I went into the GMAT with overwhelming anxiety. Much to my surprise, I came out on top (relatively speaking). Here's a breakdwon:
Profile background:
Male, 23, English, 1 year of management experience; addicted to the following: pot, video games, poker
GMAT Experience:
<Study Period September 4th- November 4th>
No practice tests, just reviewed the books and studied the harder questions.
Actual GMAT- 700 Q47 V38, AWA yet to be received, Nov 4th 2009
GMAT Resources:
Barron's 2008- This book seems to get a lot of flack on review sites. Truth is, there are only two errors in the whole book, but the rest is pure gold. Excellent review of concepts, in-depth answer explanations.
Kaplan Premier Program 2008- Good variety of questions, despite some being a bit too easy. Excellent coverage of math concepts at the end.
OG 12th Edition- Great practice, but some of the answer explanations were lacking.
Structure Breakdown:
AWA- Glanced over a few examples, that's about it. The issue question on the actual GMAT was identical to a practice sample in the Barron's text.
Verbal- I spent about 1/3 of my study time reviewing verbal concepts. About 3/4 of that time was spent on sentence correction.
Quantitative- This comprised the remaining 2/3 of my study time, and the studying paid off. The math on the actual GMAT struck me as very difficult. Needless to say, I was delighted to get a 47.
Overall Impression
The GMAT wasn't easy, nor was it insanely mind-boggling. Studying pays off, I put in about 2-4 hours a day. Forget the classes, those are a waste of time and money. Better to study at your own pace in your own environment.
I smoke for insomnia and stress on a nightly basis. Every night, when the study session ended, the smoking session began. It's a great way to relax, and as you can see, there are no adverse effects on test results
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/grin.png)
If you have any questions about the GMAT, let me know. I'm going for an MSA at an above average school, wish me luck!
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