550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. : Share GMAT Experience

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ya94

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Joined: 12 Dec 2017

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Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

Updated on: 03 May 2018, 01:14

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Hello! Like you, I decided to pursue an MBA and it quickly dawned on me just how much of a challenge the GMAT was going to be. I am a non-native from a Middle Eastern country, and I have no quantitative background (My undergraduate studies required almost no math) so I only had my rusty high school math skills to work with.

I took a diagnostic test and scored a discouraging 550 (Q31/V34).

I was aiming for a score above 700 so I knew that the work was cut out for me. I took an in-person course with a well-known GMAT prep company and was disappointed with the results, as I was only really able to push my score to 600-650. They will try to convince you that you just aren’t cut out for a score above 700 but make no mistake, anybody can score above a 700 it’s just that most people don’t. It's like learning how to swim. Some people are born naturally good at it, and others have to put a lot of work in, but you can’t say that a person can't eventually learn how to swim faster than 90% of people, given the right practice and resources! I hope that makes sense.

I signed up for a live online course with Manhattan Prep and I think that if you’re willing to put the money down, this is hands down the best way for an international (Non-US) individual to raise their score. They will have a class that is convenient for your time-zone and you will learn everything you need to break 700. To make the best use of it, I would recommend getting to a 600-650 level before starting the course, so that you can focus on the advanced techniques rather than the basics. The course also comes with many ManhattanPREP textbooks and resources, including online video lessons. The course is essentially a weekly live interactive lecture for a small class of 3-5 people with an instructor that will break down GMAT problems, sometimes spending up to 20 minutes on one problem to show how many different ways it can be approached. There is a huge emphasis on strategies, which are extremely useful for those moments where you blank out and don't know what to do. Math was a big issue for me, and ManhattanPREP's Quant is brutal, but very beneficial. Their stuff on verbal is great, too - especially sentence correction.

After my GMAT Course had ended, I decided to sit one GmatPREP exam per week leading up to the exam (I bought all of the packages)

Exam 1: 710 (Q42/V44)
Exam 2: 760 (Q50/V44)
Exam 3: 720 (Q47/V42)
Exam 4: 770 (Q50/V47)
Exam 5: 730 (Q48/V42)
Exam 6: 750 (Q48/V45)

In these last 6 weeks, I abandoned all material except for the OG guides and question sets. Nothing will prepare you for the exam better than these, but if you aren't in the final run-up to the exam, I would definitely vouch for material like the quant on ManhattanPREP because it’s harder than the exam. This makes the OG problem sets feel much easier, which is great, but I would save the last few weeks to focus solely on exactly the kind of questions you’re going to get.

I ended up sitting the exam in April, after taking my very first diagnostic in November.

GMAT 1: 730 (Q47 / V42)

I scored a little bit on the lower end of my practice CATS, but everyone I asked about admissions said that a 10-20 point increase would not make the biggest difference for my demographic, and that I’ve already “checked the box” so to speak. So it looks like I’m done! Thank you to the forums for being a great resource for question breakdowns. I’m happy to answer questions if you guys have any.

Quantitative Resources
ManhattanPREP Course, textbooks,
GMATClub forums (Bunuel! What a guy!)
OG guides
GMATPrep Question Packs
ManhattanPREP CATs (Worked through them and re-did them again and again. Great resource for building quant skills)

Verbal Resources
ManhattanPREP Course, textbooks (SC with these guys is the best out there)
GMATClub forums
Powerscore CR Bible (Hands down the greatest resource for CR)
Powerscore RC Bible (Also great! I would recommend it above any other approach to RC).
ManhattanPREP CATs
GMATPrep Question Packs
OG guides

Originally posted by ya94 on 21 Apr 2018, 22:39.
Last edited by ya94 on 03 May 2018, 01:14, edited 4 times in total.

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adkikani

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Posts: 1263

Location: India

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Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

21 Apr 2018, 23:25

1

Kudos

ya94

Congrats on slamming the beast!!

Quote:

Like learning how to swim, some people are born naturally good at it, and others have to put a lot of work in, but you can’t say that a person can't eventually learn how to swim faster than 90% of people, given the right practice and resources!

Excellent quote !!
(though I think there is comparison error

since it seems to compare learning with people )
Just kidding

Few additional insights shall be useful:
1. Can you update your Manhattan prep scores and elaborate for any timing strategies you followed in mocks.
I went through all timing blogs on Manhattan but some how either end up guessing at the end or completing
well ahead of time in mocks

2. How did you analyze each and every mock you took and what game plan you adhered to while sitting for the next?
3. What time span did you keep in between mocks?
4. Did you gave exam in new shortened format? How was your experience on verbal section?

Wishing you all the best for you applications!
Do keep us updated where do you finally land in.

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ya94

Intern

Joined: 12 Dec 2017

Posts: 11

Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

21 Apr 2018, 23:40

1

Kudos

adkikani wrote:

ya94

Congrats on slamming the beast!!

Quote:

Like learning how to swim, some people are born naturally good at it, and others have to put a lot of work in, but you can’t say that a person can't eventually learn how to swim faster than 90% of people, given the right practice and resources!

Excellent quote !!
(though I think there is comparison error

since it seems to compare learning with people )
Just kidding

Few additional insights shall be useful:
1. Can you update your Manhattan prep scores and elaborate for any timing strategies you followed in mocks.
I went through all timing blogs on Manhattan but some how either end up guessing at the end or completing
well ahead of time in mocks

2. How did you analyze each and every mock you took and what game plan you adhered to while sitting for the next?
3. What time span did you keep in between mocks?
4. Did you gave exam in new shortened format? How was your experience on verbal section?

Wishing you all the best for you applications!
Do keep us updated where do you finally land in.

Hahaha great catch! I just edited it. Now that I'm done with the GMAT I am enjoying the luxury of letting myself adjust back to conversational English

1. My ManhattanPREP scores were for the most part, much lower than my actual scores. Some people find the MCATs easier, I found them much, much harder. For all but one, I paused because I kept running out of time, and I was more interested in being able to solve the questions than finishing them on time - those quant problems are so very time consuming compared to the real thing! This may not have been the best approach, but it is what worked for me. The only MCAT that I took with exam-like conditions, I scored a 660 (Q42/V38) so if you're discouraged by your MCAT scores don't lose hope!

2. I would go through all of the questions I got wrong, and wait a day before going back and doing all of the questions again in the same order, without a time limit. This was the best way to identify my weak points, and I would make note of them and focus on them for a few days until I felt comfortable doing them, then come back and enjoy that "That's all it was? It's that easy?" feeling. Letting myself create small moments like that helped etch those strategies into my memory. As for timing strategies on the mocks, I followed the Manhattan approach of organising the scratch paper. Once I got used to it, it worked perfectly for me to stay on track.

3. I would say don't do a CAT more than once a week. There were a couple of times where I made the mistake of doing multiple exams per week, but your performance will either suffer on the second exam, or you'll be too burned out to study for the next few days. It's just not the best use of time/energy.

4. Yes, I was one of the lucky few to actually sit the exam on April 16, the day the changes went into effect. I didn't feel like it was so different, as some people are saying, but there may have been a higher proportion of more time-consuming questions compared to before. If you are ready to deal with any question type and stay within your timing goals, you will be fine. I think that's the most I can reveal without getting into any trouble, hahaha. It may have made some impact though, seeing as my scores were a slight drop from my practice tests. Can't say I regret anything though.

Thank you for your well wishes!

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Pretz

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Posts: 60

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GMAT Date: 07-03-2015

GPA: 3.8

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Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

22 Apr 2018, 00:16

1

Kudos

Hello!

Congratulations on the score.

You wrote that the changed test has more time consuming questions - are you referring to Quant or Verbal or both?

Your CAT scores were great, do you think this new pattern has effected your final score?

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ya94

Intern

Joined: 12 Dec 2017

Posts: 11

Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

22 Apr 2018, 00:22

1

Kudos

Pretz wrote:

Hello!

Congratulations on the score.

You wrote that the changed test has more time consuming questions - are you referring to Quant or Verbal or both?

Your CAT scores were great, do you think this new pattern has effected your final score?

Thank you!

Of course, it's an adaptive test and not everyone is going to get the same mix of questions, so my experience could be totally different to another person's. In my experience, Quant was identical to before, and Verbal was, too, but I could kind of see where some may have had some timing issues in Verbal. It really wasn't significant, though, and if you're comfortable hitting all question types within the usual recommended time-frames, you should be fine.

It's hard to say how much of an effect it had, but it's possible that it did. If it did, I'm sure it wasn't a huge effect. I didn't walk away from the test thinking that I had been studying for something different this whole time.

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rahulsehgal

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Posts: 58

Location: India

Concentration: Strategy, Marketing

Schools: IIM ISB'22 IIMA IIMC

GPA: 3.77

WE:Analyst (Computer Software)

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

23 Apr 2018, 04:24

1

Kudos

GMAT 1: 730 (Q47 / V49)

Thanks for your post and congratulations on a great GMAT score. I believe, you meant to say V42 and V49 in your post above. All the best for your applications.

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ya94

Intern

Joined: 12 Dec 2017

Posts: 11

Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

23 Apr 2018, 04:27

rahulsehgal wrote:

GMAT 1: 730 (Q47 / V49)

Thanks for your post and congratulations on a great GMAT score. I believe, you meant to say V42 and V49 in your post above. All the best for your applications.

Fixed! Thanks! It was actually Q47 / V42

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akadiyan

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Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

23 Apr 2018, 09:54

ya94

Congratulations on your achievement.

Your verbal score of V42 is really good. Is there any other practice questions apart from official questions you used for verbal ?

How do you rate the MCAT verbal section.

All the best for your aplications

Posted from my mobile device
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jp28

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Joined: 26 Feb 2018

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Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

26 Apr 2018, 09:22

Congratulations on your excellent score! You mentioned you took your first diagnostic test in November. On average, how long did you study each day? Were you working during this time or did you devote your entire focus to the GMAT?

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ya94

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Joined: 12 Dec 2017

Posts: 11

Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

28 Apr 2018, 00:47

akadiyan wrote:

ya94

Congratulations on your achievement.

Your verbal score of V42 is really good. Is there any other practice questions apart from official questions you used for verbal ?

How do you rate the MCAT verbal section.

All the best for your aplications

Posted from my mobile device

Thank you!

For Verbal
SC: Manhattan Guide
RC: Powerscore RC
CR Powerscore CR

If you're struggling in any one question type in the verbal section, the above resources worked best for me. Once I had internalised all of the lessons, I was much more comfortable in the verbal section.

MCAT Verbal was sort of accurate, and definitely good practice, but is only slightly different to the real thing imo. I mostly stuck to OG problem sets when reviewing verbal leading up to the exam.

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ya94

Intern

Joined: 12 Dec 2017

Posts: 11

Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

28 Apr 2018, 00:53

jp28 wrote:

Congratulations on your excellent score! You mentioned you took your first diagnostic test in November. On average, how long did you study each day? Were you working during this time or did you devote your entire focus to the GMAT?

Thank you!

I am working full time 55 hours per week but I had enough privacy to study during my down-time. On average, I would say I studied anywhere from 1-5 hours per day. Some really uneventful days I would go up to 7 or 8 but I don't recommend that to anyone else. I think studying for 2 hours at a time with a break before another 2 hours and then stopping for the day is the most efficient way to go about it. After some time you stop retaining anything you're reading/doing. Everyone is different, though, so you have to find the schedule that you benefit from the most. I can only say that overdoing it is just as dangerous as underdoing it.

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k0chi

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Joined: 26 Dec 2017

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Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

28 Apr 2018, 02:14

ya94 Thank you for sharing your journey! Really inspiring as I'm building up from a similar diagnostic score and with quant being a struggle as well.

Could you expand on what habits/study strategy/your mindset was like leading up to the 600-650 range, and what changes you made (apart from the new techniques learned in the course) that helped you start cracking questions successfully and confidently at the 700+ level?

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jp28

Intern

Joined: 26 Feb 2018

Posts: 17

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

02 May 2018, 11:02

ya94 wrote:

jp28 wrote:

Congratulations on your excellent score! You mentioned you took your first diagnostic test in November. On average, how long did you study each day? Were you working during this time or did you devote your entire focus to the GMAT?

Thank you!

I am working full time 55 hours per week but I had enough privacy to study during my down-time. On average, I would say I studied anywhere from 1-5 hours per day. Some really uneventful days I would go up to 7 or 8 but I don't recommend that to anyone else. I think studying for 2 hours at a time with a break before another 2 hours and then stopping for the day is the most efficient way to go about it. After some time you stop retaining anything you're reading/doing. Everyone is different, though, so you have to find the schedule that you benefit from the most. I can only say that overdoing it is just as dangerous as underdoing it.

Which Manhattan Prep course did you take? The Live GMAT Course or the Interact On Demand Course? Although I understand the concepts and basics I seem to not be able to get over that hurdle in actual tests so I am interested in an online course. Thanks.

B

ya94

Intern

Joined: 12 Dec 2017

Posts: 11

Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

03 May 2018, 01:08

k0chi wrote:

ya94 Thank you for sharing your journey! Really inspiring as I'm building up from a similar diagnostic score and with quant being a struggle as well.

Could you expand on what habits/study strategy/your mindset was like leading up to the 600-650 range, and what changes you made (apart from the new techniques learned in the course) that helped you start cracking questions successfully and confidently at the 700+ level?

Thank you!

Leading up to the 600-650 range, I was just focusing on the actual quant content since I hadn't reviewed this stuff since high school. I was focusing exclusively on the actual math, reviewing algebra and geometry etc.

When it came to 700+ level questions, I focused more on question strategies, trying to pick which method to solve the question quickly and accurately, and trying to accurately guess when I didn't know what to do.

As for habits, you just have to put the hours in, you will eventually get there!

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ya94

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Joined: 12 Dec 2017

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Schools: HBS '21 (M) Stanford '21 (D) Wharton '21 (D)

GMAT 1: 730 Q47 V42 Verified score

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

03 May 2018, 01:10

jp28 wrote:

ya94 wrote:

jp28 wrote:

Congratulations on your excellent score! You mentioned you took your first diagnostic test in November. On average, how long did you study each day? Were you working during this time or did you devote your entire focus to the GMAT?

Thank you!

I am working full time 55 hours per week but I had enough privacy to study during my down-time. On average, I would say I studied anywhere from 1-5 hours per day. Some really uneventful days I would go up to 7 or 8 but I don't recommend that to anyone else. I think studying for 2 hours at a time with a break before another 2 hours and then stopping for the day is the most efficient way to go about it. After some time you stop retaining anything you're reading/doing. Everyone is different, though, so you have to find the schedule that you benefit from the most. I can only say that overdoing it is just as dangerous as underdoing it.

Which Manhattan Prep course did you take? The Live GMAT Course or the Interact On Demand Course? Although I understand the concepts and basics I seem to not be able to get over that hurdle in actual tests so I am interested in an online course. Thanks.

I went with the Live GMAT Course, it actually ended up including access to the On Demand Course as optional homework. I totally recommend it, it was extremely useful for me.

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adi3993

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Joined: 30 Apr 2013

Posts: 7

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

05 May 2018, 10:56

Hey
Congrats on the fantastic score
Just trying to understand - what was your accuracy in verbal and quant on your GMAT prep tests?

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HanoiGMATtutor

Senior Manager

Joined: 24 Jun 2016

Posts: 335

GMAT 1: 770 Q60 V60

GPA: 4

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

06 May 2018, 16:55

ya94 wrote:

jp28 wrote:

Congratulations on your excellent score! You mentioned you took your first diagnostic test in November. On average, how long did you study each day? Were you working during this time or did you devote your entire focus to the GMAT?

Thank you!

I am working full time 55 hours per week but I had enough privacy to study during my down-time. On average, I would say I studied anywhere from 1-5 hours per day. Some really uneventful days I would go up to 7 or 8 but I don't recommend that to anyone else. I think studying for 2 hours at a time with a break before another 2 hours and then stopping for the day is the most efficient way to go about it. After some time you stop retaining anything you're reading/doing. Everyone is different, though, so you have to find the schedule that you benefit from the most. I can only say that overdoing it is just as dangerous as underdoing it.

20-30 hours per week spent on the GMAT on top of your 55-hour work week is an incredible feast. I'd say you reaped what you sowed. Your hard work really paid off. Congratulations and good luck on your HSW applications!

gmatclubot

Re: 550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background. [#permalink]

06 May 2018, 16:55

550 -> 730. Non-native with no Quant background.

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