Hi guys,
Merry Christmas!
This post is a mix of a debrief and a hunt for some genuine suggestions. I will try to keep it concise and will look forward to any sort of comments/suggestions/tips!
PRE GMAT-
I am an Indian Female, currently working with a US Fortune 500 Consulting/Services Firm in India as a Middleware Developer (approx 40 months WE). I started my prep a little late (personal issues
and lack of conviction
) - around mid October, considering I am aiming for Fall 2015 intake. I didn't have time to attend classroom courses as I had to balance home, work and studies, so I enrolled for an online course (Jamboree Online Prep - they are famous in India). I worked really hard and brushed my concepts for the initial 20 days or so and practiced a lot of varied questions. I maintained an
Error Log for Quant + A concept/Rule book for Verbal. By the end of November, I was set for giving practice tests. Following are my mock CAT scores -
GMAT Prep 1 - 650 (Q48 V 33)
KAPLAN Free CAT - 680
Veritas Free CAT - 700 (Q48 V38)
Economist Free CAT - 640 (Q47 V32)
Princeton Free CAT - 690 (Q49 V36)
MGMAT 1 - 630(Q42 V34)
MGMAT2 - 670(Q45 V36)
MGMAT 3 - 640 (Q42 V35)
MGMAT 4 - 580(Q39 V31)
GMAT Prep 2 - 700(Q48 V38) - Three days before actual GMAT
GMAT Prep 3 - 710(Q48 V39) - Two days before actual GMAT
GMAT Prep 4 - 700(Q48 V38) - A day before actual GMAT
GMAT D-Day (23rd Dec 2014)-I forgot to mention earlier that my battle was not against tough questions, it was against time. I have always had time issues and all the scores that I listed above are scores in which I have given educated guesses for the last 7 questions or so. My target score was 680+ and I appeared for the test with no over-the-top strategy as my current situation was landing me in my target score range. I was content and came to the test center confident to achieve my target.
Although I did not freak out or get anxious, I got over engrossed over a few lengthy questions/4 para RCs in Quant/Verbal respectively and arrived at the following situation - 8 min vs 10 questions. To my utter misfortune, i got a lengthy RC as Q 36. I had 3 minutes on my clock by then and yes, although I was marking any damn option, I ended up missing out the last two questions. I believe I paid a penalty for that and my final score turned out to be
660(Q 47 V 34)!
Post GMAT -Now, I am stuck in a situation.
1. Is it worth reappearing ? I am just in time for R2 deadlines. On the other hand, I am confident i can reach a score of 710. But will it be worth it?
2. Irrespective of my score, I am looking for a Fall 2015 admit with some scholarship/waiver. I spoke to a few people and am considering the following colleges with the current score -
a) University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
b) Indiana Univ - Kelley school of Business
c) Melbourne Business School
d) ESADE Business School
e) SDA Bocconi
f) William and Mary School of Business
g) Pittzburgh (Katz)
h) George Washington University
i ) NUS
j) Arizona (Carey)
k) Univ of Cincinnati
Are these feasible ?
3. Are there any other schools within my reach?
4. Is it true that R3 decreases ones chances of getting an admit ?
5. Is it true that Indian women are underrepresented and I might have an edge here ? (Yeah I feel sick asking this. Desperate times
)
Please feel free to write anything, criticism and suggestions both are welcome. Please help me find clarity as I am running out of time
P.S - Sorry I couldnt keep it short
Merry Christmas once again!
- Nidhi