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06 Nov 2015, 22:39
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Did i catch you with the title? 
You read it right, I am a homemaker and a mother of a 2 year old toddler.
Today I took my GMAT and scored a humble 700 (Q 48, V37). Relieved!
Not a great score, but average people like me, who might feel stressed with multiple work/personal responsibilities can read this post ....
My background :
--------------------
I am an Asian with a work experience of approximately 8 years in IT industry. I have a computer engineering degree. I quit my job last January, in order to focus more on my 1.5 year old son (I was busy with international assignments at work, and so was my husband at a different location)
I shifted to US last July with my son (my husband was working here). Initially I just wanted to focus on my 2 year old son, put him in Montessori, spend lot of time with him. enjoyed every bit
But I always had a goal in my mind - GMAT. I would love to join a MBA course next year (for reasons that would be irrelevant to this post)
Preparation time : 3 months (August - October)
---------------------------------------------------------
I had not given or studied for any exam (apart from minor work related certifications) for years. So the things that troubled me for facing the GMAT : dedication, motivation for studying every single day, focus, managing home and studies.
I am a cleanliness freak, so i spend hours at home cleaning up all the mess, I cook 3 times a day for the entire family, I take my kid for swimming lessons, school, library reading programs, play dates with his friends etc. etc. Phewww!!!
I dint want to compromise on any of these because these were the exact things for which i quit my job
I started with my best friend - Google - "How to take GMAT"
when i found this AMMMAAAAZZZIINNNGGG club - GMATClub!!
Cheers to all the founders, moderators, members and tutors. You cant imagine the kind of "bank upon" feel that this website gives for every single doubt and question!
A BIG THANKS TO ALL OF YOU.
--------------------------------------
Then i figured out that i need 3 months of dedicated effort for getting a decent GMAT score. I set for myself a target of October end date for the GMAT.
Started collecting materials :
----------------------------------
1. Princeton review : Math and Verbal : Confidence booster for start ups - but really basic.
2. KAPLAN Premier 2015 : Very good book, with detailed explanation for basics. Enough practice questions. This book also comes with 6 Practice CATs.
3. OG 2015 : Verbal, Quant and OG complete reference.
4. MGMAT : SC, RC - Amazing books, for in-depth explanation for every concept.
Time Management
----------------------
Every person is busy in life So I had to squeeze out time whenever my toddler wasn't around (else he would have torn by books or tap the keyboard of my laptop to death) and make the best use of those hours. My kid had his school from 8:30 -12:30 for 3 days a week. I used to drop kid to school and directly go and sit in the community library and study for good 2-3 hours. But 3 days a week weren't enough!
Every Saturday, I used to take a mock test - to keep up the momentum. Thanks to my hubby who volunteered for baby sitting every Saturday. After preparing breakfast & lunch for everyone, I used to go to the library and sit for hours, studying, giving practice test and doing analysis. Apart from this regular schedule, I used to sit with my books whenever i had time, or during sleepless nights.
Learning : Find a "Study" area for yourself, which will help you focus. You cannot practice with your 100% brains while eating, or watching TV or with friends/pets around.
Took the diagnostic test (after going through Princeton books for 2 weeks):
KAPLAN CAT 1 : 590 (Q47, V21, IR 2)
Other practice tests:
------------------------
GMAT Prep 1 : (3 weeks after Kaplan CAT1) 620 (Q47, V28, IR4)
Kaplan CAT 2 : 580 (Q41, V31, IR2)
MGMAT CAT #1: Horrible - skipped entire Quant, very bad time management : dissappointed!
Kaplan CAT 3 : 710 (Q51, V33, IR6)
Kaplan CAT 4 : 670 (Q49, V33, IR 5)
MGMAT CAT #2: 630 (Q44, V32, IR 4)
Kaplan CAT 5: 620 (Q47, V31, IR 3)
GMAT Prep 2: 650 (Q46, V34, IR 4)
1. For every single practice CAT, i tried and created an actual exam like environment - sitting in the library.
2. I always maintained a small separate notepad, which i used to track my practice tests. I used to write which section went wrong most. Track accuracy for RC, SC, CR, PS, DS - in short, areas for improvement. You can also call this my error log
3. Went through Kaplan premier completely - which isn't very difficult to digest for beginners and doesn't demotivate you with all difficult theories and questions.
4. Even if i dint feel like studying some odd day, i never compromised on my study schedule - I regularly went to the library, though i spent my time reading blogs on GmatClub etc, but i never let my intensity fade. Reading success stories was a great morale booster during such times!
5. Do not set yourself lot many days for GMAT preparation as it can make you loose focus. Having said that, one should also be able to judge his/her capabilities. For e.g. I perform well under pressure, thus I needed a specific time frame for the entire story.
During the last month, i started working just on OG books, and trust me - they are amazing. A good GMAT score is all about 2 things - basic concepts and practice. I couldnt finish my OG books by the time i had my exam though
Verbal
My verbal was always very weak. I had practiced questions from so many books, and used MGMAT SC for my reference, but still....
By the end of the 3 months of preparation, I knew every concept by heart, but while giving a test, i used to get so confused looking at the options (out of consciousness). This continued till my actual GMAT exam!
Quant
It was never too difficult for me, I was just out of touch. So in order to be thorough, I downloaded PDF text books of basic school curriculum that I had studied while in school and literally solved all basic Math problems. This really worked for concepts like Set Theory, Counting problems, Rates problems, Work related, geometry etc. I then practiced questions from my GMAT books.
AWA - the great Chinese Burned strategy - don't know if it worked well for me, scores awaited.
I was hoping for a score of 650 approx, but happy to touch the magic '7' figure. I am not sure if I will retake the exam.
I just spent the evening relaxed, playing with my son and a big ice-cream treat with family (And apologized for screwing up all the Saturdays for the past 3 months )
You read it right, I am a homemaker and a mother of a 2 year old toddler.Today I took my GMAT and scored a humble 700 (Q 48, V37). Relieved!
Not a great score, but average people like me, who might feel stressed with multiple work/personal responsibilities can read this post ....
My background :
--------------------
I am an Asian with a work experience of approximately 8 years in IT industry. I have a computer engineering degree. I quit my job last January, in order to focus more on my 1.5 year old son (I was busy with international assignments at work, and so was my husband at a different location)
I shifted to US last July with my son (my husband was working here). Initially I just wanted to focus on my 2 year old son, put him in Montessori, spend lot of time with him. enjoyed every bit
But I always had a goal in my mind - GMAT. I would love to join a MBA course next year (for reasons that would be irrelevant to this post)Preparation time : 3 months (August - October)
---------------------------------------------------------
I had not given or studied for any exam (apart from minor work related certifications) for years. So the things that troubled me for facing the GMAT : dedication, motivation for studying every single day, focus, managing home and studies.
I am a cleanliness freak, so i spend hours at home cleaning up all the mess, I cook 3 times a day for the entire family, I take my kid for swimming lessons, school, library reading programs, play dates with his friends etc. etc. Phewww!!!
I dint want to compromise on any of these because these were the exact things for which i quit my job I started with my best friend - Google - "How to take GMAT"
when i found this AMMMAAAAZZZIINNNGGG club - GMATClub!! Cheers to all the founders, moderators, members and tutors. You cant imagine the kind of "bank upon" feel that this website gives for every single doubt and question!
A BIG THANKS TO ALL OF YOU.
--------------------------------------
Then i figured out that i need 3 months of dedicated effort for getting a decent GMAT score. I set for myself a target of October end date for the GMAT.
Started collecting materials :
----------------------------------
1. Princeton review : Math and Verbal : Confidence booster for start ups - but really basic.
2. KAPLAN Premier 2015 : Very good book, with detailed explanation for basics. Enough practice questions. This book also comes with 6 Practice CATs.
3. OG 2015 : Verbal, Quant and OG complete reference.
4. MGMAT : SC, RC - Amazing books, for in-depth explanation for every concept.
Time Management
----------------------
Every person is busy in life
So I had to squeeze out time whenever my toddler wasn't around (else he would have torn by books or tap the keyboard of my laptop to death) and make the best use of those hours. My kid had his school from 8:30 -12:30 for 3 days a week. I used to drop kid to school and directly go and sit in the community library and study for good 2-3 hours. But 3 days a week weren't enough!Every Saturday, I used to take a mock test - to keep up the momentum. Thanks to my hubby who volunteered for baby sitting every Saturday. After preparing breakfast & lunch for everyone, I used to go to the library and sit for hours, studying, giving practice test and doing analysis. Apart from this regular schedule, I used to sit with my books whenever i had time, or during sleepless nights.
Learning : Find a "Study" area for yourself, which will help you focus. You cannot practice with your 100% brains while eating, or watching TV or with friends/pets around.
Took the diagnostic test (after going through Princeton books for 2 weeks):
KAPLAN CAT 1 : 590 (Q47, V21, IR 2)
Other practice tests:
------------------------
GMAT Prep 1 : (3 weeks after Kaplan CAT1) 620 (Q47, V28, IR4)
Kaplan CAT 2 : 580 (Q41, V31, IR2)
MGMAT CAT #1: Horrible - skipped entire Quant, very bad time management : dissappointed!
Kaplan CAT 3 : 710 (Q51, V33, IR6)
Kaplan CAT 4 : 670 (Q49, V33, IR 5)
MGMAT CAT #2: 630 (Q44, V32, IR 4)
Kaplan CAT 5: 620 (Q47, V31, IR 3)
GMAT Prep 2: 650 (Q46, V34, IR 4)
1. For every single practice CAT, i tried and created an actual exam like environment - sitting in the library.
2. I always maintained a small separate notepad, which i used to track my practice tests. I used to write which section went wrong most. Track accuracy for RC, SC, CR, PS, DS - in short, areas for improvement. You can also call this my error log
3. Went through Kaplan premier completely - which isn't very difficult to digest for beginners and doesn't demotivate you with all difficult theories and questions.
4. Even if i dint feel like studying some odd day, i never compromised on my study schedule - I regularly went to the library, though i spent my time reading blogs on GmatClub etc, but i never let my intensity fade. Reading success stories was a great morale booster during such times!
5. Do not set yourself lot many days for GMAT preparation as it can make you loose focus. Having said that, one should also be able to judge his/her capabilities. For e.g. I perform well under pressure, thus I needed a specific time frame for the entire story.
During the last month, i started working just on OG books, and trust me - they are amazing. A good GMAT score is all about 2 things - basic concepts and practice. I couldnt finish my OG books by the time i had my exam though
Verbal
My verbal was always very weak. I had practiced questions from so many books, and used MGMAT SC for my reference, but still....
By the end of the 3 months of preparation, I knew every concept by heart, but while giving a test, i used to get so confused looking at the options (out of consciousness). This continued till my actual GMAT exam!Quant
It was never too difficult for me, I was just out of touch. So in order to be thorough, I downloaded PDF text books of basic school curriculum that I had studied while in school and literally solved all basic Math problems. This really worked for concepts like Set Theory, Counting problems, Rates problems, Work related, geometry etc. I then practiced questions from my GMAT books.
AWA - the great Chinese Burned strategy - don't know if it worked well for me, scores awaited.
I was hoping for a score of 650 approx, but happy to touch the magic '7' figure. I am not sure if I will retake the exam.
I just spent the evening relaxed, playing with my son and a big ice-cream treat with family
(And apologized for screwing up all the Saturdays for the past 3 months ) 
06 Nov 2015, 22:45
Kudos
Bookmarks
07 Nov 2015, 21:55
Kudos
Bookmarks
chetan2u
Thanks a lot
I am not sure yet, whether I should go for a retake... 
