akothari91 wrote:
I am writing to this community because this has given me so much during my preparation.
I have given my GMAT a week ago and scored 570(Q47, V21) which is what i have never expected.
I am preparing for GMAT from last one year.But i started preparing seriously in April first week.
Solved
OG , Verbal review and 404 question pack. Along with that i have also solved official question collection for both SC, CR.
For SC , I have read Manhatten SC guide and CR bible.
Mocks
Prep-1 630 Q48 V27 ( I couldnt tick last question in quant)
Prep-2 690 Q49 V35 (This seemed to be my real score)
Prep-3 690 Q49 V35 (I felt stable during this)
Prep-4 640 Q48 V30 (( I couldnt tick last question in quant)
Along with these mocks , I have given 12 mocks from my coaching centre.
I have solved lot of material for RC ,SC and CR as well as quant.
During exam i didnt had any unusual thing which can be attributed to this disaster.I felt in verbal that paper is going good.I was getting some tough RC's.
Kindly give your suggestions.
Hi akothari91
Respected Sir
First of all cheer up bud ! No looking back .There is always a second time . Looking at your mock scores I presume that it was just a bad day for you . Maybe if you give the paper next time you can perhaps score much better . I would just like to ask you which Coaching Centre you went through ? Maybe you should look at some better .
I know that feeling of scoring low in GMAT , although I am not a very high scorer in GMAT , all I can say is do not lose hope . There is plenty of space for improvement . Even I aim at scoring 700+ in GMAT . I would like to quote a famous saying of legendary Thomas A. Edison -
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."
If you plan to give GMAT next time try MOCK tests of
1.GMAT Club
2.Manhattan
3.Kaplan
4.Princeton
As someone who is preparing for GMAT I would like to share how I prepare , which books I refer to etc
Time
6 months atleast ( with 100 % of dedication )
Books Used:
OG 13th edition Book , Quantitavie Review , Verbal Review , 700-800 Question Set on GMAT club forum .
Maintain
Error LogDownload the Excel Sheet of Question of
OG 13 . This helps . Trust me!
Manhattan GMAT SC , RC , CR Books . Fab Books .
Kaplan Premier Book .
2 CATs and questions from mba.com
CATs from
Manhattan GMAT , Kaplan GMAT , Princeton Review GMAT ,
GMAT Club Tests atleast 28-36 Full Length Tests . ( Though sounds heavy , yet its my way of looking at GMAT since I am a non native speaker and a slow learner .
Free Videos and articles on Youtube, GMAT PrepNow, etc.
Follow GMAT Club Forum
Studying:
Usually 6-9 hours on weekdays . MUST!
Usually 10-12 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Usually 1 CAT on the weekend with review (weekend usually included going back to redo old questions, even questions I got right before) MUST!
Advice:
1) The books were pretty good, but there’s a lot of advice that conflicts from book to book, so it takes a little while to figure out what’s true and what’s not. The
OG 13th edition is a MUST HAVE.
2) Find an expert to work with. Use a course or a tutor.
3) There’s a lot of bad advice out there about pacing, representative questions, etc. (and the problem is a lot of it’s free). Be suspicious. If you practice something for a full month and it doesn’t work, then it’s not going to help you hit your goal. Be prepared to learn some new things.
4) Stay calm and write everything down. GMAT questions are actually pretty straight forward if you just stay organized.
5) The Quant section is NOT a math test and the Verbal section is NOT a vocabulary test, so don’t treat them like they are.
6) Learn which questions to avoid.
6) Take the breaks, no matter how good you feel. Have a snack, a drink and run to the bathroom.
All the best bud!