Preparing for my third official GMAT exam

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to the board, however I've started to read recent threads and come to realize it's a great source. I'm looking to share my GMAT experience and get ideas for helpful study plans for my third official attempt.

Practice Exam 1/3/2014 - 570 (53%) Quant 40 (52%) & Verbal 29 (54%) IR did not complete AWA did not complete - No previous knowledge of GMAT material

Mid January- Mid March 2014 - I completed the Manhattan GMAT online course. I found it very useful in creating an incredible foundation for the GMAT topics, approach methods, and guessing techniques. I took the program very seriously by completing all assigned readings & problems in the 'normal' syllabus and 80-90% of the 'harder' syllabus.

Practice Exam 2/22/2014 - 550 (47%) Quant 39 (49%) & Verbal 28 (48%) IR 1.63 AWA 6 (GMAT Write)
Practice Exam 3/11/2014 - 580 (56%) Quant 36 (40%) & Verbal 33 (67%) IR 4.36 AWA 6 (GMAT Write)

1st Official Exam 3/24/2014 - 600 (62%) Quant 38 (44%) & Verbal 35 (75%), IR 8 & AWA 6

April - May 2014 - I've always felt strong in Quant and I was quite disappointed by the 44% on the first attempt. I was pleasantly surprised with my Verbal score. I understand that most test takers are 'quant wizards' so I did not let this discourage me. For the next two months, I read and completed the Manhattan GMAT Advanced Quant book and downloaded the GMAT Club ToolKit app on my Iphone. I used my Post-Exam Assessment from Manhattan GMAT to focus on my weak areas for my next exam, which included DS<600, Algebra, & Sentence Correction.

Practice Exam 4/26/2014 - 590 (58%) Quant 42 (54%) & Verbal 31 (60%), IR 4.5, AWA not graded
Practice Exam 5/22/2014 - 650 (77%) Quant 43 (58%) & Verbal 36 (80%), IR 4.22, AWA not graded

2nd Official Exam 5/29/2014 - 650 (77%) Quant 48 (76%) & Verbal 31 (60%), IR 4, AWA waiting, but most likely 5-6.

As you can see, my scores have been fluctuating (Verbal, IR) and my official exams had polar opposite results in terms of Quant vs Verbal. If I combined my first Verbal & second Quant, then I would be in the 680 range! Although my practice exams were quite poor up to the last one, I'm starting to feel 'in the zone' and fully embracing concepts and problems. On ALL my practice exams, timing has been an issue on Quant & not Verbal, however on both of my official exams timing has been spot on for Quant & shaky for Verbal. Yesterday, I finished Quant with 4 minutes left and I was quite nervous that my score would be low since I felt it was on the easier side.

Based on my results, I really feel if I push down on the gas for 30 more days that a 690 would be achievable. The problem I'm facing today is that I do not have a concrete study plan in place. I feel at this point that I have exhausted my Manhattan GMAT resources and need to find a new program to work with. I was reaching GMAT Pill last night and it just seems to good to be true. I will continue to research additional crash course programs and their reviews today. I would ideally like to take my third official Exam right before July 4th weekend.

Does anybody have any personal experiences on how they prepared for a third official exam? I would love to hear a success story on how someone catapulted their score on the third go! I would also like to hear first-hand stories of the GMAT Pill or other crash course study programs.

Thanks everyone,
Rob