590 to 770 Q51 - Grit and TTP Journey

It's been a long GMAT journey, but I just scored a 770 Q51 V42 and it has all been worth it. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and get there faster. First note, I've been in your exact shoes before, looking at wildly high scores and GMAT posts, thinking: "there's seriously no way I'll get to that level". But it comes, you'll find your way.

My prep started 16 months ago right as I finished undergrad. I had 2-3 months before my job started and no money, so I decided to study for the GMAT. I used the MGMAT books and the online course over those months. Here's my scores:

GMAT Prep 1: 590 Q37 V35 (April 17 2019)
GMAT Prep 2: 690 Q46 V39 (After GMAT Course)
GMAT Prep 3: 710 Q47 V41 (1 week before first test)
GMAT #1: 690 Q47 V38 (June 29 2019)
GMAT Prep 3: 680 Q46 V38
GMAT #2: 700 Q44 V41 (July 27 2019)

I was burnt out and started my first post-grad job.

**** 10 month break ****

I started to get serious about prepping again once I decided I wanted to apply to business school this year. I knew I needed a high score to because I am a white male engineer with only a couple years of work experience. My friend referred me to Target Test Prep, and I didn't look back.

TTP is great. I did everything they told me to do, even though I had achieved a Q47 before, I wanted to build a solid foundation and that was exactly what TTP Quant did. Since TTP hadn't built out it's verbal offering yet, I supplemented with e-GMAT for verbal, although I only used it for sentence correction and I would advise MGMAT verbal or just OG Verbal questions, especially for native speakers.

After completing the TTP course, things didn't go exactly as planned.
Here's my scores:

GMAT Prep 5: 740 Q49 V41
GMAT Prep 6: 730 Q49 V40
GMAT #3: 710 Q47 V41 (August 4th 2020)

At this point, I was frustrated. I didn't know what to do. I purchased the enhanced score report, and sent it to Scott at TTP and Jeff at TTP. I had emailed them both before, and they had gotten back to me with advice and been very helpful. This time, Jeff gave me a phone call and we discussed the exam and what we thought went wrong. No other company will do this unless you hire a private tutor. Jeff talked me through a plan, then sent me a detailed 7 day prep plan that included a mix of TTP and OG questions. Then, 10 days after GMAT #3:

GMAT #4: 770 Q51 V42 (August 14th 2020, online)

How did I make that jump? Well, according to my ESR I was scoring 99th percentile and 96th percentile on DS and SC respectively, the two most difficult parts of the test for students (typically). I had focused so much of my prep on that, I ignored the rest. I spent those 7 days doing questions from all sorts of difficulty ranges and really perfecting the process.

Biggest takeaway: Drill OG questions, all the OG questions, especially the medium level questions if you are trying to get a 720+ score, because perfection on those questions will give you the opportunity to answer the hard questions. Keep working, it just takes time and a well-balanced study plan. I am certainly not a genius (I got B's and C's in calculus in college).

Another tip: TTP provides a strategy chapter that you read throughout the course. Take notes on it and follow it, go back to it, review it, and take it seriously. The GMAT is more than just questions, it takes a mindset and an attitude but you will get there. I had post-it notes with 770 written on it in my apartment and on my computer, having that mindset helps when things get tough.