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Apr 2308:00 PM PDT
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Video explanations + diagnosis of 10 weakest areas + 150+ short videos + study plan!
Apr 2301:30 AM EDT
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Struggling with GMAT Verbal as a non-native speaker? Harsh improved his score from 595 to 695 in just 45 days—and scored a 99 %ile in Verbal (V88)! Learn how smart strategy, clarity, and guided prep helped him gain 100 points.
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 2610:00 AM EDT
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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
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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
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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.
29 May 2024, 08:35
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Having got into my preferred MBA program after having written my GMAT Focus in March and facing a bit of adversity, I've been wanting to post here since I frequently visited this forum and Reddit reading about others experience so here's mine... (Disclaimer: this post is long but I'm hoping I can inspire some who have written the GMAT and didn't get the score they wanted to initially, or you're not sure how to go about studying for the GMAT)
TLDR: I used Target Test Prep to get my foundation, Official Practice Exams to practice and assess my progress after doing a sufficient amount of TTP, and then I used an excel sheet to identify performance on each practice exams and what types of questions I was getting incorrect, and practice after that accordingly leading up to my one and only official exam attempt.
I will start from the beginning, talk a bit about my non-stem/quant background, my initial score, my decision to seek a reliable prep course (shoutout to TTP!), my progress in practice scores after using TTP, using official practice exams to identify your weaknesses, my final score and some talk about my approach/advice.
I initially decided to pursue an MBA last July. I purchased the OG guides and lets just say they were not at all useful for my studying. As someone who doesn't have an academic background in a STEM field or a quantitative focused major, to say I was rusty when it came to Quant was an understatement. I knew I needed sufficient study time to get an average score let alone a score to get me into a good program. I should probably also note, I have never been a strong standardized test taker. I did just fine in other academic areas (3.5+ GPA in my International Relations undergrad program), but of course you hardly see numbers outside of STEM/business fields, let alone do manual calculations/algebra. So if you are worried that you can't do well in the GMAT focus, I'm here to tell you can do much more than you think if you dedicate the time.
Anyway, I didn't start taking my GMAT Focus prep seriously until I took my first practice test in October 2023 and absolutely bombed. As I mentioned, I've never been a good standardized test taker but this was a new low. I scored a 335 (2nd percentile) as suggested in the title. Breakdown as followed:
It was at this point I decided to look at the test prep company options because there was no way I had any chance of studying for the GMAT on my own, scoring well and doing my apps all within the following 4-5 months without some serious magic. After doing some forum reading, I stumbled across Target Test Prep and read good reviews, particularly for those who struggle with Quant. Honestly, it was the best investment I could have made to achieve my goal of scoring well and getting into a good program.
TTP really helped me get the fundamentals down which is something you NEED in order to do well on the GMAT Focus, in my opinion. They also gave me structure with a plan set out, covering each section starting with basic concepts/principles and building on them, accompanied with examples in each lesson and practice questions to make sure you start to identify patterns of certain types of questions.
So after dedicating about 3 and a half months to TTP's course plan exclusively, where I was studying 3 hours a day or about 20 hours a week, I needed to start to pivot towards the practice exams themselves. The practice exams are the closest material to the official exam so this is a necessary purchase to get familiar with the question style. TTP will give you the foundations and then its up to you to learn to apply it on realistic exam-style questions.
So anyway, after 4 months of TTP and 1 month out of my official exam date, I wrote my 2nd practice exam. A week after that I wrote my 3rd practice exam. A week after that I wrote my 4th and final practice exam. A week and a half after that was my first and only official exam date. My scores, including a breakdown of my final official score, were as follows:
Practice attempt 2: 515 (36th percentile)
Practice attempt 3: 555 (53rd percentile)
Practice attempt 4: 595 (72nd percentile)
Official exam score: 645 (89th percentile) - Breakdown:
My approach & advice:
After getting the fundamentals down from TTP, I had to pay close attention to where I was messing up on the official practice exams. I created an excel sheet to track everything down to the specific kinds of questions that I was consistently underperforming on (e.g. a specific type of Percent problem, a specific type of Rate problem, etc.). After tracking them, I would go on GMAT Club Forums and search for those exact questions that I answered incorrectly and see how others would answer them. At that point, I had a great foundation from TTP's content but TTP is not going to give you a formula for every single GMAT Focus question in existence. You need to be able to learn how to identify patterns of certain question types, which TTP is excellent for, and then be able apply your knowledge when you notice those question type patterns come up.
Additionally, looking for resources that tests you and fills in the gaps that you are completely stumped on will ultimately only improve your ability to handle more and more kinds of questions or scenarios.
Something I also found very useful, and this might not work for everyone, but I found it extremely helpful to meditate before my exams (practice and official). If you feel overwhelmed with things to remember and formulas, meditating before the exam, which really means just sitting in my thoughts, sorting your head and reflecting on how to handle certain situations that I was expecting to come across made my test anxiety practically dissipate.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out to me. For those who have gotten this far, well done haha
TLDR: I used Target Test Prep to get my foundation, Official Practice Exams to practice and assess my progress after doing a sufficient amount of TTP, and then I used an excel sheet to identify performance on each practice exams and what types of questions I was getting incorrect, and practice after that accordingly leading up to my one and only official exam attempt.
I will start from the beginning, talk a bit about my non-stem/quant background, my initial score, my decision to seek a reliable prep course (shoutout to TTP!), my progress in practice scores after using TTP, using official practice exams to identify your weaknesses, my final score and some talk about my approach/advice.
I initially decided to pursue an MBA last July. I purchased the OG guides and lets just say they were not at all useful for my studying. As someone who doesn't have an academic background in a STEM field or a quantitative focused major, to say I was rusty when it came to Quant was an understatement. I knew I needed sufficient study time to get an average score let alone a score to get me into a good program. I should probably also note, I have never been a strong standardized test taker. I did just fine in other academic areas (3.5+ GPA in my International Relations undergrad program), but of course you hardly see numbers outside of STEM/business fields, let alone do manual calculations/algebra. So if you are worried that you can't do well in the GMAT focus, I'm here to tell you can do much more than you think if you dedicate the time.
Anyway, I didn't start taking my GMAT Focus prep seriously until I took my first practice test in October 2023 and absolutely bombed. As I mentioned, I've never been a good standardized test taker but this was a new low. I scored a 335 (2nd percentile) as suggested in the title. Breakdown as followed:
- 61Q (1st percentile and 1 answer of 21 questions correct)
- 60DI (4th percentile and 5 answers of 18 correct)
- 78V (42nd percentile and 16 answers of 23 correct)
It was at this point I decided to look at the test prep company options because there was no way I had any chance of studying for the GMAT on my own, scoring well and doing my apps all within the following 4-5 months without some serious magic. After doing some forum reading, I stumbled across Target Test Prep and read good reviews, particularly for those who struggle with Quant. Honestly, it was the best investment I could have made to achieve my goal of scoring well and getting into a good program.
TTP really helped me get the fundamentals down which is something you NEED in order to do well on the GMAT Focus, in my opinion. They also gave me structure with a plan set out, covering each section starting with basic concepts/principles and building on them, accompanied with examples in each lesson and practice questions to make sure you start to identify patterns of certain types of questions.
So after dedicating about 3 and a half months to TTP's course plan exclusively, where I was studying 3 hours a day or about 20 hours a week, I needed to start to pivot towards the practice exams themselves. The practice exams are the closest material to the official exam so this is a necessary purchase to get familiar with the question style. TTP will give you the foundations and then its up to you to learn to apply it on realistic exam-style questions.
So anyway, after 4 months of TTP and 1 month out of my official exam date, I wrote my 2nd practice exam. A week after that I wrote my 3rd practice exam. A week after that I wrote my 4th and final practice exam. A week and a half after that was my first and only official exam date. My scores, including a breakdown of my final official score, were as follows:
Practice attempt 2: 515 (36th percentile)
Practice attempt 3: 555 (53rd percentile)
Practice attempt 4: 595 (72nd percentile)
Official exam score: 645 (89th percentile) - Breakdown:
- 79Q (59th percentile and 18 of 21 questions correct)
- 83DI (96th percentile and 13 answer of 20 questions correct)
- 84V (91st percentile and 18 of 23 questions correct)
My approach & advice:
After getting the fundamentals down from TTP, I had to pay close attention to where I was messing up on the official practice exams. I created an excel sheet to track everything down to the specific kinds of questions that I was consistently underperforming on (e.g. a specific type of Percent problem, a specific type of Rate problem, etc.). After tracking them, I would go on GMAT Club Forums and search for those exact questions that I answered incorrectly and see how others would answer them. At that point, I had a great foundation from TTP's content but TTP is not going to give you a formula for every single GMAT Focus question in existence. You need to be able to learn how to identify patterns of certain question types, which TTP is excellent for, and then be able apply your knowledge when you notice those question type patterns come up.
Additionally, looking for resources that tests you and fills in the gaps that you are completely stumped on will ultimately only improve your ability to handle more and more kinds of questions or scenarios.
Something I also found very useful, and this might not work for everyone, but I found it extremely helpful to meditate before my exams (practice and official). If you feel overwhelmed with things to remember and formulas, meditating before the exam, which really means just sitting in my thoughts, sorting your head and reflecting on how to handle certain situations that I was expecting to come across made my test anxiety practically dissipate.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out to me. For those who have gotten this far, well done haha
29 May 2024, 11:17
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Bookmarks
Congratulations on acing your exam! Your hard work and dedication truly paid off.
