So I almost feel like my goal of wanting to score above 700 is nothing of a challenge after having read some other posts in which the test takers describe their experience of scoring 720-780. However, I am going to be realistic with myself and would be perfectly happy with anything over 700.
My journey to GMAT began a couple of years ago. I bought a Princeton Review book and went through it every now and then. I didn't really do any serious studying. In fact I think I felt like I needed to at least take a look at a GMAT study guide because a lot of my friends were taking the test. Peer pressure I guess.
Fast forward to July 2007. I took a class with another GMAT prep company-- the one that start's with a V and ends with a S. :) Overall, good instructors and good materials- but very superficial compared to MGMAT. Their guides are much better than most other books, which tells you how awful some of these other study guides were.
To make the long story short, I took at GMAT PowerPrep test and got somewhere in the low 600. My Quant was horrendous (high 20 or low 30% range) while my Verbal was 89%. I ended up taking my first GMAT in October and scored a 570. The score break down was similar, except lower in math. I didn't look at GMAT again until December.
I then purchased some books from an online site called GMATHack (or something like that). The guy who runs the site is Jeff Sackman (sorry if we are not allowed me mention specific names here). His books were awesome. I went through all his materials. I also bought MGMAT books (only quant) and went through all of them. They were extremely helpful and realized that I never really understood GMAT to begin with. So I studied hard and took the exam again in May. The score: 590. Quant was now in the mid 40% range but verbal had gone down to mid 70% range. AWA went from 5.5 to 5.0.
Since then I've been studying everyday 2-4 hours M-F and 8 hours each on Sat/Sun, with a print out of MGMAT test result/analysis in hand and rentlessly addressing my weaknesses- number properties, quadratics, roots, consecutive integers, multiples/factorizations/DS. In fact I have a day by day calendar that outlines what I need to study. I feel that I am better with time management now and understand the tricks of the test.
I still need to work on being smart about time management and moving on when I don't know how to do something. I took a practice test last week and got 670 (45Q and 36V). My verbal scores have been going down, mostly due to neglect. I am not impressed with the score, because I've ranged from 570-700 on practice tests. Prior to my last test I scored 700 three times (on MGMAT, Kaplan, and GMATPrep). So I won't know until I take the actual test.
Sorry this has become a novel. My point is, if you are scoring low on the GMAT, do not be discouraged. The test was designed by people, not some beings with a substantially higher level of intelligence. In terms of IQ I am in the 93 percentile so don't fee like you are an idiot if you keep getting hammered by GMAT.
Advice sought: Are the materials I am using appropriate? (All MGMAT books except geometry and critical reading, OG and OG quant and verbal supplments, and Jeff Sackmans quant books (which are divided into DS, Algebra, Number Properties, etc and further divided by question types in the book). How can I get over the mid-600 hump? Any practical study tips?
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