Best GMAT Debriefs - Period!

Hey guys, wanted to share my experience with gmat. Took it in January 2014 - 610. Devastated by my score didnt really apply anywhere and finished my bachelor's degree with vague ideas about my future. Later on, after coming back home prepared for about a 1.5 months. Got 640 and 710 on Gmat Prep on the first two days of preparation, so felt deceptively good regarding my prospects.

Did not learn by heart or study hard through the whole Manhattan Gmat course. But I did read all the books, the math is explained really well there, if anyone is interested. Doing as many problems as I could (bought 450 problems on Gmat prep) I started being more detail-oriented which I am sure largely helped me in my verbal section during the actual exam. Took 6 Manhattan Tests. Quite a few of them seemed incredibly hard, especially the Q and IR parts. Remember taking a break on one of those exams between Q and V and thinking that I have never felt so exhausted while taking an exam. Nonetheless, it appeared that I had gotten the best score out of all my attempts in Manhattan (690). Felt a clear pattern (at least in the Q section). If I felt that the question were really hard and I did not manage them well, then the score was higher then in the cases I was sure of my good Q score.
All in all my manhattan Prep scores were:
03 December 620
4 December 680
6 December 640
8 December 680
9 December 690
10 December 650

I also did Princeton and Kaplan Gmat, both 670. In the end, I took the exam on the 14th of December. Was extremely nervous, did not sleep well, texting with my bf telling him to calm me down
Scored 710 (Q48, V39). Was happy to tears when saw the result. I thought my heart was going to flip out.

All I can say is that be very attentive and practice, practice, practice. Try to calm yourself down by breathing deeply on the exam? or eating chocolate (that was my way, love sweets, so I deprived myself from them for a week prior to the exam and bought my favourite snacks for the exam itself . Use all the breaks, it will let your body and mind be on the same level.
Waiting for the responses from Sloan, ESADE, Carroll, RSM, Bocconi and Imperial. Would be happy to chat with the applicants who have already been admitted to one of those schools or just regular fellow candidates.

Extremely helpful!! thanks BB !!

--give kudos, need to reach 25--

GMAT 1: 650 (Q49, V30)- Sep 16th, 2012

GMAT 2: 690 (Q49, V34)- July 1st, 2013

GMAT 3: 750 (Q50, V41)- Sep 17th, 2013

Pheww!! Done with GMAT Marathon finally-- 1.25 years of preparation, 3 sleepless nights, 2 failures and 1 dream score!

Would like to thank e-GMAT (Rajat, Payal, Shraddha and Chiranjeev).

Here's a breakdown:

GMAT 1--

Preparation lasted ~ 5 months..I was always decent at quant and from the start, was scoring 49-50 in Q on mocks but speed & letting go of questions remained an issue. Bunuel on GMATClub is great-- solve all his questions.. In Verbal, I was not aware of rules or logic..just practiced alot of questions-- lacked in speed and got stuck often. The first GMAT experience was nerve wracking-- primary focus was somehow to complete the test; wasn't sure of many answers esp. in Verbal esp. SC. Couldn't attempt the last 3-4 questions properly in both Quant and Verbal. The screen flashed a 650-- gutted;

GMAT 2--

Took a 2 months break but the GMAT score kept bothering me..knew that I will retake it. Couldn't start on my own so decided to enroll for classroom learning-- Joined Princeton Review Classes; Preparation~ 6 months. The faculty was great at PR, Delhi esp. the Verbal faculty; SC became my strong point and I achieved a 80-85% accuracy, CR improved marginally 70-80% accuracy however, RCs remained a problem- 55-65% accuracy and my timing was totally off; In hindsight, I might have over focused on the 1st 10 questions and ended up short of time.

Quant was the same even though I felt I had managed time better; Verbal- felt like I was doing pretty well and even started thinking of 40+ but kept getting behind on time which really messed up the last 10..submit- 690-

Low point in life. I have always been over-persistent with a cling on attitude and it is extremely difficult for me to let go of things. Started wondering whether the GMAC & the powers that be are conspiring against me and whether the GMAT is not for ppl lyk me..self doubt, inner demons, even the L word marked my thinking..was the accuracy reqd much higher than what I thought.. I deserved better maybe. My mocks seemed to suggest so..

GMAT 3--

Something within me jus kept me going..I couldn't stop now..690 thats not bad ppl said-- which made me feel worse..I shut myself down-- devised a study plan-- I knew it had to be Verbal which was setting me back..Quant had never been the issue even though I couldn't cross 49 both times..I decided to focus on the core issue -- VERBAL and I quit smoking..

Enrolled for e-GMAT- its different from most other courses-- inspite of the initial glitches, moved ahead with my prep..yes-- there is indeed a method to teaching CR & RC as demonstrated by e-GMAT--here are the main takeaways from the e-GMAT course--

-- SC- focus on the original sentence and error analysis. POE comes later and if the intended meaning is clear, u can breeze through this step.

-- CR- Pre- thinking helps u to structure the argument in your head; so that even if u can't guess correctly; u can identify the correct option during POE better

-- RC- Logical Structure, passage summaries and keywords help u understand the passage in the 1st go.

-- Last but not the least-- following the process for each and every question every single time; once ur done with the process- u move on, u save time

And never get bogged down-- I got a 50% on the e-GMAT Mini Test..e-GMAT workshops are great for practice and the analysis is unparalleled..

2 days before MGMAT repeat test - scored 770 and more importantly, could complete both sections well in time..Practice a variety of tests - U must try all the free sources including Veritas, Grockit, MGMAT, Edvento to name a few apart from the regular test series u take..monitor ur results n do in depth analysis and corrections on the same day.

Contrary to popular belief, took a paper on the day before the GMAT (had taken 2 papers the day before- 1 complete and 1 Quant); Wanted to be in qa mode and in rythm unlike previous 2 exams where I lazed around the day before the GMAT which made me even more nervous..I do recommend some light exercise a day before the GMAT as it helps get rid of the nervous energy -- did help me..just do everything u need to focus..

If Andy Murray could do it, .....decided to drive myself to the centre this time-- Quant was a breeze- kept monitoring time-- last question was super tough-- some weird series - could not make head or tail out of it..was unsure of only a few questions. Had Gatorade+ Crackle instead of Red Bull + Snickers this time-- more of a superstition thing..Verbal- in the break time I thought- these next few moments might well define what I end up doing with my life-- no stress- started off with 3 SCs n everything started falling in place-- couldn't have been more sure about the answers-- most of them-- I daresay if I could have completed the last 2-3 questions on Verbal, my score might have been even higher !! I would still take it...any day..!! New challenges beckon..

After deciding to apply to b-school, had two weeks to prep for the last GMAT test slot to make application deadline. Scored 500 on practice test. Did 8 more practice tests using Kaplan and Princeton Review and Barrons self study guides and got to 680 day before test. Got 720 on day of test. Made deadline. Admitted to HBS and Stanford.

So 9 practice tests and 1 real test in 15 day period. Brutal but worth it.

gonna post my story here

Thank you! Fantastic ideas - I started with quite a few categories but had to scale down as I realized those could not be filled, so I was just looking for some more....

great post.

I absolutely agree about the placement of the 800 threads at the bottom. While those posts don't add much to the discussion, they are kind of interesting (at least at first) and help to make the list more comprehensive. Anyway, if you're interested, here are some:

has-anyone-scored-800-in-gmat-47968.html
what-s-the-highest-score-someone-from-gmatclub-has-received-79136.html
anyone-pulled-800-on-gmatprep-62756.html
stanford-rejects-perfect-scores-of-applicants-92372.html

Again, no pressure to add them.

The "Runners-up" criteria, however, is a bit trickier. I'm a bit hesitant to suggest ways to gauge such threads. I will PM you instead.

Updated with more threads. Thanks to Bmillan01's watchful eye!

Great thread BB. Just a heads-up - My Quant Wake Up Story is linked wrong. Ironic I should say this since it's linked to MY post haha but I thought the poster should get the well deserved credit. I looked it up and was amused when reading because we're both good in math but sucked (at first) at GMAT math, both took a month to prep, both pushed off initial studying due to wedding plans, and it was posted on my birthday. Sorry... my coincidence / superstition thinking getting the better me of again...

Thanks! Just a service I provide to confuse everyone!
Fixed.

Thanks. I added one more, by talk2vj
name-of-the-game-do-not-giveup-112609.html

Thanks bb for compiling the various sourced of moticvations

I waste a lot of time dreaming about telling my future gmat success story lol

Thanks again for making the suggestions - I have implemented all of them
I am thinking I will put the 800 threads at the bottom.

Quick question, however, what were you thinking to put in the "Runners Up" Section?
What criteria would you use?