Road to a 700

I finished the GMAT yesterday and earned a perfect 700 (IR 7, Q49, & V36).

Journey #1

I am going to try to keep this as short and sweet as possible. My journey began in May 2014 when I signed up for a prep course to study the GMAT. My biggest mistake was not utilizing the OG resources enough and not taking advantage of the forums on the GMAT Club. I narrowed my approaches based on one resource and I felt that hindered my ability because I did not mix it up with other sources.

My first GMAT attempt was in September 2014. I earned a 640 (47Q and 32V). I thought that I left a lot of points on the table because my practice scores with Veritas ranged from 680-720. I retook the exam in October 2014 and earned a 620 (46Q and 30V). After that, I decided to give up and thought that the GMAT wasn't for me.

Motivation/Shift

I figured with a 640 that I am still in good shape because I am at the bottom of the 20-80% range for all of the schools I wanted to apply to. The day after Christmas, I talked to a wise man, Bill Bionis from Stacy Black Consulting, about my application strategy. After our conversation, I knew that I needed to beat the GMAT for the programs I wanted to enter. I decided to set my exam for May 31st to give myself enough prep time for the GMAT. I work in public accounting and January and February are blackout months for us at work.

Breaking Point
I signed up to study with The Economist. I have to say that The Economist was the right prep course for me. I wasn't the biggest fan of The Economist's approach to Reading Comprehension. The Economist is EXCELLENT in Quant, Sentence Correct, and Critical Reasoning.

After studying with The Economist when I had down time during BUsy Season, I started to take practice tests:

The Economist March 14, 2015: 540 (Q 37 v29)
The Economist April 6, 2015: 630 (Q 44, V 34)
The Economist April 25, 2015: 710 (Q 49, V 40)
GMAT Prep May 2, 2015: 660 (Q49, V 30)
GMAT Prep May 9, 2015: (Q47, V 24)

After my GMAT Prep exam on May 9, I was ready to throw the towel and accept GMAT defeat. But after posting a forum and talking to Rich from EmpowerGmat, I knew that I had to strengthen my verbal attack approach. I signed up with EmpowerGmat for a month just to utilize their Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension approach. I really thought that they had a very good mastery of the Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension approach. I utilized their approaches throughout my studies. I also picked up the PowerScore Critical Reasoning book. Outside the Official Guide books, the PowerScore Critical Reasoning book is the best book out on the market. I highly recommend it for those who want an in-depth review of Critical Reasoning.

I postponed my GMAT Exam from May 31st to July 7th.

Focus Shift
By mid-May I was pretty comfortable with the Verbal Section now because I had strengthened my skills and approaches to my weak areas. I began to utilize the OG books and started to practice with those questions. My opinion on the OG books is noted below.

I purchased the GMAT Prep Exam Pack, so I can take new GMAT tests.

I took an official practice test on June 7, 2015 and scored a 690 (Q49, V 35). I knew I was ready for the GMAT and had beaten it at that point. However, I also knew that I had a lot of work to do the next month to maintain my score and to make sure that I just didn't have a good practice test.

I maintained my Quant skills by utilizing the GMAT Club Tests. Those tests are by far the best Quant tests on the market. I took about 20 Quant tests, one each night leading up to my exam.

After my practice test on June 7, I took the following practice tests:

June 14: Economist 650 (Q 48, V33)
June 29 GMAT Prep Exam: 690 (Q49 V 35)
July 3 Economist: 670 (Q 50 V 33)

Final Thoughts & Advice
What truly helped me get to the 700 I scored yesterday was The Economist course prep and their practice tests, the GMAT Club Quant Tests (I can't stress enough how great these questions are, especially for an affordable price), Empower GMAT's CR and RC approach, the Critical Reasoning Power Score Bible, and the OG Books.

OG Books are a complete must in your practice. I am sure everyone has seen people complain how easy the OG books are; however, I was only at a 75% accuracy on CR, 80% accuracy on SC, and 90% accuracy on RC when it came to the OG and I still scored a 36 in Verbal. I absolute main takeaway about the OG books are the answer choices the test writers use and the patterns in their arguments. It's amazing at how consistent the argument patterns for RC and CR. Learn the patterns and answer choices that the test writers use.

GMAT Club Tests are a must if you want to hit the Q49. They are pretty hard, but they are realistically hard. I was averaging 49-50 on those tests. I think they are fairly accurate to how I tested on game.

Lastly, do not neglect the GMAT Prep software tests. Learn from your mistakes. Never ever take questions or practice tests just to take them. Learning from mistakes and taking the time to analyze patterns is worth more than doing problems just to do them.

I appreciate everything the GMAT Club team has done for us. This website has been my home for the past year and some. I am looking forward to now shifting gears from the GMAT to the application section of this website.

As the great Sun Tzu said, " Every battle is won before it is ever fought." Preparation is key.