Thanks!
So here goes my debrief:
I am an Indian, though not exactly an IT person - working in IT industry but a totally niche segment
I am also an engineer through and through, as a result I didn't really focus on Quants
Anyways, my GMAT journey started 2 years back,
Verbal : I took the
OG 11 & OG12 questions, practiced them regularly and went through my mistakes religiously.
MGMAT SC guide was also very useful in going through the concepts. Do be wary of them - dont treat them as your bible. I have noticed often in the gmat, the higher level questions deviate more from the norm,so do absorb everything you read, but please be aware that there are exceptions to every rule.
Quantitative : Didnt really focus much, just went through the probability section and the questions on the OG12.
AWA : Princeton Review has really good templates, just used and smoked through the AWA.My GMAT was in the afternoon, so I spent the morning before going through the AWA template and memorizing it.
Actual GMAT :On my GMAT prep, I was scoring around 710 during that period but I fell sick just the day before GMAT and was on meds during the exam, which WAS VERY BAD as I couldnt concentrate on the verbal section at the end, got distracted and missed about 5 questions at the last(meaning left them blank).
End result : 680 (Q49, V33) AWA 5.0
Needless to say I was very disappointed, and since I didnt have any thoughts of applying to MBA that time, I just left it as is.
2 years down the road, I decided to pursue my MBA and pretty much did the same thing with Quant and AWA.
But this time I focused on the verbal purely and went through a lot of verbal questions.
Main sources were OG12, GMAT prep and
MGMAT tests.
The main thing here, people is NOT how many questions you DO, its how you learn from the mistakes - which is what I did.I kept going through the concepts and reviewing my mistakes more than trying any new questions.I spent more time reflecting than doing actual questions ( which I think could be the main reason for the improvement in scores, or maybe its because I already know the worst that can happen since I have already taken once?)
Anyways actual test day(today) - went to the center 40 minutes early and lazing around.
AWA : Used Princeton Review Template -( I didn't click next after finishing the AWA essay, I waited for the timer to go off on its own at 30 mins, is that OK?)
Quantitative : Probably the most intense one I have experienced till date! It was a mess! The questions I received were calculation intensive and about 6-7 questions consumed 3-4 mins each!! As a result I had to guess a couple of questions at the end and leave the last one blank.I really thought I had screwed it up.
Verbal : A gentle breeze compared to Quantitative, but do be aware of SC.I know Idioms is off SC and I spotted some idiom errors in the SC question so I had to keep my cool and find other mistakes in the question - I might have lost 2-3 here.
RC and CR were pretty OK, except at the last, I was quite stumped by the last 5 questions and again had to guess them through( though I knew it wouldn't have been so bad since I knew I had nailed the first 3/4 of the Verbal section). Time ran out when I was clicking "Next" after selecting the answer to the last question...
End Result, 730(Q49- thank god! V40)
I am thinking of retaking my GMATs as I have very less WE (2 years currently).
Of course, if I retake, I will be aiming for a 760++ which is really difficult but I feel like I should given my limited work ex.