770: A satisfying journey

Hey guys !

I was so excited after getting a 770 on GMAT (3 days back), that I wanted to pen down all my emotions to contain them.
So I started my preparation around Jan-Feb 2017 after finally convincing myself. I was determined to handle GMAT by self-study and thus after some good research on study material online, I decided to go with E-gmat. Since my Quant was decent, I wanted to focus on verbal primarily and I bought E-gmat verbal. I started with their SC portion as I knew my verbal level was 27 (I gave the GMAT Prep 1 before starting my preparation). I made a decent 1-month plan to cover my SC but with job, family and my husband’s startup, I was not able to stick to my plan. Since this would be the last year to attempt at GMAT (as I already have 5yrs work ex), I wanted to give it everything I could.

So then I decide to join classroom classes at Jamboree Gurgaon around mid-March (Also I took a demo at Princeton but found them far below Jamboree’s level). The good part was that I had fixed my basics of grammar from E-Gmat before I joined the classes, so whatever they taught in the class made sense to me and helped me to improve my verbal skills further. The best advantage of these classes was the “DISCIPLINE”. Now I had my next 12 weekends booked for the classes and therefore no family or friends commitments whatsoever. Also the verbal homework that we got made me study for atleast 2-3 hours daily. Since studying 2-3 hours after office i.e. after 7-8 pm was not something my brain liked, I got myself into the habit of sleeping early (~10pm) and getting up around 5am. So that ways I got 1.5-2 hrs to study in the evening and 1.5-2hrs to study in the morning. I normally did concepts in the evening and question practice in the morning.

The classes ended mid-May and i.e. when the real preparation started. I strategized to give the exam mid-end June so I had 4-6 weeks before the exam date. I did not book the exam yet because I wanted to be confident before I booked it. I gave the GMAT prep 1 and I got a 710. With each week of preparation I wanted to improve +10-20 points toward my target score of 760. I have attached a picture of my wall below wherein I had the target score which constantly reminded me of my aim (especially those mornings when I didn’t feel like getting up).

I gave the next GMAT prep II after a week and I got 700. The next one I got was 730. Now I booked the GMAT exam as I was confident that I would be able to take this 730 to 760 in 2 weeks time. Also, I did not give any other mock test (manhattan etc) because I didn’t want to invest my time/money on anything less relevant that GMAT preps. I had accustomed myself into a good schedule of practicing one set of questions in the morning and 1 set in the evening. Please see my preparation gant char below. I maintained a proper error log and once a week especially before my GMAT mock, I used to revise my entire set of notes (E-gmat, Jamboree, OG and error logs). Error log really helps!

Now the difficult phase of my preparation started. I gave the next mock GMAT prep IV at Jamoboree centre to simulate exam conditions. Surprisingly my score dropped to 680. I was shattered to see this. I had expected 730 (my last score) + 10/20 points. My exam was due in 10 days and I was here at 680. The next GMAT prep V that I gave, I gave at jamboree center again and WOW! I got a 680 again! Now I knew something was wrong. Though I always had this tendency of getting over confident right before the exam especially when I am doing good but this was not just over confidence. I sat and thoughtfully analyzed. I came down to 2 reasons. Firstly, there was a lot of disturbance at Jamboree centre, making me short of time in verbal. Whereas when I gave the tests at home in isolated condition, I could time it well. Secondly, there could be an issue with my preparation. So to take care of the first reason, I decided to the last GMAT prep 6 at home and to take care of the second reason, I made an intensive plan for the next 5 days leading upto GMAT exam. At this particular time, I could not afford to rely on any other prep material but GMAT prep. Therefore, I bought GMAT prep Question pack which gave me 180 verbal questions i.e. 5 sets. I made an intensive plan for the next 5 days. 2 days before the exam I gave GMAT prep 6 and I got a 770!! Though 3-4 verbal questions were repeat and so I discounted 770 to 760 (as can be seen in the picture below).

The last day before the exam, as per my schedule, I practiced only 2 set of questions but I revised all my notes thoroughly. Watched the movie 3 idiots for an hour at night and went to bed. For some reason I could not sleep. My husband recommended a small peg of rum and woohllaa I was off to sleep in minutes.

The Exam day
I got up at my usual time around 6-630, did a couple of stretching exercises and got ready for the exam. A night before, I had done all the preparations like print of the appointment letter and passport which helped in a tension free morning. My mom packed my food (along with her blessings ) and I left for the center. My husband dropped me at the centre and on the way we talked all casual stuff (his intention was to keep me calm. My husband was very supportive all throughout – more on that later ).

At the exam centre, after the formalities, the test began. The first section went well. IR was less difficult than that I practiced. I finished a couple of minutes before it ended. Took a break, gulped some almonds and water and started quant. I had strategized 35:40::20:17 i.e. to finish the first 20 questions in first 35 mins and the next/last 15 questions in the next 40mins. This was because of my experience in the mocks that the last 7 questions were usually difficult and I wanted to keep good 20-25 mins for those questions. As anticipated, the last 7 questions were good difficult questions but I had enough 20mins for the same. The quant section went well and another break. I ate the flavored yoghurt that I brought along. I intentionally chose the sweetened food to maintain my glucose level and thus ensure that my brain doesn’t feel exhausted in the middle of the verbal section. Verbal started and I had strategized (as also practiced in mocks) as 75-57-38-20: the four milestones for each 10-10-10-11 questions section. I was well in time for the first two sections but somehow started lagging in the third. Instead of starting the last set of questions at 20mins, I started at around 16mins, got a RC and 6mins were gone which means I had just 10mins for the last 8 questions. I was forcing my brain to complete each question within a minute, pushing harder with every question and I was myself amazed at the way my brain was working probably because of the intense practice. Last 4 questions and 4 mins were left. I had to strictly command my brain 45 seconds per question. With every answer submitted, my heartbeat rose exponentially and as I clicked the last answer, my brain had ceased to function. But it was satisfying! Then came the next 4 mins in which I had to complete the profile details. Since I had already done that before booking the exam, I just rushed through to see my score appear as 770! (Q51 V42 IR8). I just could not believe. My heart pounding faster than ever and I was staring at the screen, when the invigilator reminded me to accept the score (thank god he was around!)


I am now attaching below some of the tips and strategies, most of which I learned from the online GMAT community, some good bloggers, jamboree teachers and friends. I customized the tips/strategies as per my need and would recommend you to customize as per your need.

Happy reading !

p.s.: Apologies for a long post.