Reviewing my GMAT experience (Part 1): Preparation

As I mentioned in an earlier post I am done with the GMAT already. I had a few months free at the end of last year before my CFA studying started and I decided to try to get the GMAT out of the way...

I used the following materials to study:

• Official Guides 11th Edition: Quant (green), Verbal (purple), and the big combined book (orange). These are, in my opinion, 100% necessary and the single best preparation tool. It's unfortunate that there are still number of glaring errors in a book that is now a few years old. I believe I ended doing at least 90% of the questions and all of the "advanced" ones at least twice. See below for comment on how I found which were the "advanced" questions. I think the 12th edition is out or will be soon.

• ManhattanGMAT classroom sessions: I knew the only way I was going to be able to keep on track with no real deadline was with a classroom package. My instructor was incredible and there is no doubt she single handedly raised my score. I was lucky in that a good portion of my class was aiming for a 650+ score so we were able to move through material quickly and focus on the more difficult problems. One thing I did that was different from what was recommended: I studied a week ahead and covered the next week's topics ahead of time instead of simply doing toe pre-class introduction materials. I was essentially taught the material twice - once on my own and once in class and I think it was a huge help.

• Manhattan individual subject books (part of the classroom package): I found these really useful. The verbal section of the GMAT is basically a bunch of patterns - each question can be categorized and sub-categorized. Once you figure out the tricks to each and can identify which question type you're facing, actually solving becomes pretty easy. Since my background had a lot of match I probably glossed over math prep more than I should have. One of the best things about the Manhattan subject books is that each book lists which questions in the 3 Official Guides correspond to specific topics. Additionally they list which questions in the Official Guides are "normal" and which are "advanced". This let me tackle every tough question in all the Official Guides and let me skip (when I wanted to) the ones that would be a waste of time.

• Analytical Writing: I pretty much winged it on the writing section. Just make sure you spend a few minutes understanding the two question types you'll encounter and focus on staying within their parameters. Intro with thesis, 3 body paragraphs, conclusion. Freshman year of high school I had to write a 5 paragraph paper every week and I had a free period right before they were due… I suppose that counts as practice :). Sorry Mrs. Hancock.

• Laminated yellow paper + erasable marker: You don't get scrap paper and a pen/pencil when taking the actual test in the test center. You get 6 double sided pieces of laminated, yellow, legal sized paper and an erasable marker. They come spiral bound. The test center guy seemed a little pissed when I ripped them off the spiral to make them loose, oh well. I highly recommend you get something similar and use it through your entire preparation process. ManhattanGMAT provided this to me with their classroom & book package. I assume the other prep providers to the same. I've heard horror stories of people who weren't prepared for this - especially if you're someone that writes small or like to do a lot of erasing on the math section (it can get messy).

What I didn't use:

• Kaplan or Princeton Review: no idea if they're good or not. They're the 800lb gorillas of test-prep so they must be at least okay

• MBA.com practice tests: I think you can take 2 of them at mba.com? They might even be free, I'm not sure.

• Manhattan online resources and question banks (available to me for free via classroom instruction purchase but I think you can guy them stand-alone): I did take one practice test as a diagnostic before the classroom session started and scored pretty well. I started a few other tests but could never make myself sit there and finish them. A better use of time for me was to focus on a few specific question types I wanted to strengthen my ability with. I think there was also a large question bank you could use that was separate from that used in the practice tests. Data for all problems you solved online is stored and you could slice & dice it any way you want. I didn't use this but some of my classmates found it great.

• Timing practice / practice tests: Aside from an initial diagnostic I didn't take any practice tests or timed problem sets. This works for me because I've never run out of time on a test, but I know that's not normal. Everyone else I speak to has found practice exams, timed problem sets, and simulating test conditions to be highly helpful.

How did it end up? I hit my target score (and beat my older brother...always a target for the younger sibling!) but unfortunately not 99th percentile. I feel like I spent the right amount of time & effort on preparation - the score will "check the box" in the mind of the Adcom who sees it. Raising my score to the "next level" and getting a 790 or 800 would have taken a considerable more amount of work and I'm not all that sure it would really add much to my application. If I don't get in this year, and my academics are part of the issue it's probably something I will consider working on, but even then there are probably other ways to better spend the time improving myself & my application.

Next time: my test day experience