740 in one shot with self preparation

Question

Hi All,

To give a background about me, I'm 29F Indian Engineering graduate from a tier II college with 8 years experience in IT in the same company (TCS) . My career progression has been in circles moving from team to team as the lead of an average sized team and wanted to pursue an MBA for career growth. Took this decision long back (about 3-4 yrs back), but then life came in between ( marriage, childbirth ,etc).Initially (3 years back) I had gone through the Original Guide just like that. Started solving quantitative problem from OG and prepared for SC, CR from MGMAT guide. Both were given to me by my friend who had attempted GMAT earlier( did not score much and took a different route to an MBA).That preparation went without fruition.

When the lockdown started I had a bit more time on my hand than usual and decided to check whether it would be feasible for me start preparing for GMAT again. Started in August with MGMAT guides again going through the topics one by one and concentrating on solving the OG guide problem. When I took the first CAT in September first week (MGMAT free CAT . Scored around Q37 V35), realized did not have the required core skills or the time management skills required to ace the exam. This lead to search online on how to improve my preparation. As with most searches about GMAT preparation, the most honest and useful advices came from GmatClub forums. I had not been strictly timing my practice problems and my written down error log always starts splendidly but by the end of the week I would conveniently forget about it failing to review the problems.

Most of the high scorers had maintained that Error log was the most important part of their preparation. So in my search to efficiently maintain an error log, one post had suggested to attempt all my questions in GC and hence the error log would be automatically prepared for me (Also how is GmatClub free.. Seriously!!).

Quant Strategy

I decided to first concentrate on improving my Quant score. I would go through a topic in MGMAT guide. Check out a few videos from Youtube on the same topic and then attempt 600 and 700 grade questions in GC(mostly non-OG) . Through this I realized my timing and accuracy in 700+ questi were very poor. Did the same for most of the topics and attempted another free CAT test (from Vertias Prep I think). Scored Q42. A significant improvement, but not anywhere near what I expected.

Many had suggested that Gmatclub Tests helped in improving quant scores a lot. My aim was to spend the least amount of money possible for GMAT, so I was reluctant in spending money for Gmatclub tests. The first Quant GC test I attempted was on Sept 7th score 42. Analyzing the questions from the test, I realized two major things.
1) I was missing out on easy questions where the answers depended on fringe conditions. For example in inequality questions, I was failing to consider the possibility of variable being zero, negative, two variables being equal, etc.
2) Time Management : I was getting held up in questions i had no hope of answering.

The next free GC test was on Oct 1-7 for 1mil posts on GC. This was a huge turning point in my prep. Took a lot of the quant tests and fine tuned my timing strategy. Discovered some posts which said to maintain the following log. If I was over the timer by 3+ mins, I would simply guess on the next one or two hard questions. Doing this increased my Quant GC Tests score to 45~46 range.

0 - 62
5 - 52
10 - 42
15 - 32
20 - 22
25 -12
30 -02
31- 0

Again for GC tests, had an offer where signing up for the Online MBA fair would give one week of free access. This time around, I concentrated on analyzing the areas in quants where I was weak going through the error logs. Below i will suggest a few areas that gave me problems and how i was able to atleast partially get over it

1) Distance/Time and Work problems. MGMAT guides were helpful. Jeff Volmer from Manhattan Prep has a video in Youtube on this topic which greatly helped. I solved 64 problems on this topic in GC. Out of 64 I got 50 wrong in the first try. But the advantage is, after these 64 problems, the subsequent problems were all quite similar. So, simply solving these problems again and again was enough for me to tackle the distance/time or work problem in other practice CATs or the real exam itself.

2) Inequalities and Abs Value: This topic gave me issues right until test day. I was forgetting fringe conditions always and right until test day I was going through the inequalities and absolute value problems in GC Tests. I think those problems cover all possible scenarios for ineq and abs val and is sufficient for the problems that the real test is going to throw at you.

3) Combinatorics and Probablility: My bane of existence right from my school days. This is one topic I loathed in Math. MGMAT's material on this topic, Jeff Volmer's videos on Youtube and problems from GC Tests and GC. I think I managed to gain the bare minimum knowledge to pass through this in the real test.

4) Overlapping Set: Again Jeff Volmer's Youtube video is one of the best. He has solved 6 problems in the video and those got me through almost 90% of the available problems in GmatClub and GC Tests.

5) Number Properties, FDP : One of the most easy to overlook since everyone knows these. But I found out the hard way that to apply our knowledge in these problems is hard. MGMAT guide and GC Tests again to the rescue.

6) Geometry, :MGMAT Guide and GC again

7) Algebra: One topic I took very lightly. Did not see much of these in the GC Tests too. But the two problems that stumped me in the real GMAT test were from Algebra and mixtures. In hindsight, I should've concentrated on it more.

Finally on Halloween, again GC tests were free. Took 2 quant tests and got around 49. I had enough points gained from using the timer in GmatClub Practice Question Banks, that I could gain two more weeks of free GC Tests. Towards the end i was consistently scoring 49, 50, 51 in the Quant GC Tests and other free CATs provided by prep companies like Kalplan, TTP etc.

After I had exhausted all these GC Tests, I simply went to the test analysis tab, selected the test questions and put them in exam mode into a quiz and practiced them again. Also went through my error log and practiced the questions I got wrong again and again. Mark the questions which you get wrong repeatedly as revision problem and go through that the day before the exam. Ideally around 50 questions. For me the majority of those were inequality questions which touched upon the fringe conditions.

For people who make silly mistakes as much as me, please go slow on calculations. For the most part GMAT questions should not be calculation heavy. So if you are on the right track in solving a problem, you can very well afford 10 extra seconds on the calculations, which will inturn save you 2 mins on redoing it. Use the Gmatclub timer. Most 600+ problems shouldn't take more than 1.30 mins max 2 mins and 700+ probs shouldn't take more than max 2.30 mins.

Verbal

I was always good with CR and RC. I have a habit of reading a lot since childhood. Articles on science and technology generally interest me. For CR I went through the MGMAT CR guide, but even that didn't make much of an impact on my accuracy. It was pretty high to begin with. But one thing I would suggest is concentrate only on OG questions for Verbal(GMATNinja recommends this too). My Verbal scores in other prep company tests and GC Tests varied by a huuuuge margin between 30 to 45.

Sentence correction. Went through the MGMAT guide. Saw all GMATNinja's videos on SC. Pure Gold there. Erika's videos also helped me a lot there. Concentrated on solving only OG SC, CR and RC questions. Retrospectively, If I had concentrated more on SC I would've got better score in Verbal, but then I was too stressed with improving my quant scores that verbal took a backseat to be honest. Concentrating on error log questions is especially important Sentence Correction.

Timing wise, I didn't have much problem either in practice tests or real test. But the below timing helped me pace my test. There is an RC bound to come at around 30~31st question. So make sure you have time for that.

0-65
5-56
10-47
15-38
20-29
25-20
30-11
35-02

GMAT Prep Test Scores
Contrary to the advice of taking the GMAT Prep test like a real test, I took it in bits. I did not have the luxury of 3.30 hrs of uninterrupted time (Any mother with a 3 yr old will vouch for that). The max I was able to allocate was 2.30 hrs in which I took Verbal and Quant test. Scored 740. So it is true that GMAT Prep tests give you the most accurate score.

Integrated Reasoning and AWA

IR is probably the one I least prepared for and most hated. Multiple questions in a single question, failing to answer one correctly will make the entire question useless. All nightmares bundled into one. Scored a meager 5. Not sure what the right strategy is to go about for IR. If anyone finds it, pls do post it and help others too.

AWA: Didn't get the score at this point of time. I simply followed the ChineseBurned Template. Practiced it twice before the test. I think I wrote a decent essay. Lets see. But it is harder than one might expect to write an essay of that length in half an hour.

Test Day

I booked the test quite late. I was thinking to give the exam in January. I'm targeting admissions for 2022. But then I felt that if I take too long for prep I'll surely forget the concepts. So booked the test just three weeks before the test date. Got 12.30 slot in Pearson center, Pride Hulkul Bangalore. Reached the center at 11.15 and since they had a slot free I was accommodated at 11.30 itself. Make sure to alter your sleep timings so that you dont feel sleepy during the test. Sleep and boredom I think is a formidable foe. The restrooms in the center was very neat and I had time to much one some peanuts and use the restroom during the break.

Quant: I was stuck on an algebra and mixture problem in the middle, which made me rush on two other problem at the end that I knew I could solve but didn't have time to. This I think if I had simply swallowed my ego properly attempted the last two problems I would've scored 50. A sore spot for me. Score : Q49

Verbal: Experience was similar to my GMAT Prep practice tests. Most probably would've got SC questions wrong. Score: V41

IR: Man, IR was tough. It surely takes upwards of 4 mins to solve each problem and yet there is only 30 mins for 12 problems. I'm glad that I got 5. Was terrified that i would score very low. In GMAT Prep tests, for IR I was scoring very low. Score IR : 5

AWA: Again ChineseBurned Template. Nothing remarkable. Score : 6

Overall Thoughts

If you had noticed I didn't spend on anything other than the GMAT exam itself. We were on a tight budget and I myself didn't know whether I will be able to get a decent score. MGMAT guide was helpful. It was free for me, but if someone wants to get it a cheap price, head to the GMAT reddit thread. Many people often giveaway their MGMAT guides, OG at a throwaway price. I feel even OG is not required. You can simply select OG questions in the GmatClub practice question bank. Please don't practice from the OG alone for quant. It is nowhere near enough. For Verbal, please practice from the OG and GMAT Prep questions alone. For Verbal, I don't feel any other questions have the same flavor as the OG questions. GC Tests for Verbal are okish I feel.

@JeffVollmer,@GMATNinja, Bunuel, VeritasKarishma, daagh: Your YouTube videos and GC posts were extremely helpful for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. GmatClub is like open-source software. Crowdsourcing makes it one of the powerful tools for 95% of users.

I did manage maintaining a household without a maid(due to the COVID situation) and managed my kid with huge participation from my spouse , full time job (though my responsibilities during the preparation was less than usual) through my GMAT preparation period. Work from home was such a blessing in disguise for me. My study times for most days were morning one hour 6-7. and evening 9.30 to 11.30. I bulk cooked once a day, cleaned every other day only. (Vessels were taken care of by my husband). So if anybody else is in a similar position as me, looking into the GMAT option and you have a supporting spouse/family, go for it.

Next Steps

Reading through many posts, even 740 is not enough according to many people. But hope 740 is enough for me. I'm aiming for EPGP in IIMB. Similar programs from other IIM's would be my second choice. Would love some guidance from people who have got into these programs, regarding pointers on how I can improve my profile for EPGP IIMB . Once I have done some basic research on the same, I'll make a separate post of IIMB related questions.

Integrated Reasoning and AWA IR is probably the one I least prepared for and most hated. Multiple questions in a single question, failing to answer one correctly will make the entire question useless. All nightmares bundled into one. Scored a meager 5. Not sure what the right strategy is to go about for IR. If anyone finds it, pls do post it and help others too. AWA: Didn't get the score at this point of time. I simply followed the ChineseBurned Template. Practiced it twice before the test. I think I wrote a decent essay. Lets see. But it is harder than one might expect to write an essay of that length in half an hour. Test Day I booked the test quite late. I was thinking to give the exam in January. I'm targeting admissions for 2022. But then I felt that if I take too long for prep I'll surely forget the concepts. So booked the test just three weeks before the test date. Got 12.30 slot in Pearson center, Pride Hulkul Bangalore. Reached the center at 11.15 and since they had a slot free I was accommodated at 11.30 itself. Make sure to alter your sleep timings so that you dont feel sleepy during the test. Sleep and boredom I think is a formidable foe. The restrooms in the center was very neat and I had time to much one some peanuts and use the restroom during the break. Quant: I was stuck on an algebra and mixture problem in the middle, which made me rush on two other problem at the end that I knew I could solve but didn't have time to. This I think if I had simply swallowed my ego properly attempted the last two problems I would've scored 50. A sore spot for me. Score : Q49 Verbal: Experience was similar to my GMAT Prep practice tests. Most probably would've got SC questions wrong. Score: V41 IR: Man, IR was tough. It surely takes upwards of 4 mins to solve each problem and yet there is only 30 mins for 12 problems. I'm glad that I got 5. Was terrified that i would score very low. In GMAT Prep tests, for IR I was scoring very low. Score IR : 5 AWA: Again ChineseBurned Template. Nothing remarkable. Score : 6 Overall Thoughts If you had noticed I didn't spend on anything other than the GMAT exam itself. We were on a tight budget and I myself didn't know whether I will be able to get a decent score. MGMAT guide was helpful. It was free for me, but if someone wants to get it a cheap price, head to the GMAT reddit thread. Many people often giveaway their MGMAT guides, OG at a throwaway price. I feel even OG is not required. You can simply select OG questions in the GmatClub practice question bank. Please don't practice from the OG alone for quant. It is nowhere near enough. For Verbal, please practice from the OG and GMAT Prep questions alone. For Verbal, I don't feel any other questions have the same flavor as the OG questions. GC Tests for Verbal are okish I feel. @JeffVollmer,@GMATNinja, Bunuel , VeritasKarishma , daagh : Your YouTube videos and GC posts were extremely helpful for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. GmatClub is like open-source software. Crowdsourcing makes it one of the powerful tools for 95% of users. I did manage maintaining a household without a maid(due to the COVID situation) and managed my kid with huge participation from my spouse , full time job (though my responsibilities during the preparation was less than usual) through my GMAT preparation period. Work from home was such a blessing in disguise for me. My study times for most days were morning one hour 6-7. and evening 9.30 to 11.30. I bulk cooked once a day, cleaned every other day only. (Vessels were taken care of by my husband). So if anybody else is in a similar position as me, looking into the GMAT option and you have a supporting spouse/family, go for it. Next Steps Reading through many posts, even 740 is not enough according to many people. But hope 740 is enough for me. I'm aiming for EPGP in IIMB. Similar programs from other IIM's would be my second choice. Would love some guidance from people who have got into these programs, regarding pointers on how I can improve my profile for EPGP IIMB . Once I have done some basic research on the same, I'll make a separate post of IIMB related questions.

akadiyan · Answer

JANAN19

Congratulations on achieving 740 which is an amazing score.

Can you please throw some light on the few questions given below

1) How did you manage time between Quant and Verbal. Were you able to study both every day or like Quant and Verbal on alternative days.
2) For Verbal, did you take any section wise tests apart from GMAT Club tests ?
3) How did you space your mock exams especially during last leg of your prep.
4) Any recommendation on what to do/what not to do in last 3 weeks before exam ?

Thanks much for time.

gmat1393 · Answer

Congratulations  JANAN19  on 760!
All the best for the next phase!

JANAN19 · Answer

akadiyan 
1) How did you manage time between Quant and Verbal. Were you able to study both every day or like Quant and Verbal on alternative days.

When preparing the core concepts I did not do the alternative thing. I first completed quant concepts and then the verbal concepts with some initial level practice. After this I reviewed quant and verbal on alternate days (probably for the last two weeks.). Review maybe concepts for one or two topics and timed practice for them with a 600 and 700 grade questions and error log questions. 
2) For Verbal, did you take any section wise tests apart from GMAT Club tests ?
Apart from GC tests and GMATPrep tests, I attempted all the free CATs major companies provided like Manhattan, Verital, Kaplan, Experts Global. Unlike quants, my verbal scores were not consistent. Not sure why. 
3) How did you space your mock exams especially during last leg of your prep.
I should warn you, I've never taken a full length mock (3.30 hrs). I would recommend 1 or 2max mocks a week if you have a lot of left. Analyze the result and concentrate on your weak areas before the next mock. I took one GC quant test almost every other day in the last three weeks which gave me time to review all the questions. I feel the GC quant questions cover at least 90% of question types on the main test

4) Any recommendation on what to do/what not to do in last 3 weeks before exam ?
Todo:Review the error log religiously. That alone will prevent the regret of knowing you've solved a similar problem previously and yet forgot how to do it.

I didn't miss days in preparation. Helped me because I couldn't pull marathon learning during weekends.

If you get sleepy in the afternoon or during your scheduled time,try to alter your sleep patterns to minimize it.

Time your practice. Helps a lot. If your taking full length mocks or GC tests make a conscious effort not to pause in between.

Spend some time on IR and AWA. IR really stumped me.

Don't Do: dwell on poor scores in mock. I got a 27 in verbal GC test in last week. Simply analyze where you went wrong.

Missing to go through the error log. I'm mentioning it multiple times because it's that important. Probably the single most important factor in deciding your score. Most gmat tutors on YouTube and GC forums say the same.

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akadiyan · Answer

JANAN19 
Thank you very much for the detailed responses. I agree regarding the importance of the Error log.

All the best for your applications.

bb · Answer

Congrats on your score!!! And thank you for a great debrief!

That’s impressive you only started in August. What was just starting score?

Congrats on this amazing job while having a toddler in a lock down😱

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JANAN19 · Answer

bb ,
Thank you for your kind words and the amazing community that is GmatClub.

I did start going through some material and research on best ways to prepare gmat 3 years backs.. As I mentioned life happened and the plan was put on hold. My verbal scores were always a bit on the high side.. Upwards of 35 from the beginning. Quant.. The first GC test I took in September, I scored 27(due to a combination of poor time management and lack of core skills). Once I figured time management quant scores touched 42 ~43.I didn't attempt Gmat prep tests initially, didn't want to waste it.

Lockdown along with toddler, was exactly as you imagine :-D. Support from my husband was the main reason I could prepare.

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EducationAisle · Answer

Very very hopeful that you should get thru IIMB  JANAN19 .

Good luck with your application and the SoP!

GMATNinja · Answer

Congratulations on the excellent score, JANAN19 ! And thank you for the shout-out! It's an honor to have helped a little bit.

More importantly: Holy crap, you did all of this while working full-time and taking care of a toddler in lockdown?!?

That's incredible, JANAN19 . I have a 2-year-old and a 7-week-old at home right now (in covid lockdown), and even with my wife doing heroic work as a full-time mom, I'm barely functional. Studying for an exam?!? You have to be a pretty incredible person to pull that off with your situation. Awesome advice! I wish more people would do this, especially with non-official practice tests. Seriously, please keep in touch, JANAN19 ! I can't wait to see where you land with your applications.

deveshj21 · Answer

JANAN19  congarts on the stellar score, really inspiring , performing so well, managing so well ,while being sorrounded by so many things -hats off!
I gave GMAT on 12(online) and scored a 690 Q49 and V35, looking to gain a few points in verbal and quant also by a point( if god allows). What do you suggest I do for verbal, all three parts are on an average level, although I can solve almost any RC question, my avg time for solving the same hovers around 2:30-3:00 mins, CR question same, sc I have become good, but I think I can improve on that also. I have not focussed on error log till date, so one point there, but I have never understood the significance of CR AND RC error log becasue as soon as you are done reading the passage/ para I could remeber the answers. I am struggling with timings in verbal I had to randomly mark the 4 question RC towards the end. Please guide

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gmatway · Answer

congratulations on your score. So great to hear you managed job+house+child and ofcourse ! SCORE!! can you please clarify below queries .
1) I too am done with Official guide and finished mid level GC quants (topicwise). Now I am in a dilemma whether I should do official prep questions or gc+manhattan guide ? (its surprisin that you did not do official questions for quants)
2) how much time did it take you to finish all materials starting from lockdown.

740+ your profile is more than enouh for EPGP iimb . YOU CAN have a chat with consultants for free ..

JANAN19 · Answer

GMATNinja Thank you for your kind words. Now that I think about it, my husband must've taken care of many many things without any fanfare that i didn't realise. I'm mostly aiming for IIMs in India for class of 2022. So hopefully, roughly after a year, I'll be posting a success story about my admit and will make sure to tag you 😊

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JANAN19 · Answer

deveshj21  same issue I faced regarding able to recollect the answers atleast within two weeks of answering for the first time. Are you able to identify exactly why the wrong answers are wrong in all three RC CR and SC? I felt that rather than identifying the correct answer in error log, mentally recollecting why each answer is wrong helped me a lot. The logic by which and answer is incorrect/correct in CR and RC repeats a lot. So mentally practising that logic again and again helped me.

Do you write very extensive notes for RC. Try to avoid taking notes of things you can easily refer and concentrate when you read the passage rather than writing down more details. You can do some trial and error for that to optimize ur timing.

One thing that helped me speed up was the grid with A B C D E. Make a mark for probable and improbable answers as you read the options. Mostly it'll be a contest between two which will help you avoid wasting time on other options.

For CR, check which type you are weak in. Mine was inference and fill in the blanks. I concentrated on specifically those types to improve my accuracy.

Again for CR, check out the video from Veritas Prep CR how to go from hating to loving critical reasoning. The method he teaches is helpful in reducing the time spent in CR. Check if it'll suit you.

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JANAN19 · Answer

gmatway 
1) I too am done with Official guide and finished mid level GC quants (topicwise). Now I am in a dilemma whether I should do official prep questions or gc+manhattan guide ? (its surprisin that you did not do official questions for quants)

I did not go through og in the order given in the book. I would simply select OG questions in GC practice question bank and do the problems. Other than roughly the last 50 or so questions in OG others lulled me into a false sense of security.

If you are planning on 49,50 or 51 in quants, I'm not sure if mid level 600 level questions would be enough. If your accuracy in 600 level questions has reached around 90% and timing is decent 1.30 mins to 2 mins max for 600 level, proceed to 700level questions and aim to reach accuracy 70%. Some popular posts on GC suggest to attempt atleast 60 to 70 questions in each topic. So you can have that as a benchmark. 
Your next steps would depend on how much time you have. Have you taken a GC test? My personal strategy was to attempt all in exam mode and analyze my weak points based on that. It helped me finetune my timing strategy which was my biggest weak point. After attempting all tests in GC tests, I went through those questions again and again along with error log questions. This was during last one and a half weeks before exam. If you have 40 points in GC, gained through timer etc, you can purchase one week of tests with it and try. On diwali it is free too. 
After each test in GC tests check which area you are weak and attempt questions related to it from GC question banks. Also based on the score in GC tests, I went through posts on how to improve score from present to target (for example current score in GC test is 42, refer to forum in GC detailing how to improve score from 41 to 45).0Sorry my advice is heavily based on GC tests because my advise is totally based on the way I improved quant scores. Also GC tests I feel accurately guage ur level.

Official prep questions. Do not attempt it separately without giving ur prep exam. If you later attempt the GMAT prep exams it'll inflate your score. Once you complete gmat prep exams proceed to practicing those questions right away.

2) how much time did it take you to finish all materials starting from lockdown.

Well we can never finish materials can we 😁. My research into GMAT started 3 years back. So in July this year I had a pretty formed idea about where to look and what to do. So started in August and my exam was on nov 10th. I had to visit family for diwali etc and I felt having a gap of two weeks between my prep would set me back. So decided to give my exam early. If this gap was not there, I would've probably taken a month more.

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deveshj21 · Answer

JANAN19 
Thankyou for such a detailed reply.
Well Yes Mostly , in CR,I remember why a particular option is correct and why the others are wrong.
In Rc i donot take notes, i have already done trial and error for this ,and yup I can learn to do a better job at POE.
For SC, apparently my strongest point, i am hurrying bcz i am slow in other two parts.
Anyways, i got your point, and will implement them.
Thank you so much

Sagart21 · Answer

Congratulations for scoring 740! The time line mentioned for each sections looks very helpful, thanks!

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samwaters · Answer

Congratulations on this result. Your story is impressive! 
Good luck in the future!

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