Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate. / Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. – Dante Alighiere, Inferno, Canto III
I’m a long time lurker here leaving some thoughts after having exceeded my target score last month. After 6 months of extremely intense prep I landed on (*drum roll*)
760 (Q49, V44, 8 IR, 6 Essay). I realize that this is inherently rare (literally 1% of test takers will land here) so here are some insights from me.
My score is the product of studying SMART (no, I did not do every OG problem 2+ times over like I’ve read on some stories here) yet studying HARD (yes, I did work my ass off though). People also tend to underestimate the advantages conferred by calm nerves and the role of, dare I say it, a dash of luck.
While it may seem from this dark quote I’ve written above, which Dante observes on the gates of hell Virgil leads him through, that I am eager to move on with my life and forevermore forget standardized tests, the reality is that I’m a sicko. I enjoyed the GMAT – yes, it is HARD but it’s incredibly intellectually stimulating and mentally sharpening.
Thus, I am open for business as a tutor. Think of me as your Virgil through GMAT hell. Who better to guide you than somebody who just took the test while staring down the same weighty psychological pressures from MBA applications?
Background on myself, if this matters to you (including a few names to preserve anonymity):
Undergrad: Harvard / Yale / Princeton
Work: McKinsey / Bain / BCG
Native English speaker
If you want to work with me, here are some resources I urge you to purchase:
- Official GMAT materials of course (the big OG, Verbal OG, Quant OG, Advanced Questions, all GMAT Prep exams, all extra question packs for sale…if I’m missing something here – buy it anyways)
- Manhattan strategy guides (the old, 6th addition, with the red covers are gold); this purchase should give you access to their CATs
- LSAT test pack (if you want to slay reading comprehension, I cannot recommend this enough)
As time went on in my prep I also created my own proprietary "cheat sheets", which I would be happy to share. Let’s study SMART and HARD together!