I wouldnt write too much, just the key points.
Background:
Masters in Mechanical Engineering from WSU, Detroit - GPA 4.0/4.O
5 years experience, including Project management - testing and development work.
GMAT experience:
I started prep in September of '09 and finally gave it on the 20th Feb this year(took a month and a half break around December last year - major mistake).
Score : 570 Q39, V31. Now being an engineer - it really shook my confidence and I started to doubt my analytical/mathematical capabilities. However, on reading the debriefs here - I realized I wasnt the only "over-confident" engineer who was blown away.
Gmat is as much about strategy as it is about knowledge: you may have all the required knowledge, but if you dont have a strategy - you are nowhere. Case in point: you need to have a primary strategy and a contingency plan(in case you are running slow) both for the Quant and the Verbal sections.
Study Material:
OG Review: OG10/11/12
MGMAT - Quant guides
MGMAT -SC
CR Bible
RC Bible
Tests used:
GMAT Prep(old and new version) - did the old version 8 times, new version 4 times
GMAT Club tests (helped build stamina) - did 12/13 of these.
MGMAT -FLT - Just did 2
GPrep 1 - 660
Gprep 2 - 720
Gprep 3 - 650
Gprep 4 - 720
Gprep 5 - 720
Gprep 6 - 690
Gprep 7 - 770
Gprep 8 - 700
Gprep 9 - 720
Gprep 10 -760
Gprep 11 - 720
Gprep 12 - 690
Didnt get more than 2-3 repeats in each test. However, even on the repeats you have re-solve anyways.
Actual GMAT - 690 (Q47,V38)
Bottom line - Nothing beats GMAT-Prep : "Milk" the GMAT Prep as much as you can-the idea is to see the different kind of questions you can encounter on the test.
Test Day:
AWA went alright - I am kind of concerned about the analysis of the issue as I didnt have too many strong points, but I guess - I did my best.
Quant - Sailed smoothly (Q47 kind of shows that I messed up on a few toughies)
Verbal - My contingency plan saved the day. Had i worked my way through the questions a bit faster - I could have easily crossed the "40" mark. I was on question 26 and I had 25 minutes left on the clock. I shifted gears and worked my way kind of hurriedly though the next 6 questions. Based on my experience from doing the Preps - I expected to see a passage at around Q32 and so it happened (13 mins left). I had to guess on 2 CR's towards the end and I guess that's what killed my Verbal score.
Take away - try not to get 3-4 questions wrong in a row. It doesnt matter what point you are in the Verbal section if you mess up 3-4 questions in a row, your score will definitely tank.
Finally,I am glad that I did better than what I had done last time, but still not satisfied with the score. I know I can cross the 700 barrier, but I really dont know whether it is worth the effort/risk.
Recommendations:
1. Maintain an
error log - especially of the quant questions.
2. Read all explanations to a question - even the correct ones.
3. Dont ever second guess yourself.
4. Learn Quant shortcuts - especially useful for the following problem types: Mixtures, weighted average, percents and compound interest.
Good luck to all - especially those who didnt do well the first time !
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Updated on: 21 Dec 2010, 11:03
