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Apr 2512:30 AM EDT
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At one point, she believed GMAT wasn’t for her. After scoring 595, self-doubt crept in and she questioned her potential. But instead of quitting, she made the right strategic changes. The result? A remarkable comeback to 695. Check out how Saakshi did it.
Apr 2601:30 AM EDT
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aussieMBA
Current Student
Joined: 10 Aug 2020
Last visit: 07 Dec 2022
Posts: 97
Given Kudos: 22
Location: Australia
Schools: Judge '23 (A) LBS '24 (M$) Said '23 (A)
GMAT 1: 400 Q26 V20
GMAT 2: 600 Q42 V31
GMAT 3: 640 Q44 V33
GMAT 4: 720 Q49 V39
WE:Consulting (Consulting)
12 May 2021, 07:57
Kudos
Bookmarks
Debrief
I scored an official 720 (Q49, V39, IR 5, AWA 5) last week - a 320 point increase from my 400 (Q26, V20) cold attempt. Although this is not as high as some other scorers here, it is sufficient for my target schools and concludes my GMAT journey.
I would like to thank the TTP team, the EmpowerGMAT team and Charles from GMATNinja for helping me achieve this score.
Summary
-709 hours of study between 23/01/20 and 06/05/21 (470 days)
-Studied for 257 days for an average of 2.8 hours each
-Completed 18 practice exams (OG, MGMAT and GMATClub)
-Sat 4 real exams (600, 640, 660, 720)
Resources Used
TTP Quant from January 2020 till September 2020
TTP Verbal from ~June 2020 till October 2020
EmpowerGMAT from November 2020 till May 2021
OG 2018 from August 2020 till May 2021
GMATNinja Youtube videos for Verbal
GMATClub for streaks and solutions (especially Bunuel’s Quant solutions)
Background
I studied engineering but have been working as a consultant for the last 3 years. I’ve never taken a standardised test in my life.
Journey
I made a post on r/GMAT in late January 2020 on how to get from my cold score of 400 (Q26, V20) to 700+ in 19 days for a scholarship at my local MBA program. All the commenters pointed out that this was essentially impossible and that I should push my MBA plans to the next cycle. Scott from TTP suggested that I do the $1 trial; I loved the platform straight away and signed up for a 6-month subscription due to my very low baseline.
Over the next 5 months, I completed 80% of the Quant TTP modules. The Verbal TTP modules (CR and SC only) were released around June, which is when I started on my Verbal prep. I completed the accelerated Quant modules again while I finished up the Verbal modules. After 285 hours on TTP Quant and 110 hours on TTP Verbal, I plateaued at 640-660 on both official and practice exams.
Rich from EmpowerGMAT reached out to me and advised that my ESR suggests that I approach Quant like an engineer and not as a ‘GMAT assassin’ and that I spend far too long on SC (and not long enough on CR and RC). I completed the 2-month Score Booster program through EmpowerGMAT (152 hours) and saw a significant improvement in my OG testing (710, 740 and 740 on my last 3 attempts). I was only able to use the Score Booster because I already used TTP and had a strong understanding of both Quant and Verbal basics.
I was very confident and sat the real exam in early April, but scored a dismal 660 (Q45 and V37). Rich reviewed my ESR and suggested that I returned to my bad habits from earlier. I focussed on triaging and using Test It for Quant and speeding up on SC’s in my next two practice exams and scored a 740 and 750. With this new confidence, I sat the real exam in early May and scored my 720!
Learnings
Tough questions do not matter if your goal is below 760. I scored 7-10 questions wrong each for Q and V in the Official GMATPrep tests and still received 740-750s (Q49, V42). You do however need to get 100% of the easy and medium questions correct for this.
Start on Verbal and Quant at the same time. I left the Verbal studies too late and found that I was forgetting a lot of the Quant concepts that I learned months earlier. The biggest score improvements can be found in Verbal for most people, so give it the respect that it deserves.
Only sit the real GMAT once you’re scoring ~30 points above your target. I wasted two official exams (the 600 and 640) when I was testing around the 660 mark, even though my target was 700+. Not only was this a waste of AUD 750, but also put unnecessary pressure on me due to the max of 5 exams in a rolling 12-month period.
Practice with OG questions. No prep company can match the wording and quirkiness of the OG questions.
Use an error log. GMATClub has a great one that I used.
Use the topic by topic streaks method. I used 15 for <600, 10 for 600-700 and 5 for 700+.
This is not a Maths or English test, it’s a test of Quantitative and Verbal logic. I found the process easier once I grasped this change.
Luck is a huge factor. I only studied for 3.5 hours in the one month between my 660 and 720. I did two practice exams in which I scored 740 and 750 and knew that my official 660 was an anomaly. I approached the last exam similarly to my third one and scored a 720.
I scored an official 720 (Q49, V39, IR 5, AWA 5) last week - a 320 point increase from my 400 (Q26, V20) cold attempt. Although this is not as high as some other scorers here, it is sufficient for my target schools and concludes my GMAT journey.
I would like to thank the TTP team, the EmpowerGMAT team and Charles from GMATNinja for helping me achieve this score.
Summary
-709 hours of study between 23/01/20 and 06/05/21 (470 days)
-Studied for 257 days for an average of 2.8 hours each
-Completed 18 practice exams (OG, MGMAT and GMATClub)
-Sat 4 real exams (600, 640, 660, 720)
Resources Used
TTP Quant from January 2020 till September 2020
TTP Verbal from ~June 2020 till October 2020
EmpowerGMAT from November 2020 till May 2021
OG 2018 from August 2020 till May 2021
GMATNinja Youtube videos for Verbal
GMATClub for streaks and solutions (especially Bunuel’s Quant solutions)
Background
I studied engineering but have been working as a consultant for the last 3 years. I’ve never taken a standardised test in my life.
Journey
I made a post on r/GMAT in late January 2020 on how to get from my cold score of 400 (Q26, V20) to 700+ in 19 days for a scholarship at my local MBA program. All the commenters pointed out that this was essentially impossible and that I should push my MBA plans to the next cycle. Scott from TTP suggested that I do the $1 trial; I loved the platform straight away and signed up for a 6-month subscription due to my very low baseline.
Over the next 5 months, I completed 80% of the Quant TTP modules. The Verbal TTP modules (CR and SC only) were released around June, which is when I started on my Verbal prep. I completed the accelerated Quant modules again while I finished up the Verbal modules. After 285 hours on TTP Quant and 110 hours on TTP Verbal, I plateaued at 640-660 on both official and practice exams.
Rich from EmpowerGMAT reached out to me and advised that my ESR suggests that I approach Quant like an engineer and not as a ‘GMAT assassin’ and that I spend far too long on SC (and not long enough on CR and RC). I completed the 2-month Score Booster program through EmpowerGMAT (152 hours) and saw a significant improvement in my OG testing (710, 740 and 740 on my last 3 attempts). I was only able to use the Score Booster because I already used TTP and had a strong understanding of both Quant and Verbal basics.
I was very confident and sat the real exam in early April, but scored a dismal 660 (Q45 and V37). Rich reviewed my ESR and suggested that I returned to my bad habits from earlier. I focussed on triaging and using Test It for Quant and speeding up on SC’s in my next two practice exams and scored a 740 and 750. With this new confidence, I sat the real exam in early May and scored my 720!
Learnings
Tough questions do not matter if your goal is below 760. I scored 7-10 questions wrong each for Q and V in the Official GMATPrep tests and still received 740-750s (Q49, V42). You do however need to get 100% of the easy and medium questions correct for this.
Start on Verbal and Quant at the same time. I left the Verbal studies too late and found that I was forgetting a lot of the Quant concepts that I learned months earlier. The biggest score improvements can be found in Verbal for most people, so give it the respect that it deserves.
Only sit the real GMAT once you’re scoring ~30 points above your target. I wasted two official exams (the 600 and 640) when I was testing around the 660 mark, even though my target was 700+. Not only was this a waste of AUD 750, but also put unnecessary pressure on me due to the max of 5 exams in a rolling 12-month period.
Practice with OG questions. No prep company can match the wording and quirkiness of the OG questions.
Use an error log. GMATClub has a great one that I used.
Use the topic by topic streaks method. I used 15 for <600, 10 for 600-700 and 5 for 700+.
This is not a Maths or English test, it’s a test of Quantitative and Verbal logic. I found the process easier once I grasped this change.
Luck is a huge factor. I only studied for 3.5 hours in the one month between my 660 and 720. I did two practice exams in which I scored 740 and 750 and knew that my official 660 was an anomaly. I approached the last exam similarly to my third one and scored a 720.
12 May 2021, 18:33
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi blessthenoobs,
Amazing score increase!!! Thank you for sharing and good luck with things moving forward.
Amazing score increase!!! Thank you for sharing and good luck with things moving forward.
12 May 2021, 22:58
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi blessthenoobs,
This is OUTSTANDING news! A 720/Q49 is an OUTSTANDING Score - and a considerable improvement over your prior Official Scores - so you can comfortably apply to any Business Schools that interest you!
Raising your initial 400 up to a 720 is a fantastic improvement; it shows that you are capable of learning and adapting (both of which are skills that will serve you well in Business School and beyond!). Most impressive though is how you were able to make those adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam when you got into the mid-600s. Many GMATers get 'stuck' in a particular way of thinking about the Exam and aren't able to make that final leap ahead.
From our prior discussions, I know that you're gearing up to apply to some Top Programs later on this year. I hope you let us know once you've heard back from the Programs. We love hearing about where our Alums choose to attend School.
Another GMAT Assassin has been made!
Rich
This is OUTSTANDING news! A 720/Q49 is an OUTSTANDING Score - and a considerable improvement over your prior Official Scores - so you can comfortably apply to any Business Schools that interest you!
Raising your initial 400 up to a 720 is a fantastic improvement; it shows that you are capable of learning and adapting (both of which are skills that will serve you well in Business School and beyond!). Most impressive though is how you were able to make those adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam when you got into the mid-600s. Many GMATers get 'stuck' in a particular way of thinking about the Exam and aren't able to make that final leap ahead.
From our prior discussions, I know that you're gearing up to apply to some Top Programs later on this year. I hope you let us know once you've heard back from the Programs. We love hearing about where our Alums choose to attend School.
Another GMAT Assassin has been made!
Rich
