Retake debrief (Overall: 760, Q50 / V42 / IR7 / AWA - TBD)

I've been more of a lurker than a contributer but thanks to all the resources on the GmatClub forum as well as reading peoples' debriefs, I felt inspired to contribute my own. I took my GMATs in college >5 years ago but they expired so I had to retake them this year. I spent about 10 weeks studying from mid-July to end-September and received a 730 (V40 / Q49) on my September exam. It was lower than my original score and I had a horrible testing experience. I was sick and also had a easy but very strange word problem as my second problem in my Quant section. I also had rushed through my IR section and generally felt very harried. While a 730 is a solid score, I felt that I had to give it another shot - against my own and close friend's advice. I actually took 2.5 weeks off from GMATprep completely, went on a short vacation and restarted afterwards. I think it actually helped me readjustment my mindset and reflect on my testprep strategies.

I work fulltime in a somewhat demanding job (50-60 hours) so I was virtually a hermit on the weekend and had to pass up many dinner, happy hours, and even a friend's birthday brunch. Unfortunately, some personal sacrifices have to be made. I still found that working out 2-3x a week helped clear the mind and I made sure to eat healthy and try to keep a consistent sleep schedule.

Resources
- GMATCLUB: Cannot recommend these enough. The challenge I found with the quant section was not the material but balancing timing with accuracy. The fact that there was a bank of such great material with a timed setting was amazing. I think this really was what pushed me to that Q50. I really appreciated the explainations as well as the flexibility of the software to flag questions.
- MGMAT SC: I ended up redoing this book 2x and it really helped solidify my SC.
- LSAT Ptests: I only used this for my retake. I have naturally been quite strong in Verbal but could never break >40. Although some people are cautious on it - I do think if you are aiming for a 40+ on Verbal, the Logical Reasoning sets and Reading Comprehrension from LSAT practice tests are great for more difficult and challenging questions. That said, don't rely on these if you are just getting started.
- OG2017, OG2017 Verbal: I found the Quant to be kind of useless but the Verbal had a great bank of additional questions
- GMATPrep Tests: As many have found, these were the most reliable and closest to the real exams.
- VERITASPrep: Not bad if you want to save your GMATPrep exams for closer to the exam
- MGMAT Tests: Honestly, these were really challenging and kind of exhausting spiritually. I found it very difficult to finish the Quant section in time and it was not a good measure of the difficulty on the real exam. The verbal questions were a mix bag and I didn't really like some of the RC questions.

Key Takeaways
1) Review your mistakes.
This sounds obvious but I didn't realize until later how often I would gloss over my mistakes. Although I didn't keep a great error log, I made sure to jot down the type of errors i was making and had a post-it note of topics to review after each GMATClub test.
2) Keep a consistent study schedule.
Consistency is key with GMATstudying. Many of us are working full-time and several years out of school. We do not have the luxury of hours of free time or final exams our biggest worry. We're balancing promotions, work deadlines, social life with the GMAT. Well, you can put your social life on hold for a bit. Consistency is so key to keep up the momentum - especially as a retaker! Identify your weakness, make weekly schedules of what you want to tackle and try to diversify your days. For example, I would do a GMATClub test every other day + 20 OG SC questions and then alternate with 1 LSAT LR set or 50 pages of a MGMAT SC book.
3) Simulate the test experience.
When I took my practice tests, I set aside a solid 4-5 hours. 3 hours of the exam and at least 1-2 hours for reviewing the exam. I would time my bathroom breaks, NEVER hit the pause button (unless my mailman rang my doorbell), and try to simulate the real thing. I found this really helpful at calming my nerves during the real thing.
4) Know your limits. Know your potential. Know yourself.
I know that retaking is not for everyone. You need to properly assess your potential, your strengths, your weaknesses. I took a risk retaking the GMAT but it was a risk I felt that I needed to take. I'm glad I did but I'm also glad I thought about it strongly. I know some people who take it 4-5 times but I advise you to take each time seriously. The GMAT is a huge timesuck and it's only a sliver of your application.
5) Have a goal in mind.
What are you working toward? Is it a score? Is it a range? Visualize a number in your head. I put the number on a sticky note and have it all over my house.

Test Day Experience

I arrived at the test center about 25 mins ahead of time. The first time I took the GMAT, I was right "on time" but they advise you to get there 30mins before. This was an attitude adjustment on my end. Do not underestimate the GMAT. Respect it and take it seriously! I scouted out the bathroom and actually had my snacks on top of my locker so I wouldn't waste time opening it up during my breaks. This sounds strange but saves you at least 10 seconds (more if your lockers have strange locks). I actually took all my breaks - even when I didn't need to use the restroom, I just took a walk down the hallway to clear my mind and reset. Streching was helpful as well. After a few gulps of water and a handful of almonds and a few bites of a energy bar, I'd be back in the test cave. I didn't feel very good about Quant because I had (again) a simple but weirdly worded word problem on #4. i panicked and wasted 4 mins solving it (reduced to plugging in the choices). Afterward, I rushed through the next 10-15 questions trying to make up time. I knew I had actually gotten a stdev problem wrong when I clicked on it. With a sinking heart, I was thinking of bracing myself for a Q45-Q48. The Verbal was quite tough. I usually have 15-20 mins left on my Verbal but today I finished with 4 minutes left! I think that using the LSAT to practice really taught me to identify patterns and question my choices more critically. When I was done, I was exhausted, nervous and worried. I was pretty sure I did okay but I didn't feel very confident. When the 15 seconds of waiting time was up, to my shock, a 760 appeared. My knees went weak and I almost slid out of my chair. I was in such a rush to leave the test center, i almost forgot to click "accept my scores". After I finished, I fistpumped in the elevator and ran out.

Thanks again to the GMATClub community, the resources (answer explainations), Bunuel's Quant guides, all the helpful debriefs and testtaking strategies. It was really encouraging to read other retaker's stories and it helped me summon the strength to retake it myself!