
PT 7 - 800score 4
730, 45 Q, 45 V
PT 8 - 800score 5
730, 44 Q, 46 V
GMAT
730, 44 Q, 47 V, 6.0 AWA
Now on to the real work...the applications!
I took my first practice GMAT about a year ago and scored a 520 (15 Q - didn't finish, 44 V). I wanted to target some top schools so I knew I had plenty of work to do. I bought the latest Official Guide and the entire Manhattan series. I later added the Kaplan general and quant guides along with a 5 CAT package from 800score. For the first few months of prep I did 1-2 hours a day, 4-5 days a week and focused entirely on quant. As the test approached I started really buckling down. I run my own business from home so it was easier for me to carve out time. I began spending nearly 5 hours a day, Monday through Thursday studying, doing practice problems, and writing two AWA's and then taking practice tests each Friday. I just received my official score report and couldn't be happier with the way it all panned out: 730, 44 Q, 47 V, 6.0 AWA.
Looking back at my experience, the most important things for me were repetition and practice tests.
Here's a break down of my practice test progress:
PT 1 - 800score 1
520, 15 Q, 44 V
Studied for a few months before starting these...
PT 2 - Princeton Review
600, 36 Q, 37 V
PT 3 - 800score 2
710, 42 Q, 45 V
PT 4 - MGMAT
680, 42 Q, 40 V
PT 5 - Knewton
650, 37 Q, 44 V
PT 6 - 800score 3
730, 43 Q, 47 V
PT 7 - 800score 4
730, 45 Q, 45 V
PT 8 - 800score 5
730, 44 Q, 46 V
GMAT
730, 44 Q, 47 V, 6.0 AWA
Now on to the real work...the applications!
03 Aug 2011, 20:48
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations! Awesome progress!
Any tips for RC?
Any tips for RC?
03 Aug 2011, 21:00
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thanks, piyatiwari!
For RC the thing that helped me most was creating short outlines for the passages. I would start out by reading the first question so I knew at least one of the things that I needed to look out for. After that I would hit the passage, paying extra attention to the first paragraph (especially if the first question asks for a main idea). I would write down the main points of each paragraph as I read...in most cases this just helps by forcing you to read actively. You will probably not have to refer back to your notes but by taking them you force your mind to digest the content - especially helpful for those passages that may not be particularly interesting to you. Structurally the outline is helpful for when you get questions like "what does the author imply in the third paragraph...."
Hope that helps! Good luck!
For RC the thing that helped me most was creating short outlines for the passages. I would start out by reading the first question so I knew at least one of the things that I needed to look out for. After that I would hit the passage, paying extra attention to the first paragraph (especially if the first question asks for a main idea). I would write down the main points of each paragraph as I read...in most cases this just helps by forcing you to read actively. You will probably not have to refer back to your notes but by taking them you force your mind to digest the content - especially helpful for those passages that may not be particularly interesting to you. Structurally the outline is helpful for when you get questions like "what does the author imply in the third paragraph...."
Hope that helps! Good luck!
