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17 May 2010, 12:41
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hello, today I finally took the GMAT and I thought I should share my experience with you.
First a little background information:
I'm Bulgarian, sitting the test for the first time. Started prepping about 6 weeks ago, initially did not think about sitting it until July-August. Then I decided I should try and then re-take if I end up being unhappy with my score. My background is in social sciences and I have never been too great with Math, so I wasn't hoping for a very high score.
I bought the Kaplan Premier book which comes with a CD and online companion with lots of prep material - CAT's, shorter tests, etc. I really enjoyed the book, I think it has great strategies and explains the basic concepts very well. Initially I was scoring in the 550+ range so I thought that I would struggle to get a score of 650. However, after some (well, quite a lot of) studying and taking computer exams once every few days I realized that 650 should be my bottom aim (on a side note - Kaplan exams are definitely more challenging than the real thing!)
On the two CAT's included in the GMAT Prep software I scored 660 and 700 respectively (the latter 2 days before the exam). So I was very optimistic and motivated to score 700 on the exam today.
However, today I got 680 (V:40; Q:42). It's a good score, higher than what I started for but still 700 would have made me very happy. Now I'm considering retaking in a few months, any thoughts?
Just some additional general comments about the test:
- At first the GMAT is very very intimidating. Especially for me with the math. However, after some studying and getting into the detail I realized that even the math is not that hard - you should know your concepts very well though! Fortunatelly, they are not that many!
- If you happen to work with a good book, verbal should not be that hard either. Kaplan offers some great strategies that will improve your performance with all components of the Verbal part (but especially RC and SC) (literally!) overnight. Don't know if the same applies to other books (Manhattan namely) because I have only worked with Kaplan.
- You need some time to get to know the exam and the details that surround it. THIS FORUM IS A GREAT PLACE TO START!
- ANYONE can score very well on the GMAT! If I, only like 6 weeks of study, almost ended up in the top 10%, even with a slightly-above-average Math score, then anyone can. All you need is motivation and hard work. And hard work PAYS on the GMAT, which is very important to keep you motivated!
- GMATPREP is a very very powerful and useful tool. I recommend using the two tests towards the end of your preparation, possibly shortly before taking the real exam. However, if you have reasons to doubt yourself (like me, after scoring 600 on the Manhattan free test), take one of the GMATPREP tests to see where you REALLY stand. I think that the software is as accurate as the real thing.
That's it I think. If you have any comments or questions I would be really glad to hear them!
First a little background information:
I'm Bulgarian, sitting the test for the first time. Started prepping about 6 weeks ago, initially did not think about sitting it until July-August. Then I decided I should try and then re-take if I end up being unhappy with my score. My background is in social sciences and I have never been too great with Math, so I wasn't hoping for a very high score.
I bought the Kaplan Premier book which comes with a CD and online companion with lots of prep material - CAT's, shorter tests, etc. I really enjoyed the book, I think it has great strategies and explains the basic concepts very well. Initially I was scoring in the 550+ range so I thought that I would struggle to get a score of 650. However, after some (well, quite a lot of) studying and taking computer exams once every few days I realized that 650 should be my bottom aim (on a side note - Kaplan exams are definitely more challenging than the real thing!)
On the two CAT's included in the GMAT Prep software I scored 660 and 700 respectively (the latter 2 days before the exam). So I was very optimistic and motivated to score 700 on the exam today.
However, today I got 680 (V:40; Q:42). It's a good score, higher than what I started for but still 700 would have made me very happy. Now I'm considering retaking in a few months, any thoughts?
Just some additional general comments about the test:
- At first the GMAT is very very intimidating. Especially for me with the math. However, after some studying and getting into the detail I realized that even the math is not that hard - you should know your concepts very well though! Fortunatelly, they are not that many!
- If you happen to work with a good book, verbal should not be that hard either. Kaplan offers some great strategies that will improve your performance with all components of the Verbal part (but especially RC and SC) (literally!) overnight. Don't know if the same applies to other books (Manhattan namely) because I have only worked with Kaplan.
- You need some time to get to know the exam and the details that surround it. THIS FORUM IS A GREAT PLACE TO START!
- ANYONE can score very well on the GMAT! If I, only like 6 weeks of study, almost ended up in the top 10%, even with a slightly-above-average Math score, then anyone can. All you need is motivation and hard work. And hard work PAYS on the GMAT, which is very important to keep you motivated!
- GMATPREP is a very very powerful and useful tool. I recommend using the two tests towards the end of your preparation, possibly shortly before taking the real exam. However, if you have reasons to doubt yourself (like me, after scoring 600 on the Manhattan free test), take one of the GMATPREP tests to see where you REALLY stand. I think that the software is as accurate as the real thing.
That's it I think. If you have any comments or questions I would be really glad to hear them!
17 May 2010, 13:39
Kudos
Bookmarks
Welcome to the club. Great job with 680.
Not sure if you really need to retake but your Quant score may suggest to. With a great verbal score like that, I think it would be an easy path to hit a 700+ score by focusing on the quant. With a few MGMAT books, you should be able to nail it. (MGMAT Number Properties and MGMAT Word Translations)
See this note as well:
should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html?highlight=ml303
Not sure if you really need to retake but your Quant score may suggest to. With a great verbal score like that, I think it would be an easy path to hit a 700+ score by focusing on the quant. With a few MGMAT books, you should be able to nail it. (MGMAT Number Properties and MGMAT Word Translations)
See this note as well:
should-i-retake-gmat-thread-retaking-gmat-strategies-83339.html?highlight=ml303
