GMAT Score : 730
Math # 51
Verbal # 38
I think a lot of people have already given a lot of inputs regarding strategies and resources.
I would just like to share my story.
First of all, relax and be confident when taking GMAT.
I think along with sound preparation, confidence is the key.
Second, GMAT tests you on time, time your answers well.
Third, although practice is the key, don't over burden yourself with millions of resources available, go for quality
not quantity.
My study plan :
For math, I don't have to practice much as I am an engineer, so my background already equipped me with that.
I followed OG and Kaplan.I also practiced problems from Kaplan 800, but to be frank, this book doesn't provide
users with quality math problems, I think one must follow OG to get the grasp of standards of GMAT.
Verbal :
I am not a native English speaker, but I have been working with MNCs and living in States for past 3 years
hence my English is neither great nor bad. I spent a lot of time towards preparing for sentence correction probs.
I studied OG,Kaplan,Kaplan 800 and Manhattan GMAT.
For people, who are trying to lift their success rate in sentence correction, Manhattan GMAT is the best resource I have come
across.Kaplan 800 has the some of the toughest problems and throws light on some of the fundamentals tested by GMAT.
Practice Test Scores
PowerPrep 1 : 740
PowerPrep 2 : 770
Kaplan CAT 1 : 640
Kaplan CAT 2 : 630
Kaplan CAT 3 : 660
Kaplan CAT 4 : 700
Princeton 1 : 670
Princeton 2 : 690
Princeton 3 : 740
Out of all the practice tests, I find Kaplan tests the best, Princeton tests are also close to real GMAT standards but the quality
of questions is not consistent.
Test Day #
I wasn't nervous till I reached the testing center :).
Started with AWA, and it went smooth as I had already prepared templates for issue and argument.
Math started with easy questions and then I was stuck on a couple of tricky DS questions. I took around 8 mins to solve those questions and proceeded. I didn't encounter any tough questions on probability or geomatry.Everything went smooth and I was sure that I did well in Math.
Here comes the monster, Verbal, started of with 3-4 sentence correction questions of which 2 were really tricky, followed by a couple of critical reasoning questions and a RC.RC was pretty cool, if you can comprehend the author's point of view, conclusion and structure of passage, you
shouldn't have any problem with RC.First half of the verbal was tough and I took around 38 minutes for 18 question, I got a bit tense and I think that's where I hurried up and did a couple of questions wrong.
One strange fact I noticed was, though I did OK, I didn't get any double bold face questions ( which I have seen in discussions are supposed to be encountered if you are doing good on tests). Because of this, I was all upset at the end of test and wasn't happy, after I completed the survey and clicked on Report Score, it was good to see 730 :).
Overall guys, give your honest effort in the preparation, have confidence and you will definitely achieve your goal.
Best of luck to all future GMAT takers.
Zombie