580 to 760

My first MGMAT CAT was Q37/V32/580. Five months later my first official GMAT score was Q43/V42/700. After my MGMAT post-test assessment, I made some study adjustments, retook the test a month later and reached Q49/V45/760 - a 180 point improvement. I’m done….

The main reason that I reached 760 was that I studied like my life depended on it. But kudos to MGMAT for their excellent program. The instructors were uniformly sharp and engaged, and MGMAT’s tools gave me the resources I needed to leverage my effort into actual results. OG Archer in particular was an indispensible tool – allowing me to pinpoint strengths, weaknesses and timing flaws. Looking back, I cant imagine studying for the GMAT without MGMAT’s OG Archer.

Throughout, MGMAT seemed as an engaged partner in the process. During both the live online sessions and the consults, it seemed that each instructor took the success of their students as a matter of personal pride. The individual consults I had from two instructors weren’t generalized advice – they were specific to my own weaknesses and how to address them.

My study plan was about 5 months. After getting a wake up call on my initial CAT, I read through the quant basics, all the quant study guides twice and did each problem set twice, 1 month apart. I did almost all of the self study per the syllabus and tried to be engaged for the online sessions.

I didn’t spend much time on verbal because it was my stronger area. Yet my score improved there as well, because I was learning from MGMAT how to take the test.

Once the class I was complete I ratcheted up to a steady diet of 50-100 practice questions per day – either MGMAT or GMAT Club. As additional supplements, I used the Advanced Quant guide, which I purchased. The techniques were interesting, but I used it primarily to gain additional exposure to difficult concepts and for drilling. I also watched numerous additional videos available from MGMAT – I wanted to be completely immersed in the quant so that any problem appeared as if it were something I had done before. Judging from my initial GMAT quant score – which was well below where I was practicing - I think this burnt me out a bit, frankly.

I think that one area of my study that definitely helped was targeted subject-matter drills. Each time I used the OG Archer, I would go to GMATClub and drill on my weak area. Using the search function I could quickly find 5-10 questions that targeted my weakness and grow.

So if there is one area I would suggest additional resources for MGMAT it would be more “drilling” options for particular areas. My practice CATS were in the low-mid 700’s going into the exam, but I think my breakthrough (from 700 to 760) on my second real GMAT was following the advice of my MGMAT post-assessment instructor Emily and eliminating my mistakes on easier questions.

Instead of studying 10 hours per day for my second exam, I took one week off to clear my head, and just did daily 1 hour drills on easy questions until I could run off 20 in a row with no dumb errors. No more advanced quant whatsoever before my retake.

Thinking about the 760 score and how my prep got me there, I think the MGMAT sections and homework moved my score from 560 to the 680-700 range, MGMAT’s advanced quant and additional GMAT Club study (thanks Bunuel!) got me to the point where I had confidence about a 700 level score, and my MGMAT post-assessment session helped me focus on eliminating the dumb mistakes and got me to 760.

So without hesitation I’d recommend MGMAT to anyone prepping for the GMAT. If you use MGMAT as your study partner I think you will be rewarded with an all-around solid program run by terrific people who are engaged in your success.

Good luck to all.