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Womiwom
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** Updated on: 09 Sep 2010, 05:59
Originally posted by Womiwom on 27 Jul 2010, 13:31.
Last edited by Womiwom on 09 Sep 2010, 05:59, edited 1 time in total.
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I've decided to document my GMAT experience after reading about a dozen or so similar posts. I figured since these posts have given me some form of motivation, maybe somewhere down the line someone will get the same from my experience.

A little background info on me:

I just turned 30 and am currently in the US Navy. Stationed in the Washington D.C. area. My undergraduate degree is from a small school in Illinois with a degree in business management. My GPA is decent (3.3). Since I'm stationed here for the next 5 years, I would like to go to a good school in the area. My targets are UMD (Smith), Georgetown (McDonough), and George Washington. I'm aiming for 700 (seems to be a recurring theme in this community). I plan to attend next fall, so I think that I have plenty of time for studying and application preparation.

Study Materials:
MGMAT Guides (set of 8), Kaplan Premier 2011, Official Guide 12th edition Review, Official Guide 2nd Edition Verbal and Quantitative Review.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 27 Jul 2010, 13:42
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Just took the first Kaplan practice test to get a baseline as to where I am at this point in time and got a 540. I already knew that I needed to work on the Quant part, but I thought I would have done much better on the verbal. Looks like I'm going to need all the time I have to get my scores up to where I want them to be.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 27 Jul 2010, 17:46
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Welcome, and thank you for serving! Im new here as well. I think this is a good idea and have posted my study plans in the forum as well (See: "starting my journey"). Seems like you and I are at about the same stage in our studies and its good to see how people progress as they go.

You should check out the manhattan books for help in both verbal and quant, many people here swear by them, namely number properties and SC.

Best of luck with ur studies
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 27 Jul 2010, 18:01
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johnnyGMAT2k10
Welcome, and thank you for serving! Im new here as well. I think this is a good idea and have posted my study plans in the forum as well (See: "starting my journey"). Seems like you and I are at about the same stage in our studies and its good to see how people progress as they go.

You should check out the manhattan books for help in both verbal and quant, many people here swear by them, namely number properties and SC.

Best of luck with ur studies
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Thanks Johnny,

I did see that most of the high scoring members do swear by the MGMAT series. I will see how I am doing in a month or two and decide on whether or not to get those. My math literally sucks, so I figure that I need to get the basics from the OG, then I can move on to an alternate source. Thanks again for the comment. I hope that you reach your goal.

On a side note: I wonder what the high scoring members math was like when they first started on this. I get kind of intimidated when I start the quant section. I'm working to master it though. We'll see.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 27 Jul 2010, 18:55
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Hi, would recommend you maybe beef up your library of books with more verbal and math dedicated books..

top-gmat-prep-books-guides-reviews-comments-77703.html?highlight=ml306
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 27 Jul 2010, 21:06
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Hi Womiwom, I started my studies this last week. From what I've read on here, many of the posters with high scores suggest saving OG until the very end. Since those questions are so similar to what you'll find on the actual GMAT, it seems like a good idea to get the fundamentals down first. From what I've read, once you get the foundation, good strong questions are like gold. Once you've read them in the OG, they won't be quite the prep anymore, as you'd already seen them. I don't know if this is true, but I'll trust the experts on here.

Also, just like you, my math sucks. I'm shooting for admission in Fall, 2011 so we both have time, but our work cut out for us. It's amazing to discover just how much one can forget since school. For me, its been 13 years since my last college math course. I wish you all the luck and look forward to seeing your posts.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 30 Jul 2010, 08:05
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So here's an update of what's been going on with my GMAT studying progress:

Work has been inexplicably busy, and I've been super tired as a result.
I was reading the "build you GMAT study plan" posts and saw that I should finish with my Kaplan Premier book before I start on the OG. So I'm going back to the Kaplan book starting this weekend.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 03 Aug 2010, 16:11
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VinceCPA
Hi Womiwom, I started my studies this last week. From what I've read on here, many of the posters with high scores suggest saving OG until the very end. Since those questions are so similar to what you'll find on the actual GMAT, it seems like a good idea to get the fundamentals down first. From what I've read, once you get the foundation, good strong questions are like gold. Once you've read them in the OG, they won't be quite the prep anymore, as you'd already seen them. I don't know if this is true, but I'll trust the experts on here.

Also, just like you, my math sucks. I'm shooting for admission in Fall, 2011 so we both have time, but our work cut out for us. It's amazing to discover just how much one can forget since school. For me, its been 13 years since my last college math course. I wish you all the luck and look forward to seeing your posts.
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Hey Vince, I just starting reading your blog. I saw that you're making some significant improvements on your quantitative questions. Now I'm really going to have to get the MGMAT books to get mine up to speed. I wonder, how bad was yours to begin with, and also, how long did it take you to get through the first couple of books? Thanks again!
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 03 Aug 2010, 17:04
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Hey Womiwom, it was ugly when I started the books. I honestly think I would have had a better chance guessing the answers randomly for a bit there. I was having some serious doubts about taking this test but I'm a very stubborn person. I think it was around the middle of book 3 that things started to really click. I just seemed to know how to get the answers to even tough questions. I'm not scoring 100% on them, but I am doing really well. Some parts are so easy, but those are fun to breeze through. It really helps you feel like you're accomplishing something.

As for how long, I'd say it took me only a couple of days per book for the first two. Since then, I have needed more time. Partly I don't want to burn out at this pace, and partly the concepts get dense.

One tip I've picked up that might help you is to create your own flashcards. For me, it isn't so much having them as taking the time to stop and write them out. I am the sort of learner that really gets a concept when I right it out and see it on paper. It just seems to stick better.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 04 Aug 2010, 12:17
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sweet! another fellow GMAT studier in the DC area! Let me know if you want to start up a study group!
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 04 Aug 2010, 14:07
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vwjetty
sweet! another fellow GMAT studier in the DC area! Let me know if you want to start up a study group!
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Where are you located? Also, when are you trying to take your test?
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 04 Aug 2010, 18:20
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Located in Northern Virginia. Trying to take it sometime in next few months before the end of october to meet spring 2011 admissions. screwed my gmat up hardcore back in april. my last GMATprep diag I got a 560 (38Q 29V) about a week ago. trying to get 600+ for sure.

Here's my little blog that I try to keep up to date since that dreadful April day.

bombed-this-test-crazy-93247.html

But huh...only really applying to local schools within the VA area because it's just SOOO much cheaper to be in-state and a strong GMAT score is almost a sure in-the-bag deal for anything local around here haha. hit me up if you wanna do some studying. I got all the manhattan and kaplan series stuff im willing to share. Trying to do better on my verbal side right now which is what im focusing on. This has been pretty much my full-time job (so my schedule is pretty clear haha) since I graduated back in May from VCU getting a BS of financial engineering. don't let the quant fool you is my best suggestion - just because you're a "mathematician" or an "engineer" does not make you an exception to GMAT quant...even if you did good on the SAT's haha [email protected] if you're interested!

But I will say that this forum has been an incredible amount of help and support for me. Just come in here and do a couple quant and verbal questions everyday for a week and you'll see a difference :-D
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 06:01
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Alright,

So I had to take a break from studying for the GMAT due to me studying for an advancement exam. I'm officially back on the ball as of today though. I let my fiance know that I'll be studying and that I'll need some time alone during the day. She's very understanding as she just finished a Doctorate in Physical Therapy program. I've got all 8 MGMAT Guides, along with the other resources listed in my first posts. I'm going to start over reading the Number Properties books and go from there. I continue to read very inspirational posts here of members who have fought and done well on the GMAT, so in a couple of months, I hope to add my name to the list of 700+ scorers. I'll keep updating with my progress. Thanks to everyone here at GMATClub for all of the insight and inspiration!
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 07:40
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All the best ahead...
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 08:43
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all the best man. since you've been off, i've scored a 650 on the gmatprep test 2 last night =) just goes to show, time + patience + dedication = improvement =)
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 08:52
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vwjetty
all the best man. since you've been off, i've scored a 650 on the gmatprep test 2 last night =) just goes to show, time + patience + dedication = improvement =)
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vwjetty, very impressive. A lot more improvement than I have done so far. What materials are you focusing on now? I would like recommendations for 600-650 level.

Thanks,
Dawgie
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 09:50
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vwjetty
all the best man. since you've been off, i've scored a 650 on the gmatprep test 2 last night =) just goes to show, time + patience + dedication = improvement =)
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That's great bro! What do you think is the reason for the improvement? I'm hoping to hit scores like that about half way through my prep. We'll see how it goes though.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 15:19
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vwjetty
all the best man. since you've been off, i've scored a 650 on the gmatprep test 2 last night =) just goes to show, time + patience + dedication = improvement =)

That's great bro! What do you think is the reason for the improvement? I'm hoping to hit scores like that about half way through my prep. We'll see how it goes though.
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I hope you hit the high scores too, Womiwom.

On another note, does it feel like you've been studying for longer than you actually have? I wonder if I'm the only one that feels this way. I realized while updating my post earlier today that I've only been studying for just under 6 weeks...it feels SOOOOO much longer than that! I keep looking at the calendar to confirm that I'm not crazy, but I know when my books were delivered as I have a delivery confirmation email. So strange, this timewarp that we call GMAT studying.
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 17:16
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VinceCPA
Womiwom
vwjetty
all the best man. since you've been off, i've scored a 650 on the gmatprep test 2 last night =) just goes to show, time + patience + dedication = improvement =)

That's great bro! What do you think is the reason for the improvement? I'm hoping to hit scores like that about half way through my prep. We'll see how it goes though.

I hope you hit the high scores too, Womiwom.

On another note, does it feel like you've been studying for longer than you actually have? I wonder if I'm the only one that feels this way. I realized while updating my post earlier today that I've only been studying for just under 6 weeks...it feels SOOOOO much longer than that! I keep looking at the calendar to confirm that I'm not crazy, but I know when my books were delivered as I have a delivery confirmation email. So strange, this timewarp that we call GMAT studying.
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I think we did start around the same time, but I had to take a little break due to advancement studying for a military promotion. I'm almost back at square one when it comes to GMAT studying. How's your journey going anyway?
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Operation GMAT **(unclassified)** 07 Sep 2010, 20:39
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Womiwom


I hope you hit the high scores too, Womiwom.

On another note, does it feel like you've been studying for longer than you actually have? I wonder if I'm the only one that feels this way. I realized while updating my post earlier today that I've only been studying for just under 6 weeks...it feels SOOOOO much longer than that! I keep looking at the calendar to confirm that I'm not crazy, but I know when my books were delivered as I have a delivery confirmation email. So strange, this timewarp that we call GMAT studying.
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I think we did start around the same time, but I had to take a little break due to advancement studying for a military promotion. I'm almost back at square one when it comes to GMAT studying. How's your journey going anyway?[/quote]

I updated my own story on my journey, but at this point I'm about halfway through my second run of the MGMAT books. I am now regularly getting 600-700 level questions correct in Quant and 700-800 level questions correct in Verbal. I still have a few more books to go, some practice tests to take, then it's time for the real deal.
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