Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
-12:00 PM EDT
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
-11:00 AM PDT
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.
Apr 2912:30 AM EDT
-01:30 AM EDT
Learn how Kamakshi achieved a GMAT 675 with an impressive 96th %ile in Data Insights. Discover the unique methods and exam strategies that helped her excel in DI along with other sections for a balanced and high score.
Apr 3001:30 AM EDT
-02:30 AM EDT
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.
May 0111:00 AM PDT
-12:00 PM PDT
Free- full-length test + 15 concept videos + 150+ short videos + study plan!
May 0306:30 AM PDT
-08:30 AM PDT
Verbal trouble on GMAT? Fix it NOW! Join Sunita Singhvi for a focused webinar on actionable strategies to boost your Verbal score and take your performance to the next level.
11 May 2016, 08:41
Kudos
Bookmarks
Background
Where do I begin? First off, I'm a Management Consultant and as such I work 60+ hours a week and I am constantly on the go. My GMAT prep journey began roughly 5 months ago and was definitely rocky. I don't have a very emotional story; however, I wanted to share what worked well for me and what didn't in hopes that someone else can benefit.
Timeline
January 2016
- Began blindly studying by doing all of the OG questions in order (not recommended)
- Randomly watched Thursdays with Ron videos
- Took a practice exam at the end of the month with an awful score - 590
- Realized I needed to change
February 2016
- Crafted a more defined study plan - more based on times than topics, I decided I'd study every morning for at least an hour and then at night for about three. Weekends were all day studying with a little fun mixed in. Also, took weekly practice exams to determine weak subjects and areas of improvement
- Ordered a bunch of useless books - I say useless because the content in them was so elementary and unuseful
- Discovered GMAT Prep Now and watched countless videos to improve weak areas
- Started to see improvement
March 2016
- Honed in on really weak areas (Combinatorics, Probability, Overlapping Sets, SC in general)
- Started to see improvements in practice tests
- Reworked OG questions with a bit more planning instead of just powering through them
- Realized my Quant wasn't really improving - used the 5 day free trial of Target Test Prep and powered through pretty much all of the content
- Thought I was ready for the exam
April 2016
- Took my first real exam and scored a 690, I immediately signed-up for a retake
- Bought the second GMAT Prep Exam Pack and Question Pack (both of which are must haves)
- Took untimed practice exams to experience quality exam questions, not random questions scattered across the internet
- Mentally prepared for retake
May2016
- Took second exam and scored a 740
- Threw away all of my prep materials (not joking)
Materials Used
These materials are in no particular order:
- OG & OG Supplemental - REQUIRED
- GMAT PREP and ADD-ONS - REQUIRED
- GMAT Prep Now Videos - RECOMMENDED FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
- Target Test Prep - RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WANTING A HIGH QUANT SCORE
- Thursdays with Ron - RECOMMENDED FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
- GMAT Club - RECOMMENDED FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT
- MGMAT SC - ALMOST USELESS
- Economist Tutor- ALMOST USELESS
- Magoosh- ALMOST USELESS
- eGMAT- USELESS
- Princeton GMAT Review (Can't Remember Exam Title - USELESS
- PowerScore CR Bible - USELESS
General Material Thoughts
Most of the materials out there are crap: books, online, practice exams, etc.
- My preferred source: the GMAC. Anything the GMAC puts out is your best friend and is worth the money. Personally, the Princeton, MGMAT, and PowerScore books were useless - they had VERY basic content that was not helpful.
- Online resources can be your best friend or your worst enemy, there is a lot of false information out there. I will say that Target Test Prep was one of the best online tools that I used, I think I learned more about quant in one week than I did during 2 months of self-study. Watching anything from eGMAT almost drove me to insanity, Economist Tutor was "cool" but that's about it, and Magoosh really didn't teach me anything new except that Kevin from Magoosh has A LOT of energy.
- Online practice exams are a mixed bag: I used took every free exam, almost all of my free MGMAT exams, and all of my Princeton Exams. I honestly did not pay attention to any scores outside of the GMAT Prep software - online test scores are not real in the sense that they do not use the same algorithm as the GMAC. The best online exams are definitely the ones from MGAMT - everyone complains that the math is too hard; however, if you can do MGMAT math, you can do GMAT math in your sleep.
Recommendations / Lessons Learned
- Take notes, take notes, take notes - I never took notes or kept an error log during my studies and it definitely hindered my progress
- Enjoy life - make sure you still spend time with your significant other / friends
- Make a study plan and try to stick to it, don't just do all of the OG questions haphazardly and expect improvement
- Find what works for you - just because someone on the forums says company X has the best product means its going to be the best for you
- Be active during your studies - working out helped me clear my mind every day
- Schedule your exam and work towards that date - studying doesn't get "real" until you set a date and commit
Test Day(s)
First Take
- Arrived 30 minutes early, checked in, and was allowed to start early
- Ran out of time on quant and had to guess on my last question
- Finished verbal with about 10 minutes left
- During both of my breaks I ran to the men's room, drank some water, sipped some energy drink, and ate half a milkyway
- 690 Q 49 V 34ish IR 8 AWA 5.5
Second Take
- Arrived 20 minutes early, checked in, and was allowed to start early
- Finished quant and verbal with about 10 - 15 minutes left; honestly thought I bombed both sections since I finished so early
- During both of my breaks I ran to the men's room, drank some water, sipped some energy drink, and ate half a milkyway
- 740 Q 50 V 41 IR 8 AWA TBD
11 May 2016, 14:06
Kudos
Bookmarks
11 May 2016, 21:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
Haha!
I'm wondering how long you're going to stay on this forum. Good debrief.
Posted from my mobile device
I'm wondering how long you're going to stay on this forum. Good debrief.
Posted from my mobile device
