I gave my GMAT in September last year. I always dreamt of a day when I would be writing my GMAT Debrief here. I got so much caught up with applications that today after 4 months I could get time to write here. Yesterday, I had my Interview with ISB (one of my dream schools). ISB interview post will also follow in some days.
I never expected my score to touch 770. In all mock practice tests, my score never moved beyond 750. But, the real day was my lucky day. Luck can easily bring a variation of 30 points.
I will start this debrief by thanking bb Sir. When I Joined GMAT club, there was lot of confusion in my mind and also my preparation. One post by him was my first stepping stone towards the test i.e. “GMAT Study Plan-How to start your GMAT Prep”. He mentioned everything in a step-wise way. I blindly followed the steps; the only thing which was not clear was the “error-log” point. I created my error-log but did not find it very useful. One more post which should be mentioned is “Timing Strategies on the GMAT”. One strategy which I tested even in the mocks was “Avoid guessing 2 questions in a row”. This strategy helped me in my score. The stepwise procedure of attempting quant and verbal questions was also very helpful.
abhimahna Sir is my Guru Drona. His post in which he gave his debrief should be treated like a holy script by all GMAT aspirants. His verbal SC, RC & CR strategies are very practical. Every person will tell you to read fast and save time but he always emphasised on reading “Read Slowly. Very Slowly. TOO Slowly”. His use of tables in paraphrasing also was very interesting. Most of us struggle with RC but I was always comfortable with RC. Rather RC was my strong facet. I devised my strategy in verbal based upon his approach.
I joined Edushastra for their customised approach. Their methodology of teaching is good. Teachers were good and dedicated to their work. I spent 3 months with them and the association was fruitful. Even small batches helped me in directly interacting with teachers. Their Testing phase was very gruelling. I do not want to name any teacher as it will be disrespect to others in the panel.
D-DayMy test slot was scheduled for the morning. I rose early and reached the centre in time. I was confident of doing well. The objective was to give my best and to have at least a score of 740. My scores in the mocks were averaging close to 740, so I was confident of scoring near it.
Real testing time is really nerve wrecking. I was not ready for the real test environment in which you hear so many typing sounds around you. My focus was really shaky in the starting but as the things moved further; my concentration was at its peak. After my quant, I was sure of getting 51. Verbal started with CR questions and it was fun. Then two RC came one after another. Second RC was like a bolt from the blue. I was not even able to understand the passage clearly. Nevertheless, it ended well when I looked at the score screen. V45 was a pleasant surprise.
I am ending this post with following lines from “The Road Not Taken”… “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
I will post my ISB interview experience in few days...