Breaking 650: My Journey and Strategies
GMAT 750 (V40 Q51) Experience: From Stagnation to Breakthrough in Five Attempts
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Exam Score Summary
- Attempt 1: 640 (Q49 V28) AWA:4 IR:5 (2021/04/01)
- Attempt 2: 640 (Q49 V28) AWA:4 IR:7 (2021/05/13)
- Attempt 3: 650 (Q50 V27) AWA:4 IR:4 (2021/06/29)
- Attempt 4: 690 (Q49 V34) AWA:5 IR:6 (2021/10/28)
- Attempt 5: 750 (Q51 V40) AWA:5 IR:6 (2021/12/22)
Background and Preparation Information
Academic Background: Senior, Risk Management and Insurance, National Chengchi University
English Proficiency: TOEIC 945 / TOEFL 106
Preparation Duration: November 2020 – December 2021
Preparation Materials: Dustin’s Terminator Course materials, A2 Training Class materials, OG, PP1-4, GWD, OV, Advanced Questions, Kaomanfen, Greedy Snake, Math Intensive Course materials
Introduction & Initial Preparation (Attempts 1-3)
I always planned to pursue a graduate degree abroad. After looking around online, I figured the GMAT wasn’t something I could just wing. So, during my junior year, I signed up for an A2 prep class. Big mistake: I never reviewed the material or did the homework. I took the GMAT way too casually, and my scores reflected that in my first few tries.
Attempt 1: 640 – An Initial Experience Based on Gut Feeling
For my first attempt, I basically just flipped through the OG and barely glanced at the course materials. I was pretty much guessing my way through the whole thing. When I saw 640, I just thought, “Okay, I’ll study a bit more, and I’ll definitely hit 700 next time.”
Attempt 2: 640 – A Warning Sign of Stagnation
After that first score, I asked A2 for advice. They told me I wasn’t focusing enough on meaning, wasn’t reviewing thoroughly, and wasn’t practicing enough. But I made the mistake of thinking that just mastering the materials and doing more practice questions would be enough. I reread the course materials every few days and did PP1 and PP2. Still, I got the exact same score as the first time.
Attempt 3: 650 – The Frustrating Plateau
After attempt two, I talked to A2 and Kory again. It hit me that I hadn’t really figured out the “understanding meaning” part at all. By this point, I’d done the PP and GWD sets and was still just rereading the materials. My score barely budged – only 10 points higher. I was incredibly frustrated! Coincidentally, the day after my exam, I saw an advertisement for Dustin’s “Terminator” course recruiting students. Although I hesitated, I figured that postponing my next exam by a month would just be a waste of time and money. So, I decided to join Dustin’s program for a few months before taking the test again.
The Turning Point: Dustin’s “Terminator” Course (Attempts 4-5)
Attempt 4: 690 – Regaining Confidence
Around this time, my practice tests were actually scoring in the high 700s. But on test day for my fourth attempt, I was a wreck. I barely slept the night before and my pacing was all over the place. Getting a 690 was a big jump, and I was happy, but I was bummed that my Quant score dropped back to 49. I decided to give it one more shot to break 700.
Attempt 5: 750 – A Calm Mind Leads to the Final Victory
During this period, I was also working on my graduate school application essays. I could only manage about 4 hours a day for GMAT studying. Honestly, having other things to focus on actually helped take the pressure off obsessing about my GMAT score. On the day of the exam, I felt surprisingly calm. No nerves this time. When the 750 popped up, I genuinely couldn’t believe it.
If you’re like me – stuck in a loop of studying hard but not seeing results – and your main problem is test-day jitters, having other commitments can really help. But this only works if you’re already putting in serious hours. If you’re just starting out, you simply need to put in the work. No excuses!
Subject-Specific Preparation Tips
SC (Sentence Correction)
The Importance of Understanding Meaning: Every A2 consultant hammered this home. My biggest hang-up before was avoiding meaning-based solutions and not really knowing what “understanding meaning” even meant. Dustin’s first “Terminator” SC class finally clicked for me. He showed us how to translate sentences into simple terms and approach questions from a reader’s point of view. That’s when I finally understood the methods and what it means to grasp the meaning.
Before that, I was just picking an error type out of thin air, completely clueless that questions break down into Grammar and Communication, or that I should use the answer choices to eliminate options. After the class and slowly building these concepts, my SC accuracy started going up. The A2 ABCDE workbook is gold – make sure you know it inside and out!
CR (Critical Reasoning)
CR was always one of my stronger areas. My old strategy? Read the question, then dive into the answer choices, which usually left me stuck between a few confusing options. After joining the “Terminator” course, I learned to “identify the conclusion” and “formulate a prediction.” This saved me a ton of time. I thought I was already identifying the conclusion, but the class showed me that sometimes the question is about reasoning, and sometimes it’s about purpose – which changes everything. Learning to “predict” the answer kept me from getting sidetracked by the answer choices.
RC (Reading Comprehension)
The Active Reading method from the prep class was a game-changer for RC. Kory walked us through reading passages and drawing logical diagrams, which really helped me figure out how to tackle RC passages. In the “Terminator” class, Dustin designed reading exercises specifically for my weak spots. I trained by reading three thousand words from Scientific American every single day, right up until the day before my exam. After nearly two months of this, my reading speed and comprehension both improved dramatically.
Quantitative
GMAT Quant isn’t rocket science, but math has never been my strong suit. I stuck to solving about 40 problems daily. I’m convinced that if you keep up a consistent math routine, hitting a 49 is totally doable. I practiced timing myself at one minute per question. During practice tests and the real exam, I used the standard time limit and double-checked everything. If a question was too tough, I learned to just move on. The Math Intensive Course and the “Greedy Snake” materials were also huge in helping me score over 50, especially learning fixed solution methods for different question types from KH.
Pace (Time Management)
Pacing was always a major hurdle for me, mostly because I’d get so nervous. The “Terminator” course gradually built up my pacing skills. We started with how to solve individual questions efficiently, then progressively shortened the time limits, and finally simulated the full exam pace with practice tests. With this training, even when I felt nervous on test day, I knew exactly what to do, which stopped me from completely tanking my score.
Post-Course Resources and Conclusion
The support didn’t stop after the courses ended; the resources provided were incredible. I attended A2’s weekly Q&A sessions multiple times, and KH and Kory also held office hours. A2 GMAT really made me feel like they were committed to helping every student hit their target score, even after the program was finished.
When my scores remained stagnant after three attempts, I felt incredibly discouraged, thinking I was working hard but seeing no progress. It wasn’t until I encountered the “Terminator” course that I realized my incorrect approach to problem-solving was hindering my improvement. I really wish I’d realized this sooner and joined the “Terminator” class earlier. Although the GMAT preparation process was arduous, I learned a great deal throughout it.
Most importantly, I’m so grateful to A2, Kory, Dustin, and KH for their unwavering support. To everyone still grinding for their GMAT goals, keep pushing. If someone like me, who hit three consecutive score plateaus, could finally break through, I know you can too. Best of luck hitting your target scores and getting into your dream schools!
