About to start studying for the GMAT in the coming months. How many of y'all have taken it? How'd it go, what'd you score? Any tips? Etc. etc. I'm aiming to get above a 650 for my first attempt, crossing the 700 mark would be :grin::grin: Also can you please say what MBA school you ended up going to? Thanks!
I got a 720 and also get eye f*&ed at least a bazillion times a day ... and I have a big schlong... But seriously, I got a 720 about 7 years ago... but ended up not going anywhere! I only applied to a few schools, got denied at Stanford, got accepted at Haas (Berkeley), got a full scholarship at UC Boulder. I have a good undergrad business degree, with a really strong finance emphasis, so viewed the process a little differently. To me it was 90%+ about networking and picking a program that was regionally somewhere I wanted to be and had its strengths in areas that I was interested in - particularly, entrepreneurship. I was interested in moving somewhere west, but ultimately decided I wasn't sold on California, and the cost of Haas, when factoring in living expenses, etc., were just astronomical. Boulder would have been cheap, and I'd love to live there (as a 30 something outdoorsy, bearded white yuppie), but outside of Colorado not well respected. I firmly believe that outside a very very few select schools, if you know a general region where you're going to end up in life (i.e. - going to live in Texas), you're better off going to the best schools in that region. EDIT: forgot to add tips. there's only so far natural intelligence can get you. beyond that, it's a matter of practice. the more you practice, i guarantee the better you do. half the battle is being prepared for the format and style of questions, so you know how to best and most efficiently process the question, calculate an answer and manage time. the other half of the battle is knowing the subject matter. so, really, as with any test, unless the material is simply above your pay-grade, it's a matter of putting in the practice time.
I just took my first GMAT (610) without any help. I'm taking my first class session from Kaplan starting next week so it should be interesting. I'll probably take the real thing over winter break sometime when I come home from school and have time to study. I know your scores last for five years so I'd recommend taking it while you're in school, then working for a couple of years after. Maybe you'll get lucky and the company you work for will pay your tuition for you.
