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To introduce: I am an Indian IT Male with 4+years of experience. I took a 2months break from work to prepare from my GMAT.I referred MGMAT for SC and LSAT CR Bible, apart from OG12 and OGVerbal Review. I had initially referred Kaplan Premier. (After havingspend a month, realized it to be completely junk.) :yuck: Mock Test Scores: Month 1: Kaplan 1 540 (Diagnostic) Kaplan 2 670 (q45, v39) MGMAT 1 640 (q42, v35) Kaplan 3 720 (q55, v34) Kaplan 4 620 (q40, v33) Kaplan 5 650 (q45, v31) Month 2: Month 2 tests were under complete test conditions. MGMAT 2 680 (q48, v34) MGMAT 3 690 (q48, v35) MGMAT 4 700 (q51, v35) MGMAT 5 700 (q50, v35) GMATPrep1 710 (q50, v36) GMATPrep2 710 (q49, v38) Reset GMATPrep1 750 (q50, v40) Real GMAT: 610 (q48, v27)!! :smack: Test Day: I was pretty relaxed a daybefore and during the exam. So, I can safely say that stress factorwas not a part of my debacle. Reached the test center an hour beforethe scheduled time. AWA section was pretty smooth. Quant sectionstarted of easy but started to become very difficult by the mid 20s.Out of the first 25 question, I had spend considerable time (about5mins) for 3 questions, which I think could have been experimental. Ihad encountered 1 really touch Geometry question out of theapproximately 5 geo questions in all. I probability question. And alot of number theory and word translation questions. And 5-6 algebraquestions with power of 3, 4 or 5!! I noticed that I had only 1:15for the last 10 questions. Therefore, improved my speed. Among theselast 10 questions, I took a random guess for the last 2 questions asI had completely run out of time. But overall, I had a good feelingabout the quant section. I took both the 8 minutes break and during each of the breaks, I went to therestroom, had a bar of chocolate, and a glass of water. Verbal section started of pretty well.But to my astonishment, the very 6/7th question was a tremendouslydifficult, long, vocab intensive RC with 4 questions. (Now when Ireflect back I think this one might have been an ExperimentalQuestion) I lost more that 10-12minutes on this one. SC and CRquestions were on the tougher side. Comparatively, difficult that theOG12 problems and the GMATPrep questions. Mid was through I gotanother long RC followed by 4 questions. This one was compared to thefirst one. In all, I got 4 RC (2 long with 4 questions and 2 shortwith 3 questions). I had 1 minute for each of the last 10 questions.Almost panicked. My second last question was a bold faced question CRquestion and the last question was a SC question. Thought I was doingok. But when I saw the score 610 (v48 q27), :confused: I felt as if my life wasshattered. :wallbash: Request: I have resumed work and plan totake the GMAT again in about a months time. I will be able to devoteabout 3 hours on weekdays and the entire weekend. I am hoping forsome good tips/suggestions from you guys to improve my GMAT score to a700-730 level. I would highly appreciate your help in this regard.

The best approach for using the GMAT Official Guides: I have noticed that most people don’t know how to make the optimal use of the Official Guide, and which other books to read. The OG is perhaps the best material you can get for practice, but only if you use it the right way. Reading the right book at the right time can make a world of difference. This is why it is so important to have a pre-planned strategy in mind. I have gone through many reviews and comments on different sites and following is my assessment. Review my suggestions and feel free to add or ask me any questions. Remember, the GMAT OG is a "must have" for everyone who intend to take the GMAT, so make sure to use it the right way. -First: --Skim through this book at the very beginning when you first start preparing for the test. --This will give you a good understanding of what you should expect to see when you take the actual test. -Next: --If you feel you are truly comfortable with all the concepts involved - go ahead and crack every question in this book and you'll be good to go. --If you feel you lack some if not all of the concepts involved - keep this book aside, go through some of the other study guides, and then at the end come back to this book and answer every question. -Next: --Buy the recommended books listed below. --Take the free official practice tests. -Finally: --To get additional practice - consider browsing the internet to find any free questions you can lay your hands on. --To get a final reinforcement - once again take the free official practice tests before your real test. -OG Positives: --Indisputably one of the best GMAT books if you want to know what types of questions can potentially pop up on the test. --Excellent source for practicing real GMAT test questions for all difficulty levels. -OG Negatives: --No conceptual knowledge of any topic whatsoever. --Answer explanations are fine but not that methodical. -GMAT Books: If you are serious about getting a high score, I'd recommend doing the following: --Get the latest edition of OG. --Get Barron's book as this is one of the best all-in-one review book (except the CD). --For Verbal Review - consider Kaplan/Arco, and Manhattan for SC. --For Verbal Practice - consider Kaplan/PR Workbooks, and Dummies book. --For Math Review - consider Kaplan/Nova if you need a basic refresher, or EZ GMAT Review Books if you want a more in-depth coverage of each and every math concept. --For Math Practice - consider Kaplan/PR Workbooks, or EZ GMAT Basic WB for medium-difficulty problems and Advanced WB for most-difficult problems. I am certain that if you follow the above steps, you'll be well prepared for the GMAT without the need to take any expensive prep course or private tutoring. I did a lot of struggle preparing for the GMAT, and that's why I know how painful it can be if one doesn't have the right guidance. You can consider me as someone who has been studying for the GMAT off and on for quite sometime and is very familiar with all the different available tools. If you have any questions or doubts about anything related to the GMAT, please feel free to ask me. I really hope that I was able to help at least some of you who are still trying to figure out the best approach to prepare for the GMAT. Thanks for reading and good luck with your preparation for the GMAT. I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. ~Winston Churchill