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19 Nov 2020, 10:13
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Yesterday, when I completed the last section of my GMAT- AWA in my case- I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The same screen that had been displaying disappointing scores for the last two years was finally showing 730 (Q50, V38). Honestly, I was not sure how to react to this view, because for the last 5 attempts, the only emotion that I was experiencing was sadness.
Anyways, let me take you through my GMAT roller coaster ride.
I started my GMAT preparation in late December, 2018. During that time only I had switched to a new company and I was pretty pumped up about studying for GMAT. I never had any problem in academics. I was a top ranker in my school and in undergrad. So, I naturally thought that GMAT will be a cake walk for me, but the coming two years were about to tell me otherwise. Anyways, without any prior research, I ordered Manhattan GMAT books and started preparing. I took my own sweet time to prepare since I was working very hard at my new job and naturally I was supposed to prove my mettle there. Fast forward to may, 2019, I started taking Expert Global Mocks on every weekend and I was doing pretty much okay in those tests (I even scored 700 ishh sometimes). Happy about my progress so far, I booked my first ever official GMAT (early September 2019). Just three weeks before the test, I took ALL official mocks (can you imagine?) and guess what? I faired very poorly on those tests; My scores were ranging from 580 to 630. As if I had no preparation at all!.
So after those mocks, something in me still compelled me to take the official test and here it comes-
GMAT 1 - 610 (Q48 V26)
Obviously, I had seen this coming. My official mock scores were literally screaming the same average score. I felt disappointed and lost. I took advice of one of my friends and took personal verbal coaching. I prepared again prepared for 2 months and went again for next round of the battle.
GMAT 2 - 630 (Q45 V31)
I was like WHATTTT???. My quants score went down to hit Q45. I never saw that one coming. Obviously, I was happy about the verbal score because it had improved. However, overall I was no where close to my target score. Believing that it was just a bad day, I ordered my ESR and booked another test, only 3 weeks apart (BIG MISTAKE), and sat again on that hot seat.
GMAT 3 - 640 (Q48 V29)
I literally had lost hope. I thought, I was too dumb to do any better at GMAT and this was it!. I went ahead and asked around about the odds of getting a good college in this score. As expected, everybody pointed me towards another attempt.
Now, new year (2020) was around and I was just promoted to a senior position. Taking the advice of my friends, I took a break for a month. Although, all the time I was thinking about the exam, the break really helped me to relax. After the break, I thought, for the fourth attempt, I'll do something different. I literally read ALL the blogs on GMAT Club about people who took several attempts and finally got their target scores. Moreover, I took EGMAT verbal course along with GMAT Club Tests. I prepared again and my mock tests were showing better results. I was actually getting better at this.
And then in March, COVID 19 happened, not to me but to the whole world. I had booked the exam for late March, 2020, but GMAC cancelled my appointment. Then I took another appointment (April 2020)- Cancelled Again!. I thought I was prepared and I was dying to test myself out in the test center but because of the lock downs an all that was not possible. Anyways, I got the chance to take my 4rth attempt and then this happened :
GMAT 4 - 660 (Q49 V31)
Now, I started to believe that GMAC has some serious and personal issue with me
. For some reason, my boat was not sailing in this vast sea of GMAT. Everybody around me- My parents, friends, relatives- asked me to just stop this never ending quest and to apply to the colleges with this score only, but for some reason, I wanted to try once more.
But this time around, I had decided to revise my study routine completely. Now, I was not concentrated to solve a large number of questions, because that was not clearly helping me. Moreover, saying that I'm just bad at verbal (especially Reading Comprehension) wasn't helping either. I needed something different. Then I started my research again to decode my poor performance. Then I found few articles from bb and souvik101990 and that changed everything. I started taking GMAT preparation as a skill enhancing practice. I started reading a LOT !. I scheduled a recurring meeting, 2pm everyday. I would read 3 to 4 articles per day from The Economist during that meeting. Before sleeping, I started devoting at least 30 mins to read good novels (million thanks to bb for the great suggestions). I saw my verbal performance improving, but what about Quants? To get a top notch score you need a homerun in both games. So, I bought Advanced GMAT Quant (Manhattan Prep GMAT Strategy Guides) and studied it thoroughly. All the tips and tricks we amazingly helpful. Okay so verbal done, quants done, what else ? I thought I was now ready to finally put this matter to rest, but NOOOO!!! because destiny had something else in mind.
GMAT 5 - 660 (Q49 V32)
God seriously! 660 Again!! What on earth was I supposed to do more? and the answer was actually more simple than you might think!
Let me break this down. It was not my knowledge pertaining to verbal or quants concepts, but my poor test taking skills that were keeping me from getting a good score. Huge credits to EGMAT for pointing this flaw by analyzing my ESR. I was clinging to questions which were taking more time than usual. I was supposed to let those questions go and to solve the ones I can. So, I needed some serious psychological reset to get a great score. I studied every thing- every single article that talks about GMAT exam anxiety and time management. Special thanks to mikemcgarry from magoosh- Sir, your articles should be framed and kept in a GMAT museum. Moreover, I found a hidden gem on YouTube- Free Manhattan Prep learning hour. I watched most of its videos and boy that helped me to change everything. Advices given in those videos regarding study plan, error logs, managing anxiety etc. were instrumental to my preparation. I followed every single thing I could gather from those videos. I maintained a detailed error log and started doing meditation and practicing mindfulness (Fancy words for deep breathing and relaxing).
But, after all this, I had truly lost every hope, I knew I was trying some thing different, something better but somehow, on back of my mind, I was expecting to fail again. This time around for 6th attempt, when I entered the exam hall I didn't think about my dream schools or getting a 700, I just thought that this is my last attempt and I'll accept the output, whatever it may be. Very few people talk about the emotional turmoil one might go through to achieve something, but it's there and coping with it is sometimes very difficult. And yes, this time, no body knew that I was going to take the exam. I went without telling anybody and then this is what happened:
GMAT 6 - 730 (Q50 V38)
What worked ? I guess - "letting go". I took the exam as if this exam never mattered to me. I figured that every time when I gave too much importance to this exam, I performed poorly. I just thought that I was just taking another mock at home. I'll always remember that moment, when the invigilator came and asked me that "Vinayak do you want to accept the score?", then he looked at my teary eyes and said "I guess I know the answer" and then he smiled (50% sure about the smile part because like everybody, he was also wearing a mask
).
If you have read this far, thanks a lot! The only reason I wrote this long debrief was just to share that if we are determined enough, we can achieve anything. There will be times when nothing will seem to work. At those moments, just take a deep breath and tell yourself that this is just a bad day and I'll get through this hurdle soon.
.
Lastly, I remember my self reading such long debriefs from people like me, who struggled a lot to get a decent score. I never thought that I'll write one myself.
Knowledge can be acquired easily, but skills take their own time to come.
So, Hang in there warrior!!
Anyways, let me take you through my GMAT roller coaster ride.
The Journey
I started my GMAT preparation in late December, 2018. During that time only I had switched to a new company and I was pretty pumped up about studying for GMAT. I never had any problem in academics. I was a top ranker in my school and in undergrad. So, I naturally thought that GMAT will be a cake walk for me, but the coming two years were about to tell me otherwise. Anyways, without any prior research, I ordered Manhattan GMAT books and started preparing. I took my own sweet time to prepare since I was working very hard at my new job and naturally I was supposed to prove my mettle there. Fast forward to may, 2019, I started taking Expert Global Mocks on every weekend and I was doing pretty much okay in those tests (I even scored 700 ishh sometimes). Happy about my progress so far, I booked my first ever official GMAT (early September 2019). Just three weeks before the test, I took ALL official mocks (can you imagine?) and guess what? I faired very poorly on those tests; My scores were ranging from 580 to 630. As if I had no preparation at all!.
So after those mocks, something in me still compelled me to take the official test and here it comes-
GMAT 1 - 610 (Q48 V26)
Obviously, I had seen this coming. My official mock scores were literally screaming the same average score. I felt disappointed and lost. I took advice of one of my friends and took personal verbal coaching. I prepared again prepared for 2 months and went again for next round of the battle.
GMAT 2 - 630 (Q45 V31)
I was like WHATTTT???. My quants score went down to hit Q45. I never saw that one coming. Obviously, I was happy about the verbal score because it had improved. However, overall I was no where close to my target score. Believing that it was just a bad day, I ordered my ESR and booked another test, only 3 weeks apart (BIG MISTAKE), and sat again on that hot seat.
GMAT 3 - 640 (Q48 V29)
I literally had lost hope. I thought, I was too dumb to do any better at GMAT and this was it!. I went ahead and asked around about the odds of getting a good college in this score. As expected, everybody pointed me towards another attempt.
Now, new year (2020) was around and I was just promoted to a senior position. Taking the advice of my friends, I took a break for a month. Although, all the time I was thinking about the exam, the break really helped me to relax. After the break, I thought, for the fourth attempt, I'll do something different. I literally read ALL the blogs on GMAT Club about people who took several attempts and finally got their target scores. Moreover, I took EGMAT verbal course along with GMAT Club Tests. I prepared again and my mock tests were showing better results. I was actually getting better at this.
And then in March, COVID 19 happened, not to me but to the whole world. I had booked the exam for late March, 2020, but GMAC cancelled my appointment. Then I took another appointment (April 2020)- Cancelled Again!. I thought I was prepared and I was dying to test myself out in the test center but because of the lock downs an all that was not possible. Anyways, I got the chance to take my 4rth attempt and then this happened :
GMAT 4 - 660 (Q49 V31)
Now, I started to believe that GMAC has some serious and personal issue with me
. For some reason, my boat was not sailing in this vast sea of GMAT. Everybody around me- My parents, friends, relatives- asked me to just stop this never ending quest and to apply to the colleges with this score only, but for some reason, I wanted to try once more. But this time around, I had decided to revise my study routine completely. Now, I was not concentrated to solve a large number of questions, because that was not clearly helping me. Moreover, saying that I'm just bad at verbal (especially Reading Comprehension) wasn't helping either. I needed something different. Then I started my research again to decode my poor performance. Then I found few articles from bb and souvik101990 and that changed everything. I started taking GMAT preparation as a skill enhancing practice. I started reading a LOT !. I scheduled a recurring meeting, 2pm everyday. I would read 3 to 4 articles per day from The Economist during that meeting. Before sleeping, I started devoting at least 30 mins to read good novels (million thanks to bb for the great suggestions). I saw my verbal performance improving, but what about Quants? To get a top notch score you need a homerun in both games. So, I bought Advanced GMAT Quant (Manhattan Prep GMAT Strategy Guides) and studied it thoroughly. All the tips and tricks we amazingly helpful. Okay so verbal done, quants done, what else ? I thought I was now ready to finally put this matter to rest, but NOOOO!!! because destiny had something else in mind.
GMAT 5 - 660 (Q49 V32)
God seriously! 660 Again!! What on earth was I supposed to do more? and the answer was actually more simple than you might think!
Let me break this down. It was not my knowledge pertaining to verbal or quants concepts, but my poor test taking skills that were keeping me from getting a good score. Huge credits to EGMAT for pointing this flaw by analyzing my ESR. I was clinging to questions which were taking more time than usual. I was supposed to let those questions go and to solve the ones I can. So, I needed some serious psychological reset to get a great score. I studied every thing- every single article that talks about GMAT exam anxiety and time management. Special thanks to mikemcgarry from magoosh- Sir, your articles should be framed and kept in a GMAT museum. Moreover, I found a hidden gem on YouTube- Free Manhattan Prep learning hour. I watched most of its videos and boy that helped me to change everything. Advices given in those videos regarding study plan, error logs, managing anxiety etc. were instrumental to my preparation. I followed every single thing I could gather from those videos. I maintained a detailed error log and started doing meditation and practicing mindfulness (Fancy words for deep breathing and relaxing).
But, after all this, I had truly lost every hope, I knew I was trying some thing different, something better but somehow, on back of my mind, I was expecting to fail again. This time around for 6th attempt, when I entered the exam hall I didn't think about my dream schools or getting a 700, I just thought that this is my last attempt and I'll accept the output, whatever it may be. Very few people talk about the emotional turmoil one might go through to achieve something, but it's there and coping with it is sometimes very difficult. And yes, this time, no body knew that I was going to take the exam. I went without telling anybody and then this is what happened:
GMAT 6 - 730 (Q50 V38)
What worked ? I guess - "letting go". I took the exam as if this exam never mattered to me. I figured that every time when I gave too much importance to this exam, I performed poorly. I just thought that I was just taking another mock at home. I'll always remember that moment, when the invigilator came and asked me that "Vinayak do you want to accept the score?", then he looked at my teary eyes and said "I guess I know the answer" and then he smiled (50% sure about the smile part because like everybody, he was also wearing a mask
).Few tips :
- - Don't underestimate the Manhattan Books, they are amazing and you'll get all you want if you'll study them carefully. I did this mistake and did not study them properly and guess what? I went through them (verbal ones) again before my last attempt.
- - Be flexible. Online courses are great. In my case EGMAT truly helped me, but if something does not work for you, try to change the study method or course. You are not obliged to follow a certain method of studying, it is not necessary that if a method has worked for one, the same will surely work for other.
- - Read ! Read ! Read ! I wish I had started this earlier. Trust me, It will definitely help you. You are just training your mind to face those weird passages and sentences. What can be better than that?. Make great publications such as The Economist, Wall street journal your friend. For fun, you can read great novels. GMAT has transformed me into an avid book reader. (Can you imagine this?)
- - Exercise - Yeah! you heard it right. Do some physical activities to make sure you stay active and healthy. You need a LOT of stamina to face this damm exam
- - OG is your Bible. Solve every question judiciously. You don't want to waste this precious material for just random quiz. Remember, its not the quantity of questions but the quality of the same.
- - Don't take to many mocks- By taking too many mocks you might end up practicing wrong habits. Instead take a mock, analyze it thoroughly, make a note of those mistakes, master those concepts on which faltered and then only take another mock.
- - Maintain an Error Log- Again, I wish I had done this earlier.
. Take a nice spread sheet and note down all the mistakes that you commit over the time. This task, at first, might feel tiresome, but trust me, for me it changed everything. Tracking your mistakes is favor you are doing to yourself.- - Relax- Its okay to fail. Comparing your performance with that of others will lead you nowhere but to stress and depression. Making mistakes in okay, but doing them again is not.
My Favorite Links :
- 1. Novels recommendation - https://gmatclub.com/forum/books-to-rea ... 76079.html
- 2. Verbal Preparation - https://gmatclub.com/forum/ultimate-ver ... 33279.html
- 3. Quants Preparation - https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-you-need ... 40445.html
- 4. GMAT Anxiety - https://magoosh.com/gmat/about/tips/ove ... y-breathe/
- 5. Stress Handling - https://magoosh.com/gmat/about/tips/bea ... at-stress/
- 6. Manhattan Prep YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDPcZ ... 2m67HA3CTg
Mock Tests
- 1. Expert Global all 15 mocks- They are okay, not highly recommendable.
- 2. Manhattan Mocks - God! they are difficult, but so is real exam, so don't miss them.
- 3. GMAT Club Tests - I give a major credit to GMAT Clubs tests for my improvement in quants (Q48 to Q50). They are truly great!
- 4. Official GMAT Mocks - All 6. Must!!
Something different that I tried:
- 1. For me, GMAT center's desktops were too large. In almost every exam, I struggled to use those monitors, because I needed to turn my head a lot to read stuff. That's why, I bought a new monitor (a big one) at home and then practiced mock tests on that only.
- 2. Also, I got 5 white sheets and got them laminated to use them as rough sheets (similar to the ones we get at the center). Practicing mocks on those sheets were also helpful for me. You can try the same
If you have read this far, thanks a lot! The only reason I wrote this long debrief was just to share that if we are determined enough, we can achieve anything. There will be times when nothing will seem to work. At those moments, just take a deep breath and tell yourself that this is just a bad day and I'll get through this hurdle soon.
. Lastly, I remember my self reading such long debriefs from people like me, who struggled a lot to get a decent score. I never thought that I'll write one myself.
Knowledge can be acquired easily, but skills take their own time to come.
So, Hang in there warrior!!
20 Nov 2020, 09:48
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Bookmarks
Congratulations on 730!
All the best for your applications!
All the best for your applications!
20 Nov 2020, 09:58
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Bookmarks
WoW!!!!. Congratzzz buddy. Hope you select in a top business school. You deserve it. Its all your hard work. Salute to U!!! 
