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parasgupta92
Joined: 03 Oct 2016
Last visit: 02 Apr 2021
Posts: 6
Given Kudos: 4
Location: India
Concentration: Marketing, Strategy
Schools: IIMC PGPEX'22 (A)
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
Products:
23 Jun 2019, 11:45
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I started my GMAT with a classroom preparation program. Before enrolling in that program, I had a plethora of assumptions and misconceptions about the exam. A few of them were:
1. You need to be a William Shakespeare in grammar to crack the exam.
2. Indians are very bad in verbal and struggle terribly.
3. You won’t be able to crack the RCs if you are not a born avid reader.
4. GMAT is an adaptive test and if you get an easy question in the exam that implies you answered the last one incorrectly.
5. Many more....
As and when I started preparing I realized that exam is very standardized and my assumptions started to collapse. No one has been able to decipher the exact algorithms of the adaptive test so worrying about them does not yield any fruits. Within a few days, my subconscious was absolutely convinced that a coveted 700+ score is absolutely achievable and anyone can score that with systematic preparation and perseverance.
I gave my first attempt in Jan’18 and ended with a 640 (V27, Q50). Now, I am able to fathom what went wrong in each of the 3 sections in verbal. In sentence correction questions, I was focusing on the shortcuts in lieu of saving a few seconds per question. Most of the institutes work on a similar pedagogy where the students are taught the common and standard rules such as comma-ing form, subject verb pair etc. A lot of questions will hover around these and one gets easily motivated when you get to find these errors and mark your answers correctly. But trust me most of the test takers are privy of these common rules and hence GMAT assesses the test takers a lot more comprehensively. Hence, this approach is not strong enough for 700+ level questions. I will talk about the correct approach shortly. I was also struggling in RC & CR questions because like most of the Indians I am also not an avid reader and find it difficult to consume information which does not belong to my area of interest.
I gave my second attempt immediately in April’18 and marginally improved my score to 660 (V31, Q49). This time I enrolled for a remote personal tutoring program. I unlearned the shortcuts based approach towards solving SC questions and inculcated the meaning based approach. That really helped in improving my accuracy in SC questions. But, I realized that 2 things went wrong in the 2nd attempt:
1. I was not consistent in my preparation.
2. I was not giving sufficient mock tests.
After this I was absolutely clear with my preparation plan, my weak zones, new approach towards extirpating those weaknesses etc. However, I got too exerted with 2 continuous attempts and decided to give a break. I dropped my studies for the next 8 months and got completely refreshed in Dec’18. That is when I decided to go all game for the test and come out with a coveted 700+ score. I enrolled for the eGMAT’s E-Learning Program for a self paced learning.
I prepared for the next 2 months with 100% focus and determination and gave my 3rd attempt in March’19. I was exhilarated with getting a coveted score of 720 (V40, Q49). I did spend good enough time to decipher what elevated my score from 660 to 720 in 2.5 months of preparation. I believe it was an amalgamation of 3 key attributes namely:
1. Strong Fundamentals
2. Good Stamina
3. Ability to Handle Pressure
I found the quality of eGMAT’s E-Learning program exponentially better and class apart than any other source of information available in the market. I did not even solve the OG in my last attempt and blindly followed all the program’s content to completion. I used to study 2-3 hours every night for 2-2.5 months. Talking about SCs, the program taught me to focus on 2 things i.e meaning based approach and knowing the nitty-gritty of grammar. For Ex - There is a difference between “Due To” and “Because Of”, “Do It” and “Do So”, “Has and Had” and a lot more. The program has all such nuances explained in a logical and elaborative manner. Knowing the logic behind these with simple examples made me store them into my brain with any conscious effort and took my ability to find errors to an amazingly next level. With some practice, it became a routine thing. My accuracy in sectional tests jumped from 60% to 90%.
I forced myself to improve in Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning by mere practice! I believe there are not many hacks towards improving these sections. However, I found eGMAT’s approach towards solving Boldface CR questions remarkable. I used to meticulously analyze all of my incorrect answers to understand why and where did I go wrong in my thinking. I believe these 2 sections are more about comprehending what the author is trying to say and likewise what is being asked in the questions. By giving ample number of sectional tests and understanding my mistakes, I was able to improve both my reading speed and accuracy.
After that it was all about consistency and stamina building. I used to give atleast 2 sectional tests everyday and 1 mock test on every weekend. The sectional tests helped me become friendly with the clock and figure out my weak zones. I went back to the material and re-studied the associated rules for those weak zones. The mocks increased my stamina to withstand the 3.5-4 hour exam. They also prepared me for difficult situations ex getting 2-3 RCs or 2 boldface continuously one after the other. It is a lot better to face these situations during the simulation and get mentally prepared instead of procrastinating them. On my exam day, I was not stressed as I gave my exam in March’19. Knowing that even if I fail, I still have ample amount of time to give atleast 2 more attempts took away most of the stress. I believe this was a very big motivation and hence the timing of the exam is of vital importance. One should try to get done with the score as early as possible. I would like to share 3 key learnings from my journey:
1. Extirpate all of your assumptions about the exam as they will only increase your stress and not your score.
2. Consistency in preparation is very important and motivating towards achieving the goal. Try studying everyday even if it is for only 30 mins.
3. Practice has a deeper meaning. Solving 100 questions and analyzing each of them in detail later will yield substantially better results than solving 1000 questions without a thorough analysis.
1. You need to be a William Shakespeare in grammar to crack the exam.
2. Indians are very bad in verbal and struggle terribly.
3. You won’t be able to crack the RCs if you are not a born avid reader.
4. GMAT is an adaptive test and if you get an easy question in the exam that implies you answered the last one incorrectly.
5. Many more....
As and when I started preparing I realized that exam is very standardized and my assumptions started to collapse. No one has been able to decipher the exact algorithms of the adaptive test so worrying about them does not yield any fruits. Within a few days, my subconscious was absolutely convinced that a coveted 700+ score is absolutely achievable and anyone can score that with systematic preparation and perseverance.
I gave my first attempt in Jan’18 and ended with a 640 (V27, Q50). Now, I am able to fathom what went wrong in each of the 3 sections in verbal. In sentence correction questions, I was focusing on the shortcuts in lieu of saving a few seconds per question. Most of the institutes work on a similar pedagogy where the students are taught the common and standard rules such as comma-ing form, subject verb pair etc. A lot of questions will hover around these and one gets easily motivated when you get to find these errors and mark your answers correctly. But trust me most of the test takers are privy of these common rules and hence GMAT assesses the test takers a lot more comprehensively. Hence, this approach is not strong enough for 700+ level questions. I will talk about the correct approach shortly. I was also struggling in RC & CR questions because like most of the Indians I am also not an avid reader and find it difficult to consume information which does not belong to my area of interest.
I gave my second attempt immediately in April’18 and marginally improved my score to 660 (V31, Q49). This time I enrolled for a remote personal tutoring program. I unlearned the shortcuts based approach towards solving SC questions and inculcated the meaning based approach. That really helped in improving my accuracy in SC questions. But, I realized that 2 things went wrong in the 2nd attempt:
1. I was not consistent in my preparation.
2. I was not giving sufficient mock tests.
After this I was absolutely clear with my preparation plan, my weak zones, new approach towards extirpating those weaknesses etc. However, I got too exerted with 2 continuous attempts and decided to give a break. I dropped my studies for the next 8 months and got completely refreshed in Dec’18. That is when I decided to go all game for the test and come out with a coveted 700+ score. I enrolled for the eGMAT’s E-Learning Program for a self paced learning.
I prepared for the next 2 months with 100% focus and determination and gave my 3rd attempt in March’19. I was exhilarated with getting a coveted score of 720 (V40, Q49). I did spend good enough time to decipher what elevated my score from 660 to 720 in 2.5 months of preparation. I believe it was an amalgamation of 3 key attributes namely:
1. Strong Fundamentals
2. Good Stamina
3. Ability to Handle Pressure
I found the quality of eGMAT’s E-Learning program exponentially better and class apart than any other source of information available in the market. I did not even solve the OG in my last attempt and blindly followed all the program’s content to completion. I used to study 2-3 hours every night for 2-2.5 months. Talking about SCs, the program taught me to focus on 2 things i.e meaning based approach and knowing the nitty-gritty of grammar. For Ex - There is a difference between “Due To” and “Because Of”, “Do It” and “Do So”, “Has and Had” and a lot more. The program has all such nuances explained in a logical and elaborative manner. Knowing the logic behind these with simple examples made me store them into my brain with any conscious effort and took my ability to find errors to an amazingly next level. With some practice, it became a routine thing. My accuracy in sectional tests jumped from 60% to 90%.
I forced myself to improve in Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning by mere practice! I believe there are not many hacks towards improving these sections. However, I found eGMAT’s approach towards solving Boldface CR questions remarkable. I used to meticulously analyze all of my incorrect answers to understand why and where did I go wrong in my thinking. I believe these 2 sections are more about comprehending what the author is trying to say and likewise what is being asked in the questions. By giving ample number of sectional tests and understanding my mistakes, I was able to improve both my reading speed and accuracy.
After that it was all about consistency and stamina building. I used to give atleast 2 sectional tests everyday and 1 mock test on every weekend. The sectional tests helped me become friendly with the clock and figure out my weak zones. I went back to the material and re-studied the associated rules for those weak zones. The mocks increased my stamina to withstand the 3.5-4 hour exam. They also prepared me for difficult situations ex getting 2-3 RCs or 2 boldface continuously one after the other. It is a lot better to face these situations during the simulation and get mentally prepared instead of procrastinating them. On my exam day, I was not stressed as I gave my exam in March’19. Knowing that even if I fail, I still have ample amount of time to give atleast 2 more attempts took away most of the stress. I believe this was a very big motivation and hence the timing of the exam is of vital importance. One should try to get done with the score as early as possible. I would like to share 3 key learnings from my journey:
1. Extirpate all of your assumptions about the exam as they will only increase your stress and not your score.
2. Consistency in preparation is very important and motivating towards achieving the goal. Try studying everyday even if it is for only 30 mins.
3. Practice has a deeper meaning. Solving 100 questions and analyzing each of them in detail later will yield substantially better results than solving 1000 questions without a thorough analysis.
23 Jun 2019, 13:30
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations on the very good score, [email protected]! And thank you for sharing your experience. Would you also share your mock exam progression and what source of mock exams you used? This information will be very helpful for other test takers like you!
23 Jun 2019, 14:20
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations and thanks for the tips. I believe your tips will help a lot of folks still preparing to ace the GMAT. I am curious if you used any other material apart from e-gmat for CR, even if it was briefly. I have heard a lot of people say the CR lessons are not as good as the SC ones. Any suggestion(s)?
Best wishes!
Best wishes!
