Hello everyone, I am super stoked to share that I recently scored a 740 (Q51/V38 with 100% on PS/DS/RC) on my GMAT, and I owe a lot of gratitude to this forum. I have read and benefited from 100s of wonderful debriefs on GMAT Club and it is only befitting that I too share my learnings and experiences that can push my fellow comrades one step closer to their targets.
BackgroundI am a 26 year old non-native English speaker, based out of Asia-Pacific, with background in Electronics Engineering. I work as a Specialist in Technology Sales for a large-cap Global firm and manage a portfolio to the tune of $250Mn/year.
Given the market situation in the tech ecosystem in the last 12 months, my work-weeks got aggressive and routinely ranged anywhere from 60 to 80 hours. Hence, I wanted to make this process as efficient as possible, and that meant finding the right study material became all the more pivotal.
JourneyIn my 8-month long journey to 740, I referred
Target Test Prep, GMAT Club, and
OG books religiously, and can claim, with a 100% confidence that anyone who refers to the above trio is bound for great success on this exam.
GMAT Club offers a wonderful opportunity to all new joiners to test out several major GMAT prep providers for free for a week. Leveraging the same, I tried 4-5 big banner prep names viz their study platforms, problem banks, and webinars, but soon found that almost all of them were extremely difficult to follow / contained no real substance / cared little about their students and what they did / didn't learn - aka, running an apathetic business.
After a string of dismal experiences, I was about to give up on e-learning and start a long and arduous self-study journey using the
OG books when a friend mentioned that it would be worthwhile to give
Target Test Prep a shot. After-all it is the only prep institute that has an immaculate 5* rating. It did honestly pique my curiosity because
TTP doesn't have a single bad review on any possible forum and appeared almost too good to be true. I hopped onto their 5-day free trial and boy was I hooked right from the word go!
Imagine this - A meticulously designed diagnostic test that analyzes your strengths, weaknesses, and current level of preparation; tailored learning plans based on your diagnostic results, target scores, and time available; comprehensive, detailed, and neatly structured coursework that is a goldmine of knowledge and free of any fluff or gimmicks; enormous multi-level problem bank that never runs dry; 24*7*365 direct chat support with the legendary 800-scorers - all of this wrapped in an extremely easy-flowing state-of-the-art user interface. What's more? Weekly go-to webinars to help you cement the concepts, practice real exam-like problems, and keep in track with studies. What's even better? Learn quintessential test-taking skills, prepare yourself for a wide range of test-day scenarios, and ensure you have a rockstar performance on test, come what may!!
This is Target Test Prep in a nutshell, and precisely what sets it apart from every other prep institute in this space. No wonder I didn't have to look anywhere else, for I had got my hands on the best-in-class.TimelinesPhase 1: Immersion (January - February) Resources used: GMAT Club (
Project Daily Butler /
GMAT Ninja Blogs /
Bunuel Daily Summary /
QOTD) and
Target Test PrepHighlights: Immersed myself in the ins and outs of the exam. Became
GMATNinja,
Bunuel, and
generis fanboy, and GMAT Club monthly top user. Learnt the basics of Verbal (largely SC, a little bit of CR) and practiced over 2hrs of daily Quant from
TTP.
Phase 2: Retention (March)Resources used: GMAT Ninja youtube videos and
24-hour live marathonHighlights: Took a month off to focus on year-closing at work and to retain all that I had learnt in the last 2 months. Helped prevent burnout and charged me up greatly for the next leg. IMO one of the most valuable yet underrated phases.
Phase 3: Expansion (April - May)Resources used: Target Test PrepHighlights: Spent time studying the Verbal curriculum further (largely CR, a little bit of RC) and practicing Verbal Problem Bank. Did selective Quant practice on areas such as Probability, Combinatorics, Work/Rate, and Inequalities, which are known trouble makers.
Phase 4: Completion (June - July)Resources used: GMAT Club Forum Quiz and
Target Test PrepHighlights: Practiced over 5000
OG questions, covering quite literally everything ever published. Attended every single
TTP webinar from here-on. Revised my
error log and improved my notes from the previous months. IMO the most rigorous and differentiating leg.
Phase 5: All-out (Aug - Sep)Resources used: GMAT Prep Starter kit,
GMAT Prep mocks 3-6,
GMAT Club tests,
Project IR Butler, and
Chineseburned template for AWAHighlights: Went all guns blazing on this last leg. Cruised the official mocks. Got crushed by the super-hard
GMAT Club test mocks, yet learnt something new everyday. Built mental stamina. Gave due respect, time, and efforts to IR and AWA sections.
The Test DayOpted for a Pearson center after hearing great reviews about it. Chose a weekday afternoon slot as those are probably the least crowded and ideal since I preferred a distraction-free setting. Restricted diet before the test to avoid any lassitude, wore comfy clothes (thankfully Pearson didn't mind) but carried some formals and woolens (in case there was a dress code or it got chilly). Reached the center half an hour early and got seated on the computer about 10 mins before the scheduled time. The test started immediately and I could not pause the timer after that, this was
slightly unexpected. Opted for Verbal, Quant, IR/AWA in that order as I wanted to get done with the difficult part first.
Verbal went better than expected as I managed to finish the RCs (my strong points) easily and had solid elimination grounds for 4 incorrect choices on most SC questions. CR went mehh since I was never good at it but luckily I got fewest questions from CR, some of which would've definitely been experimental, so that was a relief. Had to rush through the last 3-4 questions and that took some toll on the accuracy.
Verdict: 100% accuracy on RC (96%ile), 2 incorrect on SC (80%ile), 4 incorrect on CR (42%ile). Definitely could've done better than a V38, but there's only so much one can wish for.A bit of an uneasy start to Quant as I overshot my break by 2 mins, owing to the mandatory security check every time you enter the testing room. Quant was a breeze for most parts, but I made sure to double-check my calculations on every question since
zhanbo had mentioned in his debrief that these days in order to get a Q51 one must get 100% of the counted questions correct. With only 50 seconds remaining for my last question, months of practicing mental math came to my rescue as I successfully performed a dense division under time constrain and finished the section with 6 seconds remaining.
Verdict: 100% accuracy on PS and DS (97%ile overall). Low-key tearing up right now. A Q51 definitely feels so much better than even the overall score.I zoned out during IR and AWA, and largely did those on auto-pilot mode. Although I did manage to finish both on time, AWA was a bit of a struggle as the unfamiliar keyboard layout limited my speed greatly and I ended up managing to write only a short essay. I made sure to stick to the
Chineseburned template, and prioritized structure and key content over length.
Verdict: 7/8 on IR (79%ile, 2 incorrect) and 6/6 on AWA (87%ile). Disappointed in IR, 2 mistakes are not acceptable, but glad about AWA, I guess I made some really powerful points in whatever I wrote.Gratitude / Honorable mentions bb: Thank you for everything. GMAT Club became a second home to me during these last 8 months. It's beyond fathomable how you enable millions of test takers with all the worldly resources and without charging them a penny. What's best is that despite GMAT Club having scaled massively over the last 20 years, you still personally oversee all operations to ensure a smooth experience for the students. Thank you for always helping me out whenever I needed any kind of support and for creating this amazing platform. You are a godsend.
ScottTargetTestPrep,
JeffTargetTestPrep, and
MartyTargetTestPrep - There is no surprise that you are some of the most revered names in this space. Your easy approachability and persistent efforts to go over and beyond to get the best out of
TTP students speaks volumes about the credibility of your rich and acclaimed background in GMAT coaching. You are a powerhouse of winning mindset educators and your ever-so-calm and confident outlook instilled a massive confidence in me to unlock my true potential, go full throttle on the test, and not just "settle". Cheers and a million thanks to this incredible team! I have become an advocate for life
Bunuel: Bunuel is the very backbone of this platform and works crazy hours behind the scenes, almost as if he were a bot, as we all know, but what most people probably don't know is that Bunuel is one of the most friendly-natured and welcoming people on this forum. Bunuel never misses a single DM and is incredibly patient in explaining anything under the sun - be it basic algebra concepts or complex probability problems. Thank you very much Bunuel. Also had it not been for your daily summaries, I would've missed so much on this platform.
GMATNinja: Charles's super detailed explanations on QOTD were my start-point on verbal, and I would spend hours reading his intensely long (and fun!) answers and blogs, making notes, and learning new concepts. A few months later I started questioning as to why did he have to explain everything in such details, for those things were really not that complex. And the epiphany hit me. Had it not been for Charles' way of explaining those seemingly-terrifying verbal concepts, someone like me would have never gotten elevated to this level that he started finding GMAT verbal so predictive. Since that day my admiration for Charles has only grown exponentially, and I have enjoyed every single bit of content he has produced with a whole new energy. Thank you very much Charles.
generis: Thank you for always bearing with me on the SC Butler forum. You took massive efforts to read all my answers and course correct my thought process, when you could have simply posted the OE and left for me to read and move on. Your constant dose of encouragement to not be afraid of committing mistakes has had a profound impact on how I looked at things and the way my preparation shaped up, and I cannot thank you enough for the same.
IanStewart: Ian is the living embodiment of "I am one tag away for all your needs". I have had the pleasure of interacting with him over countless problems, and his prompt, straight-as-arrow responses always made my life so much more easy. Fun fact: I started interacting with Ian over Verbal problems and considered him for long a Verbal expert - it was probably only a couple months into it that I realized he is actually a Quant tutor (and boy was I blown!) and holds advanced degrees in Mathematics (and Art and Music too!) - what a rare multitalented instructor. Thank you Ian! And I can't believe how speedily you can recollect and locate questions on this forum, feels surreal.
zhanbo: You have made incredible contributions in my journey and have always inspired me to perform my very best - whether it be through your answers on Daily Butler threads or through our 1:1 interactions. When I read your 760 debrief in July, I felt a sudden rush of confidence all over and knew I've got this. Thank you and I wish you nothing but continued success. I will be eagerly waiting for your 800 post.
Also, massive thanks to my lovely little sister and mum for being my accountability partners and always keeping me in check. You supported me throughout my journey, tuned out the social noise for me when it became overbearing, and unconditionally stood by me through my highs, lows, meltdowns and everything in between. I cherished discussing every single second of my prep with you and would do all of it all over again in a heartbeat
The above list is by no means exhaustive, and there are countless people who have played a significant role in my journey. It is difficult to list all of them down, but I will forever be thankful to all for your inputs.
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Updated on: 23 Sep 2022, 16:18
