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27 Nov 2014, 15:23
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Hi All - I wanted to share my GMAT experience with everyone. In summary, I took the GMAT twice and scored a 630 the first time and 710 the second time.
For some background, I didn't decide to take my GMAT until early-August but once I did I decided to enroll in the Veritas Prep weekly class. The class started in early August and lasted through late September. I signed up to take my first test in early October. In my opinion, I knew this was a pretty short timeline, but I wanted to leave enough time for me to retake the GMAT if needed (which I did ha).
I took the Veritas class during the week and studied as much as I could on the weekends. After a few weeks into the class, I took my first diagnostic test and scored a 630 on the diagnostic. About three quarters of the way through the class (mid-September), I took a Veritas practice test and scored a 680, which I was very happy with.
My study process mostly consisted of completing the Veritas lesson problems and homework during the week, and on the weekends I would take a practice test (either GMAT Prep or Veritas) and review the answers.
Prior to my first real exam, I took 7 practice tests (sometimes I skipped the essay and IR). My scores ranged from 630 - 710; however, I noticed that my GMAT Prep test scores were well below my Veritas tests. My GMAT Prep tests were in the 650 range while my Veritas tests were were in the 700 range.
For my real exam, I drove into Washington DC (about 10 minutes away from my house) about 3 hours early for my test. My plan was to park at the test center and hang out at the coffee shop down the street to relax and do some light studying. Unfortunately, as it was a Sunday, there were no parking garages or roadside parking available for me to park my car there until 7pm. So I drove back home and took public transportation to the test center. So remember to figure out your parking situation!
I got to the actual test center a bit early, and to my surprise, I was allowed to start the test early. One word of caution is that if you like to write things down prior to the test (such as your timing chart or ABCDE grid), I would suggest you do that before the test starts when you are reading the test directions. Even though the test directions are timed, you shouldn't need to read it, so you can spend that time writing down your timing charts. I'm suggesting this because when you come back from your timed breaks the proctor must go with you and must log you in right when you get to your desk. Basically, once the proctor logs you in from your break, you only have 30 seconds (maybe a minute) before the test starts up again - even if you did not spend all of your 8 minutes for your break.
During my actual test, I was very nervous and I get very antsy about spending too much time on questions which made me overly prone to guessing to stay on time. At the end of the test, I saw my 630 and was undoubtedly crushed, particularly because I had been scoring in the 680-700 range in the week prior to my test.
A few days after the test, I decided to retake the GMAT because I knew I could do better. I knew that I had scored a 630 on my diagnostic so I could undoubtedly score above a 630 on the actual exam. I scheduled my second exam in the second week of November, which was just over a month after my first exam.
After my first exam my studying process consisted of completing problems in the official guide. I used some of the error logs that I found on GMAT club. I found one error log that already had links to problem discussion/answers on the GMAT Club forum which was EXTREMELY helpful and handy. I noticed that I struggled on data sufficiency so I did every problem in the OG for DS. I also noticed that I struggled on SC. From reading many posts on this forum. I heard that the MGMAT SC book is the "bible" of the SC. So I bought that book which was under $20 and went through all of the lessons. I did find that the book was very helpful and I learned a lot of rules that I didn't know. Unfortunately, sometimes I think the rules made me overthink some SC questions which I could have gotten right from gut feeling since I am a native speaker.
I took several more practice tests, including Veritas and retaking the GMAT Prep tests. My scores all ranged around between 690-710 which made me much more confident. When I took the test, I was much more confident and fortunately I got a 710, which i was ecstatic about.
For those of you that probably didn't want to read all of that, here are a few tips that worked for me:
- I kept a written small spiral with me when I studied and wrote down important notes from studying, problem sets, or practice tests. I found this really helpful to keep a list of important ideas/formulas to quickly go back to throughout my studying process.
-The error logs that I found on the GMAT Forum were helpful but particularly the one that already provides links to each problem's discussion on the GMAT forum. It should be relatively easy to find on the forum as it's one of the ones that stickied on the forum but let me know if someone can't find it.
-If you find yourself struggling on a certain type of question - practice a lot of those from the OG. For example, I saw that according to the statistics kept on my Veritas Prep questions, I took above average time on each of my SC questions (luckily I was very quick with RC questions to save time).
-Create a timing chart that works that for you and practice with that timing chart many times. From my research on the GMAT forum, it sounds like the first 10 questions of the test are "more important" than other questions - as such, I allotted more time for myself for the first 10 questions. My timing chart looks like this:
Quant
Time Question #
75 1
60 7
45 14
30 22
15 30
5 35
Verbal (I stuck to my verbal timing chart a bit less because I usually gained time on my RC questions but lost time on my SC questions).
Time Question #
75 1
60 8
45 16
30 25
15 34
5 39
-Write down your timing charts, ABCDE charts, etc. during the test directions time. See above for reasoning.
-In my opinion, there are different phases of studying which each requires adequate time. I think you need time to (1) understand the concepts, (2) understand what types of "twists" that can be thrown at you for different concepts, (3) understand your ability in answering difficult questions (is the amount of time I'm about to spend worth the probability that I get this question right?, and (4) practicing answering these questions on the test in timed conditions. I think one of the biggest reasons for my improvement from 630 to 710 is because of points 3 and 4.
I also wanted to bring up is my experience with Veritas. While going through Veritas, I thought the class was decent. I learned "how" to take the test and familiarize myself with the test. However, I didn't think the homework/lesson problems prepared me enough for the test and that's why it was very important for me to do the OG problems. Also, I scored much better on the Veritas practice tests than the GMAT prep exams. I'm not quite sure why. It could be that the Veritas prep test was easier in general or it could have been easier for me because the Veritas class focused on specific lessons/tricks that were tested in their practice tests.
About a week ago, I discussed my GMAT experience with my friend who took the MGMAT course. I looked through his materials and I seemed to prefer some of the MGMAT materials/lessons/tools than the Veritas counterparts. However, I didn't take the MGMAT course, so I can't say for sure that I would have chosen MGMAT if I had a chance to choose again. But I can say that the MGMAT SC book was very helpful.
Lastly, but definitely not least, thank you everyone on the GMAT Club forum. This forum was very helpful throughout my studying process, particularly with the error log and problem discussions. I'm sure that this forum will come in handy when I am applying.
Please let me know if you'd like me to clarify anything that I've said above or have any follow up questions!
Tony
For some background, I didn't decide to take my GMAT until early-August but once I did I decided to enroll in the Veritas Prep weekly class. The class started in early August and lasted through late September. I signed up to take my first test in early October. In my opinion, I knew this was a pretty short timeline, but I wanted to leave enough time for me to retake the GMAT if needed (which I did ha).
I took the Veritas class during the week and studied as much as I could on the weekends. After a few weeks into the class, I took my first diagnostic test and scored a 630 on the diagnostic. About three quarters of the way through the class (mid-September), I took a Veritas practice test and scored a 680, which I was very happy with.
My study process mostly consisted of completing the Veritas lesson problems and homework during the week, and on the weekends I would take a practice test (either GMAT Prep or Veritas) and review the answers.
Prior to my first real exam, I took 7 practice tests (sometimes I skipped the essay and IR). My scores ranged from 630 - 710; however, I noticed that my GMAT Prep test scores were well below my Veritas tests. My GMAT Prep tests were in the 650 range while my Veritas tests were were in the 700 range.
For my real exam, I drove into Washington DC (about 10 minutes away from my house) about 3 hours early for my test. My plan was to park at the test center and hang out at the coffee shop down the street to relax and do some light studying. Unfortunately, as it was a Sunday, there were no parking garages or roadside parking available for me to park my car there until 7pm. So I drove back home and took public transportation to the test center. So remember to figure out your parking situation!
I got to the actual test center a bit early, and to my surprise, I was allowed to start the test early. One word of caution is that if you like to write things down prior to the test (such as your timing chart or ABCDE grid), I would suggest you do that before the test starts when you are reading the test directions. Even though the test directions are timed, you shouldn't need to read it, so you can spend that time writing down your timing charts. I'm suggesting this because when you come back from your timed breaks the proctor must go with you and must log you in right when you get to your desk. Basically, once the proctor logs you in from your break, you only have 30 seconds (maybe a minute) before the test starts up again - even if you did not spend all of your 8 minutes for your break.
During my actual test, I was very nervous and I get very antsy about spending too much time on questions which made me overly prone to guessing to stay on time. At the end of the test, I saw my 630 and was undoubtedly crushed, particularly because I had been scoring in the 680-700 range in the week prior to my test.
A few days after the test, I decided to retake the GMAT because I knew I could do better. I knew that I had scored a 630 on my diagnostic so I could undoubtedly score above a 630 on the actual exam. I scheduled my second exam in the second week of November, which was just over a month after my first exam.
After my first exam my studying process consisted of completing problems in the official guide. I used some of the error logs that I found on GMAT club. I found one error log that already had links to problem discussion/answers on the GMAT Club forum which was EXTREMELY helpful and handy. I noticed that I struggled on data sufficiency so I did every problem in the OG for DS. I also noticed that I struggled on SC. From reading many posts on this forum. I heard that the MGMAT SC book is the "bible" of the SC. So I bought that book which was under $20 and went through all of the lessons. I did find that the book was very helpful and I learned a lot of rules that I didn't know. Unfortunately, sometimes I think the rules made me overthink some SC questions which I could have gotten right from gut feeling since I am a native speaker.
I took several more practice tests, including Veritas and retaking the GMAT Prep tests. My scores all ranged around between 690-710 which made me much more confident. When I took the test, I was much more confident and fortunately I got a 710, which i was ecstatic about.
For those of you that probably didn't want to read all of that, here are a few tips that worked for me:
- I kept a written small spiral with me when I studied and wrote down important notes from studying, problem sets, or practice tests. I found this really helpful to keep a list of important ideas/formulas to quickly go back to throughout my studying process.
-The error logs that I found on the GMAT Forum were helpful but particularly the one that already provides links to each problem's discussion on the GMAT forum. It should be relatively easy to find on the forum as it's one of the ones that stickied on the forum but let me know if someone can't find it.
-If you find yourself struggling on a certain type of question - practice a lot of those from the OG. For example, I saw that according to the statistics kept on my Veritas Prep questions, I took above average time on each of my SC questions (luckily I was very quick with RC questions to save time).
-Create a timing chart that works that for you and practice with that timing chart many times. From my research on the GMAT forum, it sounds like the first 10 questions of the test are "more important" than other questions - as such, I allotted more time for myself for the first 10 questions. My timing chart looks like this:
Quant
Time Question #
75 1
60 7
45 14
30 22
15 30
5 35
Verbal (I stuck to my verbal timing chart a bit less because I usually gained time on my RC questions but lost time on my SC questions).
Time Question #
75 1
60 8
45 16
30 25
15 34
5 39
-Write down your timing charts, ABCDE charts, etc. during the test directions time. See above for reasoning.
-In my opinion, there are different phases of studying which each requires adequate time. I think you need time to (1) understand the concepts, (2) understand what types of "twists" that can be thrown at you for different concepts, (3) understand your ability in answering difficult questions (is the amount of time I'm about to spend worth the probability that I get this question right?, and (4) practicing answering these questions on the test in timed conditions. I think one of the biggest reasons for my improvement from 630 to 710 is because of points 3 and 4.
I also wanted to bring up is my experience with Veritas. While going through Veritas, I thought the class was decent. I learned "how" to take the test and familiarize myself with the test. However, I didn't think the homework/lesson problems prepared me enough for the test and that's why it was very important for me to do the OG problems. Also, I scored much better on the Veritas practice tests than the GMAT prep exams. I'm not quite sure why. It could be that the Veritas prep test was easier in general or it could have been easier for me because the Veritas class focused on specific lessons/tricks that were tested in their practice tests.
About a week ago, I discussed my GMAT experience with my friend who took the MGMAT course. I looked through his materials and I seemed to prefer some of the MGMAT materials/lessons/tools than the Veritas counterparts. However, I didn't take the MGMAT course, so I can't say for sure that I would have chosen MGMAT if I had a chance to choose again. But I can say that the MGMAT SC book was very helpful.
Lastly, but definitely not least, thank you everyone on the GMAT Club forum. This forum was very helpful throughout my studying process, particularly with the error log and problem discussions. I'm sure that this forum will come in handy when I am applying.
Please let me know if you'd like me to clarify anything that I've said above or have any follow up questions!
Tony
10 May 2015, 21:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
aclee555
Hi Tony,
Would you recommend the Veritas quiz bank if you're familiar with it?
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