Second Attempt GMAT: Strategy for 730 (V40+)
March 2021 GMAT 730 V40 Q49 Experience (Weekend Training Program)
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Exam Scores
- First Attempt (12/28/2020): 690 (V36 Q48), IR 6, AWA 5
- Second Attempt (03/03/2021): 730 (V40 Q49), IR 7, AWA 4
Background and Materials
- Academic Background: Senior, International Trade, Business Administration
- Preparation Time: November 2020 – Early March 2021 (Over 4 months)
- English Proficiency: TOEIC 945, College Entrance Exam English 14
- Preparation Materials: A2 lecture notes, OG, A2techable platform, Feiteng online, GWD TN-24, PP, Kaomanfen, GMAT club, Zui Meng website
Introduction
If you’re planning to study abroad, I really can’t stress enough how early you should start preparing for the GMAT. It demands a serious chunk of time and effort. Honestly, it’s best to take the exam when you actually have the free time to dedicate to it. Otherwise, you’ll probably just end up feeling drained, and your score might suffer.
I was a prime example of what not to do. I started an internship last December, juggling work, classes, and studying in the evenings. It was incredibly draining. If you’re like me and struggle with self-discipline, I found that registering for the exam first was a great motivator to really buckle down and prepare seriously. I chose A2 because so many seniors and classmates recommended it. My friend and I signed up for their weekend training program. A2 offers a ton of resources – lecture notes, online materials that felt almost impossible to get through, and even occasional sharing sessions with alumni.
Personal Background
My English foundation is average; many people around me are much stronger. I consider myself to have good language and logical reasoning skills, but my math ability is weaker (don’t ask about my high school math score). Since my first attempt score wasn’t what I hoped for, I’ll focus this review on my reflections and what I learned afterward. For the second attempt, I’ll break down my preparation strategies for each question type and then wrap up with some thoughts on exam mindset.
First Attempt Experience and Review
When I saw my score after the first attempt, I was devastated because Q48 is indeed not high. For those scoring in the mid-to-high range and aiming for improvement, I highly recommend purchasing the ESR (Exam Score Report) for a detailed review (though $30 is quite steep). After digging into my ESR and thinking back on how the exam went, here are the main takeaways for me:
- There’s no single “correct” exam order; pick what works for YOU!
For my first try, I went with the most common sequence: Quant, Verbal, IR, AWA. But I’m definitely a slow starter. I was so incredibly nervous at the beginning that I couldn’t even properly process the math questions. I struggled with really basic linear equations, and it completely threw off my rhythm. So, For my second attempt, I flipped it and put the less critical AWA and IR sections first. This let me ease into the test and get my brain warmed up. - Understand the concept of “dynamic stop-loss.”
My first attempt showed me that my pacing in Quant was all over the place. Dustin’s video on dynamic stop-loss was a game-changer. It taught me that when you hit a really tough, time-consuming question, you need to set a mental limit for yourself. Make a decision, stick to it, and move on. - Boost accuracy in the early Quant and Verbal questions.
My ESR flagged that my performance on the first few questions in both Quant and Verbal wasn’t great. For my second attempt, I made a point to really focus on those initial questions and consciously avoided rushing through them.
Verbal Preparation Strategy
My overall approach was to spend less time on Sentence Correction (SC) and more on Reading Comprehension (RC) and Critical Reasoning (CR). The idea is that if you truly grasp the passage and the question in RC and CR, the answer becomes pretty obvious. This strategy, of course, assumes you’ve already built a solid foundation in SC. My first attempt’s ESR confirmed this worked for me: I spent about 30 seconds less per SC question than on others, yet my accuracy was higher. When it comes to practice questions, I’m a big believer that quality beats quantity. The real learning happens in the thorough review and summarization afterward, making sure you don’t keep making the same mistakes.
SC (Sentence Correction)
I think SC offers the best bang for your buck in the Verbal section, so I really recommend prioritizing it. It can feel tough at first, and you might even start doubting everything you learned in English class. But stick with it, and you’ll start to see progress.
A2’s SC lecture notes are fantastic and incredibly well-organized. They break down each test point with practice questions to help you nail it down. My method for training SC was to go through the SC “B” book over and over, memorizing every single test point. This trains your brain to spot the test point the second you see a question, which naturally speeds you up. If your grammar foundation is shaky, I’d suggest really diving into the “A” book first. Also, make sure you’re following a consistent process: first, analyze grammar and meaning, then evaluate the sentence’s overall quality. If you follow A2’s method, I’m confident you’ll see a big jump in your SC skills.
CR (Critical Reasoning)
Going into my first attempt, my CR was pretty solid, so I mostly relied on my own logic. But looking back at my first attempt’s ESR, I saw I could definitely improve. I went back and re-listened to the CR lectures and followed Kory’s method for reviewing each question. My process now is to first identify the conclusion, then figure out the question type (like assumption or inference), and briefly think about what a correct answer might look like before I even dive into the options.
RC (Reading Comprehension)
The most important thing in RC is understanding the passage’s structure and tone. Once you get to the higher score ranges in Verbal, you’ll often see complex passages or really dense topics. In those cases, focus on the structure and tone to nail main idea and purpose questions, instead of getting lost trying to understand every single word. Kory’s reading materials and the review methods from class are a huge help. They do a great job of categorizing what to look for with different question types, which really streamlines the problem-solving process.
Q (Quantitative)
I don’t have a ton of groundbreaking advice for Quant since my score wasn’t stellar. For my first attempt, I worked through KH’s practice book and then tackled GWD. I quickly realized the actual exam questions were way tougher than GWD. So, for my second attempt, I followed KH’s 30-day review plan on the online platform, mixing in questions from GWD and PP. Pacing is absolutely key in math – even on my second try, I sometimes got stuck too long on one question. If you can, definitely buy “Jing Ji” (a popular GMAT prep book in China). If you do well on the initial questions and don’t hit a question pool change like I did on my second attempt, you’ll likely see a lot of familiar questions later on.
AWA and IR
Since these sections aren’t the absolute highest priority, I only started prepping for them about three or four days before the exam. For IR, I just practiced the questions on the OG online learning site to get a feel for the types of questions. For AWA, I quickly reviewed Kory’s explanation videos and then found some high-scoring templates from other students on the Zui Meng website, tweaking them to fit my style. If you’re worried about it, I’d suggest practicing typing under timed conditions. Just remember that some programs, like Oxford’s MFE, have specific AWA score requirements.
About Exam Mindset
My initial goal was around 700, but as I got further into my preparation, I kept raising that target. The key, though, is not to put too much pressure on yourself. Find healthy ways to de-stress; too much pressure can actually backfire. During my first attempt, I was so set on beating the GMAT in one shot that I got way too nervous during the exam, and my score reflected that. A setback isn’t the end of the world – you can always aim to improve on the next try!
