Two years and four attempts later... my journey from a 650 to a 760

Hi all-

Long-time lurker here. I've learned a lot from this forum and have been waiting for the day when I could give back to everyone here. I wanted to share my own GMAT story in the hopes of inspiring some who might be feeling down about this test.

My experience with the GMAT lasted almost two years. I'll go through a timeline of my process, and share some things that I did that will hopefully help some of you.

Some background on me - I went to Cornell for undergrad with a major in economics. After graduation, I did banking for about 4+ years. I've always been decently good at math and verbal, and have generally always been a great test-taker. I want to note upfront that the GMAT does not care about ANY of these facts, and that it's a whole different beast of a test. I'm also fairly ambitious and tough on myself. This will be more relevant later.

Part 1
I decided I wanted to take the GMAT back in summer of 2018 when I thought I might want the chance to apply to school later on. I had no idea what to expect, and since work was pretty busy, I thought it would make sense to just take a full GMAT course and get it over with. I took the full Manhattan GMAT course (the one where you meet in class once a week) starting in September 2018, and finished that by around late Nov/early Dec. The course was good at helping me brush up on "school" stuff that I'd forgotten since I'd graduated, and gave me some helpful pointers for the test. Through the course, I found that my math wasn't as great as I thought in the sense that I had a TON of trouble with timing, but for verbal I was still pretty decent at it (not AMAZING, just decent).

I decided I would take the test in early January after using the winter break to finalize my studying and take some practice tests. I took the MGMAT practice tests (which I found quite tough) as well as two OG practice tests (which I found slightly easier). I can't exactly remember what I scored, but for the MGMAT practice tests I probably scored around ~690 and the OG practice tests I scored ~710. One important thing I want to note here is that I blew through these tests throughout December, taking them once a week. At the time, I felt like it was good for me to get some practice taking the test, and while I did review the tests, I didn't spend as much time doing so as I should've (more on this later).

I took the GMAT for the first time in January 2019. I went into the test slightly nervous about timing, but fairly confident I would do okay (was hoping that the OG practice test would be more indicative of my actual score). Knowing that I was stronger in verbal, I did verbal, quant, and then IR/AWA. The test room was hot and stuffy, and I wasn't used to staring at a larger computer screen than normal, and I got test fatigue about midway through and had to rush through the end of quant. Still, one of the important pointers that MGMAT had told me was to keep going with the test, even if you feel like you're doing poorly. So I did. When I finally reached the end of AWA, I was relieved things were over and waited for my score --- and saw a 650 (Q43, V37, IR 7). I'll be honest in that I was a little shocked as I'd never scored that in any of my practice tests, but since I only had 2 minutes to decide, I cancelled my score.

I went home that day feeling VERY down. Didn't answer any calls/texts for the rest of the day and just sat there in a funk. In the days following that test, I knew that I was going to take it again even if my confidence/ego had been badly bruised. This is just part of my personality, but in the moment, I wasn't going to let some dumb test stop me from possibly applying to school (can you tell I might be a little type A...). I took the next week off from the test, and then got right back into it. My plan was to take the test again in March (around 2 months after my first attempt), so I needed to get going on my game plan.

Game plan was this: analyze my ESR and figure out where to focus my studying. With the ESR, I found that I could do better in reading comprehension and critical reasoning (the two areas in verbal I'd always had trouble with), and for math, I needed to work on some of the math concepts so that I could be better at time management for quant. I studied the MGMAT and OG books again, but again, was too focused on quantity of problems instead of quality. I took the test again in March, had the same hot, stuffy, headache-inducing test room experience as the first time, and scored a 710 (Q48, V39, IR 6). Main thing to note with this experience was that I suffered from extreme test anxiety during the test, where I literally could not think or look at anything for a few minutes (happened during verbal), which really threw me off because I'd NEVER experienced test anxiety to that extent (general anxiety, sure. Test anxiety, nope). In any case, while I was relieved that I was capable of scoring in the 700s, I still had higher ambitions for my GMAT score, and cancelled the test. I want to note that I recognize that many people would be THRILLED with this score because it is a GREAT SCORE, but I am extremely critical of myself and wanted to do better.

After my second attempt in late March, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I purchased the ESR again and saw that while my reading comp had improved, my critical reasoning score was ~50%! For quant, I was still struggling with some of the concepts (rates/percents/sets/series), as well as timing (last quarter of the quant section was very rushed per my ESR). Again, I took a week off, and got back into studying. I decided that I need more quant help, and through a recommendation from two friends, I signed up for private tutoring with Hee Jean from Math Revolution in May 2019.

Math Revolution was really something (this isn't a plug for it, just sharing how I felt about it). Basically the gist is that I did a TON more math problems, but in a way where I began to really "see" some of the tricks that the GMAT throws at you. I realized that most of these problems aren't intensely difficult, but that you had to "see" this trick in order to get your timing on the quant section right. I don't know what else to say here except that Math Revolution really, truly solidified my foundation in match (I thought MGMAT had, but I think I always felt a little wobbly and tried to fool myself into thinking it was nothing), and the Math Revolution resources really saw right through me (lol). One note on Hee Jean - he is great, I was in a busy job and he always had time for me and sent me very detailed notes after our meetings. My goal was to score a 49/50/51 in quant the next time I took the test.

I took the test for the third time in July 2019. I felt more prepared for the test than before, and took the test outside of NYC (way better testing environment for me - I think there were even windows in the room!). I was nervous about this test, but slightly less so than the second time because I felt more prepared. Perception of yourself and your abilities plays a HUGE part in the GMAT, and I really underestimated this. Anyway, I went into the testing room, did my thing (got a bad anxiety/dehydration headache in the middle of it), and scored a 730 (Q49, V40, IR 7). I was decently pleased with this, but cancelled the score anyway, just in case I wanted to see if I could do better. At this point, I was totally burnt out from the test (intense studying from Sept 2018 to July 2019 is no joke!) and figured I could always re-instate if I needed to. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I want to note again that a 730 is an incredible score, and even I was relatively happy with the way things had turned out (choosing to cancel the score is where the holding-myself-to-a-moving-goal-post part of myself comes in...).

Part 2
I went about my life for the next 10 months before deciding in May of this year that I wanted to apply to school. I took stock of the schools I was applying to, spoke to some consultants, and while everyone said a 730 was the average for the schools I was thinking about, it was just that - the average. For the fourth time, I decided that I would take the test AGAIN. This time though, I knew I had to do things differently.

Quant strategy: From late May to mid-June, I slowly went through each of the Math Revolution questions (almost 600 of them!). I woke up almost every day at 6AM and did 2 hours of quant. But this time I focused on not trying to get through a million problems, but rather, in those 2 hours I would do maybe 20 questions (40 minutes timed), then spent the rest of the 2 hours slowly going through every. single. question. including the ones I got right to make sure I knew why I got them right. This was critical. After this, in late June I asked Math Revolution for some tips (after not having spoken to Hee Jean for one whole year, hiiiii), and Hee Jean immediately reinstated my Math Revolution access for free! So I used that and did more problems, again, working through them slowly and most importantly, reviewing them with a fine-toothed comb. I also bought the Advanced Question Pack from the OG and did those problems as well. I'll tell you that these are all 700+ questions, and I had to constantly remind myself (or have my boyfriend remind me) that it was okay that I was getting 50% of them wrong. For someone who expects a lot from herself, this did not feel good, but as they say, slow and steady wins the race...

Verbal strategy: I started a meticulous error log for verbal. I've always been good at SC, so I really focused my time on CR and RC. I started by going through the OG book again to redo the problems. For CR and RC, I reviewed EVERY question, including the ones I got right. I kept a log of anything that I felt iffy on, and really spent time analyzing each of those questions (why I chose the wrong answer, why that wrong answer is wrong, AND why the right answer is right). After I went through the OG questions, I did the Advanced Questions from the OG and also downloaded the Magoosh iPhone app. The Magoosh app was actually pretty great, I could do them anywhere I was and just get through some verbal problems to keep my brain active. When I even finished going through Magoosh, I did more hard problems on an EXCELLENT website I found through GMAT Club called gmatwithcj (I can't figure out how to post a link, but if you google "gmatwithcj" and "mega compilation" you'll find it. If you can't, I can send you the link). Throughout my verbal practice, I focused mainly on CR - I would talk through these questions with my boyfriend, whose brain works differently than mine, and really iron out my understanding of these questions. Again, all of this went into the error log. Lastly, I signed up for the Economist just to practice my reading comprehension. After reading articles, I would summarize the key points/opinion of the article, etc.

IR: I just did some questions in the OG online practice test tool center. I figured that if I could get quant and verbal down, IR would be fine.

By early July, I felt somewhat ready. I had picked up this stuff faster than I had anticipated (you'd be surprised at what your brain remembers when you've tortured it for long enough!). On a whim, I signed up for a test on July 25th.

In terms of practice exams, I only took 2 - both OG and one week apart (in the 2 weeks leading up to test week). I scored a 770 and 780 on those OG tests, and obviously was thrilled (also a little surprised each time, to be honest). During those practice tests, I tried to simulate the real testing experience as much as I could but knew that I was at home and there was little I could do about that. To simulate test day and the testing room, I had pancakes before every test (those good protein Kodiak cakes from Costco, for anyone wondering). During the test, I allowed myself no water at all, which I had weirdly struggled with during the actual tests (cold water helps me think and calms my anxiety). I figured out a balance between getting a dehydration headache and needing to pee in the middle of the test, and also found that the blue light glasses I had recently bought really helped me with screen / eye fatigue. I also took a free test anxiety/COVID anxiety session to learn some breathing techniques in the event that an anxiety attack would happen again during the test. Call me crazy, but I knew that at this point, test anxiety was really the thing holding me back, and I wanted to get a leg up in any way I could. The night before the test, I packed my bag - big bottle of cold water, a bar, mini oreos (guilty pleasure), blue light glasses (!!), sweater, and chapstick.

Fast forward to test day! I woke up and did a few problems in the Magoosh app (both math and verbal). For math, I did it in my head (since I was still lying in bed) to really get that side of my brain working. I had pancakes, showered, and went to the test center (third time there). Boyfriend came with me in the uber because the uber had gotten lost last time, and the stress had totally gotten to me (I walked around the area for 20 min before finding the test, and was almost late).

COVID restrictions were real, but it was mostly fine. I went into the testing room armed with my blue light glasses and sweater. In the middle of verbal, the proctor came by and told me I had to keep my mask on (which I didn't know), so I lost my focus for a moment (also got nervous at being scolded at, haha). Then I felt an anxiety attack coming on, and basically had to guess on the last 3-4 questions in verbal. I had NEVER run out of time on verbal before and usually finish with a good amount of time to spare, so was surprised by this and upset that I had messed up the test. Still, MGMAT thinking kicked in - I pushed those thoughts away and powered through the test as best as I could. Final score - 760 (Q50, V42, IR 7, AWA 6).

Lessons Learned
1. The GMAT is just a test. It is only one side of you, and you are a whole complete person who is interesting, smart, and good. After you've learned the concepts, the test really becomes a game of confidence, and I only learned this the fourth time I took the test.
2. Quant: It is really important to figure out where you are weak and to face those weaknesses head on (and also to make sure you are strong where you think you are strong). First things first, get the basic concepts right - I wasn't hitting any 50/51 quant questions, even though I was pretty good at them, because I was getting the 45-48 questions wrong! Do a meticulous review of every question you do so you know you are solid. I also read that to do well in GMAT quant, you had to use both your left and right sides of your brain - I had always focused on the left side because that comes naturally to me, but the right side of my brain is really what helped me "see" what the question was actually testing! So remember to use both and get a little "creative" on quant (for all you finance/math people out there). Lastly, this goes out to all the type-A people like me out there, but the key to beating quant is to realize that you do not and should not get every question right. If you have no idea, skip it and give yourself more time on the other questions. As someone who is completely conditioned to always get as many questions correct as I can, I benefited greatly from this realization. It's much easier said than done, so you must train yourself on this strategy and not deviate during the test. In short, it's critical to give yourself permission to make mistakes - that is how you will do well on quant.
3. Verbal: In going through problems, it is supremely important to understand a) why you picked the wrong answer, b) why the wrong answer is wrong, and c) why the right answer is right. I can't emphasize enough how helpful it was for me to realize this little trifecta, so I want to really highlight this. Verbal is a game you play in your own head, so it's easy to tell yourself "the test-takers are wrong and I'm right" or "the test-takers think weirdly and I don't so I'll ignore this question", but the GMAT doesn't care. So figure out how to align (or re-align, in my case) your brain with the GMAT's brain.
4. Once you are good on content (generally, you will know when you are), it's important to focus on the actual test-taking experience. If you know you struggle with test anxiety, find things that will help you mitigate it. My things were: a) breathing exercises, b) blue light glasses, c) getting myself "excited" for the test, and d) listening to chill 80s music before each of my practice tests / the real test. All of these things helped remind me that the test and whatever score I got don't define me, just as they don't define any of us here.
5. The OG practice test is very indicative of your score - I would say +/- 20 points.

So here ends my long, rambling saga of my GMAT experience - sorry it ended up being so lengthy!! If this helps even one person, I'll be glad. I'm having trouble articulating how tough the GMAT experience was for me, but the silent burst of joy that I felt in my heart after seeing that score is one of those beautiful, rare things you sometimes get to feel in life, and I am grateful for that. Most importantly, I just want to remind all of you that as grueling and exhausting as this process is, YOU WILL GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. I know it, GMAT Club knows it, and you will know it too.