770 Journey!

GMATClub Review :

My GMAT journey was a rollercoaster. But it was a fun and enjoyable experience too. From spending a lot of time doing self-study to taking help from Crackverbal. Everything was worth it.
Thank you Crackverbal for being part of my 770 journeys.



GMATClub debrief :


I am an Electrical engineer and Masters's from NTU in automation. I was working for four years in Indian in the field of manufacturing, energy domain. After my Master's, I worked for the semiconductor domain for seven to eight months. And after that, I'm working in the research R&D domain to develop clean energy technology.

Reason for thinking of pursuing an MBA

I did a lot of introspection before I planned to go ahead with my GMAT.
After seven and a half years of technical background, I wanted to understand my missing skill. What are the key areas where I can grow and where my interests lie for the rest of my life?

I made sure I did a lot of research on what I wanted to do before getting onto my GMAT journey. I attended negotiation classes at INSEAD, spoke to alums to understand what it takes to get there. The experience was phenomenal, and I realized what I missed.

I would say my GMAT journey was a total roller coaster ride. I enjoyed the journey, and it was painful too.

I started my prep in May 2019. I gave my first official GMAT exam in Jan 2020, and I got a 400. I was upset by seeing that score. I got very demotivated with that score. I knew my Verbal was weak and really needed to change direction to do well.

So I started again after 400. I took one month break means mentally.
I focused on spending 80% of my time learning the concept and 20% on practice. That was the biggest mistake. My second attempt ended up in 490 and then again a 500. That's when I decided to take coaching. I realized I could not do it alone. I took help from multiple online trainers, and then I got in touch with the CrackVerbal team -Thanks to GMATClub
I decided to go with the one-one option, and that really helped me.
My CrackVerbal mentor gave me a lot of advice on how to improve, what exactly GMAT tests you on, the logic, the approach, and how I should attack a question. I focused on rules to eliminate my answers. The pandemic gave me a good time to work and practice. I thought that this is a golden opportunity and I should make use of it.
Verbal on the GMAT is all about getting your basics in place. You just need to focus on your fundamentals. With a good hold on your basics, you can crack the exam within one or two months. If your basics are wrong, it can take ages. I was always quite comfortable with my Quant. There was a lot of hard work here which involved reading books to going back to high school grammar material. I felt I needed that clarity.

The D-Day

I am always very stressed before an exam. And GMAT was not any different . However, I tried to keep my cool and took the test. This time I was a lot more confident than before. Once I was done with my test - the scores flashed on the screen. I could not believe my eyes when I saw a 770! I zoomed in again to double-check. I was ecstatic and super relieved after I saw my score.

My learnings

You can solve the Official Guide 10 times or just two times. It's about doing it right the first time. Doing it multiple times doesn't really matter. You need to know why you got a question right or wrong.
Treat every day as the last day of prep. Each day of preparation was with this attitude that I have the final GMAT the next day. This attitude helped me to take each day seriously and not waste a single day of my prep.
GMAT is not the end. Don't stress yourself. There is always some other option you can think of. Don't miss out on enjoying your life.
GMAT is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to train yourself well enough to get there.
Never give up - you will get there!
I hope my debrief helps someone get their dream score! All the best!