Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 2610:00 AM EDT
-11:00 AM EDT
The Target Test Prep course represents a quantum leap forward in GMAT preparation, a radical reinterpretation of the way that students should study. Try before you buy with a 5-day, full-access trial of the course for FREE!
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
-12:00 PM EDT
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
Eduardowbeck
Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Last visit: 21 Nov 2020
Posts: 21
Given Kudos: 19
Location: Brazil
Concentration: Human Resources, General Management
Schools: Marriott '17 (M$)
GMAT 1: 710 Q48 V39
GPA: 3.69
WE:Education (Education)
Updated on: 15 Nov 2015, 20:04
Originally posted by Eduardowbeck on 04 Jan 2015, 19:56.
Last edited by Eduardowbeck on 15 Nov 2015, 20:04, edited 2 times in total.
Last edited by Eduardowbeck on 15 Nov 2015, 20:04, edited 2 times in total.
Kudos
Bookmarks
First of all, thank you GmatClub! The resources I’ve found here were invaluable!
I'm from Brazil, male, 23 years old. I started studying for the GMAT back in February 2013. At that time I was in an exchange program, studying at Marshall University, WV. I had gotten a scholarship to study music, which is my major, for one semester there. I already knew I would be applying for a mba program after graduating in music. A friend of mine suggested: "the gmat scores are valid for 5 years, if I were you I would use your free time during the exchange program to study for the gmat and take it while you are still there. It's easier to focus on studying when you don't have family, friends or other responsibilities to care about there". And so I did. After some research on gmat materials in the gmat club forum I bought the following material:
My goal score was 700+. I would go to the library and study around 2 hours a day and around 4 hours on Saturdays. On Sundays I would get a break and just go to church and relax. I started with the Kaplan book and finished it in about 1 month. I found it a great book to get a general view of the test and to learn good test taking strategies (such as picking up numbers or thinking of DS answer choices as "12TEN"). By the end of the first month of study I took the GmatPrep CAT #2 and scored 570 (Q39, V29). Not that bad since I've been studying for only one month, I thought.
After finishing the Kaplan book I started with the MGMAT quant books. They are very clear and easy to follow and I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to get a good gmat score. I didn't finish all of the quant books though.
The CATs I took during this time were:
This last CAT showed me that I was getting good in quant, my focus at that time.
Initially I planned to take the gmat in July, 2013, but time passed and as I didn't feel prepared enough to take it I didn't scheduled the test and decided I would take it in Brazil later in the year or even in the following year. So I brought all the 12 books to Brazil in my bags!
Fast forwarding to 2014, I decided that I would finally apply for a mba in the end of the year and that then I would take the GMAT. Finding time to study then was much harder than it was when I was in the US. By this time I was finishing school and also working full-time, having little to no time left to study. I decided I would wait until I had finished school to go back to the gmat books. I scheduled my exam to December 30, and my last day of school was on December 2, when I opened the books again after 18 months of no studying at all.
After studying for a week, on 10th of December I took the GmatPrep CAT#1 and scored 640 (Q47, V32). I felt glad that my quant skills were coming back to me. I had only to maintain the quant score and focus on improving the verbal score. However, as I didn't feel confident with many quant topics yet I focused only on quant. Nine days later I took another MGMAT cat and scored 610 (Q40, V34). I knew MGMAT cats were known as being harder than the actual tests so I didn't worry that much. On the following day I took another cat just to make sure the scores of the previous mock were right and I scored 600 (Q44, V30). I thought "oh boy I'm really doing bad!".
On Christmas Day I took the gmat club quant test and scored Q39. I felt like I was just getting worse but I thought since the gmat club tests are the hardest ever I shouldn't worry as well about the low score. In the following days I studied both quant and verbal, but always more quant than verbal. By this time I was hoping I would at least reach a 660 on the real test but deep inside what I really wanted was the 700+.
I had to travel on the day before the test day for 4,5 hours by bus to the city with the nearest test center. I stayed over my relatives. I went to bed late (around 1:30a.m.) because I wanted to review a little bit of everything before the test. I answered the last 10 questions of PS, DS, SC and a short text of RC from the OG 13. That helped me to get more confident, since I got most of those questions right.
The test was scheduled for 1p.m. I woke up at 10a.m., had lunch, left the house at 12 and got to the test center at 12:30. The test administrator, Amanda, asked to wait until 12:45 to start the check-in process. Everything worked out except for the palm thing, which took around 10 minutes to work (there was a problem with the usb port).
There was only me taking the test, which was great because it is so much easier for me to concentrate when I am alone.
I wasn't worried about the IR section at all, since the school I am applying to doesn't consider it yet. However, I was able to answer almost all the questions in this sections, skipping only one or two because of the time.
I then went to my first break, which was so short! I ate some chocolate (it helps me staying alert), drank some Gatorade and went to the bathroom. I sat at the couch for some time and finally went back to the test. 40 seconds had passed! I got so mad at myself, but I just sit in front of the computer and thought “nevermind, let’s do it!”
In the second brake the palm scanner didn’t want to read my palm again for the sign-in and I lost around 1 or 2 minutes of the break because of that. When I sat at the computer I still had 45 seconds of brake though! The verbal section went ok as well.
After finishing the test, the results appeared on the screen: 710! I couldn’t believe it! I kind of punched the table but controlled myself when I remembered there was a camera right above me. Such a great sensation of accomplishment and relief. I felt so grateful for family and friends who supported me and specially for God, who did the miracle. 710 after “re-studying” for 4 weeks! 710 when I had never scored higher than 640 in mock tests! I’m glad GMAT is over.
GMAT - 710 (Q48, V39, IR5)
Now, my pieces of advice:
I hope it helps!
I'm from Brazil, male, 23 years old. I started studying for the GMAT back in February 2013. At that time I was in an exchange program, studying at Marshall University, WV. I had gotten a scholarship to study music, which is my major, for one semester there. I already knew I would be applying for a mba program after graduating in music. A friend of mine suggested: "the gmat scores are valid for 5 years, if I were you I would use your free time during the exchange program to study for the gmat and take it while you are still there. It's easier to focus on studying when you don't have family, friends or other responsibilities to care about there". And so I did. After some research on gmat materials in the gmat club forum I bought the following material:
- - Kaplan Premier book,
- the set of 8 books from Manhattan Gmat (4th ed.),
- the Official Guide 2013,
- and the Official Guide Quant and Verbal Reviews 2nd ed.
First Part - 2013
My goal score was 700+. I would go to the library and study around 2 hours a day and around 4 hours on Saturdays. On Sundays I would get a break and just go to church and relax. I started with the Kaplan book and finished it in about 1 month. I found it a great book to get a general view of the test and to learn good test taking strategies (such as picking up numbers or thinking of DS answer choices as "12TEN"). By the end of the first month of study I took the GmatPrep CAT #2 and scored 570 (Q39, V29). Not that bad since I've been studying for only one month, I thought.
After finishing the Kaplan book I started with the MGMAT quant books. They are very clear and easy to follow and I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to get a good gmat score. I didn't finish all of the quant books though.
The CATs I took during this time were:
- - Feb. 23 - GMATPrep #2 - 570 (Q39, V29)
- March 11 - Kaplan #1 - Q41
- March 30 - Kaplan #2 - V36
- April 13 - MGMAT #1 - 620 (Q39, V35)
- July 18 - Kaplan #3 - 610 (Q48, V25)
This last CAT showed me that I was getting good in quant, my focus at that time.
Initially I planned to take the gmat in July, 2013, but time passed and as I didn't feel prepared enough to take it I didn't scheduled the test and decided I would take it in Brazil later in the year or even in the following year. So I brought all the 12 books to Brazil in my bags!
Second Part - 2014
Fast forwarding to 2014, I decided that I would finally apply for a mba in the end of the year and that then I would take the GMAT. Finding time to study then was much harder than it was when I was in the US. By this time I was finishing school and also working full-time, having little to no time left to study. I decided I would wait until I had finished school to go back to the gmat books. I scheduled my exam to December 30, and my last day of school was on December 2, when I opened the books again after 18 months of no studying at all.
After studying for a week, on 10th of December I took the GmatPrep CAT#1 and scored 640 (Q47, V32). I felt glad that my quant skills were coming back to me. I had only to maintain the quant score and focus on improving the verbal score. However, as I didn't feel confident with many quant topics yet I focused only on quant. Nine days later I took another MGMAT cat and scored 610 (Q40, V34). I knew MGMAT cats were known as being harder than the actual tests so I didn't worry that much. On the following day I took another cat just to make sure the scores of the previous mock were right and I scored 600 (Q44, V30). I thought "oh boy I'm really doing bad!".
On Christmas Day I took the gmat club quant test and scored Q39. I felt like I was just getting worse but I thought since the gmat club tests are the hardest ever I shouldn't worry as well about the low score. In the following days I studied both quant and verbal, but always more quant than verbal. By this time I was hoping I would at least reach a 660 on the real test but deep inside what I really wanted was the 700+.
- - Dec. 10 - GMATPrep #1 - 640 (Q47, V32)
- Dec. 19 - MGMAT #2 - 610 (Q40, V34)
- Dec. 20 - MGMAT #3 - 600 (Q44, V30)
Test Day
I had to travel on the day before the test day for 4,5 hours by bus to the city with the nearest test center. I stayed over my relatives. I went to bed late (around 1:30a.m.) because I wanted to review a little bit of everything before the test. I answered the last 10 questions of PS, DS, SC and a short text of RC from the OG 13. That helped me to get more confident, since I got most of those questions right.
The test was scheduled for 1p.m. I woke up at 10a.m., had lunch, left the house at 12 and got to the test center at 12:30. The test administrator, Amanda, asked to wait until 12:45 to start the check-in process. Everything worked out except for the palm thing, which took around 10 minutes to work (there was a problem with the usb port).
There was only me taking the test, which was great because it is so much easier for me to concentrate when I am alone.
I wasn't worried about the IR section at all, since the school I am applying to doesn't consider it yet. However, I was able to answer almost all the questions in this sections, skipping only one or two because of the time.
I then went to my first break, which was so short! I ate some chocolate (it helps me staying alert), drank some Gatorade and went to the bathroom. I sat at the couch for some time and finally went back to the test. 40 seconds had passed! I got so mad at myself, but I just sit in front of the computer and thought “nevermind, let’s do it!”
In the second brake the palm scanner didn’t want to read my palm again for the sign-in and I lost around 1 or 2 minutes of the break because of that. When I sat at the computer I still had 45 seconds of brake though! The verbal section went ok as well.
After finishing the test, the results appeared on the screen: 710! I couldn’t believe it! I kind of punched the table but controlled myself when I remembered there was a camera right above me. Such a great sensation of accomplishment and relief. I felt so grateful for family and friends who supported me and specially for God, who did the miracle. 710 after “re-studying” for 4 weeks! 710 when I had never scored higher than 640 in mock tests! I’m glad GMAT is over.
GMAT - 710 (Q48, V39, IR5)
Now, my pieces of advice:
- - MGMAT and OG were vital for my good score. I highly recommend them.
- Take many CATs. Get used to the 3-hours-and-a-half test.
- Time yourself in every practice question you do. Get used to answering questions in less than 2 minutes.
- On test day, make sure you go to the restroom during the breaks, but be fast!
- Use your body language in your favor. Stretch! Pretend you are strong and confident! I recommend watching this TED talk, it helped me a lot on the test day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc
- Read a lot of gmatclub debriefs! They always helped me stay motivated!
- Trust yourself and trust God.
I hope it helps!
05 Jan 2015, 08:19
Kudos
Bookmarks
Wow...Congrats on breaking the 700 barrier...and thanks for sharing the insights...
luckyseventy7
05 Jan 2015, 11:55
Kudos
Bookmarks
congrats! glad all the hard work and prep paid off for you!
can't believe the test center was so far away, though this must be true of a lot of places in the world. I'm definitely spoiled living in a major US city haha
can't believe the test center was so far away, though this must be true of a lot of places in the world. I'm definitely spoiled living in a major US city haha
