Taking the Practice GMAT

On Saturday I took a practice GMAT exam and got a 610. Thank goodness for practice. Considering that I felt like I bombed the test I guess a 610 isn’t that bad. I took the GMAT about six years ago for my first graduate degree and got a 640 with no studying whatsoever, but that was six years closer to all those basic math and grammar classes that I haven’t thought about since.

I took the practice test at http://testprep.princetonreview.com/cracking/. The funny thing is that I was able to use the serial number I checked out from the library to get in. The book is Cracking the GMAT from Princeton Review. I haven’t looked at any other GMAT prep books but I think this one is pretty good. Good enough that I don’t feel a need to look at any others.

The practice test seemed very much like the real test I took several years ago. Same basic format, the same types of questions, etc. The best thing about taking the practice test is that it scared me into focusing more on studying. It showed me how ignorant I am about how the questions are written and how to go about doing well on the test. Immediately after taking the practice test (which took 150 minutes, I skipped the written portion since I’m not worried about it and schools generally don’t look at it much either) I reviewed the questions I missed and started looking through the prep book so I could understand better how to answer those types of questions, and I’m already sure I’d do better if I retook it. I’m planning on doing a lot more studying over the next week and then taking the second practice exam on the 16th. Then I’ll study more during the next week before I take the real thing on the 23rd.

I’m probably not studying nearly as much as most people. Hopefully it will be enough. I think if I get a 680 or above on the real thing I’ll be in safe territory based on what I feel are some other strong areas. If I get a 720 or above I think I’ll be in absolutely safe territory as far as the GMAT is concerned.

I’m glad I’m not just going in and taking it cold like I did the first time. I’ve forgotten way too much stuff and if I had done that I’m positive I would have ended up quitting the test and having to retake it.