I just sat the GMAT and got 700 (V44 Q42)
Although happy with the verbal, the 73rd centile in Math is a bit of a disappointment. I am aiming for Stanford or Harvard. Although coming from an atypical background (medicine), I have heard that one can get away with a low verbal and high Quant but not vice versa.
I prepared for about 2 months. Did the
Kaplan classroom course in August and spent Sep going through material. Found the
Kaplan methods useful eg. backsolving and picking numbers. But, I think that
Kaplan is good for getting an average score but the classes don't really prepare well enough for high scores. The classes were good for motivation, if you need it.
Used OG, Princeton and
Kaplan 800.
Here were my practice scores
Princeton - 680, 700, 720
Kaplan - 620, 550, 540
PP - took them but after doing OG. Recognised some questions so don't think scores were accurate.
Unfortunately, I treated the exam like my medical school exams - learning and more learning. This is where I felt I suffered - esp in quant
It is impossible to learn every type of math question. The concepts can be asked in a multitude of ways.
So, the actual exam..
Essays were fine. I am a native speaker and am used to churning out argumentative qualitative crap (took a philosophy course)
Similarly, found the verbal relatively ok. By the same reasoning as above, found CR and reading comp fine. My greatest advice for these types of questions is to go through OG and notice the type of wrong answers - out of scope, au contraire etc. This way, 2/3 options can be discarded quite easily.
SC was my weakness and spent a great deal of time practicing it. Used OG primarily. Some taxing ones on the day. Prob caused a fall in my verbal score
Now the Math, a lot harder than the ones i prepared with. Also, I have not taken Math since high school. Although being of Indian origin, my skills are not as well developed as some of my IT colleagues on this site.
So, my dilemma...
Do I apply with the GMAT score I have and hope on diversity to get me through. Or, I am not desperate to go for an MBA next year. I do like the idea of improving my weaknesses and would love to get a higher mark (esp on Quant). I don't mind hard work. So, I guess my question for you guys is how do I improve on the quant section. Do I go back to basics and study from a textbook or do I just practice more and try to increase understanding at a conceptual level.
Any specific suggestions would be great.
Good luck for anyone taking the test soon.
Mohit
close
