This exam was the bane of my existence for the better part of a year and a half. I’m going to keep it real, the test blew. I worked super hard, gave up my Hollywood social life, and became generally disagreeable about everything. After a few tries I got into the 80th percentile of my target schools and I can live with that. I’m not a great test-taker, but there is no time for excuses. Either you do well on the test or you don’t go to B-School. I consider myself an expert on GMAT test prep and I will give you the run down. Follow my advice, and you too will soon be on your way to shelling out a hundred stack to some school so that they can teach you to be a better manager.
Three Potential Categories.
1. You are a naturally good test taker (1450+ on your SAT comes to mind.) Do not waste your time on a test prep course. It is beneath you and your ilk and you would be better off spending that money making it rain on a Saturday night. Instead, buy the Official Guide, Kaplan GMAT 800 Book and the Manhattan Verbal Guides. Study hard for 30 days, get your 700+ and get on with your life.
2. My category: certified genius, but not the best test taker, but could reach 700 with a herculean work ethic. Do not go the test prep class route. Let me qualify this. I took a local 9 week class and also the Manhattan GMAT online course (hookup from a friend). The Manhattan course was good, but I recommend using that $1000+ dollars and buying the Manhattan verbal guides which gives you access to 6 really solid tests. Also, you need to go to www.gmathacks.com and buy damn near everything that Jeff Sackmann offers especially the GMAT Math Bible and any problem sets that you are having trouble with. They are well worth the money and will definitely help you. Do nothing but study GMAT materials for 2-3 months, take all of the Manhattan and OG practice tests (understand every problem that you missed, it’s sometimes helpful to have friends in group 1) and finally take the real test. If you don’t get the score you want, rinse and repeat. This is a painful process, but necessary if you want to get into a reputable B-school.
3. Not a good historical test taker and scored under 450 on OG practice test. Make a peace offering to whatever higher power that you believe in, sign up for a Manhattan GMAT course, buy everything at www.gmathacks.com , tell your friends that you won’t see them for a minimum of 4 months. The structured course will help you get your footing and repeating practice problems until mastery should substantially increase your score.
Don’t be lazy, Stick to a schedule, When you feel your focus waning just think of how much you want that MBA.
Ok, enough of that nonsense. I got irritable just thinking about GMAT prep. I’m going to get back to prepping for my interview at Tuck tomorrow. All 6 of my readers please wish me luck.
Over and Out,
La Capitan
