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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.
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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 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.
25 Aug 2024, 09:31
Kudos
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Hi all,
I found these debriefs helpful as I was starting to study, so I thought I would share a quick debrief of my own experience with the GMAT Focus Edition. From what I have seen on these forums, I'm one of the lucky few who have been able to pull out a pretty solid score on my first attempt with about a month of studying. I didn't really see this perspective shared much, so for anyone who is (1) pressed for time or (2) starting from a solid position, hopefully some of this can be helpful.
I didn't realize I wanted to apply to business school until July, so I started decided I wanted to get working on GMAT prep quickly. I have a different way of learning than most people. I use practice problems to identify gaps rather than building up knowledge from ground zero. I can get really overwhelmed by not knowing where to start, so this has been most effective for me. I decided to spend ~5 hours learning the structure of the GMAT and doing a couple practice problems on the official starter kit before trying a practice test. On my first practice test, I managed to pull out a 695. I got lucky with some guesses, but I had a really solid grasp of verbal and DI (other than data sufficiency problems). I knew these were my gaps and in my prep I almost exclusively spent my time reviewing Quant and DS questions.
Several colleagues and friends recommended Target Test Prep and after reading reviews, I signed up for the trial. The UI / UX is awesome, the content is incredibly deep, and most importantly the explanations of concepts and question solutions are robust. After the trial, I signed up for the month-to-month program. One thing I didn't fully appreciate at first was just how supportive and agile their team is too. They are all over these forums, Reddit, etc. helping everyone regardless of whether they're a subscriber. Any question I asked in the chat was fielded by a real person pretty quickly. I really appreciated their support, so just wanted to shout them out here. Seems to be the industry standard for a GMAT prep program.
I started TTP's quant program from the beginning, but I realized I didn't have time to do everything. I went to my tried and true strategy of pumping out practice questions and identifying where I needed to do the full review of a concept. I'd then drill down on those questions. TTP's custom practice tests worked so well for this kind of approach. I interspersed official practice tests as I learned more, taking ~1 per week and trying to simulate testing circumstances. I realized that quant is an especially tricky section - because of the nature of the adaptive test, if you're doing really well, you're even more pressed for time. That made progress more gradual than I expected, because time was more of an issue than knowledge after a certain point.
On test day I got a bit lucky admittedly. My practice exam scores had ranged from 675 - 735, with one where I skipped verbal on track for a 765 had I put forward a standard verbal performance. I did the sections in the order Quant --> DI --> Verbal, basically my worst to best. I tend to be very nervous before exams, so I did a quick workout ahead of time which helped lower the anxiety. Would recommend. By the time I was at the end of the verbal section I was pretty exhausted and my brain wasn't as clear. It showed in the score, but no complaints still.
If you're short on time to take the exam or starting from a strong foundation, I'd suggest the following:
I found these debriefs helpful as I was starting to study, so I thought I would share a quick debrief of my own experience with the GMAT Focus Edition. From what I have seen on these forums, I'm one of the lucky few who have been able to pull out a pretty solid score on my first attempt with about a month of studying. I didn't really see this perspective shared much, so for anyone who is (1) pressed for time or (2) starting from a solid position, hopefully some of this can be helpful.
I didn't realize I wanted to apply to business school until July, so I started decided I wanted to get working on GMAT prep quickly. I have a different way of learning than most people. I use practice problems to identify gaps rather than building up knowledge from ground zero. I can get really overwhelmed by not knowing where to start, so this has been most effective for me. I decided to spend ~5 hours learning the structure of the GMAT and doing a couple practice problems on the official starter kit before trying a practice test. On my first practice test, I managed to pull out a 695. I got lucky with some guesses, but I had a really solid grasp of verbal and DI (other than data sufficiency problems). I knew these were my gaps and in my prep I almost exclusively spent my time reviewing Quant and DS questions.
Several colleagues and friends recommended Target Test Prep and after reading reviews, I signed up for the trial. The UI / UX is awesome, the content is incredibly deep, and most importantly the explanations of concepts and question solutions are robust. After the trial, I signed up for the month-to-month program. One thing I didn't fully appreciate at first was just how supportive and agile their team is too. They are all over these forums, Reddit, etc. helping everyone regardless of whether they're a subscriber. Any question I asked in the chat was fielded by a real person pretty quickly. I really appreciated their support, so just wanted to shout them out here. Seems to be the industry standard for a GMAT prep program.
I started TTP's quant program from the beginning, but I realized I didn't have time to do everything. I went to my tried and true strategy of pumping out practice questions and identifying where I needed to do the full review of a concept. I'd then drill down on those questions. TTP's custom practice tests worked so well for this kind of approach. I interspersed official practice tests as I learned more, taking ~1 per week and trying to simulate testing circumstances. I realized that quant is an especially tricky section - because of the nature of the adaptive test, if you're doing really well, you're even more pressed for time. That made progress more gradual than I expected, because time was more of an issue than knowledge after a certain point.
On test day I got a bit lucky admittedly. My practice exam scores had ranged from 675 - 735, with one where I skipped verbal on track for a 765 had I put forward a standard verbal performance. I did the sections in the order Quant --> DI --> Verbal, basically my worst to best. I tend to be very nervous before exams, so I did a quick workout ahead of time which helped lower the anxiety. Would recommend. By the time I was at the end of the verbal section I was pretty exhausted and my brain wasn't as clear. It showed in the score, but no complaints still.
If you're short on time to take the exam or starting from a strong foundation, I'd suggest the following:
- Take practice exams early and regularly. Don't overload, but really use those as a measure of your progress. It'll fluccuate a bit and that's normal, but notice trends in where you make mistakes, and practice those areas in particular
- Use a course like TTP. If not for the content, having experts to answer any question that comes up is huge.
- Don't kill yourself on test day. You have a limited amount of mental energy and 2.5 hours of high-pressured focus is most of what I have for the day. If you arrive with 50% battery life on a 3 hour battery, the results will reflect that towards the end.
- Leave time for another try. Test delivery errors can happen and GMAC is not easy to contact. If you take the exam online, high scores are known to be flagged for review and that review can take 20 business days.
- Luck is a factor. Some days are your day, some days aren't. Make sure your best day leaves you with a score you can hang your hat on, but your worst day won't leave you hopeless. In other words, do some introspection and visualize the range of possible outcomes. If you're not mentally prepared for both, that can really throw you off
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25 Aug 2024, 10:47
Kudos
Bookmarks
Damn thats great score! All the best for applications!
25 Aug 2024, 12:24
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thanks for sharing your GMAT Focus Edition experience! Congrats on your solid score after just a month of prep. Your strategy of using practice problems to identify gaps and the effectiveness of TTP is really helpful.
Great tips on taking practice exams early, managing mental energy on test day, and being prepared for different outcomes. Best of luck to everyone studying for the GMAT!
Great tips on taking practice exams early, managing mental energy on test day, and being prepared for different outcomes. Best of luck to everyone studying for the GMAT!
