Hi guys,
I gave my GMAT for the first time in June 2010 and scored a measly 570 (Q49, V20). Was thoroughly devastated that day and could not get proper sleep for weeks. But thanks to Knewton and GMAT club , my score improved by a whopping 130 points. I retook the test on the 20th of Nov and finally made it to the 700 club. My latest score is 700 (Q48, V38).
RecommendationsQuant1.
GMAT club tests - IMO, the questions are of a greater difficulty level and hence they would suffice
2. Knewton GMAT - Try the extra practice section for harder problems.
For those who are weak in quant, Knewton is by far the best.
Verbal - General1. Knewton GMAT CATs, Knewton Extra practice homework (I found the questions in Extra practice section much more challenging than the ones in the core homework)
2. GMAT club forum - An inexhaustible set with thousands of questions.
3. For expert answers to most Verbal questions, please check out the posts by RonPurewal (
Manhattan GMAT forum)
For those who have ample time to prepare for the test, I would strongly advise them to go through the 1000s of questions in this very forum.
SC (Dos and Don'ts)
1.
MGMAT SC - This book is a collection of rules but questions are not based on the GMAT template. This book is really useful and probably covers all the SC variants ever seen on the GMAT
2. SC Bible - Hardly more than 130 questions but good coverage.
RC1. Aristotle - The best material available on the net. Too bad I couldn't lay my hands on this earlier
MGMAT RC is one book that was not helpful and I would never recommend this to anyone since the tome lacks coverage.
For me, RC was the toughest section
CR1. CR Bible - I found this quite useful since no two questions are similar.
2.
MGMAT CR - essentially similar to the bible, but good as a supplement
Test ScoresKnewton diagnostic GMAT - 690 (Q44,V41)
Knewton Practice Test #1 - 730 (Q47,V43)
Knewton Practice Test #2 - 720 (Q45,V45)
Knewton Practice Test #3 - 760 (Q49,V44)
Knewton Practice Test #4 - 730 (Q50,V39)
Did not take the last test due to lack of time. Knewton added the 6th test recently.
Conclusion I hope my testimony will be useful to those who got low scores in their first attempt. I profusely thank the members of this forum for posting the official questions. I also would like to express my gratitude to Adam and Allison of Knewton for their quality tutoring.
For Knewton students - The Knewton scores (esp on the verbal) are inflated (by 4-5 points). But almost all of Knewton's questions are based on the real GMAT questions and hence the line of reasoning is similar. Also, Please dont miss out the extra practice section esp on the verbal.
Cheers,
Wormtongue