730 debrief

Time to give something back to the forum (I was sneak peeking up til today)

730 (Q44, V47, AWA 5.0) on August 20 2010 - early in the morning and doped with a triple espresso (ONLY do this if you´re experienced - otherwise you´ll be )

Materials:
- Official GMAT prep guide - must buy (it´s heavy, but it´s good)
- Official tool from mba website - free, hence must use
- GMAT Focus Online Quantitative Diagnostic Tool - Bundle of 3 - not worth the $ IMO (fewer than 25 questions per test and some are the same as in the other official materials)
- 5 full tests and study guide ($40 bundle!) from 800score - definitely worth the $ even though the answer explanations are not always that clear. The tests provide a pacer, which I found quite helpful. DON´T buy or rent the offered timer watch - they´ll confiscate it on the day of the exam...

Review:
Started late June, had a few weeks of true vacation during the period. I studied evenings (~3 h per night) and ~10 h per weekend.

Tests:
Started out not getting anything right - especially not on the Q´s (Chapter 3 in the official guide is a diagnostic test - do it before you do the electronic first time)
First electronic practice test: after some 200 questions in the official guide. Got a 690.
Next 7 tests were spread over the summer and yielded results between 670 and 710 - no tendency for increase and the average was 690

Timing:
With the practice tests I was always running behind with the Q´s (speeding through 5-7 Q´s in last 2 minutes and finishing verbal 10-15 minutes ahead). On the day, timing was perfectly matched - guess this is the strength of an adaptive test.

Conclusion:
Great experience and apparently my brain works better immediately after sleep Should maybe have spent more time on my essay writing skills but I was focused on dealing with understanding the Q´s.

The anecdote:
I submitted the unofficial result to "my" B-school just after the sitting - they called me for an interview 10 minutes after Now, I am awaiting the result of the interview... Impatiently...

Last advice:
Remember to do something else than cramming all day, your body will love you for it