710 - very relieved!

Question

I have thought about what I would write in a debrief multiple times, even today morning as I took the shower before going to the test center. 
First thoughts on seeing a 710 was, Phew!! I wanted to get more 730 and such, but the past two weeks were so harrowing at work, GMAT took a back seat. And my performance which peaked sometime ned of August started going down. In GMATPrep1 I scored 730 and in GMATPrep2 which I took three weeks later scored a 680. Anyway, I wil continue with my debrief.

The day before the exam. I took off from work. 
I took the GMATPrep2 for the third time, I concentrated on the concepts, and the kind of problems being tested and tried to find easy ways to arrive at solutions. I went over Manhattan SC book. And went over my error log. 
I slept early. Was woken up in the middle by something and had a hard time going back to sleep, but I guess I did eventually, becos my alarm woke me up at 5:30. I didnt have time to study anything, I just emailed some of my error logs to my gmail id, hoping to go over them on my iphone while at the test center. The test center was 35 mins from my place. I reached with 50mins to spare. I studied some prayed some
I wrote more and better than I thought I would in the AWA. I enjoyed writing those two sections, which kind of eased me into the exam. I went to the restroom, ate almonds and drank some water during the first break and went right back in.
Quants was not so bad. In fact I thought I was doing all questions very well, although I got some really easy questions in the second half of the exam. I was a little worried, but I pushed it aside. I did have difficulty concentrating as my back had started hurting.
I went over my 8min break by 30 secs for verbal although I did jsut the same things as I did in my previous break. I stretched a little, to help my back.
Verbal was okay, I wouldnt say I got very tough questions. I was concerned with RC passages but thankfully, there were not so dry or mind boggling as the ones I did from LSAT papers. I was rooting for science passages instead of boring economy/history passages and I gotthem.

My heart started beating faster, I could hear it my ears muffs on, as I filled out the background info and reported the scores.

710 was not bad at all. I was happy. I crossed the 700 barrier. 
Split - 
Q - 49 pretty much what I got in GMATPrep1 and 2
V - 37 pretty much what I expected.

Study material -

Whatever has been mentioned in this forum and beatthegmat forum. Same stuff. I didnt use Kaplan much. MGMAT tests and SC is awesome. OG11 and GMAC Verbal Review. The tips in this forum for Q and V are very good. Used several fro Quants like probability, mixtures etc which unfortunately i got none of. I got one combination question an easy one, thats it. GMATClub tests were very very good! I scored an average 26-28 in the tests. I wanted to get a 50 in Q but couldnt. But I am fine with what I got.

Here are my practice test scores.

Crack the gmat - 630 
MGMAT 1 - 590 i left 1 q unanswered each in Q and V
MGMAT 2 - 680 beginners luck I guess
GMATPrep1 - 730 49/42 - I was so surprised. This must be bcos I unknowingly has solved someof the questions in these forums. 
MGMAT 3 - 640 was dejected after 730 ;--)
MGMAT 4 - 660 
MGMAT 5 - 680
MGMAT 6 - 710 
GMATPrep2 - 680 49/34 was devastated. This was when crazy work started.

Good luck to everyone taking the exam! Hope this debrief helps someone atleast.
And no, no break for me I have to address the pile of work I neglected this week.

superman · Answer

congrats on awesome score

ATB for Apps and your piled up work

mohater · Answer

Congrats, I've vet happy your GMATPrep test 2 results did not drag you down.

Good luck with apps.

bb · Answer

Thank you for the debrief! Are you planning to apply in R1 or R2?

bzeena · Answer

Hi bb,
I am planning to apply in R2. I will be applying to Haas, still trying to decide between part time and full time. Will there be significant difference when applying in R1 or R2? Is part time equivalent to full time? 
Thanks!

bb · Answer

I think there will be a difference between Full time and Part Time. The differences between R1 and R2 will be somewhat minor. However, that's a huge discussion in its own.

bzeena · Answer

bb,

Could you tell me what your opinion is on part time/ full time and R1/R2? I was thinking of R2 purely for lack of time. I dnot want to rush my essays to R1.

bb · Answer

You will get a lot more feedback by the way, if you post these in the MBA forum :wink

- you really need to nail down both and come with a strategy and timeline. Part Time and Full Time are completely different programs - different curriculum, professors, style, experience, etc. It is almost similar to asking - what do you prefer Red Wine or Oatmeal? Both are food items, but very different in nature and purpose. I'd recommend you nail this one down first. See this post for a starting point: part-time-vs-full-time-mba-compendium-19108.html For R1 and R2 - that's a philosophical discussion. Some believe that R1 is better chances since schools have a quota for applicants to fill without knowing how many will apply or what quality, esp. if last year was a weak season (but last year was a strong one so it may be better off to wait). Others believe that R2 is better if the school did not get a good enough selection in R1, they will relax the standards for R2, and so on and on - I can go on all night really. However, the final argument that everyone puts out is that you should apply when you feel you are ready. If R1 dealdine is too soon and you don't have your recommendations yet, then R2 may be a better time since your chances will be better with better rec's and better essays. See this post for pro's and cons: any-difference-between-applying-in-r1-vs-r2-81651.html

bzeena · Answer

Thanks for the links bb!
Yes I still have to familiarize myself with the admission forums now. :--)

I am leaning towards part time bcos my company might partially sponser me.

bb · Answer

That's a good thing, by the way, esp if you have family/etc. - also helps not having to find job/internship - a very annoying though exciting part of bschool. However, the tradeoff is that you dont' have as much time to dedicate and dont' have the "fun" of being a full time student at 25, 28, 30, 35, etc.

bzeena · Answer

Hi bb,

I did do my MS here and went through the whole job/internship routine, may be its not the same as in MBA, but it was a nightmare for me in 2003, with most companies not hiring international students. 
Also my husband and I are both planning to study, we both cannot do full time, esp with Haas expenses, we will be screwed big time.

Can you please link me to some tips on how to write the b school essays. I will be grateful!

orsang8 · Answer

good job. all these posts are giving me hopes.

Shinki · Answer

great score...congratulations .

Shinki · Answer

Good luck with your apps

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710 - very relieved!

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