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Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
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Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
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Hi all!
Although I do not post frequently on this forum but I dedicate part of my success to GMATClub. Below is a summary of my GMAT study progress:
START: Q3 of 2013. At that time, I started to think about doing MBA and knew that I would need GMAT for certain programs. So I started with OG, Manhattan SC, Powerscore CR. I thought that I was strong in quant and had decent verbal/grammar knowledge until I attempted the diagnostic test in OG. My correctness in verbal session of that test was just horrible and I spent significant time on verbal. But in end of 2013, my determination got challenged by some master/MBA programs which require no GMAT. Maybe it was because I got too tired with the study (too dry were the materials, I think). However, my turning point happened when I talked to my mentor.
ACCELERATION: My mentor advised me to target for program which is above or equivalent to my undergrad program (I was a graduate of a top uni in Singapore although I'm a Vietnamese). So his advice directed me back to the need of taking GMAT. In Feb'14, I decided to subscribe to E-GMAT verbal online course to get really serious at Verbal. I enjoyed the course a lot due to the usage of picture/diagrams (I have good memory of colourful things in general). At end of May, I took the GMATPrep test 1 and scored 650 (Q: 44, V: 35). I got shocked again because my quant was worse than my verbal (thanks E-GMAT for the V 35 back then). So my next step was to boost my quant score. I wondered on the Internet again until I saw good recommendation for GMATClub quant tests (15 tests - hard core --> these were what I desperately needed). So I started practicing quant solely with GMATClub test. My first quant test was super-bad - Q 35 (I guess Q 35 from GMATClub is equivalent to Q 44 on GMATPrep). So my goal was to boost my quant score to Q40/41 on GMATClub test. The tiring and challenging life began from here. I practiced 2 - 3 GMATClub quant test a week and dedicated only 15% of the time for Verbal. At the end of Jun, I scored consistently Q49/51 on GMATClub test and felt so happy. I gave second GMATPrep test a shot and scored 700 - my target score (Q 49, V 35). So 4 score improvement of quant took a lot of my efforts (but I truly loved the questions on GMATClub tests. The questions are just so interesting!).
SET BACK: So with a score of 700 on GMATPrep, I was confident for my first real GMAT attempt in mid of July (at this time, I only completed half of OG verbal material) and got disappointed with my real score - 690 (Q 49, V 35, IR: 3). I asked myself how come same score breakdown leads to 10 point difference. And although I did not study much on IR, 3 was a huge shame on me. But there was no time for the past. I discussed with my mentor and he thought I deserve good-to-top MBA programs so he encouraged me to retake the test while starting to work on my application.
TWO IN ONE: So I worked on the GMAT again while working on my application. This time, my goal was to improve verbal. I knew my quant limit is Q 49, so I set a goal to boost verbal to Q38/39 to break 700 barrier. My materials for verbal in this July/August period was only from official source: I completed all questions in OG, Verbal Review and bought question pack 1. My time allocation was reversed compared to Jun/Jul period: 70% verbal, 15% quant, 15% MBA application prep (apart from that, I work full time all the way from the START so my prep was done at nights and weekends - no game / minimal bar/club activities). I did hardly any full practice test for this period because I know my quant was there and all I need was to master my verbal skills. So verbal, verbal and verbal. And for RC, I did not practice RC much. For me RC depends on luck: if i got a passage in science / history, I definitely scored. But a passage on social sciences would be a given challenge to me. So, my own approach of RC is that I tried to memorize the flow / concepts / objects of the discussion in my head. This required me to concentrate 110% but saved me a lot of time to revisit the passage.
JOY: 5 days before the second real GMAT test, I took a full practice test on Kaplan and got 720. I felt happy but cautious. The day before the test, I just went through the notes that I made so far and felt relaxed. Today, I gave it second shot.
+ AWA: as normal, I followed Chineseburned guide. Sharp and sweet. I scored 5.5 on my first attempt. Hopefully I got same score for this time.
+ IR: I concentrated more and felt that IR was still so hard (even harder than quant i think). Anyway, I just managed to make it on time with 30s left
+ Quant: the feeling was just as good as the first attempt's. I knew my quant well to sail through 37 questions.
+ Verbal: I was super concentrated to this session although I only slept for 5 hours the night before. I followed the 3 step process of SC from E-GMAT and meaning was the first thing I tried to gauge from the sentence. For CR, I tried to draw the logical structure of each question in my head quickly to identify the assumptions. My practice with Verbal questions in Question Pack 1 was really helpful because I got familiarized with the style of CR/SC questions. For RC, I did not practice anything much. I just followed my own approach described above. There were really challenging SC/RC questions which made me run out of time control. I got only 1 min left for the last SC question.
--> Result : total score of 730 (Q: 49 - as expected, V: 41 - happily amazed, IR: 7 - OMG). Overall, the result is over my expectation.
To conclude, I dedicate my success to GMATClub for Quant (really amazing question bank), to E-GMAT and official source for Verbal. With this score, my school choice is widened and I am prepared to dream high now. So for me, working hard and knowing well my weaknesses are key for GMAT score improvement.
Thank you!
(From Ho Chi Minh City)
Although I do not post frequently on this forum but I dedicate part of my success to GMATClub. Below is a summary of my GMAT study progress:
START: Q3 of 2013. At that time, I started to think about doing MBA and knew that I would need GMAT for certain programs. So I started with OG, Manhattan SC, Powerscore CR. I thought that I was strong in quant and had decent verbal/grammar knowledge until I attempted the diagnostic test in OG. My correctness in verbal session of that test was just horrible and I spent significant time on verbal. But in end of 2013, my determination got challenged by some master/MBA programs which require no GMAT. Maybe it was because I got too tired with the study (too dry were the materials, I think). However, my turning point happened when I talked to my mentor.
ACCELERATION: My mentor advised me to target for program which is above or equivalent to my undergrad program (I was a graduate of a top uni in Singapore although I'm a Vietnamese). So his advice directed me back to the need of taking GMAT. In Feb'14, I decided to subscribe to E-GMAT verbal online course to get really serious at Verbal. I enjoyed the course a lot due to the usage of picture/diagrams (I have good memory of colourful things in general). At end of May, I took the GMATPrep test 1 and scored 650 (Q: 44, V: 35). I got shocked again because my quant was worse than my verbal (thanks E-GMAT for the V 35 back then). So my next step was to boost my quant score. I wondered on the Internet again until I saw good recommendation for GMATClub quant tests (15 tests - hard core --> these were what I desperately needed). So I started practicing quant solely with GMATClub test. My first quant test was super-bad - Q 35 (I guess Q 35 from GMATClub is equivalent to Q 44 on GMATPrep). So my goal was to boost my quant score to Q40/41 on GMATClub test. The tiring and challenging life began from here. I practiced 2 - 3 GMATClub quant test a week and dedicated only 15% of the time for Verbal. At the end of Jun, I scored consistently Q49/51 on GMATClub test and felt so happy. I gave second GMATPrep test a shot and scored 700 - my target score (Q 49, V 35). So 4 score improvement of quant took a lot of my efforts (but I truly loved the questions on GMATClub tests. The questions are just so interesting!).
SET BACK: So with a score of 700 on GMATPrep, I was confident for my first real GMAT attempt in mid of July (at this time, I only completed half of OG verbal material) and got disappointed with my real score - 690 (Q 49, V 35, IR: 3). I asked myself how come same score breakdown leads to 10 point difference. And although I did not study much on IR, 3 was a huge shame on me. But there was no time for the past. I discussed with my mentor and he thought I deserve good-to-top MBA programs so he encouraged me to retake the test while starting to work on my application.
TWO IN ONE: So I worked on the GMAT again while working on my application. This time, my goal was to improve verbal. I knew my quant limit is Q 49, so I set a goal to boost verbal to Q38/39 to break 700 barrier. My materials for verbal in this July/August period was only from official source: I completed all questions in OG, Verbal Review and bought question pack 1. My time allocation was reversed compared to Jun/Jul period: 70% verbal, 15% quant, 15% MBA application prep (apart from that, I work full time all the way from the START so my prep was done at nights and weekends - no game / minimal bar/club activities). I did hardly any full practice test for this period because I know my quant was there and all I need was to master my verbal skills. So verbal, verbal and verbal. And for RC, I did not practice RC much. For me RC depends on luck: if i got a passage in science / history, I definitely scored. But a passage on social sciences would be a given challenge to me. So, my own approach of RC is that I tried to memorize the flow / concepts / objects of the discussion in my head. This required me to concentrate 110% but saved me a lot of time to revisit the passage.
JOY: 5 days before the second real GMAT test, I took a full practice test on Kaplan and got 720. I felt happy but cautious. The day before the test, I just went through the notes that I made so far and felt relaxed. Today, I gave it second shot.
+ AWA: as normal, I followed Chineseburned guide. Sharp and sweet. I scored 5.5 on my first attempt. Hopefully I got same score for this time.
+ IR: I concentrated more and felt that IR was still so hard (even harder than quant i think). Anyway, I just managed to make it on time with 30s left
+ Quant: the feeling was just as good as the first attempt's. I knew my quant well to sail through 37 questions.
+ Verbal: I was super concentrated to this session although I only slept for 5 hours the night before. I followed the 3 step process of SC from E-GMAT and meaning was the first thing I tried to gauge from the sentence. For CR, I tried to draw the logical structure of each question in my head quickly to identify the assumptions. My practice with Verbal questions in Question Pack 1 was really helpful because I got familiarized with the style of CR/SC questions. For RC, I did not practice anything much. I just followed my own approach described above. There were really challenging SC/RC questions which made me run out of time control. I got only 1 min left for the last SC question.
--> Result : total score of 730 (Q: 49 - as expected, V: 41 - happily amazed, IR: 7 - OMG). Overall, the result is over my expectation.
To conclude, I dedicate my success to GMATClub for Quant (really amazing question bank), to E-GMAT and official source for Verbal. With this score, my school choice is widened and I am prepared to dream high now. So for me, working hard and knowing well my weaknesses are key for GMAT score improvement.
Thank you!
(From Ho Chi Minh City)
28 Aug 2014, 00:48
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Wow, Good Score.
Congrats!!!
All the best for your applications
Congrats!!!
All the best for your applications
29 Aug 2014, 08:56
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Bookmarks
Congrats on your score. Goes to show that hard work pays off.
