710 4 years back to 740 today- Thanks a lot GMATClub

Hello All:

I wrote my GMAT yesterday and scored a 740 (Q 50, V40), AWA 5.5. And without any doubt the biggest reason for the score is the terrific support the community members provided me during my prep. There are lot of study plans available on this forum so I would not detail out the study plan I followed. I followed my instinct :D.

But would love to highlight things which helped me a lot in prep. It took me some time to discover what gems and treasures lie hidden on the numerous pages of this forum.

Right Books

Sentence Correction
1. Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction. Read it page by page and at end of each chapter do the questions from OG which are mentioned at the end. This will let you understand how a particular rule is applied in a given scenario.Trust me each line in the book can make the difference between you selecting the right or wrong answer.
2. Brutal SC A collection of really tough 70 SC problems. Don't get disheartened if you get battered by these tough question. The point is not to get all of them right but to understand why every option is right or wrong in these questions.
3. SC Grail from Aristole Prep: I especially liked the summary they have created of each important concepts of SC.

My tip: I have learned more by figuring out why the four other incorrect options are wrong rather than why the correct option is correct. Practice questions which have quality explanations. No use of questions where you get it right but are not sure why it is right

Critical Reasoning
1. Powerscore CR Bible. Read it fast but give lot of attention to the recap they provide on the problem solving approach at the end of the chapter. Solve each example question they have given in the end of the chapter and make sure you read their explanations.

My tip: Solve lot of quality Critical Reasoning Questions. One way to do it is to do a tag search for 700 level questions on the forum and solve them and post your responses on the forum with justification. Assumption Negation technique is something you should know about

Reading Comprehension
I tried couple of books (Manhattan GMAT Reading Comprehension and others) but nothing helped me. I devised my personal hybrid strategy after miserably failing at using other people's strategy. Realise the fact that if you dont understand the passage right you might end up getting 3-4 questions wrong in one strech.

1.Aristotle RC 99 Has quality Passages and to an extent mimics the difficulty level of GMAT RCs.

My strategy:
-----------
Read the passage slowly. (8 mins at most for RCs with 3 Qs).
Look out for words which change the direction.
Summarize each paragraph in to 1 line in your head/paper. Writing would slow you down.
Make out what role each para plays in the passage.
Start solving questions.

Quant
It came naturally to me because I am an engineer and appeared for CAT thrice and averaged around 94% :D on my 3 attempts. But something which helped me revise.
1. GMAT Club Quant Book - Awesome summary of the most important concepts that are applied in GMAT.
2. Bunnel - Follow the Guru and read every solution he gives for a problem. For all the indians on the forum "Gajab funde hain Bunnel guruji ke". For others what I meant was that approach Bunnel applies to solve problems is awesome.

My tip: - Tag search for 700 level questions on the forum and solve them.

AWA
Look no further. One stop solution by chineseburned. But do practice couple of essay prompts.
1. https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html#p470475

My tip: - I used my first three minutes of each essay question to jot down points. I put my pre-decided template on the pad during the four minute practice time.

CAT Tests
1. Kaplan Online Test
2. Manhattan GMAT test
2. GMAT Prep Test

My tip: Figure out a reason as to why you got a question wrong. I created a excel sheet with tabs for each test and in each of the tab I listed the question#, question type and WHY I got it wrong. And overall for each test what was accuracy on each of the topic (PS/DS/CR/RC/SC). You will be surprised what such analysis can reveal. I always thought SC was where I lagged but I realised RC was where I was consistently below average.

General Tips
> Make a log of questions which completely stumped you. It could be as simple as copy pasting it for last day reference.
> Follow Bunnel for Quant Skills. His approch towards solving problems is awesome and explanations equally crisp and high quality.
> Follow Ron Purewal of MGMAT for Verbal. No one can explain a verbal questions the way the master does
> Be active on forums. I had set my self a target of atleast posting solutions to three verbal problems on the forum.
> I read some where getting 3-4 question wrong in one stretch really hurts your score.
> 5 Hour energy drink helped me a lot in mantaining my concentration level during the exam.
> If nothing is going your way during the exam close your eyes for 10 seconds and then start again. It REALLY worked for me during the exam.
> If you are full time employee I would say take atleast a 3 day leave before the exam. I gave my last two GMATs at the exact time when my real GMAT was.It was important as my GMAT was at morning 8 AM.

And if you have questions do PM me and I WILL get back to you