Gents and Ladies,
A little background : I am an indian IT male
with an above average undergrad GPA +
(non-IIT) with a Masters from a very reputed US University
. My job includes software R&D at one of the biggest US firms in wireless/embedded systems. So, effectively, I am an indian IT Male, an ubiquitous species which is rejected to a large extent by the adcoms because of their sheer over-exposure
. BTW, I have a casual blog which is widely appreciated by my few friends, hence I personally did not think my verbal was that bad!! But the GMAT brought me down to earth and pounded the hell out of me esp. Verbal (29)
GMAT preparation: Started to take GMAT seriously in October 2012. Bought GMAT
OG, Kaplan 800 and
MGMAT SC,CR. Didn't go full throttle till December 2012. By January, I made up my mind to take the GMAT by March end. So, started reading guides, solving questions and doing everything needed to improve my verbal ( weak as it is for many non-native speakers). My first diagnostic showed me 650 on Kaplan. From there, I tried to improve consistently by checking
OG answers and realizing my mistakes. CR is also a problem with me. I don't get convinced by some of the 700+
OG answers.
GMAT prep suggestions:
MGMAT +
OG is good enough. The CR bible is also good. Won't put my money on Kaplan, though.
GMAT mock scores:
MGMAT 1 - 650,
MGMAT 2 - 660
MGMAT 3 - 690
MGMAT 3 - 680 - One week before the real deal !!
GMATPrep 1 & 2 - 700
The battle of Normandy : I was expecting atleast 700 or maybe 690. However it was Q49/ V29!! I was initially thinking that IR might be an issue but it was not. One more thing I realized is that preps for Quant are unnecessarily made complicated. Atleast my quant section was a cakewalk with just the
OG. No probability/combinatronics till the last question. No circular permutations and all those weird problems. Verbal section was a tad bit complicated with more of critical reasoning questions. RC showed up in the 7th question and made me think I was doing good.
My dilemma is whether I need to attempt this exam again... Primarily looking for weekend/part time MBA in the UCs ( Haas/UCLA/USC)
Gurus, friends, countrymen and all the brethren here who are facing the same issue, kindly share your inputs....
Also, please give me some advice on what approach is needed to make the jump from 650 to 700+. I am aware of my handicap, but don't know the direction in which I need to head to achieve my goals.
P.S. Is indian IT male so OVER REPRESENTED that only a 700+ can get you into a Tier-I college??