"Not a big math guy" to 750, A Journey with Target Test Prep

I just received my official results after taking the GMAT in person last week. I am finally done with this God forsaken test and will never study for the GMAT again. It has been a journey for sure. I'm going to put the bullet points up front for the TL;DR crowd.

Material:

• Quant - TTP with some OG
  
• Verbal- TTP
  
• IR- lol

Scores:

1. Official PRAC 1- 660 (Q44, V38) JUL 22
   
2. Official PRAC 2- 640 (Q44, V32) JUL 22
   
3. Official PRAC 3- 660 (Q39, V41) AUG 22
   
4. Official PRAC 4- 580 (Q34, V35) AUG 22
   
5. Online GMAT- 660 (Q42, V39) AUG 22
   
6. Official PRAC 5- 670 (Q42, V40) SEP 22
   
7. Official PRAC 6- 660 (Q39, V42) SEP 22
8. Online GMAT- 640 ( Q36, V41) OCT 22
9. Official PRAC 1 reset- 720 (Q45, V41) NOV 22
10. In Person GMAT- 750 (Q47, V47) DEC 22

I started studying for the GMAT January of '21. I had very ambitious goals of being done with the GMAT by the end of that year. I thought my calculous included the fact that I knew I was starting off with a VERY low baseline in math. I have no real quantitative background and I struggled always with math in school. I would barely scrape by in basic algebra and geometry classes with a LOT of heartache along the way. Math frustrated me and I felt like I was behind all my classmates throughout my schooling (~10-15 years ago since algebra/and geometry).

I went to the GMAT official website and took their little 10 or 20 question diagnostic test. I dont remember the exact score, but the estimate was somewhere in the high 400s (Crushed it). Knowing that I was shooting for a 700, I didnt even bother wasting an official GMAT test because it would have been a complete waste of time (although it would have been great for writing reviews later).

I started studying with some basic material that was free that I found online. I quickly realized that it appeared that I was looking at a foreign language without a translator. A coworker of mine had just gotten accepted into his MBA program, so he gave me his OG book. I tried learning through the chapters with their examples, but I recognized that I was going to need a more structured approach.

I was speaking with another friend and he recommended checking out Veritas prep tutors. After looking at the costs, I figured I would try to get a baseline with some other smattering of Khan academy and youtube videos before ripping a fat check (not really that fat in the tutor world).

While searching for more material I googled "best material for GMAT reddit". Surprise! I saw all the posts praising TTP. Oh look, there's people like me with no base in math that managed to score their target scores. 'nuff said, sign me up. This will be nice, I'll just study with TTP for a couple months and score my 700.

I took their diagnostic test and it informed me that I was very underprepared ( I forget what scale they used, but it basically said: Dude, you've got some work to do)

If you haven't heard, TTP is comprehensive. VERY comprehensive. I went chapter to chapter, it dawned on me that I had a journey ahead of me. I wasn't able to dedicate hours a day to study, and so this was going to take a minute.

I knew that quant was going to be rough, but it turns out my SC could use some work too. I've always been an avid reader, and generally a good test taker (in non mathematics subjects). Turns out I just had a really good 'ear' for what a correct sentence sounds like. That skill is not very helpful for the GMAT. Unless you actually know the rules of English sentence structure, it's going to be very difficult just to muscle your way through the sentence correction. The GMAT (and the makers of TTP) know how to make a bad sounding sentence correct, and a good sounding sentence incorrect. I went through all of the verbal material verbatim.

While going through I had a difficult time hitting medium question difficult test goals, and the hard questions were a nightmare for me (sometimes spending 30 or even 40 minutes on a single question). I wont sugar coat it, it was an uphill battle.

Slowly, I began to pick up pace on the material. Concepts started coming together and I figured out how to use TTP in a way that worked better for me. Before even beginning the "end of chapter" tests, I would make custom tests in the analytics section of the site. I would drill concepts and review chapters and THEN start the chapter tests. I dont think this is how Jeff and Scott intended the flow to go, but it kept me sane and going forward.

Fast forward to summer of this year (2022) I'm nearing the end of TTP and feeling good. I take my first practice test and score a 660. Not bad, but not my target. I take another and score a 640, and another 660. I had studied exclusively OG ( although not very efficiently) for several weeks after TTP expired in July. I take a last official the day before my online test and get a 580. Ouch.

Test day - 660. Damn. Not quite there

I've been with TTP for a year now, and figure its time to move on. Thanks boys, you've brought me a LONG way, but I'm going to need a little boost to get over the finish line.

I decided to spend the money and higher a tutor. Jeff emails me and I tell him my plan "Good luck, we're here if you need anything"

I purchased about 25 hours of tutoring from a larger tutoring company that does not specifically specialize in the GMAT. The tutor went through OG questions, but it was very very basic. I figured there was a method to the madness since it is crucial to be 'automatic' on easy questions if you want to get that 700 score. I stuck with it, but I slowly started to feel as though these sessions may not be worth the discounted rate that I payed for them. I took a practice exam a month or so into it and my quant didnt improve at all, and verbal had actually gotten better (I was not studying verbal at all at this point).

Maybe it was a fluke? Naw, did another practice a week or so later and my quant score dropped to a 39.

Hopefully test day will be better. Spoiler alert, it wasnt.

Frustrated, and wanting to just send it with the 660, I was ready to throw in the towel. The tutor company reimbursed me (which is why I wont call them out by name). My wife encouraged me to give it another go. I needed a plan going forward.

I contacted Jeff and told him what happened. After coming up with a new plan, which involved going back through areas that he suggested that I review and doing more OG I decided to give it one last go and we started doing work. I could only afford a limited number of sessions, but Jeff worked with me and after 6 or 7 one hour sessions I retook the first mock. I scored a 720, but tried not to get too excited because it was a retake.

2 weeks later I took a GMAT in person. 750. Holy crap. I did it. I couldnt believe it. Blew away my target score by 50 points. Things just started flowing differently. I can say with honesty that I am not bad at math! So glad its done. Standardized testing is stupid. Thank you Scott and the rest of the dudes, and a special big shout out to Jeff, you're the absolute man.

There weren't any secrets that Jeff told me that were omitted from the TTP curriculum so that they can sell some private tutoring. It was going back to early TTP topics that I thought I had a handle on, and really nailing the teaching points home (Number properties were a big on).

TTP isnt a shortcut. It's tough, and for those of us without a previous propensity towards math, it can be a grind. It is so worth it. I thought I had something in my brain blocking my ability to do math. If it existed, its not there now. After busting my ass, it's done.