Hi guys,
The scores are in:
Quant: 50
Verbal: 44
Score: 770I still cant digest it! Just about 8 hours ago, I was reading the debriefs online and imagining what kind of debrief I would have to contribute. Will it be the one warning people of my flaws during the exam or one that provides advice and tips. I literally froze when I saw the score. The highest that I had managed whilst practicing at home was 750 and that too, I took a day long break between the quant and verbal sections! But it did happen, so the very first lesson:
GMAT is very learnable!You do not have to be a native speaker or a BSc in Mathematics to crack this test. Avid practice is your passport to an awesome gmat score.
I started my preparation 2 months ago and being in banking.. that does not mean a lot of time. But quality studying is what matters most. I started off taking a gmat prep test..scored 650..didnt get de-motivated because 700+ is what I was aiming for. Then got hold of the following resources:
OG 11OG 10 SC
Sets—The online series with lots and lots of tests.
Manhattan SCManhattan tests
Princeton online free test
Kaplan 800 (The collection of only the hard questions)
SC, RC, CR 1000
Before I delve into my personal strategies..
Notes about my actual exam:- I paced throughout the quant and verbal sections: Did 22 questions in quant when I had 45 mins remaining and completed 25 questions in verbal with 40 mins remaining. However, I became complacent and towards the end of it, I guessed (not educated) the last two questions of each of the sections. I am sure I must have gotten a couple right by luck or else I wouldn’t have made the score. It is important to note that you are always under a time crisis in the gmat. Even if you feel you are pacing the test and have saved a lot of time, when you sum up the time it may not be so large after all. This is how the brain works: ‘I did a question I had to do in 1 min in 20 secs. So that is like I didn’t waste any time for this question. So I have double the time for my next question’. Well well..if you keep thinking this, you’ll realize the fallacy of your calculations towards the end when you are under a severe time crisis! At least I did!
- Verbal was easier compared to gmat prep. The passages were very comprehensible and there were almost no hard inference questions. SC were tricky but short. When they are short, you have the time to re-read them and pull out the flaws.
- Took 5 minutes off during each of the optional 10 minutes break. Took advice from someone in this forum and stuffed myself with almonds. Did miracles!
Now about prep:
VerbalTear apart the sentences of the official guides and gmat prep and use them in conjunction with the Manhattan guide. What you could do:
- Solve the question of
OG 11 topic by topic as classified by MGMAT: This will teach you how to attack questions for which you know what topic is being tested
- Solve the Gmat prep, manhattan,
OG 10 questions without the guide. This should give you enough practice to identify the topics on your own and then attacking them.
QuantThe key is practice. I did the Sets which are perfect to gauge a LOT of important concepts. Once you do the sets, you can always check your answers online as most of the questions have been solved previously. Even if you got the question right, it pays to have a look at the forums as almost all the time they tell you some new and quick way to go about them or perhaps, you could contribute. While on this, I’d like to thank
Ian Stewart. His posts for certain Math questions are like gems! Sometimes by reading just one of his posts, I felt I did my share of preparation for that day!
WritingPracticed one of each 2 weeks before the exam. Compared it to the one in Official guide and felt I was doing well. Left it at that and just re-read what I had written the day before the exam. I am quite confident about this section as well. I finished 2 minutes before the time for each. I had a fourth important point to mention in the issue section that would have taken a paragraph but when I saw that I didn’t have time, I decided to stop. I think it is better not to mention a point that you cannot develop. Or if you really want to show the reader that you know about this aspect, you could mention it in the passing in your final paragraph.
What’s next?I have recently completed my undergraduate degree from the London school of Economics and am working for UBS. I am still 21 so I intend to gain some experience before applying for B-schools. I don’t know which one. It depends on their courses 2 years down the line.
Lastly, I’d like to Thank everyone in this forum. Trust me..It is superior to ANY gmat class that you intend to take. Whatever question you may have, simply ask and you’ll get fantastic insightful responses. Also, let me know if I personally can be of any help to anyone.
I am leaving London tomorrow and heading to India for a week. My plan there: Get sloshed! And get a little more sloshed!
Cheers!
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