From 640 to 700 in 4 attempts - Determination is the key!

Question

So this is how my personal story goes … It all started last December. I was 30 years old, worked full time, happily married and above all had an amazing one year old son. To make things more interesting I was also in the middle of the construction of my new home. I can't even start to explain you how precious time had been for me.

When the work at the office seemed like more of the same, I started to think about an MBA degree at one of the top ranked schools. At that point however, it was still only a thought. I talked with a few of my friends and figured I just might take my first shot at the GMAT. I did so because I believed sometimes when we are on the move things get clearer. With this state of mind I studied by myself from the Official guides for 3-4 months, solved the GMAT prep exams and gave my first shot.
 
 First Attempt - scored 640 - 47 quant - 31 verbal - 5.0 AWA  Mentally, I was very calm during the exam. However, I admit I just wasn't good enough. 
At that point I decided that before taking a second try I needed to understand if this MBA desire is real. I took a 3 weeks pause from the GMAT and had my first serious research. This was when I started to get more serious about my MBA aspirations and headed for a second try with a clear mind. I figured this time I am going to do things differently. I registered for the online Knewton course and instead of studying in the office 2 hours every day before the workday starts, as I did in the first try, this time I will study at the evenings. I studied for 3 more months very seriously and I felt I am in a completely different league.

Second Attempt - I scored 610 - 49 quant - 27 verbal - 5.0 AWA  This was the most terrible moment in my journey. I couldn't believe my own eyes. I was extremely disappointed .At that point I just couldn't tell what went wrong. Furious, I scheduled a third exam. I had a very light preparation and I said to myself this attempt is only for the sport.

Third Attempt - I scored 660 - 48 quant - 33 verbal - 5.0 in the AWA.  I also left an answer unanswered. Again I was calm during the exam, but due to the low stamina that resulted from the light preparation my performance just wasn't enough. At that point I decided to go for a last try. The key point for me was to understand that the biggest obstacle in my way was a mental one. For every attempt that I had come relaxed, I scored according to my level at that time. I just needed to separate between the MBA and the GMAT. This is exactly what I did. I took a 2 weeks' vacation from the office, (leaving me in a vacation day's debt …) and studied seriously. I kept telling myself that I will not let any thought interfere in my preparation or in my exam, and that I have to be focused on doing my best.

Forth and last Attempt - I scored 700 with a 50 quant and 35 verbal split and a 5.5 in the AWA  I had starred at the screen for as long as the nice lady from Pearson let me…
Good luck for all of you who are reading this debrief. My message for you is to keep a positive attitude no matter what. Try to enjoy the journey and never underestimate your abilities. Moreover, be honest with yourself and try to understand what are you doing wrong. Then, consult with friends about ways to overcome your weaknesses. Last but not least I would like to thank my amazing wife for believing in me and allowing me to fulfill my dreams.

brandy96 · Answer

Congratulations!, I can understand how you might have felt with all the time management between busy work, kid, wife etc. I am almost in the same boat, and I am exhausted! I just want to finish this first hurdle;-)

samramandy · Answer

Congrats man for becoming a member of 700+ club

macandal · Answer

You mentioned you used OG, GMAT Prep, and Knewton course to prepare for the test. Did you use any CAT-type tests to study.  I took the GMAT and had a poor showing , worst than yours, and I'm trying to improve. Any help would be appreciated.

(I would be very happy with a 700!)

Congratulations to you. What schools are you applying to or have applied to? Thanks.

York101 · Answer

congratulations! all the best for apps

nedaari · Answer

"I had starred at the screen for as long as the nice lady from Pearson let me…"

- This is great!!! Congratulations! Truly, the race is not given to the swift.

adamtn · Answer

Congrats!

youval100 · Answer

Hi macandal,

I didn't decided yet about the schools, i am in the middle of the research.

As to the exams, I took the official prep Cats, Manhattan, Knewton, and the free Cats from Kaplan, Veritas and Princeton.

Mu advice to you is to take exams from different companies. Especially the last 3 exams. Since the real exam is going to be unfamiliar to you, you better avoid from specializing in only one kind of exams.

Best of luck !

talk2vj · Answer

Good job....I too took four attempts to reach my desired score.....Happy for know becoz I know the feeling.

u0422811 · Answer

Congrats you earned it. Nice debrief.

From 640 to 700 in 4 attempts - Determination is the key!

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia