Original link:
https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/GMAT/M.1436599240.A.4A2.html

Author: wyling1519 (wyling)    Board: GMAT
Title: [Experience] Second Attempt 770_From Hell to Heaven Self-study + DUSTIN RC/JJ
Time: Sat Jul 11 15:20:37 2015

Test Scores: First Attempt 590  V22 Q49 (2015/2/13)
Second Attempt 770  V42 Q51 (2015/7/9 )

Department: NTU Accounting
Preparation Time: One month sprint for the first attempt, about three weeks for the second attempt
Study Materials: OG, OV, Manhattan SC, POWERSCORE CR BIBLE
Official PREP mock test software, Kao GMAT website, DUSTIN GMAT website, RC special class materials, JJ
and others (to be explained later)

Foreword

Hello everyone, this article is mainly for those who want to self-study but are struggling with insufficient information.
When I first started studying for the GMAT, I didn’t go to a cram school because I had attended a TOEFL class in my junior year and found myself too lazy.
Every day after class, I was too tired to open my books and practice, which wasted both time and tuition fees.
I also have classmates who absolutely love cram schools; they enjoy the environment and resources, and they attend classes for every subject.
Undeniably, cram schools offer many conveniences: you don’t have to blindly gather information yourself,
you can learn systematically and quickly, and you have teachers to ask questions and study groups to join.
So, whether or not to attend a cram school depends on your personal personality and preferences; everyone’s situation is different.

First, let me tell you about my situation. My English proficiency is truly average.
Many of my classmates have much better English than I do.
So, if I can do it, I believe that as long as you, my fellow forum members, put in the effort, you can definitely do it too!

After deciding to self-study, I scoured all the self-study posts on the forum and found that very few people wrote experience articles.
Along the way, I also made some mistakes and took detours, wasting a lot of time.
Of course, I also gained information from the GMAT forum and even met two benefactors:
one shared their note template for my reference, and another gave me a CR BIBLE.
This made me feel the warmth of human kindness and experience what it’s like to receive help in a time of need for the first time.
Therefore, I hope that I, too, can use this experience article to help all of you preparing to conquer the GMAT!

First Attempt

The idea of taking the GMAT came to me when I attended an information session for my department’s dual degree program.
Back in October 2014, I bought an OG to explore it, but I really just dabbled in it; I was very lazy…
It wasn’t until the winter break in January that I decided to start my sprint, studying 8-12 hours a day.
Below is my preparation process for the first attempt.

1. Finished the entire OG, supplemented with Manhattan SC and Manhattan CR, a process of about two weeks

I believe many of you will encounter the same problem as I did when working through the OG: the further you go, the harder the questions get, and the more mistakes you make.
But every time I looked at the SC explanations, they were always “wordy,” “unnecessary,” “illogical”… just swapping words around.
It felt like the explanations were useless; the explanation for one question could easily be swapped for another.
So, after doing about half of the SC and CR sections, I listened to the advice of many experts on the forum and also studied Manhattan SC and CR myself.
While studying Manhattan, I also did a few SC and CR questions daily to keep my skills sharp.
After finishing Manhattan SC, I truly felt enlightened, as if the path ahead was bright. The language used was easy to understand and very detailed.
However, after finishing Manhattan CR, I found that the book was really… a bit of a waste of my time…

2. Used the Kao GMAT website, doing one PP section daily (total nine sections)

First, let me say that the scoring on this website is very inaccurate. My scores ranged from as high as 760 to as low as 660.
Generally, its scores tend to be higher, and I often scored above 700.
However, I think the website’s interface design is quite good, it’s free, and it’s very convenient to find the questions you got wrong.
It can also help you track the error rate for each section (SC, CR, RC) in your mock tests.
At that time, I spent about 2.5 hours each morning on Q and V, but correcting them often took me four or five hours.
I believe that reviewing mock tests is extremely important!! Personally, I think it laid the foundation for my rapid improvement to a high score in the second attempt.
After each mock test, I would always go online to the Manhattan forum to find explanations and correct each question one by one.
There, some Manhattan forum administrators would enthusiastically help answer users’ questions.
I didn’t let any suspicious option go unchecked; sometimes, correcting a single question could take me half an hour.
I would write down the corrections for each question and each option in my notebook, eventually compiling over 40 pages of notes.
But I think this time was truly well spent, and it’s also why I was able to quickly regain my SC touch for the second attempt.
During my first attempt, I was very confident in my SC, with an accuracy rate of about 85%.
Even during the actual test, I felt that the SC questions I encountered were easy.
So, having this foundation for the second attempt, I put a little less effort into SC.

I don’t recommend using the user-provided explanations on the Kao GMAT website. Some of the Chinese users’ problem-solving methods are really strange.
For example, the G-M-C principle mentioned in Manhattan SC states that CONCISION should be chosen after considering grammar and meaning.
But sometimes you see Chinese users misusing it, cutting things randomly, or overemphasizing some strange grammatical rules.
For instance, before reading Manhattan SC, I borrowed a “Grammar X Treasure Book” written by a Chinese author from a friend.
After spending a week reading it in the evenings, I can only say that it was a bit messy and contained errors (the GMC principle was also misused).
For SC, just studying Manhattan is enough. Don’t be like me and read randomly… time really needs to be spent wisely.

3. Official PREP Mock Tests

By this last step, I had about two or three days left. I took one official PREP mock test and scored 660.
Note that some questions might have been seen in PP already, so the score might not be entirely accurate.
The day before the test, I spent a total of four hours exploring IR and AWA.
This part is relatively easier to prepare for, and I personally didn’t prioritize it as much, so I’ll skip over it here.
If you, my fellow forum members, want to aim for a high score in IR and AWA, you might need to seek advice from others (I scored 7 on the first attempt and 6 on the second).

4. Supplement

During my first attempt’s preparation, I also spent about an hour each day memorizing vocabulary, which significantly improved my lexicon.
Otherwise, I often couldn’t understand the academic vocabulary that appeared on the GMAT.
At the same time, I spent about half an hour daily practicing 3-5 sentences from Yang Peng’s “Long and Difficult Sentences.”
This also helped me better understand the sentence structure and meaning of each sentence.
Whether you need these two books depends on your situation; they are optional (but I didn’t read them during my second attempt due to less time).

However, I later realized that the focus of reading comprehension is not these things.
When I first did reading comprehension, I always focused too much on every word and sentence, neglecting the overall structure of the article.
This was one of the reasons for my collapse in the first attempt.

Another reason for my collapse was my excessive reliance on JJ (Jijing, or “exam review materials”).
I gambled all my RC, CR, and Q on JJ.
At that time, my accuracy rate for RC and CR was about 60-70%.
For the Q section, I had done the JJ several times, and hardly practiced anything else.
I calculated everything, but I didn’t calculate that the questions would change early on the test day.
I will always remember that day was February 13th, and I will always remember the score on my transcript.
590, Q49 V22…… When I saw it, I thought the system was broken.
I had studied so hard that month, only to get such a result.

So, I remind everyone again: NEVER, EVER, EVER rely too much on Jijing.
It can only give you a push within the scope of your abilities.
But if your own abilities are insufficient and the questions change, it will push you to hell.

After my first attempt, I felt a great sense of frustration.
Because ever since I was little, I thought I was good at handling exams.
Plus, many of my classmates scored 700+, and I thought if they could do it, so could I.
Unexpectedly, I fell hard this time; it was truly the most frustrating exam experience of my life.
After that, I didn’t pick up GMAT materials for a very long time; I was truly too frustrated…
During that period, I hated and avoided the GMAT exam. Seeing so many classmates score 700+ made me feel even more ashamed.
(After the first attempt, I probably wasted two or three months playing LOL to vent, until I got tired of it and started studying again, haha.)

Between the First and Second Attempts

1. CR BIBLE

Actually, besides Manhattan CR, I also bought another CR book for my first attempt (Scored X on my first GMAT attempt).
My impression of that book was… don’t buy books randomly.
For my first attempt, I read two CR books, and after finishing them, I felt they helped my CR extremely little.

But later, between my first and second attempts, I got the CR BIBLE.
I really, really recommend the CR BIBLE. It’s written very clearly and is easy to understand.
(Thanks to a kind forum member who gave me this book; this is one of the reasons I want to give back to the GMAT forum this time.)
This book is very logical, breaking down all CR questions into three main categories and ten question types.
After reading it, I was even more impressed than when I finished Manhattan SC.
My CR accuracy rate also soared from around 65% to a stable 90% or more.
I can only say this bible saved my CR, and it’s also very helpful for RC logic questions!
(Again, don’t be like me, don’t buy and read books randomly…)

2. DUSTIN RC Special Class

After my first attempt, I felt my RC was terrible, like crap.
Although I really don’t like cram schools, to save my GMAT,
I somewhat skeptically signed up for DUSTIN’s RC special class.
At first, I thought reading comprehension meant being given a very difficult article,
and then if you understood every word and sentence, you could get all the answers right; otherwise, you’d just have to guess.
But DUSTIN is truly amazing. He made me realize that the GMAT isn’t like that.
Perhaps because he has seen thousands of GMAT articles, he was able to systematically organize articles into a few fixed structures.
In the class, he guided us to understand all possible RC structures and question types.
After understanding them, I realized that no matter what RC I encountered in the future, it would always follow those same patterns.
After finishing the class, I suddenly understood that my previous approach to RC preparation was completely wrong!!
I had focused too much on every word and sentence, which led me to overlook the main point the overall article was trying to convey!

Furthermore, I highly recommend DUSTIN’s website.
He has a lot of GMAT-related information there, all for free!!
It was a huge help for a self-learner like me; the information there is truly comprehensive.
There are also a few articles about RC structures, but unfortunately, DUSTIN hadn’t launched this website when I was preparing for my first attempt.
For anyone planning to self-study, I highly recommend this website! When I was preparing for my second attempt, browsing this website felt like digging for treasure, haha.
He is a very enthusiastic educator, and I am very grateful to him for creating a friendly environment for GMAT self-learners!
Thank you, DUSTIN~

3. OV

After taking the GMAT for the first time, I angrily bought an OV that same day.
But I didn’t unseal it until my second attempt.

4. Maintain English Proficiency

During this period, I continuously watched English TV series and international English live streams.
Besides being entertaining, it also helped improve my English listening skills.
Occasionally, I would read some English articles.
Although I really detested the GMAT during this time, it was important to maintain my English proficiency!

Second Attempt

After graduating from university at the end of June, I started my sprint for the July 9th exam.
My sprint time was indeed only a few short days, and I also studied for over 8 hours daily.
My preparation methods were as follows (not in order):

1. RC

I took out DUSTIN’s class materials to review.
I had taken the class in March, and then I wasted a lot of time playing video games.
But when I took them out to review, I quickly got back into the swing of things.
Coupled with doing three OV passages daily, it really was the same pattern over and over.
Once you understand the RC patterns, they are very easy to tackle.
Even if an article contains many difficult words you don’t understand, you can still get the answers right.

2. CR

After finishing POWERSCORE CR BIBLE, my accuracy rate for OV questions was over 90%.
Although some OV questions overlapped with OG, I didn’t pay much attention to CR during my first attempt,
so I didn’t remember the answers.
I can only say this book is OP (overpowered).

3. SC

As I mentioned earlier, for my first attempt, I spent four or five hours correcting each mock test.
I made over 40 pages of SC notes, and I took them out to review.
Although the first review felt unfamiliar, the notes were ultimately my own,
so the more I looked at them, the faster I got. In just two or three weeks, I reviewed them more than five times.

A reminder for self-studying forum members aiming for a high score:
You really need to make your own notes. Don’t try to download notes made by “great masters” from other regions online.
Making your own notes will make them more memorable and allow for quicker, more effective review.
Spending time diligently organizing your own set of SC notes is absolutely worth it!

4. Q

I did about 50-60 OG math questions daily.
This helped me maintain my feel and reaction time for the questions.
By the way, a reminder: I felt the actual test questions were a bit harder than OG.
They were much harder than the PP questions on the Kao GMAT website; some of the mock test questions on the Kao GMAT website felt overly simple.
The actual test difficulty was probably similar to the official PREP mock tests.

5. JJ Class

I attended the Jijing classes taught by DUSTIN and KH.
Both teachers were very dedicated. I’ve talked a lot about DUSTIN, so now I’ll specifically mention KH.
He would reorganize the handouts and teach by topic (e.g., probability, factors/multiples…).
Sometimes, when encountering questions similar to GWD or OG, he would also add supplementary information, which was very thoughtful.
For more difficult questions, he would first provide some problem-solving thought processes instead of directly jumping to the solution.

However, having learned from my painful past experience,
my reliance on Jijing significantly decreased this time.
I probably only reviewed the Q and V Jijing two or three times.
The day before the exam, I stopped looking at RC Jijing.
For Q, you can pick about 50 harder questions to practice.

Finally, let me talk about how to use RC Jijing.
The first time, you can read everything thoroughly (main text + questions and answers).
But for the second and third times, just read the main text to grasp the structure and general idea of the article.
Think briefly about the main idea questions and the function of each paragraph; the function of extended paragraphs is also very important.
Because in the actual exam,
I feel that Jijing questions are rarely identical to the actual test questions.
Even if they are similar, you still need to re-read the question and options.
Constantly trying to recall Jijing might disrupt your thought process.

6. Supplement

Everyone, remember to stay relaxed.
Take the GMAT seriously, but don’t get overly nervous.
During my first attempt, I was under immense pressure,
because I had dedicated almost my entire winter break to studying, turning down all invitations to hang out with friends.
Sometimes, when I scrolled through Facebook before bed and saw photos of friends having fun, I felt really unbalanced.
Therefore, I thought that since I had put in so much time and effort,
I had the pressure of absolutely not messing it up. From the moment I woke up until I went to bed every night,
besides eating and taking a lunch break, I was studying for the GMAT.
Every morning when I woke up, there was an invisible, powerful pressure.
Unfortunately, my first attempt was a complete failure.
Putting in so much effort but not getting the corresponding result felt truly desperate.

Later, for my second attempt, I adjusted my mindset.
I mandated myself to study at least eight hours a day,
but also to have time for relaxation.
For example, I might have dinner with a friend for 1-2 hours or do some exercise.
Or watch an English TV series or live stream before bed to keep my mood relaxed.
This strategy was actually quite effective for me.
Even on the last night before the exam, I put away my books
and watched some TV series to relax, approaching the GMAT with a normal mindset.

I will always remember the moment I saw my score after the second attempt.
770… I thought the system was broken again.
Because after finishing the Verbal section, I felt like I had bombed it. I even encountered a super simple SC question around the thirty-something mark.
I panicked for a moment, thinking I had fallen into the low-score section.
Why are my GMAT scores always so extreme?
When I received my score report, my hands were trembling; it felt unreal.
Today, I also applied for an ENHANCED SCORE REPORT, thinking I could share it with forum members.
But after looking at it, I couldn’t make much sense of it, so I decided not to post it, haha.

This is my first time writing an article for two hours. Although I feel some things weren’t covered comprehensively,
I hope it helps my fellow forum members.
If any forum members are experiencing similar frustration to my first attempt, feel free to ask me questions!
Or if any self-study groups need help, you can also email me!

When I started preparing seriously for the GMAT, most of my classmates had already finished and achieved good scores.
I was all alone, spending every day in the library, which was truly lonely. I really wished I had study partners to support each other back then.
Unfortunately, most study groups prioritized those who attended cram schools, as their problem-solving approaches were more similar.
But I really hoped to have self-studying partners with actual test experience to support and encourage each other!
Perhaps if self-studying forum members need a study group, I can share more of my experiences and the process of getting back on track when I have time!

Although preparing for the GMAT often causes irritation,
after I found the knack, I actually found the exam quite interesting.
Especially CR questions; some of them are quite helpful for improving one’s thinking process.
And I treated RC as reading an editorial or a news report, which also broadened my horizons.
Since this is an unavoidable exam in the process of preparing for overseas study,
why don’t you all look at this exam from a different perspective?
Actually, I’m very glad I took the GMAT.
The preparation process significantly improved my English proficiency.
I hope you all can find joy in the preparation process!

I’m going to alternative military service training next week, so I rushed this article out while I had some free time these past few days.
If I think of anything else, I’ll add it later when I have time!
I hope this article serves as an inspiration, and that future self-studying students who succeed will also post their experiences to give back to the forum!
To enrich the self-study experiences on the GMAT forum!

Finally, I wish you all success in conquering the GMAT!!

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