Long Journey comes to an end with a 700...

GMATClub Community,

Background:

Thank you for all the support and great strategies, I have benefitted from the collaborative environment on here for over six months and I am now going to tackly the remainder of my application with much more confident.

I took my first official GMAT back on June 28, 2010. I regret rushing into the test. I had just decided I no longer wanted to continue my career in the Army and I knew I wanted to transition into the business world with he potential to be a manager and business leader.

Several admission consultants told me that if I scored in the 700 range combined with my background as an Army Ranger and combat veteran, then I would have a solid chance of admission to several of the top 10 programs.

I initially took a GMATprep and scored a 620 on it. I studied on my own mainly using the GMAT OG and GMATprep tests in my first attempt. I then discovered this forum. I realized my materials were not first rate after looking over BB's material listings.

I ordered the Manhattan GMAT Number Properties and Sentence Correction Guide and took all the MGMAT CAT tests.
I scored a 610, 650, 680, 710, 720 and basically felt that I had exhausted my resources. So I went in and took the test.
It is sad to admit this, but eve after being attacking my enemy fire, massive roadside bombs, and indirect rockets, I felt nervous going into the GMAT.

I put way too much pressure on myself and thought if I did not get a 700 then I would be too rushed to prepare my applications the right way. Basically, I got too fixated on the task.

When I finished my first exam I was disheartened by a 650 (45 Q, 33 V). I had never done so poorly on a verbal section.

I decided to reschedule my exam and get back after it.

Unexpected Problem
Prior to my next attempt, I purchases a membership to GMATpill based on preview videos and really enjoyed them. Zeke, the GMATpill https://www.gmatpill.com founder, really presented the material in an easily digestible manner.
I stopped overanalyzing the problems and learned to translate fancy math. I used to over think the problems and allowed the test to get the best of me.

I recommend the GMATpill to military applicants. We do not have the luxuty of living in metro areas such as DC, NYC where in-person courses are more practical. Furthermore, we do not have tons of money to pay over 1000 for a course.

I felt confident and ready to take my retest in late October. The day before the test, one of my Soldiers had a nervous breakdown. One of my sergeants found him in the shower area sitting on the floor rocking back and forth. He was not responsive and we had to call and ambulance to take him out of there. I had to spend the entire night at the hospital and also speaking with his wife and family.
I knew I could not take the test and I had to cancel. I felt like I was now in a bad position because time was ticking and deadlines were approaching.

I began to consider simply pursuing my MBA at a later time but a friend, who is now a Sloan '12 MBA candidate, told me to give it one more try.

I rescheduled my test for November 6 (yesterday) and made a consious effort to stay calm this time. I review all my GMATpill videos, GMATclub DS forums, and OG guides.

As an miltary applicant, living in fort Benning, the nearest test center is 90 minutes away. In my first attempt, I left work early and drove the 90 minutes then took the test. I know this seems stupid but it was the only option I felt i had.

I chose Nov 6 because it was a Saturday and I chose to drive to Montgomery, AL, where I had to take the test on Friday night. That way I would wake up and not have to worry about anything but going the 2 miles to the test center, getting scanned in and getting this thing done.

The Test
For the test this time, I decided to make a concious effort not to place extra pressure on myself. I told myself, if you do not do as well as you want, tke your time, work in the private sector (i had a job offer from Deloitte Federal Consulting) and then try the GMAT again and get your MBA another year down the line.

Even though this was not my most favorable course of action, it did allow me to take the test and picture that I was just at my desk at home and this didn't really count. I know this sounds juvenvile but it really helped me perform.

The math section went fairly well, my main problem was that I did not manage my time as effectively as I wanted.
I only ended up with one Combination problem which was a typical your have X men, Y women to form a committme; how many options have at least Y - z women etc. You have all seen this form of problem.

I think DS had a significant number of percentage; give you a group, ask you how many take accounting+chemistry. Nothing new or too earth shattering.

I barely finished math on time with only 2 seconds to go. I was not overly optimistic.

during my break, I remember telling myself; just don't think about math' don't think about your score, focus on the task at hand. I know many people onthe forum have preached this in the past but it really worked.

On Verbal, I felt extremely confident, I followed recent advice on the blog here to take my time as recent successful GMATclubbers have been doing.

I finished with 20 seconds to go.

Finally, I clicked through and was extremely relieved to see a 700 as my final score.

the breakdown was a 90% Q: 44 V: 43. I know many people on here far surpass these numbers and they are not stellar. To me, it is very important because I showed that I could reach my goal of a 700 and approach my applications with much more confidence.

Thanks everyone on here and good luck! If you refuse to give up, refuse to accept defeat, and believe in yourself you can succeed on this test!

Thanks everyone,
Ryan
Army Ranger
Iraq Vet
New 700 Club member