I just took the GMAT today and got a 720. (Quant: 48 Verbal:40). I am happy with my performance since I achieved my target. Before the test, I kept telling myself that no matter what happens, I am going to be be brave. I think that really helped to calm me down and keep my concentration levels high.

The math section was tough but the Verbal section felt like a cake-walk. I think I found verbal easy because I was very focused and relaxed. I read the passages with great interest and curiosity. The CR questions felt like situations that a person might encounter in his everyday life. The SC was easier than MGMAT CAT's SC.

Practice tests:
I took four Manhattan GMAT CAT's. My highest score was 660. I was doing okay on Math but poorly on Verbal (33-35 range). 10 days before my test decided not to take any practice tests. I knew a low score would demotivate me besides taking away crucial prep time.

Some takeaways:
- A lot of the math questions in the real GMAT looked exactly liked the GMAT prep questions I had seen before on the forum! Looking back, I think going over the posts in the GMAT prep math forum was the KEY to getting a decent score in math.
- I had never prepared flashcards in my life before GMAT. I found them to really useful (although I still forgot the formula for area of a sphere!)
- One day before GMAT I did absolutely nothing. I relaxed the whole day- read a book, went for a long walk and listened to music. I think it really helped to clear my mind and attack the GMAT with everything I got.

I hope the tips are useful. Good luck!

hi FRIEND Congrates for hitting the target.
Hey require your help to know how come managed to get V-40 as i have been preparing from last one year still couldn't reached to that level.Require your guidence please.I gave GMAT last year and got 580 Q-47 and V-23 and again gave on 5th oct 2010 and got 550 Q-46 and V-20. I am sure to improve my score in Maths as i know the mistakes that i did but couldn't know what to do with Verbal. In prepratio i was getting 650-710 Q-49-50 V 32-35 in all the free test exam including GMAT prep (non repetative questions)

How long was your preparation for? How many hours a day/week etc...and are you a English native speaker or is your verbal strong to being with? Thanks so much and Congrats on your score!

Sorry for the late reply. I am not a native speaker of English. However I have been trying to learn and improve my English language skills for a couple of years. I live in the united states and listen to Public Radio whenever I am driving. I also read The Economist and the editorials in WSJ on a regular basis and always underline new words and expressions.

I started to seriously prepare for the GMAT when I began my MGMAT classroom course in July. I devoted at least 2 hours everyday and 4-5 hours on the weekends on studying for the GMAT. It might sound like a cliche, but GMAT is more about working smart than working hard. I don't think the number of hours a person spends studying matters. Its how you use the time productively. I use to time myself on all practice questions and note all my mistakes on flash cards. I only skimmed the strategy guides for RC and CR. I went through all the recordings of "Thursdays with Ron". Some recordings I saw mutiple times. I also went through as many posts on the Quant and Verbal forums as I could.

Ron and Stacey are GMAT gurus. I cracked the GMAT because I religiously followed their advice.

BTW, the breaks are really short and time flies. Be very careful not to exceed the breaks. I was 3 minutes late for my quant section. Still I pat myself because I did not panic. To make up for lost time, I left questions from my weak areas which appeared during the middle of the section. I was careful not to skip questions in a row. Now when I think back, I could have gotten more than 48 on quant if I had not lost the first 3-3.5 minutes. :)

Hope this helps.

Hi,
congrats for your good score i just want to know about how you started preparing for it and what were your initial plans,from what topics you started and how you proceeded with your plans.
i have planned to go for it and will be desperately looking forward for your reply
thanks
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