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Learn how Keshav, a Chartered Accountant, scored an impressive 705 on GMAT in just 30 days with GMATWhiz's expert guidance. In this video, he shares preparation tips and strategies that worked for him, including the mock, time management, and more
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“Score Report Available” – Up popped this notification. Although I was anxious for this notification ever since took my GMAT for the second time, I didn’t anticipate the emotional roller coaster which I’ll be taking for that split second when the score was loading. And VOILA! A 770 (Q50, V45).
But I have to say that this roller coaster was nothing compared to the one which took me for a ride, right after I hit the button “Submit” on the dreaded blue screen of the GMAT test center exam.
So, I’m here to do my introspection and credit all the people who have helped me and with a little bit of hope that someone in the future might get something useful out of what I have to say.
My Background:
I come from a heavy Quant background with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Statistics. I graduated out of school in 2018. So, it’s been a good 4 years as of now. Although my profession requires me to be quant heavy, it’s a different type of quant (fancy words like neural networks, machine learning
).
My Journey:
Last year, during sometime July 2021, I started my preparation for the GMAT. Obviously, I started with all the free resources that were available and thought “well quant should be easy”. Needless to say, I was wrong. Knowing the concepts and applying them consistently are two different things. I also realized that what I don’t want to waste my time on is to structure my preparation. And that led me to egmat.
Their entire course structure was something I was desperately searching for. The Analytics based approach for different sub-sections, PACE to reduce your Quant prep time were some of the major draws for me. After enrollment into their course on last week of July, 2021, I started my prep exactly following their guidelines. The first mock score to establish a baseline at that point in time was 670.
However, my GMAT prep hit a break owing to switching jobs, switching cities and a lot of other things.
Hence, I decided to start again from scratch in Jan 2022. egmat’s constant verbiage about “GMAT being a test of abilities” struck a chord with me earlier. You can’t pick up where you left off after even two months. And egmat gave me access to the first mock again to re-take it so that I can again establish a baseline and start my prep from there.
After I completed their course my mentor Abha guided me through a series of tailor-made quizzes and materials to bring me upto the level I wanted to be at. Always quick to reply to any queries, Abha and the rest of the team have been supportive through this entire journey. I also want to take a moment to mention Rajat, who initially provided me with a couple of suggestions when I noticed my performance was varying a bit from quiz to quiz.
Study Approach:
Almost 3-3.5 years after college it’s a bit hard to get into diligently studying for something. Please don’t underestimate this. This is where the structured approach actually comes into play.
I have been in boarding schools since I was 10. So, I know the value of a good routine. I dedicated 3-3.5 hours each day to studying and practicing.
Now I followed a method that’s quite popular in my professional field, data science, called Exploration and Exploitation.
In the morning I studied from the egmat platform(mostly) and different blogs for 2 hours diligently. This is the exploitation portion. You stick to what the experts are suggesting and follow their methods to the minute details.
In the evening after work, I practiced for about an hour. I regularly did all the GMATClub Daily Practice Questions from the error log. Even when I didn’t know how to approach a question, say CR Paradox Question I attempted it and went through the expert solutions in detail. This is the exploration portion. It was mostly about familiarizing myself with the different types of questions that can be encountered. So, when I went back to the egmat ’s platform on the same subject I had a bit of understanding about the same and I could connect the end-points better. Think of it as the pincer movement from Tenet.
Mocks and Exam 1:
My quiz scores were good on the egmat Scholaranium; however, when I started taking the mocks, I wasn’t able to re-create the same accuracy. After a little bit of introspection with Abha I realized I was getting too hung-up on the time management aspect rather than focusing on solving the actual questions.
From then on, my mocks varied between 770 and 780.
So that bring us to my first GMAT attempt on 1st July 2022. Yeah, it didn’t go as expected. I scored a 700. I forgot my passport back at my home. Although I managed to get the passport before time, I was in no shape to give the exam. The invigilators asked me to start asap even though my actual appointment time was still 20 mins away. (Lesson for later: Just say NO)
I acquired my ESR and then contacted Abha from the egmat team. She again sent me some tailor-made quizzes. This not only helped me in again getting started after the shock of the initial setback but also helped me in building my confidence.
Exam 2:
I attempted my 2nd GMAT just a fortnight later, on 19th July, 2022. The first thing I did was travel back to my hometown so that I won’t have to face any of those logistical mistakes that I made earlier.
I switched the ordering from V-Q-IR-AWA to Q-V-IR-AWA. Whenever you’re giving an exam you need some time to acclimatize and bring yourself upto the best possible frame of your mind. For me attempting Quant was the best way to do so.
During these 18 days I attempted the hardest questions available from GMATClub. You get them right, well congratulations. You get them wrong, congrats again, you may learn something new or at least you will refine your process. But don't let them affect you in any way. It's just a question. Just remember to keep moving on.
I also practiced while actually wearing a mask. This, even though a very minute thing, can cause some discomfort during the actual exam.
On the last day I went through the entire error log. And I guess that brought me my desired score of 770 (Q50, V45).
Final Thoughts:
Okay so I would like to begin by thanking everyone who helped me in this journey of mine. I would like to give a special shout-out to Abha, egmat, Bunuel, GMATNinja, BrentGMATPrepNow, AndrewN, KarishmaB, chineseburned and to many others who are and are not on GMATClub.
Suggestions:
1. Believe in Murphy’s Law – “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. So, prepare yourself for all the scenarios that you can think of. It’s always better to be prepared.
2. Get structured – If you choose to work with a course provider, tailor it for yourself. Whatever works for you. Not the other way around.
3. Maintain an error log – it helps you take your score at least to a certain mark.
4. Build up endurance – GMAT is as much a test of endurance as of ability.
5. Don't stress out too much about how much time you're taking to solve a particular bunch of questions. You will find your groove, what time allocation works best for you as you progress, while you attempt your mocks.
6. If you’re going for GMAT Test Center Exam – try to minimize even the slightest of discomfort. Wear a mask while practicing for the last few days. Check if the markers are working fine in front of the invigilator. Say “NO” if they want you to start early and you’re not ready.
7. For candidates, travelling to a test center can be painful. Traffic, issues with rental cars, if you have to get one, and all. Try to select a time when the effect of these can be minimized.
8. It's an exam, quite an important one no doubt. But you always have another try. So don't let anything affect you negatively, be it a quiz score, be it your performance at times, be it your test score even. Just move on.
9. Use the Alt+N and Alt+Y keyboard shortcuts while attempting official mocks and the test. They can save you over a good 60-90 seconds which can come in handy while you're attempting the final question. Get a good night's sleep before the exam.
I know you can do it. As Keanu said, “You’re all breathtaking”.
All the best.
---
Thanks,
Sourav
But I have to say that this roller coaster was nothing compared to the one which took me for a ride, right after I hit the button “Submit” on the dreaded blue screen of the GMAT test center exam.
So, I’m here to do my introspection and credit all the people who have helped me and with a little bit of hope that someone in the future might get something useful out of what I have to say.
My Background:
I come from a heavy Quant background with a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Statistics. I graduated out of school in 2018. So, it’s been a good 4 years as of now. Although my profession requires me to be quant heavy, it’s a different type of quant (fancy words like neural networks, machine learning
).My Journey:
Last year, during sometime July 2021, I started my preparation for the GMAT. Obviously, I started with all the free resources that were available and thought “well quant should be easy”. Needless to say, I was wrong. Knowing the concepts and applying them consistently are two different things. I also realized that what I don’t want to waste my time on is to structure my preparation. And that led me to egmat.
Their entire course structure was something I was desperately searching for. The Analytics based approach for different sub-sections, PACE to reduce your Quant prep time were some of the major draws for me. After enrollment into their course on last week of July, 2021, I started my prep exactly following their guidelines. The first mock score to establish a baseline at that point in time was 670.
However, my GMAT prep hit a break owing to switching jobs, switching cities and a lot of other things.
Hence, I decided to start again from scratch in Jan 2022. egmat’s constant verbiage about “GMAT being a test of abilities” struck a chord with me earlier. You can’t pick up where you left off after even two months. And egmat gave me access to the first mock again to re-take it so that I can again establish a baseline and start my prep from there.
After I completed their course my mentor Abha guided me through a series of tailor-made quizzes and materials to bring me upto the level I wanted to be at. Always quick to reply to any queries, Abha and the rest of the team have been supportive through this entire journey. I also want to take a moment to mention Rajat, who initially provided me with a couple of suggestions when I noticed my performance was varying a bit from quiz to quiz.
Study Approach:
Almost 3-3.5 years after college it’s a bit hard to get into diligently studying for something. Please don’t underestimate this. This is where the structured approach actually comes into play.
I have been in boarding schools since I was 10. So, I know the value of a good routine. I dedicated 3-3.5 hours each day to studying and practicing.
Now I followed a method that’s quite popular in my professional field, data science, called Exploration and Exploitation.
In the morning I studied from the egmat platform(mostly) and different blogs for 2 hours diligently. This is the exploitation portion. You stick to what the experts are suggesting and follow their methods to the minute details.
In the evening after work, I practiced for about an hour. I regularly did all the GMATClub Daily Practice Questions from the error log. Even when I didn’t know how to approach a question, say CR Paradox Question I attempted it and went through the expert solutions in detail. This is the exploration portion. It was mostly about familiarizing myself with the different types of questions that can be encountered. So, when I went back to the egmat ’s platform on the same subject I had a bit of understanding about the same and I could connect the end-points better. Think of it as the pincer movement from Tenet.
Mocks and Exam 1:
My quiz scores were good on the egmat Scholaranium; however, when I started taking the mocks, I wasn’t able to re-create the same accuracy. After a little bit of introspection with Abha I realized I was getting too hung-up on the time management aspect rather than focusing on solving the actual questions.
From then on, my mocks varied between 770 and 780.
So that bring us to my first GMAT attempt on 1st July 2022. Yeah, it didn’t go as expected. I scored a 700. I forgot my passport back at my home. Although I managed to get the passport before time, I was in no shape to give the exam. The invigilators asked me to start asap even though my actual appointment time was still 20 mins away. (Lesson for later: Just say NO)
I acquired my ESR and then contacted Abha from the egmat team. She again sent me some tailor-made quizzes. This not only helped me in again getting started after the shock of the initial setback but also helped me in building my confidence.
Exam 2:
I attempted my 2nd GMAT just a fortnight later, on 19th July, 2022. The first thing I did was travel back to my hometown so that I won’t have to face any of those logistical mistakes that I made earlier.
I switched the ordering from V-Q-IR-AWA to Q-V-IR-AWA. Whenever you’re giving an exam you need some time to acclimatize and bring yourself upto the best possible frame of your mind. For me attempting Quant was the best way to do so.
During these 18 days I attempted the hardest questions available from GMATClub. You get them right, well congratulations. You get them wrong, congrats again, you may learn something new or at least you will refine your process. But don't let them affect you in any way. It's just a question. Just remember to keep moving on.
I also practiced while actually wearing a mask. This, even though a very minute thing, can cause some discomfort during the actual exam.
On the last day I went through the entire error log. And I guess that brought me my desired score of 770 (Q50, V45).
Final Thoughts:
Okay so I would like to begin by thanking everyone who helped me in this journey of mine. I would like to give a special shout-out to Abha, egmat, Bunuel, GMATNinja, BrentGMATPrepNow, AndrewN, KarishmaB, chineseburned and to many others who are and are not on GMATClub.
Suggestions:
1. Believe in Murphy’s Law – “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. So, prepare yourself for all the scenarios that you can think of. It’s always better to be prepared.
2. Get structured – If you choose to work with a course provider, tailor it for yourself. Whatever works for you. Not the other way around.
3. Maintain an error log – it helps you take your score at least to a certain mark.
4. Build up endurance – GMAT is as much a test of endurance as of ability.
5. Don't stress out too much about how much time you're taking to solve a particular bunch of questions. You will find your groove, what time allocation works best for you as you progress, while you attempt your mocks.
6. If you’re going for GMAT Test Center Exam – try to minimize even the slightest of discomfort. Wear a mask while practicing for the last few days. Check if the markers are working fine in front of the invigilator. Say “NO” if they want you to start early and you’re not ready.
7. For candidates, travelling to a test center can be painful. Traffic, issues with rental cars, if you have to get one, and all. Try to select a time when the effect of these can be minimized.
8. It's an exam, quite an important one no doubt. But you always have another try. So don't let anything affect you negatively, be it a quiz score, be it your performance at times, be it your test score even. Just move on.
9. Use the Alt+N and Alt+Y keyboard shortcuts while attempting official mocks and the test. They can save you over a good 60-90 seconds which can come in handy while you're attempting the final question. Get a good night's sleep before the exam.
I know you can do it. As Keanu said, “You’re all breathtaking”.
All the best.
---
Thanks,
Sourav
23 Jul 2022, 03:33
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations on earning a fantastic score, Sourav. You knew from your mocks that you could achieve such a score, and within a month of earning a subpar score (by your own high standard), you bounced back at the best time. It sounds as though you had a wonderful mentor. I am not sure what I may have contributed to your preparedness alongside the others you mentioned, but if even one of my posts helped you in some small way, so much the better.
The application process should be full of excitement for you, I would imagine. Good luck.
- Andrew
The application process should be full of excitement for you, I would imagine. Good luck.
- Andrew
23 Jul 2022, 03:46
Kudos
Bookmarks
