I Beat the GMAT! 710 (Q47 V41)

Did a Q47, V41 really yield a 710? Seems low..

I scored a Q44, V41 on my GMAT Prep last week and it gave 700 for the total.

baer: That's what the computer screen and my printout told me! I'm not going to question it.

buffett: I took the Kaplan GMAT prep course. Most of the homework is online and they give you something like 10 CATs (I didn't take them all).

plaguerabbit: I think I really did improve as I progressed. When I took my first test, I hadn't studied math concepts since my sophomore year in college, so everything was very rough. After some diligent studying, my scores definitely improved. The good thing about the CATs are that they help you figure out timing and endurance. Save the GMATPreps for when you really think you're ready.

Random note on nutrition: I'm a runner, and I realized that the length of the GMAT was about how long it takes me to run a full marathon (26.2 miles). Throughout my CATs, by the time I got to the verbal section, I had a hard time focusing and was incredibly fatigued. On my first GMATPrep, I figured I would try to nourish/water myself as I would for a marathon. This included coffee & a PowerBar for breakfast (about two hours before the actual test), 10 practice problems to get my brain warmed up, and then Clif Shot Bloks or a Gu and a sip of water during every break. This definitely helped with my fatigue--especially because the flavor I like for the Shot Bloks also contains a little bit of caffeine.

Finally, I didn't practice the writing very much in my preparation as I've always been a pretty good writer. During the CATs, I think I only wrote full essays out twice. I probably should have done the writing pieces more than that, but I just couldn't deal with them!

I love that I don't have to fly with these heavy GMAT books anymore! Today I flew on business to Rhode Island...and I got to read Montauk's "How to Get into a Top Business School" instead. At least its a little lighter than the OG

You should enter your Kaplan scores into the Score Estimator database: https://www.gmatclub.com/content/resources/estimator/index.php

I've entered my practice exams into the estimator. However, someone needs to update it so that it has both PowerPrep and GMATPrep...and allows for multiple scores.

Got my AWA score back (a lot sooner than I expected). 5.0
I was kind of expecting higher since I pride myself on my writing skills. However, I didn't practice on the AWAs at all and didn't want to lose all my brainpower on writing a good AWA so I just did cursory essays.

MY AWAs:

something about AVIA airlines not improving customer service because less than 1% of their customer base filed formal complaints

The other was based on the statement "A citizen's primary responsibility is to obey its nation's rules and laws."

I keep thinking had I done better on the verbal portion, I could have had a slightly higher score...but there's really no point in looking backwards. I'm done with the GMAT and it is time to start my essays!