Hi,
I gave my first ever GMAT on Sunday evening(
Aug 10).
Would like to tell a little history of everything that happened before the test:a) Had studied from
OG 13 & Kaplan 800. Had covered all the questions. Had thoroughly scanned the answer rationale of the questions I had got incorrect.
b) Had spent 2.5 months doing the above
c) Practice Test 1:
620(Q48,V28 - 2 weeks before the test on a Sunday evening)
d) Practice Test 2:
650(Q48, V31 - 1 week before the test on a Sunday evening)
e) 1 day before test- Had a lot of back pain which needed physiotherapy. Not sure whether it affected the test
f) Had revised both the books again and was feeling confident about the entire thing
Other statistics:a) Spend around 10 hours at work everyday + 1 hour of driving + 8 hours of sleep
b) Have about 6.5 years of work experience in Banking Technology(2) + Education Social(2) + Education Startup(2.5)
c) Gr 10: 86% ; Gr 12:80%; Graduation(BCA): 74% ; MBA(Tier2) Indian Institute without any prior job experience: 2.45/4
Why do I want to do a MBA?a) Had rushed into my first MBA and now realise that some job exp would have helped in gaining more from it
b) Want to start my own for-profit social enterprise but lack certain skills & network
c) Planning to do a 1 year MBA from a premier institute
d) Target GMAT score: 680+
GMAT Test Day:a) The test started 45 mins late. So basically I was just sitting idle at the centre for 105mins
b) Back pain was there but was pretty focussed on the test
c) Scores: IR 3, Q47 V30 Total 630
d)
Brief analysis of my performance on D-Day i) For the first time ever, I finished all the sections with time to spare
ii) I thought I was doing great in Quant. Had guesses a couple of questions in the middle to save time for the end though. But the score was very disappointing
iii) The Verbal paper seemed easy as compared to the Practice GMATs. However, the score tells a different story
My Question to the experts here: a) I want to give GMAT a second time. What books do I need to go through considering the above?
b) I feel that I need to practice a little more with simulated tests. But not very financially sound. Can spend upto Rs 3K/$50 for the same. Please suggest tests for the same.
c) When will be a good time to go for a second attempt? One of my target colleges have a deadline of Nov 30. And I have never done essays for an application.
So I guess I need to give the test by Sept 15 to leave ample time for the essays.
d) This will be my last GMAT. Cannot afford a 3rd test. Want to go all out at this one. Should I revise OG13 & Kaplan 800 again? If yes, should I use a different strategy?
e) How do I know whether I am plain simple "Overconfident" about my Quant skills?
f) Being a non-native English speaker, how do I improve Verbal considerably for my next attempt? Looking to score at least a 35 this time.
Please reply soon. Need all the help I can. Desperately looking for some advice here.
Thanks!