770 - RELIEF

Hey all, I am a recently graduated engineer from India (from a premier institute). I work as a Product Manager at a US-based fintech company.

I took my first GMAT attempt after preparing for five weeks. Got a 720. Recently, I re-took the GMAT and scored a whopping 770 (Q50, V47). I couldn't believe my eyes and bolted out of the test center to tell my parents and friends. After months of preparation along with a full-time job, many sleepless nights, and countless failed mock tests, I finally could crack the score I dreamt of. I learned quite a few things about myself over this journey, and these takeaways have made this journey even more rewarding.

Like most folks, before my first attempt, I was engulfed in a plethora of study material and could not figure out what to use. I finally gained some direction and started using the gmatclub forum for most of my practice. It felt like the best resource at the time, but my approach to most of the questions was not optimal. Hence, I suffered. I was severely dejected after the first attempt (720 is not a bad score but please read the full post so that you can understand the context), but I was aware of some aspects I could improve to achieve a great score. I worked on these areas (I would highly recommend this to Indian engineers because they might find themselves in the same boat as mine) and ended up with a 770:

- Getting a V40+: As an Indian student, my quant was pretty strong, and I managed a Q50 in the GMATPrep tests without any preparation. Getting a Q51 heavily depends on the test day, so I figured the best way to improve my score exponentially would be to score high on the verbal section. However, my most significant learning from the first attempt was that to get a V40+ verbal, there is hardly any room for error. During my first attempt, I was satisfied with my accuracy of 70% on CR and decided not to focus much on it, which bit me back. I stressed a lot on SC, in which I was the weakest, but I could not get the accuracy up to more than 80%. My accuracy on the RC was pretty much close to 100%. However, it is crucial to ace at least two out of RC, SC, and CR and perform decently well in the other to get a super-high verbal score.

- Study material: During my first attempt, I got too involved in trying to solve the most complex problems on gmatclub. I assumed that if I could not crack those, I had no chance of getting a good score. However, during my second attempt, I realized that OG QUESTIONS ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH. However counter-intuitive it seems, it is true. I practiced majorly from OG and Verbal Review (solved all questions at least twice and focussed on the approach more than anything).

- Rules on SC: For non-native speakers, I think this is the toughest section. But fret not, Charles from GMATNinja has got you covered. His videos on most verbal topics (specifically SC) are all over youtube, and it is the best resource to study from. GMAT does not expect you to remember or know 2500 odd rules of grammar. There are a few foundational rules that you are expected to know. Apart from that, it is all about the sentence's meaning and looking at it from an analytical/objective frame. Word of caution here: I started with a 70% accuracy on SC. Once I started using the grammar rules, my accuracy dropped because I was looking at the sentences too mechanically. After watching Charles' videos and practicing all problems of the OG and Verbal Review, I got the hang of SC, and then my accuracy went up to around 90%+.

- Mock tests: PLEASE DO NOT GET BOGGED DOWN/OVERCONFIDENT BECAUSE OF THE SCORES YOU GET ON THE MOCK TESTS. I think this is my key piece of advice to any and every GMAT aspirant. Getting affected by the scores on the mocks sets you astray more than you can imagine. The GMATPrep mock tests are pretty accurate because of the identical scoring algorithm and type of questions, but please don't base your expectations even on those scores. I think I can prove this very well: I got a 760 on my last mock test (GMATPrep test) before my first attempt (ended up getting 720 on the actual one), and got a 720 on my last mock test (GMATPrep test) before my second attempt (ended up getting 770 on the actual one). Now don't assume that there is a negative correlation between the mock tests and the actual GMAT!!

- Section order: I always preferred having a fresh, energetic mind for the verbal section. So, I decided to start the exam with the verbal section. However, after my first attempt, I realized I needed some warm-up before going into verbal. So, before my second attempt, I reached the center an hour early and solved 2 questions of each verbal section type. This allowed me to get in the groove before the exam started. You should figure out the best way for you. You can experiment during the mocks (something which I did not).

- Power of visualization: Saving the best one for the last. Many people talk about this, and for the longest time, I dismissed it. However, this time I thought about giving it a genuine try. The night before the exam, and 15 mins before the exam, I re-ran the visuals in my head: how will my approach be if I see an RC question? if the next one is a CR question, how do you switch your mindset and approach? Going over these different scenarios prepares your mind to face the actual music.

Sorry for the long post; I hope it helps at least a few folks on their journey to achieving the score they aim for!