710...w00t!! w00t!!... Naiiiled it!

Hi Guys,

Just gave my GMAT yesterday and got 710, Q: 49 & V: 38 :bouncer :bouncer :bouncer (And I thought my quants was weak... :wtf: )

Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed preparing for and giving the GMAT.

Test Preparation:

I studied for the test for just about a month. I am working full time so I used to wake up early in the morning and get in about 2 hours of study & then once i came home in the evening I'd spend about 1-2 hours at night.

Throughout the day though I would constantly be logged into the gmatclub forums and solve questions that people had posted whenever I got a little bit of free time. THANKS GUYS EVERYONE HELPED A LOT.

I also solved the complete OG12 which was fantastic because almost all of the questions on the Test were of that level so don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.

I gave the GMATPrep tests around 4-5 times each and I also gave the free MGMAT & Kaplan test. (Kaplan is really not good because I found all of their verbal answers very suspect) I haven't got a score of above 680 in any of the mock tests I gave until on the morning of my GMAT I gave one of the GMATPrep tests and scored 710 and guess what??? I scored a 710 in the actual thing as well. So it is truly the best indicator of where you stand.

Even though I had not got any score of over 680 I was not worried because I knew that if nothing else my score will definitely be 680 or thereabouts. But on analysing what I did differently on the day of the test in both, the actual GMAT as well as the mock test in the morning were the following things:

• I realized that I am going through the test too fast ( I used to finish the entire quants and verbal section in 1 \frac{1}{2} hrs. (This is very common in Indian students who are also preparing for the IIM CAT because in that test you get only 50s per questions although, it is not computer adaptive.
  
• Another thing I did was in the verbal section, being a really quick reader I tend to skim through the passages or CR paragraphs which led to me making a lot of silly, avoidable errors. So I made a conscious effort to slow down.

I am usually very very calm before any exam, test or interview. So much so that over the years my friends usually call me up before an exam because they tend to feel calmer after talking to me. The GMAT was no different. After i finished the mock test I watched few episodes of Castle for about 2-3 hrs, ate my lunch and left for my GMAT.

The centre is pretty far from my house so I left almost 1.5 hrs before reporting time.

The Test Experience:

I gave my test in Mumbai, India and was very impressed with the centre. (It's not much to look at from outside but very clean and organized inside). It was really quiet and the lady who explained the procedure to me was very precise and very patient.

The locker facilities were good and it was really quiet. After I finished my AWA and took my first break a very funny thing happened, my palm scan wasn't registering because it was really cold at the centre and my palms had become extremely cold. so the scanner couldn't read my body heat. however they managed to sign me out without it. ( If something like this happens to you don't panic)

The quant and verbal sections were very good and I got a couple of really tough questions which I am sure were test questions because questions like that have never appeared in the GMAT before, they were more logic based than quants. Although I believe the last question which I got was definitely wrong because I think the numbers may have been printed wrong. (Yes, even GMAC seems to be fallible.)

I had taken the ear plugs that they offered but after a point it got so quiet with them on I couldn't concentrate, so I took them off.

Prep time and Material:

I studied only for about a month for around 3-4 hours a day (I work full time). Although I started solving GMAT material from scratch my Quants and Verbal are both pretty good so it was not very difficult.

I did not practice any AWA but it wasn't too bad in the GMAT because I have a good typing speed and powerful writing skills. However I followed the pattern that gmatclub user Chineseburned has reccomended. I'll knw how it went only once I get my scores.

The material I used is as follows:

• OG12 (This has to be your GMAT bible)
• MGMAT Free practice test
• GMATPrep Software (Best indicator of your abilities and helps you get acquainted with the actual interface. I gave each test 4-5 times. Only few questions repeat)
• Gmatclub tests (Good if your basics are clear in quant and verbal but it could be demoralizing if you give it without any preparation since the questions are much harder than what you would get on the actual GMAT)
• Kaplan Free test ( But this is really bad since almost all the verbal questions are suspect)

This is all the material that I have used for the test. If you noticed I haven't spent on anything except the OG12. I was able to unlock the gmatclub tests and also got the beatthegmat questions for free so if you are dedicated enough there is no need to spend money on expensive coaching or test prep material. Just believe in yourself and you can do it on your own. For any doubts there is always gmatclub.


I just have one piece of advice for anyone who is planning to give the GMAT just be very calm and don't worry too much about how you are doing on the test just concentrate on the question in front of you.


Just an Update:

I scored a 118/120 in my TOEFL.

Submitted my Apps to UCLA, Chicago & UC Davis on 5th Jan.

Will Submit my NYU App sometime this week.

*Fingers Crossed*