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30 Mar 2021, 00:52
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Hi everyone,
I loved reading the debriefs here and I always wanted to write one myself! There were many debriefs on this forum that inspired me and I hope to be of help to someone too! I have tried to follow the same structure I came across in most posts. I hope you find the structure helpful.
As a GMAT aspirant, you might initially think that you can prepare for the GMAT on your own. But the thing is, there are a lot of problems that you may face during self-prep. My self-prep journey was not easy at all too.
I am an engineering student who decided to prepare for the GMAT on my own. I had a lot of online material. But my prep wasn’t as structured as I wanted it to be. I realized that there is a lot more to the exam than just English and Maths.
That is when I decided to seek help from an expert - CrackVerbal. And I am glad that I sought help because it completely changed the way I approached the exam.
That is why I am sharing my GMAT prep story here with you all.
I’m Arvind & I’m a final year computer engineering student from Mumbai. My goal is to get into business analytics in the future and I realized that GMAT is the link between my undergraduate degree and my higher education that will help me achieve what I want.
I started preparing for the GMAT on my own. I am sure that a lot of students can relate to this.
I went through the online prep materials available on GMAT Club. This material came in very handy and extremely useful throughout my prep. However, I noticed, I could solve a few of the questions that I came across. My accuracy was not great - I used to get three to seven questions correct out of ten of them.
I did that for almost a month and I realized that I could manage the Quant questions. But I had no control over the Verbal section and the questions. That is when I felt that I needed some guidance.
But, I was still skeptical about joining a coaching center. Why do I need to go to them? If I have done engineering, I should be able to crack the GMAT. After all, this was just an entrance exam for me. These were my thoughts.
But when I started solving Verbal questions, I got zero out of 10. And when I took my first mock test, I got a V13! I did not know any of the concepts. I could hardly solve any questions. And even if I did, it was just by fluke not because I knew the concept.
There are so many ed-tech companies that offer GMAT coaching. Some of them even provide them for free. But I did my research to understand more about the GMAT and the courses that the companies offer. To understand more about these courses, I got in touch with people who had availed of their services earlier.
It is during this research phase that I happened to speak to one of my friends who I hadn’t been in touch with for over six years. But he had achieved a good GMAT score and had gotten into London Business School. He is the one who recommended CrackVerbal to me. He pushed me to join them.
I think that was the biggest turning point in my prep. After I enrolled in CrackVerbal's Live Prep Course, I could understand the difference a good coaching institute can bring in your prep. I joined CrackVerbal in May 2020. Practiced Verbal questions all day. I never touched Quant.
I used to watch the pre-watch videos for Verbal, attend the live classes during the weekends, and do my homework during the weekdays. I utilized their material and GMAT Club’s materials to study.
I was already used to learning online. I think a lot of us are. So, attending online classes wasn’t a problem for me.
But what is important is how the GMAT tutors are able to connect the concepts for me and how they are able to connect with the students.
That is when everything started falling into place and getting on track.
I still remember every one of Arun Jagannathan sir’s lectures. The way he explained the concepts was brilliant. And, it was wonderful to understand them so clearly.
When it comes to Quant, I think Aravind BT sir did a great job. Every problem has a background to it. The way he explained it and taught us how to solve them was amazing. I realized that there are a lot of thought processes that are involved in solving a problem. And I learned that from Aravind sir.
Let’s say that I took a minute to solve a particular problem in the beginning. But after I attended Aravind sir’s classes, I could solve it in 20 seconds. That is the level of training that CrackVerbal Mentors give.
I prepared for the GMAT for six months. And, I struggled with GMAT RC for five months.
I had booked my GMAT for the end of October and even at the beginning of the month, I struggled with RC. I got on a call with one of the CrackVerbal Mentors and I told her that I was getting two out of five in GMAT RC. I just couldn’t get GMAT Reading Comprehension correct. I just couldn’t figure out what went behind the RC passages.
My problem was that I couldn’t assimilate the RC passages. I could read the passage in the given time. But I couldn’t understand the content and answer the questions.
The mentor taught me how to break down the passages so that I can understand a whole passage in just two lines. I learned how to make notes at the right points. Though I reached out to her very late in my GMAT prep, I felt those sessions with her helped me crack GMAT RC.
Like I mentioned earlier, I was confident about my Quant skills. In fact, I was overconfident.
The thing is, GMAT wants the right answer. But it is also about solving the questions in the given time. So, it is a good balance of accuracy and speed.
I used to get Q38 initially, then it went up to Q42 and Q46.
But to go beyond that, I needed to learn tips and tricks that will help me eliminate answers quickly and efficiently. That is what I learned from the Live Classes. I picked them up during the Prepathon sessions that we had during the weekdays. In fact, I enjoyed the prepathon sessions a lot. These sessions were just about solving questions the right way.
I knew the concepts but I would say that these techniques helped me raise my Quant score to 49 on the GMAT. I still feel that if I had spent some more time on Quant, I would have scored more.
I took around 12 mock tests.
I took two mock tests from the mba.com website. After that, I took mock tests from other websites. I saw that my scores were going up. But I knew that these scores may not be accurate.
I planned my mock tests in such a way that I started and ended my mock test journey with the exams from mba.com. I knew that I could trust the scores. You may not get the exact score on the actual GMAT. But, it will be the same more or less.
I looked at the GMAT as an investment for the next five years. And that is why I took the GMAT at a test center. I didn’t want to worry about my internet connection or power supply at home.
I got a 710 on the GMAT with V38!
The GMAT prep journey is a rollercoaster ride. It is a ride of emotions. Everyone needs to understand that.
You may have days when you feel that you are on top of the world. But then, there will be other days when you can’t even solve one question. And that is okay.
What everyone should focus on is in understanding what they are doing wrong and where they are going wrong. For this, you need to reach out to the tutors and analyze your errors.
And more importantly, GMAT is not about practicing all the questions. It is about practicing the right questions.
As you would have understood by now, I made my set of errors when it came to GMAT preparation. But I also found solutions (though at the last minute) for a lot of them.
Thanks a lot to CrackVerbal and the mentors there for guiding me through the entire process. And thanks to GMAT Club for all the material and knowledge.
I really hope that my story helps you in one way or another while preparing for the GMAT. And I would like to wish you all the best for your prep and exam.
Warm Regards,
Arvind
I loved reading the debriefs here and I always wanted to write one myself! There were many debriefs on this forum that inspired me and I hope to be of help to someone too! I have tried to follow the same structure I came across in most posts. I hope you find the structure helpful.
As a GMAT aspirant, you might initially think that you can prepare for the GMAT on your own. But the thing is, there are a lot of problems that you may face during self-prep. My self-prep journey was not easy at all too.
I am an engineering student who decided to prepare for the GMAT on my own. I had a lot of online material. But my prep wasn’t as structured as I wanted it to be. I realized that there is a lot more to the exam than just English and Maths.
That is when I decided to seek help from an expert - CrackVerbal. And I am glad that I sought help because it completely changed the way I approached the exam.
That is why I am sharing my GMAT prep story here with you all.
My Background
I’m Arvind & I’m a final year computer engineering student from Mumbai. My goal is to get into business analytics in the future and I realized that GMAT is the link between my undergraduate degree and my higher education that will help me achieve what I want.
I started preparing for the GMAT on my own. I am sure that a lot of students can relate to this.
I went through the online prep materials available on GMAT Club. This material came in very handy and extremely useful throughout my prep. However, I noticed, I could solve a few of the questions that I came across. My accuracy was not great - I used to get three to seven questions correct out of ten of them.
I did that for almost a month and I realized that I could manage the Quant questions. But I had no control over the Verbal section and the questions. That is when I felt that I needed some guidance.
But, I was still skeptical about joining a coaching center. Why do I need to go to them? If I have done engineering, I should be able to crack the GMAT. After all, this was just an entrance exam for me. These were my thoughts.
But when I started solving Verbal questions, I got zero out of 10. And when I took my first mock test, I got a V13! I did not know any of the concepts. I could hardly solve any questions. And even if I did, it was just by fluke not because I knew the concept.
My GMAT Preparation
There are so many ed-tech companies that offer GMAT coaching. Some of them even provide them for free. But I did my research to understand more about the GMAT and the courses that the companies offer. To understand more about these courses, I got in touch with people who had availed of their services earlier.
It is during this research phase that I happened to speak to one of my friends who I hadn’t been in touch with for over six years. But he had achieved a good GMAT score and had gotten into London Business School. He is the one who recommended CrackVerbal to me. He pushed me to join them.
I think that was the biggest turning point in my prep. After I enrolled in CrackVerbal's Live Prep Course, I could understand the difference a good coaching institute can bring in your prep. I joined CrackVerbal in May 2020. Practiced Verbal questions all day. I never touched Quant.
I used to watch the pre-watch videos for Verbal, attend the live classes during the weekends, and do my homework during the weekdays. I utilized their material and GMAT Club’s materials to study.
Attending Verbal & Quant Live Classes
I was already used to learning online. I think a lot of us are. So, attending online classes wasn’t a problem for me.
But what is important is how the GMAT tutors are able to connect the concepts for me and how they are able to connect with the students.
That is when everything started falling into place and getting on track.
I still remember every one of Arun Jagannathan sir’s lectures. The way he explained the concepts was brilliant. And, it was wonderful to understand them so clearly.
When it comes to Quant, I think Aravind BT sir did a great job. Every problem has a background to it. The way he explained it and taught us how to solve them was amazing. I realized that there are a lot of thought processes that are involved in solving a problem. And I learned that from Aravind sir.
Let’s say that I took a minute to solve a particular problem in the beginning. But after I attended Aravind sir’s classes, I could solve it in 20 seconds. That is the level of training that CrackVerbal Mentors give.
My Struggle with Reading Comprehension (RC)
I prepared for the GMAT for six months. And, I struggled with GMAT RC for five months.
I had booked my GMAT for the end of October and even at the beginning of the month, I struggled with RC. I got on a call with one of the CrackVerbal Mentors and I told her that I was getting two out of five in GMAT RC. I just couldn’t get GMAT Reading Comprehension correct. I just couldn’t figure out what went behind the RC passages.
My problem was that I couldn’t assimilate the RC passages. I could read the passage in the given time. But I couldn’t understand the content and answer the questions.
The mentor taught me how to break down the passages so that I can understand a whole passage in just two lines. I learned how to make notes at the right points. Though I reached out to her very late in my GMAT prep, I felt those sessions with her helped me crack GMAT RC.
Preparing for GMAT Quant in the Last 30 Days
Like I mentioned earlier, I was confident about my Quant skills. In fact, I was overconfident.
The thing is, GMAT wants the right answer. But it is also about solving the questions in the given time. So, it is a good balance of accuracy and speed.
I used to get Q38 initially, then it went up to Q42 and Q46.
But to go beyond that, I needed to learn tips and tricks that will help me eliminate answers quickly and efficiently. That is what I learned from the Live Classes. I picked them up during the Prepathon sessions that we had during the weekdays. In fact, I enjoyed the prepathon sessions a lot. These sessions were just about solving questions the right way.
I knew the concepts but I would say that these techniques helped me raise my Quant score to 49 on the GMAT. I still feel that if I had spent some more time on Quant, I would have scored more.
Taking GMAT Mock Tests
I took around 12 mock tests.
I took two mock tests from the mba.com website. After that, I took mock tests from other websites. I saw that my scores were going up. But I knew that these scores may not be accurate.
I planned my mock tests in such a way that I started and ended my mock test journey with the exams from mba.com. I knew that I could trust the scores. You may not get the exact score on the actual GMAT. But, it will be the same more or less.
I took the GMAT at a Test Center
I looked at the GMAT as an investment for the next five years. And that is why I took the GMAT at a test center. I didn’t want to worry about my internet connection or power supply at home.
I got a 710 on the GMAT with V38!
My Learnings
The GMAT prep journey is a rollercoaster ride. It is a ride of emotions. Everyone needs to understand that.
You may have days when you feel that you are on top of the world. But then, there will be other days when you can’t even solve one question. And that is okay.
What everyone should focus on is in understanding what they are doing wrong and where they are going wrong. For this, you need to reach out to the tutors and analyze your errors.
And more importantly, GMAT is not about practicing all the questions. It is about practicing the right questions.
As you would have understood by now, I made my set of errors when it came to GMAT preparation. But I also found solutions (though at the last minute) for a lot of them.
Thanks a lot to CrackVerbal and the mentors there for guiding me through the entire process. And thanks to GMAT Club for all the material and knowledge.
I really hope that my story helps you in one way or another while preparing for the GMAT. And I would like to wish you all the best for your prep and exam.
Warm Regards,
Arvind
05 Apr 2021, 03:45
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi Arvind (@arvindsridhar99),
V13 to V38 with a GMAT 710 - That's an AMAZING IMPROVEMENT! So kudos to you for that.
We are glad that you listened to your friend's advice to consider us for your GMAT prep.
We would like to highlight a very important part which you've quoted in your success story to all the GMAT Aspirants who are reading this success story -
Apart from this, the Key Learnings which you've mentioned are very crucial especially for all the GMAT Aspirants which are -
It was great to have you as our student so thank you for choosing us for your GMAT prep and sharing your detailed success story here at GMAT Club especially your learnings during your GMAT prep which will surely benefit other GMAT aspirants out here.
Congrats on all of your success so far & we wish you all the best for your future endeavours!
V13 to V38 with a GMAT 710 - That's an AMAZING IMPROVEMENT! So kudos to you for that.
Quote:
We are glad that you listened to your friend's advice to consider us for your GMAT prep.
We would like to highlight a very important part which you've quoted in your success story to all the GMAT Aspirants who are reading this success story -
Quote:
Apart from this, the Key Learnings which you've mentioned are very crucial especially for all the GMAT Aspirants which are -
Quote:
It was great to have you as our student so thank you for choosing us for your GMAT prep and sharing your detailed success story here at GMAT Club especially your learnings during your GMAT prep which will surely benefit other GMAT aspirants out here.
Congrats on all of your success so far & we wish you all the best for your future endeavours!
ramlala
Joined: 22 Aug 2020
Last visit: 13 Dec 2022
Posts: 467
Given Kudos: 30
Location: India
Concentration: International Business, Finance
Schools: IIMA PGPX'23 INSEAD Jan'23 intake Sloan (MIT) ISB HEC Said
GPA: 4
WE:Project Management (Energy)
06 Apr 2021, 18:58
Kudos
Bookmarks
