How To Get a 770 On the GMAT

After Elizabeth took her test a couple of months ago, I was ecstatic to hear from her that she got a 770 on the GMAT.

She's also taken the time to relate her study strategy, which is well worth reading. To highlight a few key points:

You've probably heard this, but scheduling your test is vital if you're lazy like me. Knowing the date of my reckoning lit a fire under my tush.

Once you've decided to take the GMAT and start studying, this ought to be your next step. I can't overemphasize how important it is to give yourself a deadline. I've watched too many students let the process drag out for months, even years.

I stopped drinking two weeks before the test, just to clear my head. I don't drink much normally anyway, but I knew that I would be less motivated to study with a hangover the next morning, so I kept my brain as unfuzzy as possible. The week before the test, I started getting up at 5:30 in the morning so that my 6:30 alarm on the day of the test would feel luxuriously late. I suppose that this was also a mental thing, but the result was that I wasn't drowsy at all when I got up on the fateful morning.

Obviously, a hangover isn't conducive to effective studying or successful test-taking. It's also important to be accustomed to the early morning if you are taking the test in the morning. Best of all, once you get used to it, early morning study sessions seem to be more effective than evening sessions, especially if you work all day.

Finally, Elizabeth encourages a couple of purchases that I strongly endorse:

I purchased two of Jeff's books: Total GMAT Math [formerly known as "The GMAT Math Bible"] and [The Guide to] The Official Guide to GMAT Review. I cannot stress enough how vital these books were to my study regimen. They are absolutely and completely responsible for how I performed on the test. Because the OG doesn't offer good explanations, doesn't rank each problem's difficulty, and doesn't have good math review, these books will fill in those gaps for you. I hadn't taken a math class since my freshman year of college 6 years ago, so Total GMAT Math saved me. I started each study session with one chapter from Total GMAT Math.

I would never claim that my books are entirely responsible for someone's success. Elizabeth did far too much quality work not to take most of the credit for herself. That said, it's always gratifying to hear that my resources are effective in exactly the way I planned them to be. Total GMAT Math is rapidly becoming a must-have reference for every aspiring business school applicant.

Once again: Congratulations, Elizabeth, and thanks for sharing your successful GMAT strategy!